Jackson Free Press

More Pay for JPD Awaits Barbour Approval

Mississippi Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said legislation he sponsored to pay the Jackson police department $16,000 survived a conference committee and is now waiting for Gov. Haley Barbour's signature. "The …

AP Poll: Obama ‘Best Hope'

A new Associated Press poll finds that, despite petty controversies like the dust-up over his preacher, Barack Obama has become the candidate that most Democrats believe has the best chance …

ABC Disgraces Itself During Debate

The world is talking today about how poorly ABC's George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson handled themselves during last night's Democratic debate. Over on The Root, Marc Lamont Hill writes:

Karl Rove Called to Testify About Probes, Including Minor and Diaz

The House Judiciary Committee today requested that presidential adviser Karl Rove appear to testify "concerning the troubling issue of the politicization of the Department of Justice during this Administration." It …

The Agony of Appropriations

As the 2008 session of Mississippi Legislature session draws to an end, some bills will likely wither and die.

Gone and Back Again?

Resolution 655 may pave the way for a tobacco tax designed to pay for Medicaid shortfalls.

Court System, Autopsy Expert Slammed

Innocence Project attorneys, activists and a man who served 12 years in Parchman for a crime he did not commit are calling for a radical overhaul of the state's criminal-justice …

City In Recovery

A spring storm went overboard last Friday, spawning about five tornados in the Jackson area and leaving a large portion of the city and some adjoining communities without power well …

Barbour Declares State of Emergency, Includes Jackson

2:45 p.m.—(JACKSON, Mississippi) - Governor Haley Barbour today declared a State of Emergency for 12 Mississippi counties following a severe weather system and tornadoes which hit parts of Central Mississippi, …

Legislative Update: Back Door to Abortion Restriction?

The House and Senate spent all of March firing bills at one another, waiting to see what the other side was going to do with them. It's that time of …

Republicans Singing the Blues?

A New York Times Magazine piece chronicles the depression that is setting in for Republicans now that the strategies that gave them temporary power are starting to turn off new …

The Rev. Wright Controversy: More Than Meets the Eye?

"Dear Jodi: Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years." This is how Rev. Jeremiah Wright begins a …

Rebirth of a King

What a long, strange, trip it's been. The co-developers of the King Edward Hotel are holding a groundbreaking on March 27, at 11 a.m., after years of the project languishing …

Legislature: Subtle Casualities

Deadlines both made and spayed bills last week. Many bills passed in the two chambers of the Mississippi Legislature, but now face conference committee to bang out their differences.

Medicaid on Hold?

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, said he wants the Mississippi Senate to belly up and help the House fund Medicaid.

[Kamikaze] Let the Chickens Roost

It appears that the chickens did indeed come home to roost. No, not in the Rev. Jeremiah Wright sense. Not even the Malcolm X sense. These "chickens" are a direct …

Legislative Update: Medicaid and Marriage

This week marked either the victory cheer or the death knell for a round of money bills seeking approval. Tuesday, specifically, marked the deadline for the House or Senate to …

Immigration Bill a Reality

Well, he signed it. Gov. Haley Barbour caved in to the screaming fury of conservative talk radio and the raging rant of phone calls and signed into law SB 2988, …

The Emerging Mississippi: Are New Voters Changing State Politics?

Photos by Kenya Hudson

When presidential hopeful Barack Obama entered the Rose Embley McCoy building at Jackson State University on March 10, he flowed easily into the hungry arms of the crowd. At least …

Mississippi GOP Politicizes Scruggs Plea

The head of the Mississippi Republican Party is using the guilty plea of Richard "Dickie" Scruggs to try to focus the scandal spotlight away from Republicans and put it squarely …