Jackson Free Press

Game Thread: Saints Win Super Bowl XLIV

http://tinyurl.com/yhzyayp

A key question in today's Super Bowl is the health of Indianapolis Colts' defensive end Dwight Freeney, who is known for his Pro Bowl caliber ability to put pressure on …

Study: 935 ‘Orchestrated' Lies Led Up to Iraqi War

The Associated Press is reporting on a new study that finds that the Bush administration lied repeatedly about the threats in Iraq leading up to the war:

Huh? Money to the Best Schools, Not the Worst

Can someone explain to me why we're giving extra money to the top-performing schools, and not to the lowest-performing that clearly need it the most???

Uncovering the 'Real Deal' Blues

The blues in Mississippi refuses to die. Despite music scholars regularly predicting its demise, fans can find the distinctive music everywhere around the state, from small clubs to major festivals. …

JPD Officer Resigns

J.R. Walker, the cop whose smoking, ranting face filled the news as he blasted Mayor Melton and the city administration for causing low morale in the ranks of the JPD, …

The New York Times on Frank Melton

First, note that the JFP cover from April, shot by Kate Medley of Melton with the shotgun, is in the New York Times story about him today. Otherwise, the story …

Long Sentences, Broken Lives

Paul Houser is one of 2,635 Mississippians currently serving lengthy prison terms under Mississippi's so-called "habitual laws," the state's version of "three strikes laws." Mississippi's habitual laws drive the state's …

Community Through Song

Jerry Jenkins wouldn't call himself a percussionist. The owner of Jackson-based Hasan Drums does play West African drums, including the djembe, and other instruments such as the 21-stringed kora, but …

American Aquarium

Change has long been the status quo for singer-songwriter BJ Barham of alternative-country act American Aquarium, but rarely has so much happened in such a short span of time.

JFP College Football Preview 2017: The Smalls

Last season, the Belhaven Blazers won just two games, but one of those game was against rival Millsaps College in the season opener. Belhaven then lost eight games in a …

The Avett Brothers: Learning from ‘Sadness’

Fans of The Avett Brothers might not have to find the band in such high spirits based on the title of their ninth album, "True Sadness."

Grady Champion: New Roots

Grady Champion built his personal recording suite, Backyard Studio, beside his house last June, using equipment that he purchased online from Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Ind.

10 Years After Mississippians Rejected ‘Personhood,’ New ‘Life at ‘Conception’ Efforts Underway

A decade after Mississippi rejected the opportunity to adopt the most anti-abortion law in the nation, a national anti-abortion group is working with a top Republican U.S. senator to push …

Talking Back in Flyover Country

Not too long before the election, I found an e-mail I'd missed from a young Mississippi artist: "Donna, I think this article deserves a talented rebuttal. See what you can …

Open Thread for Melton Trial Here

Have at it.

Meantime, read the JFP's Melton blog/archive here. And read the Sept. 1, 2006, story by Adam Lynch that revealed the Ridgeway Street demolition and led to the trial this week. …

BREAKING: Video of Melton at Upper Level

Last Sunday, the Jackson Free Press broke news that Mayor Frank Melton was out long after bed-time, leading a platoon of about 20 police officers on a raid on the …

All for One

There were some quiet days in Jackson while Mayor Frank Melton was recovering from surgery in Texas. I was in City Council covering the debate on digital billboards two weeks …

One Nation Under Oprah

While playing a jolly game of inquiries recently, I was prompted to answer the question, "What is the biggest threat to humankind?" Hastily, and foolishly, I responded, "ignorance." But after …

Find Another Way

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is no stranger to right-wing nuttery, but he offered a prime example of conservative hysteria in comments in a July 12 article in The Clarion-Ledger. Suggesting …

McCoy Urges Barbour Against Cold Feet on Stimulus

Mississippi House Speaker Billy McCoy offered a public plea Thursday to Gov. Haley Barbour to accept federal money offered through a proposed congressional stimulus package worth more than $800 billion. …