Jackson Free Press

The state Department of Health has withheld nearly $600,000 from domestic-violence shelters over the past two years.

The UAW is making unionization at Canton's Nissan plant an international effort.

Emergency room care remains their only health-care option.

Jackson auditions are Oct. 5.

Will the GOP pay attention to its moderates?

The city of Jackson's water system seems to be fighting a battle against shifting Yazoo clay.

Mississippi health-insurance rates could be as low as $8 a month after tax credits.

You ought to know you're in trouble when the folks who should be your biggest cheerleaders come and do a dance on your head and slap you around a bit.

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has been a player in the Republican Party for decades. As a matter of fact, he was one of the big conservative brains (along with Lee Atwater) that came up with the Southern Strategy, a political mindset that has kept Southern politics stuck on the battlefield of black versus white since the days of Ronald Reagan. Barbour served as Reagan's political director and as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Some might say that Mr. Barbour had a hand in stirring up the witch's brew that created right-wingers like the Tea Party—and I'd agree. But if he stirred the pot, he sure has no control over its content.

Now, Barbour is blasting conservatives, especially those on the ultra-shaggy edges of the right-wing fringe. The Washington Post calls them—the roughly 45 Republicans in Congress who refuse to bend at all, ever, under any circumstances—cast-iron conservatives .

“When you control the House, the Democrats control the Senate and the White House, you can’t exactly cram your stuff down their throat,” Barbour said in a Post TV "In Play" interview yesterday. “Some of our friends sometimes forget that.”

“The guys that wanted to make Obamacare the trip wire for closing down the government and making Obama cave in … that’s not going to happen; that was never going to happen,” he added.

Barbour goes on to blame the conservative troubles on—wait for it—outside agitators. The problem is, they're skunks of the same stripes:

Barbour went on to note that his bigger concern for the party moving forward was the number of outside conservative groups — he mentioned the Senate Conservatives Fund and the Club For Growth by name — who seek to vilify Republican Members of Congress for allegedly breaking with party orthodoxy.

“Some of these same people go out and raise money for outside organizations that attack the other Republicans not over principle, not over policy … over tactics,” said Barbour. “There is no excuse for making people think a conservative Congressman who has a 98 percent conservative voting record is a bad person because you disagree with his tactics.”

See the WaPo's The Fix blog for the entire interview.

Our fair city ranks as one of the most generous cities in the United States.

The Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi is making a desperate plea for donations.

One day only special, $9.11.

If you hold a boycott and no one notices, did it ever happen?

A large area of Jackson is under a boil-water notice from the city.

"We are all Tater Tots," Reeves said.

Law enforcement in Hinds and Rankin counties and in the cities of Jackson, Ridgeland, and Pearl worked together with the FBI, the Mississippi Attorney General's office and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to rescue victims of sex trafficking in Mississippi and bring traffickers to justice.

The local action was part of Operation Cross Country VII, a three-day enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States that encompassed 76 cities.

A 17-year-old Mississippi girl was among the 105 children rescued in the sting. The Jackson-area operation included the arrests of 10 pimps. Officials have charged 24 others "with related state and local offenses," the FBI stated in a release.

“Child prostitution is a threat to children not just in other countries, but across America and right here in Mississippi,” said Daniel McMullen, special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi. “This operation serves as a reminder that the FBI and its partners in law enforcement remain committed to identifying and rescuing any child who is being victimized in this heinous enterprise.”

Rankin County saw a total of 14 arrests, and charged three men with human trafficking: Christopher Jermaine Armstrong, 28, of Hattiesburg and James Edward Williams Jr., 27, and William Charles Toliver, 48, both of Jackson. Tolliver faces two trafficking counts while Armstrong and Williams are each charged with one count of trafficking and marijuana possession.

Jackson authorities arrested eight people. Among them are Square Jefferson, 24, and Gerald Knight, 25, who are charged with aiding and abetting prostitution--pimping--a felony.

In Ridgeland, the sting netted 12, including four Jackson residents arrested for promoting prostitution: Adrian Harris, 26; Travis Minor, 29; Randy Roberts, 29; and Jasmine Taylor, 20.

Ridgeland Police Lt. John Neal told the Associated Press that Taylor and a second woman both had children with them at the time of their arrests. Police charged the other woman with prostitution.

"Each of them had their two small children with them. There was one that was four years old, the other that was two years old in the car while her mother was up offering services," Neal said.

The number of alleged pimps arrested in Mississippi was fifth-highest in the nation, the AP reported, behind the FBI divisions in Detroit (18), San Francisco (17), Atlanta (17) and Oklahoma City (13).

To learn more about Operation Cross Country and the Innocence Lost National Initiative, visit www.fbi.gov, www.justice.gov, or www.ncmec.org.

Conde-Nast Traveler's annual Readers' Choice Survey puts Jackson at No. 7 on its list of the 10 friendliest cities in the U.S.

"Visitors to Mississippi's capital—and most populous town—note that 'friendly people and great food' make it a worthy stop. Its streets are 'steeped in history' and dotted with 'green and pretty' public spaces," the survey site states. "Take an afternoon to sample 'wonderful barbeque' and chat with 'lovely' residents."

Mississippi's capital city tied Natchez on the Traveler list: "Known for well-preserved relics of pre-Civil War architecture, including 'very beautiful antebellum houses,' Natchez also boasts a sweetly Southern resident community. The hospitable population and slower pace of life make Natchez 'an amazing town to visit and relax.' In fact, this 'great undiscovered location' made one reader 'feel like a real Southern Belle.'”

When it comes to friendly, "southern hospitality shines on that front—in the Top 10, all but three of the cities are in the South," the site states.

Rounding out the list are: No. 10, Branson, Mo.; No. 9, Sonoma, Calif.; No. 8, Telluride, Colo.; No. 5, Austin, Texas; No. 4, Asheville, N.C.; No. 3, Savannah, Ga.; No. 2, Galena, Ill.; No. 1, Charleston, S.C.

The city of Jackson has issued two precautionary boil-water notices due to loss of water pressure during water-main repair.

Jackson area residents can now support one of the city's important nonprofits without a second thought .

In a near unanimous 7-1 decision announced earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court decline to rule in Fisher v. University of Texas.

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey L. Cole's letter to the state ethics commission.