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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 18m

The report said Mississippi is not in compliance with several categories of special education requirements, including monitoring and improvement, dispute resolution, and discipline and behavior.

Mississippi Special Education System Falls Short, Report Finds

Mississippi’s special education system is falling short of federal standards, a U.S. Department of Education report says, affirming parents’ concerns.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 51m

When Mitzi Magleby checked her post office box on Dec. 15, 2022, she found a letter from Thomas Loden.

“I opened it up and it said, ‘When you read this, I’ll be gone,’” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct. 14.

Death Penalty Opponents Decry Charles Ray Crawford’s Execution

Death penalty opponent Mitzi Magleby says the execution of death row inmate Charles Ray Crawford does not make Mississippi safer.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 4h

OPINION: "J. Janice Coleman's quilt points to Toni Morrison’s examination of the psychological trauma and systemic destruction seen in Black communities when family members are displaced," LaWanda Dickens writes.

Opinion | How a Quilter Commemorates Toni Morrison’s Legacy

LaWanda Dickens writes about how J. Janice Coleman’s quilts share themes with the late author Toni Morrison’s books.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 4h

Letitia James' lawyer accused the Justice Department of concocting a bogus criminal case to settle Trump’s personal vendetta against James, who last year won a staggering judgment against Trump and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he lied to banks and others about the value of his assets.

New York AG Who Beat Trump in Court Indicted at His Urging

New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged as part of a mortgage fraud investigation pushed by the Trump administration.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 4h

The call for new arguments sometimes presages a major change by the high court. The Citizens United decision in 2010 that led to dramatic increases in independent spending in U.S. elections came after it was argued a second time.

U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Republican Attack on Voting Rights

A Republican attack on a core provision of the Voting Rights Act that's designed to protect racial minorities comes to the Supreme Court this week.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 5h

OPINION: "Can a mathematical tool become real? If you can perfectly predict everything about a force by imagining it is carried by virtual particles, do these particles qualify as real? Does their fictional status matter?" Dipangkar Dutta writes.

Opinion | How Physicists’ Clever Trick Could Underlie Reality

Dipangkar Dutta writes about virtual particles, a tool physicists use to understand and calculate the universe’s smallest interactions.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 5h

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

White House Fires Federal Workers to Pressure Dems on Shutdown

The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have begun as the government shutdown continues.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 6h

OPINION: "If the Department of Education can no longer resolve discrimination complaints within the agency, students will be left to pursue their claims directly in federal court," Tammi Walker writes.

Opinion | Title IX, Addressing Campus Sexual Assault Are at Risk

Tammi Walker writes that Title IX’s protections for campus victims of sexual assault are in peril because of declining funding and enforcement.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 6h

OPINION: "Suggesting that only private or home options are legitimate undermines our collective investment that ensures every child, regardless of income or zip code, has access to quality education," Louise Smith writes.

Opinion | Don’t Derail Mississippi’s Education Momentum

Louise Smith writes that Mississippi should commit more to public school improvements rather than school voucher and choice programs.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 6h

“The safety of our people and the communities in which we operate is our priority, and we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously,” Drax spokesperson Michelli Martin said.
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Gloster Biomass Plant Continues Push to Increase Emissions

Mississippi regulators are revisiting an earlier decision to deny new permits for Drax’s Gloster, Mississippi, facility at an Oct. 14 public meeting.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 7h

After Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a Trump administration plan to halt the fighting, a litany of questions remain on next steps, including Hamas disarmament, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a future government in the territory.

US Sending 200 Troops to Israel Amid Ceasefire Deal in Gaza

The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to monitor the Gaza ceasefire and establish a “civil-military coordination center.”

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 20h

EDITOR'S NOTE: "As women, we are expected to nurture families, build communities and hold movements together," Torsheta Jackson writes.

Editor’s Note | What Bees Can Teach Us About Community

Torsheta Jackson writes about how bees are wired for community and about her own role in her own “hive.”

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 22h

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared ready to gut a key tool of the Voting Rights Act that has helped root out racial discrimination in voting for more than a half century, a change that would boost Republican electoral prospects, particularly across the South.

US Supreme Court Appears Poised to Gut Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to gut a tool of the Voting Rights Act that's rooted out racial discrimination in voting for over half a century.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 22h

“We're looking forward to having a lot of students come through and share with us how it's impacting them,” MAX President and CEO Penny Kemp said.

Cecelia Moseley Exhibit in Meridian Celebrates the Written Word

The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian is hosting an exhibit that explores learning challenges and a declining reliance on written word.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

SOLUTIONS: "My own intense study and training in anti-violence journalism ... have taught me that abdicating the job to police to prevent violence will never make a community safer," Donna Ladd writes.

A Decade of Reporting on Violence Solutions

Donna Ladd writes about rejecting “sensational, episodic, bleeds-it-leads crime coverage” in favor of solutions.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

"I realize that she had not just Jenny and I," Nancy King's daughter Emmie said. "She loved us, but she gave her love to so many people."

Remembering Nancy King, Founder of Jackson’s Nandy’s Candy

Friends and family remember Nandy’s Candy founder Nancy King, who died on Sept. 29, 2025, at her home in Jackson.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

Charles Crawford was convicted of abducting Kristy Ray from her parents’ home in northern Mississippi’s Tippah County on Jan. 29, 1993.

Mississippi Set to Execute Man For Killing College Student

After 30 years on death row, Charles Crawford is set to be executed Wednesday for raping and killing Kristy Ray in 1993.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

Mississippi’s special education system is falling short of federal standards, a U.S. Department of Education report says, affirming many parents' concerns.

Federal law guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education.

Mississippi Special Education System Falls Short, Report Finds

Mississippi’s special education system is falling short of federal standards, a U.S. Department of Education report says, affirming parents’ concerns.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

The Emmett Till Interpretative Center will continue its “Remembering Emmett” series with events across Mississippi in October and November, including at Tougaloo College, in Gulfport and in Mound Bayou.

Emmett Till Center to Honor His Legacy With Events Across State

The Emmett Till Interpretative Center will continue its “Remembering Emmett” series with events across Mississippi in October and November.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

“I've had two children with dyslexia, and we've had to struggle to find places that would help them, and we've had really good outcomes when we actually got the help that we needed,” said Mississippi House Education Committee Chair Rob Roberson.

Dyslexia Scholarship Helps Mississippi Families Access Therapy

Five schools across Madison, Ridgeland, Petal, Hattiesburg and Ocean Springs are approved to accept students using Mississippi’s Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship. But large areas of Mississippi,…

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

The Louisiana case got to this point only after Black voters and civil rights groups sued and won lower court rulings striking down the first congressional map drawn by the state's GOP-controlled Legislature after the 2020 census.

U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Republican Attack on Voting Rights

A Republican attack on a core provision of the Voting Rights Act that's designed to protect racial minorities comes to the Supreme Court this week.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the hostage transfers at public screenings across the country.

Palestinians and Israeli Hostages Freed as Part of Ceasefire

All 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza and scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have walked free as part of a ceasefire.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

“Councilman Stokes has specifically called us to turn people back on, and they haven’t paid their bill yet,” JXN Water Lead Communications Specialist Aisha Carson said.

Jackson City Council Wants Water Back Under Local Control

The Jackson City Council is calling on the federal government to return the city’s water system to local control three years after the water crisis.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

Trump has been advocating charging James for months, posting on social media without citing any evidence that she’s “guilty as hell” and telling reporters at the White House, “It looks to me like she’s really guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”

New York AG Who Beat Trump in Court Indicted at His Urging

New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged as part of a mortgage fraud investigation pushed by the Trump administration.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 1d

OPINION: "Not only did (Toni) Morrison write about the rural Black woman’s experience in communities much like J. Janice’s, but quilting was a popular theme in her writing," LaWanda Dickens writes.

Opinion | How a Quilter Commemorates Toni Morrison’s Legacy

LaWanda Dickens writes about how J. Janice Coleman’s quilts share themes with the late author Toni Morrison’s books.

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