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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 2m

OPINION: "This level of agreement between measurements and calculations makes virtual particles the most thoroughly vetted idea in science. It forces some physicists to ask: Can a mathematical tool become real?" 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 · 23m

Since 2016, when Drax opened its manufacturing plant in Gloster, the facility has repeatedly violated its operating permits and paid multiple fines over excess emissions.

That includes a $2.5 million fine in 2021 that represents one of the largest Clean Air Act penalties in Mississippi history.

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 · 23m

OPINION: "What's happening now (with Title IX) isn't just another policy shift—it's a dismantling of protections many assume still exist," 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 · 1h

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release, said U.S. Central Command is going to establish a “civil-military coordination center” in Israel that will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance.

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 · 14h

EDITOR'S NOTE: “I’m a connector. I’m a teacher. I’m a leader,” 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 · 15h

“My work is about dyslexia and dyslexia as a reading disorder,” Cecelia Moseley told M&M magazine in a 2021 article. “You can’t really understand what a dyslexic person feels, and I think that’s what I love about 3D, because it’s a way that you can.”

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 · 16h

Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for Friday night's shooting in Leland, but the FBI said the gunfire appears to have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.”

FBI Seeks Help in Leland, Mississippi Mass Shooting

The FBI wants help identifying four people seen near a mass shooting in a Mississippi Delta town that left six killed and more than a dozen injured.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 16h

OPINION: "The full impact may depend to a large extent on the psychology of the average consumer.

"Recent data suggests that consumer confidence is falling as the stagnation in the labor market becomes more clear," John W. Diamond writes.

Opinion | Prolonged Shutdown Could Send Economy Tumbling

John W. Diamond writes that the U.S. economy may worsen the longer the government shutdown lasts.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 17h

“Everywhere I go, I see a kid that I coached,” Bird Martin said. “When they say holler and they come and give you a hug, you know you meant something (to them).”

Walthall County Softball Coach Supports Disaster Recovery

Byran “Bird” Martin, known around Walthall County as a successful softball coach, oversaw recovery efforts after tornadoes walloped the area in March.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 17h

In 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in gutting the landmark law's requirement that states and local governments with a history of discrimination, mostly in the South, get approval before making any election-related changes.

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 · 18h

“In the absence of federal funding, MSDH is stepping in to ensure WIC operations continue. Current WIC participants will continue receiving their benefits without interruption,” a Mississippi State Department of Health press release says.

WIC Stops Accepting Some Applicants Amid Government Shutdown

The WIC program will only accept applications from pregnant women, breastfeeding women and high-risk infants during the federal government shutdown.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 18h

Our supporters are cheering. Let’s keep driving forward for truth. Support the team: buff.ly/uFBhcXJ

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 18h

SOLUTIONS: "[T]he newsrooms I direct have rejected sensational, episodic, bleeds-it-leads crime coverage, instead committing to deep solutions reporting on evidence-based violence prevention,” 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 · 19h

“I shouldn’t have to text my parents to tell them I’m safe every time there’s a shooting near my school,” said Eshah Green-Ortega, a volunteer with the Jackson State chapter of Students Demand Action.

Nine Dead, at Least 20 Injured in Shootings Across 5 Mississippi Counties

Six people are confirmed dead and at least 12 others injured in three separate shootings in Mississippi on the night of Friday, Oct. 10.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 19h

“We are in the fight of our lives and the fight for our history. We have to fight back in a time where erasure is very real,” said Dr. Daphne Chamberlain.

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 · 20h

Mississippi has schools that can accept students with a Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship in Madison, Ridgeland, Hattiesburg, Petal and Ocean Springs.

But there are none nearby for families in large swaths of the state, including the Delta and northeast Mississippi.

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 · 20h

Wednesday marks one month since a group of football players found Delta State University student Trey Reed hanging in a tree on campus.

Amid swirling rumors, we've published a timeline of the known events surrounding his death and the investigations.

Timeline: Trey Reed's Hanging Death at Delta State University

A timeline of the known events surrounding Delta State University student Trey Reed's hanging death in Cleveland, Mississippi.

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 21h

Cheering crowds greeted buses of released imprisoned Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, while families and friends of the hostages gathered in a square in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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 · 21h

“In these past few months, they asked us to collect. They said, ‘We want your collection rate up. Don’t talk about a rate increase until you get your rate up.’ We do that and then we get calls every day to our office,” 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 · 21h

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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 22h

“When a President can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone—when it was reported that career attorneys concluded none were warranted—it marks a serious attack on the rule of law," said Abbe Lowell, Letitia James' lawyer.

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 · 23h

Senate Republicans have tried over and over to cajole Democratic holdouts to vote for a stopgap bill to reopen the government, but Democrats have refused as they hold out for a firm commitment to extend health care benefits.

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 · 23h

OPINION: "Although Aug. 5, 2025, marked the sixth anniversary of (Toni) Morrison's death, her legacy is alive, and in Mississippi, it is stitched into the culture of textile artistry, thanks to Dr. J. Janice Coleman," 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 · 1d

OPINION: "Virtual particles are not real—it says so right in their name—but if you want to understand how real particles interact with each other, they are unavoidable. They are essential tools to describe three of the forces found in nature," Dipangkar Dutta writes.

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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 · 1d

Journalism should focus on the people most affected, not those in power. Keep the spotlight where it belongs: givebutter.com/mfpdonate

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