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  Thousands of Mississippi voters are marked as inactive, putting them at risk of being removed from the state's voter rolls. But being inactive does not mean you lose your registration and cannot vote. Here's what you need to know in case you are marked inactive. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/thousands-of-mississippi-voters-are-marked-inactive-heres-what-you-should-know/

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  In multiple instances, the Mississippi Free Press found that information listed in the statewide elections database was incorrect, including erroneous polling place addresses. That can cause voters who use the state's polling place locator tool to go to the wrong location on Election Day. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/local-mississippi-officials-have-made-138-polling-place-changes-ahead-of-the-2026-election/

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  “If you stay at a chain hotel … a year from now I can ask you to describe what the room looked like, and you won’t remember,” Michael Culberson, general manager of the White House Hotel in Biloxi, said. “I can guarantee you, we talk to anybody that stayed here a year from now, and they’ll tell you what this place looked like: It creates memories.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/the-story-of-biloxis-131-year-old-white-house-hotel-continues-to-grow/

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  Artificial intelligence giant xAI is offering buyouts to residents of Southaven, Mississippi, if they agree not to join a class-action lawsuit brought against the company for alleged “nuisance-level harms.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/xai-moves-to-buy-out-southaven-residents-who-agree-not-to-sue-it-over-power-plant-noise-letter-shows/

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  The power plant rule is among nearly three dozen environmental regulations that Administrator Lee Zeldin targeted in early 2025 when he announced what he called the “most consequential day of deregulation in American history.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/epa-is-set-to-eliminate-rule-that-limits-planet-warming-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-power-plants/

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  OPINION: "For much of the past 25 years, each anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks has arrived with signs and stickers reminding people to “never forget. "I have always felt unsure about what those words mean," Stephanie A. Martin writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-what-we-forget-when-we-remember-9-11/

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  In the court filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had provided “no reasoned explanation for a blanket policy that halts an entire category of discrimination cases.” The lawsuit seeks to have the suspension directive vacated. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/lawsuit-claims-us-civil-rights-agency-has-halted-all-federal-sector-class-complaints/

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  President Donald Trump ordered the government in March to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/trump-administration-urges-supreme-court-to-allow-order-targeting-mail-in-voting-before-midterms/

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  “Take advantage of every opportunity, every appearance, every conversation, and every member you meet," former Choctaw Indian Princess Lexi Camille Rodriguez advised her successor. “There will be moments that challenge you, but there will also be moments that change your life forever. Carry the title with love, humility and pride.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/person-of-the-day-legacy-choctaw-indian-princess-lexi-flint-accepts-new-role-as-goodwill-ambassador/

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  More than three weeks after Nolan Wells' death on Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, dozens of Gulfport residents organized a walk in his memory on July 26, calling for answers and transparency in the ongoing investigation into his death. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/gulfport-residents-march-for-nolan-wells-in-blistering-heat-to-demand-answers-transparency/

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  Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was living without legal status in the U.S. for 35 years and running a homebuilding business, died that morning in front of his construction crew, including his own brother. His family said he had no criminal record. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/passengers-in-texas-ice-shooting-say-officers-not-in-danger-driver-was-parking-when-shots-fired/

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  Public health departments and disease researchers have long acknowledged that official counts are incomplete, because some people get sick and don’t seek out treatment—something not unique to measles. This makes it difficult to assess the scope of the outbreak. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/there-are-already-more-us-measles-cases-this-year-than-in-all-of-2025/

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  Two men who were riding with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo wrote in statements submitted in court that the officers with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement were to the sides of their van, never in front or behind it; one of them described the government’s account as “a lie.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/passengers-in-texas-ice-shooting-say-officers-not-in-danger-driver-was-parking-when-shots-fired/

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  “My regalia tells the story of hope, unity and pride,” 2026-2027 Choctaw Indian Princess Lexi Flint said. “It reflects the strength of my Choctaw people, the wisdom of my ancestors and the promise of future generations.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/person-of-the-day-legacy-choctaw-indian-princess-lexi-flint-accepts-new-role-as-goodwill-ambassador/

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  The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians held its 76th Choctaw Indian Fair in Choctaw, Miss., from July 14 to July 18, 2026, where participants danced, played stickball, ate traditional cuisine, crafted and took parts in other activities that represented Choctaw culture. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/photos-fairgoers-embrace-traditions-at-the-2026-choctaw-indian-fair/

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  An Associated Press analysis found that Mississippi had the nation's highest student loan default rate at 28.3%. The number of borrowers across the United States who defaulted jumped b my more than 4.2 million from April 2025 to March 2026. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-has-highest-student-loan-default-rate-in-the-nation/

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  A twice-elected president complained about his one personal defeat, alleged a cover-up by officials in his own first administration and surfaced claims about countries attempting to harm his own prospects while staying silent on steps taken by other nations to boost him. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/trump-doubles-down-on-us-election-attacks-in-primetime-speech/

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  OPINION: "Upgrading urban systems can be valuable. But many rural providers are making do with outdated computers and information systems that lack cybersecurity protections and other technological capabilities," Kevin J. Bennett writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-police-must-stop-shooting-into-moving-vehicles/

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  OPINION: "My research has found that departmental policy restrictions that use constraining language were associated with fewer police shootings at vehicles," John Shjarback writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-police-must-stop-shooting-into-moving-vehicles/

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  “We’ve got to do this for ourselves,” Rev. Bennie Brown of Jonestown, Mississippi, said. “Nobody is coming through. Not anybody’s coming through for us but us.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/building-wealth-four-black-delta-farmers-teach-mississippians-how-to-self-sustain/

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  “Nolan Wells was a beloved son, teammate and friend who went out to celebrate the Fourth of July and never came home,” attorney Ben Crump said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. “His family deserves answers." https://www.mississippifreepress.org/nolan-wells-family-retains-civil-rights-attorney-ben-crump-after-death-on-horn-island/

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  “I’m not voting to reverse this. There’s too many innocent people out there that don’t know what’s going on,” board president Dale Lucas said of his decision to remove all water fountains from the Longleaf Trace. He said he “wouldn’t vote to reverse this for a million dollars.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/longleaf-trace-removes-all-water-fountains-over-homelessness-fears-alarming-trail-users-in-summer-heat/

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  OPINION: "Cuts in funding and staffing have stressed NOAA’s ability to collect critical observations. Last year, retired NOAA scientists volunteered to staff hurricane hunter reconnaissance flights so the missions could still be flown," Brian Tang writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-federal-cuts-threaten-to-stretch-noaa-to-its-breaking-point/

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  OPINION: "The past three years have been the world’s hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, from flash flooding to powerful hurricanes and severe droughts," Michael Wysession writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-2025-was-hotter-than-it-should-have-been/

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  Bethel Free Health Clinic, one of the few places for the uninsured to get care at no cost, faces a rent increase tied to federal funding cuts that is forcing the nonprofit to raise new money so that it can keep seeing patients. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/biloxi-free-health-clinic-fights-to-stay-open-amid-rising-costs/

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  “It was one of the most scariest moments of my life. Me and my daughter were praying,” Dmell Burnes said while standing on what was left from his trailer. “We’re just grateful to be alive.” https://www.mississippifreepress.org/survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids/

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  The Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with federal law. The high court’s decision gives Republicans grounds to try and eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/white-tennessee-republicans-erase-states-only-black-us-house-district-after-court-neutralized-voting-rights-act/

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  In a state like Mississippi, which has no universal early-voting options and only limited absentee-voting options that most can’t take advantage of, knowing where to go on Election Day matters. Even small hurdles can add up and deter turnout. Mississippi’s 2024 turnout was just 57.5%. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-voters-keep-getting-wrong-polling-place-information-experts-and-other-states-point-to-solutions/

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  OPINION: "Most studies using this data focus on whether populations are increasing or decreasing. In our study, we asked a different question: Are those trends themselves speeding up or slowing down?" François Leroy writes. https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-bird-losses-are-accelerating-across-north-america/