Mississippi Free Press

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/top-counterterrorism-official-kent-resigns-over-trumps-iran-war-says-iran-posed-no-imminent-threat/

Anthropic said it sought narrow assurances from the Pentagon that Claude won't be used for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons, but the AI company said the Pentagon’s new contract language “would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will."

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/pentagon-threatens-anthropic-as-ai-company-refuses-to-bend-safeguards-for-military-use/

Mississippi House Bill 538 joins Senate Bill 2114 as active bills in the Legislature that look to increase the State's involvement in immigration enforcement. H.B. 538 will require Mississippi public agencies at all levels to work with ICE if requested.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-agencies-could-be-forced-to-comply-with-ice-under-bill-passed-by-house/

“My first 10 months I ended eight wars," President Donald Trump said during Tuesday's State of the Union address.

This statistic, which Trump frequently cites, is highly exaggerated.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/fact-checking-trumps-2026-state-of-the-union-speech/

OPINION: "Oxford is capable of that work. The [University of Mississippi] is capable of that work. The question is whether we will build the habits and institutions to sustain it," Graham Bodie writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-beyond-civility-the-harder-work-of-disagreement/

Americans who can't afford beef a year into President Donald Trump's second term "have so many proteins to choose from," U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, said in response to a question about steep food costs.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/americans-who-cant-afford-beef-have-so-many-proteins-to-choose-from-says-us-sen-cindy-hyde-smith/

OPINION: "[Senate bill 2016] restructures the existing tourism function, aligning it as a standalone, cabinet-level entity, allowing one of Mississippi’s most productive industries to operate more efficiently, strategically and competitively," Danielle Morgan writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-modernizing-mississippi-tourism-through-better-alignment-not-bigger-government/

Black voters currently make up just shy of a majority in one of the three districts, with the Black-majority Delta region split between two different districts, but only one Black justice currently serves on the court.

A federal judge ordered last year that Mississippi redraw its maps to increase Black voting power.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippis-black-voters-brace-for-elections-ruling-that-could-gut-supreme-court-clout/

“Jackson, I am so excited. I have understood my entire life that public safety does not happen in a vacuum. It is not one single police department, not one single public safety agency that can do this work," RaShall Brackney said.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/rashall-brackney-confirmed-as-new-jackson-police-chief/

A bill that will create a new Jackson, Mississippi, water authority has passed the House, but without wide support from Jackson and its surrounding areas, the bill's future in the Senate is bleak.

Sen. Joel Carter, R-Gulfport, said that without that wide support, "that bill's dead."

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/jackson-water-authority-bills-future-in-doubt-amid-mixed-reception/

OPINION: "When people live in areas where the night sky is clearer, they tend to express a greater wonder about the universe. Altogether, this means communities with less light pollution have great potential to educate the next generation of scientists," Emma Marcucci writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-telescopes-can-help-rural-students-get-interested-in-astronomy/

OPINION: "America’s history has shown that you can’t make a kinder, gentler form of militarized immigration enforcement any more than you can make a bomb safer once it’s dropped," Kevin Edwards writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/editors-note-ices-disregard-for-human-life-echoes-americas-bipartisan-racist-history/

OPINION: "These sorts of issues are not really on the minds of the public until someone is affected by an issue that calls for access to records, like victims of crimes or those who have concerns about environmental safety," Layne Bruce writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-house-bills-seriously-dilute-public-records-act/

A once-neglected building on Main Avenue in Lumberton, Mississippi, is being rebuilt into Thorn and Thistle, a business its owners hope will be both a supply hub and a spark for downtown Lumberton’s revival.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/downtown-lumberton-gains-creative-hub-as-thorn-and-thistle-prepares-to-open/

2C Mississippi, an environmental nonprofit, is working with Jackson, Mississippi, community members to revitalize Farish Street and other areas with green infrastructure. It was one of the topics discussed at the 2025 Parks & Trails Forum in Jackson on Oct. 30, 2025.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/jacksonians-turn-to-green-infrastructure-to-revitalize-historic-landmarks-connect-residents/

The University of Mississippi Medical Center will reopen its clinics statewide beginning Monday, more than a week after a ransomware attack took down the center’s computer network.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/university-of-mississippi-medical-center-clinics-reopening-statewide-monday/

The gap between graduation rates among white students and Black students in Mississippi has also narrowed since 2014, when it was about 7.4 points.

The gap is now just 4.3 points, well below the national average reported in 2021-2022 of 9 points.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-graduation-rate-hits-90-8-rising-from-nations-lowest-to-among-the-highest/

“It is our priority to remove barriers and exercise regulatory flexibility to encourage scientific advances and deliver more cures and meaningful treatments for patients suffering from rare diseases,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a release.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/fda-proposes-new-system-for-approving-customized-drugs-and-therapies-for-rare-diseases/

If Amodei doesn't budge, military officials have warned they will not just pull Anthropic's contract but also "deem them a supply chain risk," a designation typically stamped on foreign adversaries that could derail the company's critical partnerships with other businesses.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/pentagon-threatens-anthropic-as-ai-company-refuses-to-bend-safeguards-for-military-use/

Mississippi House Bill 538 would require local law enforcement to detain immigrants at local jails.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-agencies-could-be-forced-to-comply-with-ice-under-bill-passed-by-house/

President Donald Trump has spent the last year boasting of his accomplishments while mocking the record of his predecessor, Joe Biden. But much of this bluster has been based on misinformation, which he again fell back on during his State of the Union address.

Here are the facts.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/fact-checking-trumps-2026-state-of-the-union-speech/

Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin has serious doubts about a proposed water authority to eventually succeed JXN Water in managing Jackson's water and wastewater systems.

“As a whole, without major changes in this bill, it’s potentially going to drive the system right back to where it was,” Henifin said.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/jackson-water-authority-bills-future-in-doubt-amid-mixed-reception/

OPINION: "If we are serious about protecting unpopular voices, the work extends beyond defending or condemning a single administrative decision. The harder task is building durable spaces where disagreement does not collapse into spectacle or silence," Graham Bodie writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-beyond-civility-the-harder-work-of-disagreement/

Americans who can't afford beef a year into President Donald Trump's second term "have so many proteins to choose from," U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, said in response to a question about steep food costs.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/americans-who-cant-afford-beef-have-so-many-proteins-to-choose-from-says-us-sen-cindy-hyde-smith/

Trump says Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, calling it the ‘greatest chance’ for Iranians to take back the country in a Truth Social post Saturday afternoon.

The president also said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” was to continue “uninterrupted” through the week or longer.
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/iranian-supreme-leader-ali-khamenei-is-dead-trump-says-bombings-will-continue/

OPINION: "Elevating Visit Mississippi to a cabinet-level agency ensures tourism is fully integrated into statewide strategy alongside workforce development, site selection, and infrastructure planning," Danielle Morgan writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-modernizing-mississippi-tourism-through-better-alignment-not-bigger-government/

“It’s unsettling for people of color here in the state of Mississippi to be waiting for them to push their pencil to draw lines,” said Mississippi House Rep. Kabir Karriem.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippis-black-voters-brace-for-elections-ruling-that-could-gut-supreme-court-clout/

Mississippi public offices, cities and colleges could be forced to assist ICE in enforcing federal immigration laws under a bill passed by the Mississippi House on Feb. 12. The bill also gives the attorney general the authority to investigate and prosecute any entity that does not comply.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-agencies-could-be-forced-to-comply-with-ice-under-bill-passed-by-house/

Civil-rights leader the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84. He was mentored by Martin Luther King Jr. and eventually blazed his own path, advocating for voting rights, education equality and job opportunities for the poor and underprivileged.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

https://buff.ly/GxiKqoG

OPINION: "[M]isinformation destroys trust. It also fuels rumors, including false claims online that Trey’s limbs were broken, which the coroner has refuted. Officials must understand that when communication fails, speculation fills the void," Malone writes.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-a-life-cut-short-at-delta-state-trey-reeds-family-deserves-transparency/