Mississippi Free Press

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Teacher Pay Raise, Mandatory Online Campaign Finance Filing Among Bills Dead in Mississippi Legislature Bills to enact a teacher pay raise and force all political candidates to file campaign finance documents online died in the Mississippi Legislature.

The Mississippi Legislature failed to advance a teacher pay raise bill because the House and Senate could not come to an agreement on how much of a raise to provide.

Opinion | Mississippi Hallelujah: A Personal Remembrance of Sharon Leslie Morgan DeeDee Baldwin writes about her friendship with Sharon Leslie Morgan, a writer who spent the last years of her life in Macon, Mississippi.

OPINION: "After a long and varied career in the business world, Sharon devoted herself to genealogy, which is what brought our paths together. I met her through the Mississippi State University Libraries’ annual genealogy fair, where she was a familiar speaker," DeeDee Baldwin writes.

Mound Bayou Food Clinic Provides Healthy Foods, Fights Food Scarcity Taborian Farmacy Food Clinic in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, offers fresh fruits and vegetables to residents in an effort to offer healthier options in the food-scarce Mississippi Delta.

Food insecurity is a factor causing residents to be more prone to diabetes, congestive heart failure and obesity. The Taborian Farmacy Food Clinic aims to shore up food concerns by providing a permanent source of fresh food for the small town of Mound Bayou and surrounding areas.

Opinion | Mississippi Hallelujah: A Personal Remembrance of Sharon Leslie Morgan DeeDee Baldwin writes about her friendship with Sharon Leslie Morgan, a writer who spent the last years of her life in Macon, Mississippi.

OPINION: "After a long and varied career in the business world, Sharon devoted herself to genealogy, which is what brought our paths together. I met her through the Mississippi State University Libraries’ annual genealogy fair, where she was a familiar speaker," DeeDee Baldwin writes.

Rep. Thompson Calls Noem’s Tenure ‘Lawless, Corrupt’ After Homeland Secretary’s Firing U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi called Kristi Noem’s tenure as DHS secretary “lawless, corrupt, and reckless” after her firing.

President Donald Trump announced he fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday. He intends to nominate Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Millin to replace her.

Stokes’ Firing Over Kirk Post Chilled Speech at University of Mississippi, Faculty Testify The University of Mississippi’s firing of Lauren Stokes for sharing a post criticizing Charlie Kirk chilled speech on campus, faculty testified.

“I cannot recall in my 13, almost 14 years at this university, such a brazen effort to curtail our First Amendment rights on campus,” James Thomas, a sociology professor, testified.

Lawmakers Move to Make Roadway Safety Records Off Public Record Mississippi lawmakers are considering a bill that would exempt certain roadway safety records from the state’s Public Records Act.

RHCJC News submitted a public records request seeking inspection reports for the Davis Bayou Bridge dating back to 2019. The Office of State Aid Road Construction denied the request, citing federal law that prohibits certain safety data from being admitted as evidence in court.

Opinion | Revoking Transgender People’s IDs Has Consequences Jae A. Puckett, L. Zachary DuBois and Noelle Martin write that revoking transgender people’s identification can invite broader discrimination.

OPINION: "Invalidating someone’s identification documents has immediate and powerful consequences that cascade into all aspects of their life," Jae A. Puckett, L. Zachary DuBois and Noelle Martin write.

Hyde-Smith GOP Opponent Sarah Adlakha Vows to Tackle Corruption if Elected to US Senate Sarah Adlakha, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, promises to crack down on corruption in Washington, D.C. if elected to serve in Congress.

Sarah Adlakha, a Republican candidate challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Tuesday's primary election, promises to crack down on corruption and reject any contributions from lobbyists while serving in office if she's elected.

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Trump's Wish to Nationalize Elections Is a ‘Terrible Idea,’ Mississippi Elections Chief Says President Donald Trump’s suggestion to nationalize elections is a “terrible idea,” Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least 15 places.’ The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” President Donald Trump said on a Feb. 2 appearance on Dan Bongino's podcast.

Mississippi Senate Considers Easing Seafood Origin Labeling Rules A bill now before the Mississippi Senate could ease compliance with the state’s seafood origin disclosure laws.

House Bill 1466 would allow restaurants to use menu symbols paired with a clearly visible legend instead of labeling each seafood item individually, updating a 2025 law that requires each seafood item to be individually labeled as domestic or imported.

Rep. Thompson Calls Noem’s Tenure ‘Lawless, Corrupt’ After Homeland Secretary’s Firing U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi called Kristi Noem’s tenure as DHS secretary “lawless, corrupt, and reckless” after her firing.

U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson didn’t mince words following Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s firing Thursday, calling her tenure “one of the most lawless, corrupt, and reckless in modern history.”

President Donald Trump fired Noem two days after her contentious appearance in front of Congress.

Bills raising teacher pay are dead in the Mississippi Legislature. So are bills requiring political candidates to file campaign finance documents online and allowing terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.

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Your support powers reporting that listens to communities, investigates deeply and tells the stories shaping our state.

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Opinion | When the Vibe Is Off, Trust Your Instinct Shanina Carmichael writes about how people need to trust their instinct and leave problematic situations more often.

OPINION: "The quiver you feel in your stomach when you are trying something new or stepping into a new life is not the same as that jolt you get mid-conversation or that thickness in the air that nearly suffocates you when you enter a room," Shanina Carmichael writes.

Solutions start with understanding the problem.

Your support helps Mississippi Free Press report deeply, listen to communities and highlight solutions shaping Mississippi and the nation.

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Editor’s Note | ICE’s Disregard for Human Life Echoes America’s Bipartisan Racist History Assistant Editor Kevin Edwards writes that ICE has done serious harm to citizens and noncitizens alike.

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.

The Mississippi Free Press is hosting a solutions circle in Moss Point on Thursday, March 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, email solutions@mississippifreepress.org or visit mfp.msp/circlesreg.

Opinion | Mississippi Hallelujah: A Personal Remembrance of Sharon Leslie Morgan DeeDee Baldwin writes about her friendship with Sharon Leslie Morgan, a writer who spent the last years of her life in Macon, Mississippi.

OPINION: "As (Sharon Morgan) wrote in her 2026 essay, “I Have Chosen to Die in Mississippi,” published only a month before her death, it was a deliberate choice to make her home in the place that had traumatized her ancestors," DeeDee Baldwin writes.

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‘History Rocks!’ Tour Visits Choctaw Central Middle School for Its Only Mississippi Stop U.S. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland and the “History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour” visits Choctaw Central Middle School.

U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland, a member of the Navajo Nation, said it is impossible to celebrate 250 years of American history without acknowledging the contributions of Native American tribes such as the Mississippi Choctaw.

Opinion | The EPA’s New Pollution Rules Give License to Ignore Public Health Janet McCabe writes about how the Trump administration’s new EPA guidelines may increase harmful pollution and roll back decades of progress.

OPINION: "Costs will easily outweigh benefits in this new format, and it will be easy for officials to justify ending regulations that help improve public health across America," Janet McCabe writes.

Teacher Pay Raise, Mandatory Online Campaign Finance Filing Among Bills Dead in Mississippi Legislature Bills to enact a teacher pay raise and force all political candidates to file campaign finance documents online died in the Mississippi Legislature.

Though no teacher pay raise bill made it out of the Mississippi House or Senate, lawmakers are still hopeful to pass a raise of some sort.

“I think there’s a possibility that we can get there and I’m just going to keep working," said House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Rob Roberson.

Mound Bayou Food Clinic Provides Healthy Foods, Fights Food Scarcity Taborian Farmacy Food Clinic in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, offers fresh fruits and vegetables to residents in an effort to offer healthier options in the food-scarce Mississippi Delta.

"After several months, the popularity and usage of the food truck increased so much (that) we started talking about doing something more permanent,” Myrna Smith-Thompson, executive director of the International Order of Knights and Daughters of Tabor, told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan. 20.

Opinion | Mississippi Hallelujah: A Personal Remembrance of Sharon Leslie Morgan DeeDee Baldwin writes about her friendship with Sharon Leslie Morgan, a writer who spent the last years of her life in Macon, Mississippi.

OPINION: "As (Sharon Morgan) wrote in her 2026 essay, “I Have Chosen to Die in Mississippi,” published only a month before her death, it was a deliberate choice to make her home in the place that had traumatized her ancestors," DeeDee Baldwin writes.

www.mississippifreepress.org/opinion-miss...

Vote to Halt Iran War Fails in US Senate Amid Republican Opposition Senate Republicans voted down a war powers resolution Wednesday that would halt President Donald Trump’s war against Iran.

After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, President Donald Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering.
He showed he still had some support Wednesday after the Senate voted down a war powers resolution.

Pentagon Threatens Anthropic as AI Company Refuses to Bend Safeguards for Military Use - Mississippi Free Press U.S. military officials warned Anthropic that the Pentagon could designate the AI company as a supply chain risk, cancel its contract or invoke the Defense Production Act if it doesn’t accede to…

U.S. military officials are demanding that Anthropic bend its AI safeguards or risk damaging its business.

But Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei declared that his company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Pentagon's final demands to allow unrestricted use of its technology.

Stokes’ Firing Over Kirk Post Chilled Speech at University of Mississippi, Faculty Testify The University of Mississippi’s firing of Lauren Stokes for sharing a post criticizing Charlie Kirk chilled speech on campus, faculty testified.

Lauren Stokes testified that death threats were “nonstop for days” after she reshared a post criticizing Charlie Kirk.

She and her family were forced to leave Oxford for nearly three weeks, close Tarasque Cucina for two weeks, and hire security when the restaurant reopened.