The board that oversees Mississippi’s universities and colleges rejected calls for campus vaccine mandates this afternoon, with seven of the board’s nine members agreeing only to “strongly encourage” vaccines during a socially distanced Zoom meeting.
Federal forecasters say Tropical Storm Ida will rapidly strengthen and strike the Gulf Coast as a powerful category 3 hurricane on Sunday, Aug. 29, bringing with it the possibility of life-threatening wind, tornadoes, flooding, and storm surge throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
In late August, with the virus reaching its newest peak in Mississippi, Dr. Eric Topol identified the Magnolia State as the global hotspot of COVID-19, reflecting the rampaging spread of the virus. That same day, Topol joined the Mississippi Free Press for an interview on the state of the pandemic—and what comes next.
On a special edition of MFP Live, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs talked to Kimberly Griffin and Donna Ladd about the exploding delta variant in Mississippi, sharing unblinking safety advice; talked about what is most dangerous about flying now; explained why masks are essential in schools and what activities shouldn’t happen there. He also praised Black leaders for vaccine efforts even as the virus shifted into “predominantly a white disease in Mississippi.” Here’s full transcript and links to the MFP Live episode and podcast.
Just over an hour into the speeches at Moss Hill, a shot rang out. It touched off four days of violence in which white vigilantes and local leaders murdered as many as 50 Black residents of Hinds County. Thus began the Clinton Massacre—terrorism that upended Hinds County and Mississippi. Here is the real story of what began on Sept. 4, 1875.
Before the University of Mississippi terminated Dr. Garrett Felber, an anti-racist history professor, his public criticisms of its ties to the private-prison industry drew concern from administrators on campus who had monitored social-media activities, emails this publication obtained show.
Regulators and public-works officials agree that Jackson’s water-treatment facilities have completed key improvements ahead of a looming Environmental Protection Agency deadline, but much work remains to bring the capital city’s system into compliance with public health regulations.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that upheld a woman’s right to an abortion before fetal viability. The brief is part of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case the nation’s high court is set to hear in the fall over Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.
Parts of Mississippi’s capital city is seeing a “saturation” of additional police presence that Gov. Tate Reeves promises will counter a spike in crime and violence that has worsened since the pandemic began. But violence experts warn that a swelling police presence may not be effective, and it actually harm communities.
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).
