Undocumented, Unafraid and Back to School
For many of Mississippi's high school juniors and seniors, back to school means taking AP courses, doing research on what college or university to attend, and maybe even planning for a trip abroad.
Let's Do Lunch
Back-to-school time means back to packing lunches. It can be all too easy to get into a rut, packing a virtually identical lunch every day just before the family flies out the front door in all directions.
Back to Green
There is something exhilarating about the process of filling a shopping cart full of fragrant new crayons and crisp new paper and the coolest backpack characters of the season.
We Achieve More Together
As an educator and a parent, I understand how important it is to have a good parent/teacher relationship from the beginning of the school year.
Race Still Matters
In Mississippi, the negative social evaluation of black people has resulted in “separate but equal” in practice.
What's Wrong with the GOP?
There is something wrong with the Republican Party.
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Benefit'
Few issues bring out the hyperbolic "best" in politicians than guns, regardless of party affiliation.
The Swimsuit Body
I challenge myself to question the judgments I make about people, including what makes people attractive, and why I think someone should or shouldn't wear something.
Jackson Zoo Keeping Options Open
Jackson Zoo Director Beth Poff said the organization and its board of directors are keeping all options open as the zoo continues to adapt and change to meet the needs of new exhibits and an expanding number of annual visitors.
Lawsuit Highlights Child-Support ‘Disarray’
Child custody cases are messy affairs. Take the case of Windell Blount, a May 2013 graduate of Tougaloo College, who has been embroiled in a he-said-she-said tug-of-war with his ex-wife over visitation of their 9-year-old son for about four years.
Angels on Patrol
Bennie Jones and his guardians patrol a neighborhood after one of its residents called and asked if they would spend some time in the area.
Abandoned Housing Two-Step
Abandoned and dilapidated houses are common in parts of Jackson and neighbors are fed up.
Ready ... Set ... Scan
Nine months after state officials holstered a plan to require all parents receiving federal child-care assistance to scan their kids in and out of day care every day, Mississippi is moving forward with the controversial plan.
Lydia Hall
Lydia Hall, a 19-year-old graduate of Madison Central High School, has been a volunteer teacher at an orphanage in El Salvador for the past five summers.
It’s Cool to Be a Nerd
If you want to talk about education in Mississippi, you need to prepare for a pretty depressing conversation. We're either in the top five or bottom five of every national education-related list—whichever end you don't want to be, there we are.
A State of Color
Paul Smith has published his first photography book, "The Color of Mississippi" and is working on a second, "The Color of the South."
Obama, Lawmakers Square Off Over NSA Authority
The Obama administration squared off with skeptical lawmakers Tuesday over efforts to terminate the government's authority to collect phone records of millions of Americans, a proposition that exposed sharp divisions among members of Congress.
Gas Well in the Gulf Continues to Burn
An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast continued to burn Wednesday after it caught fire following a blowout that prompted the evacuation of 44 workers, authorities said.
Pope Travels to First Public Mass in Brazil
A crowd roared and church bells rang as Pope Francis' helicopter arrived Wednesday in Aparecida for the first full day of activities on his inaugural international trip as pontiff.
Report: Snowden Has Document to Enter Russia
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was given a document on Wednesday that allows him to leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport and enter Russia, a state news agency said.