News

UPDATED: Melton Bodyguard Wright Pleads Guilty, Resigns

Read: Adam Lynch's breaking Ridgeway coverage

Council Refuses To Foot Melton's Legal Bill

The Jackson City Council voted down this morning an order authorizing payment of Mayor Frank Melton's attorney fees incurred in his recent defense of federal charges stemming from the 2006 Ridgeway Street demolition. In a 3-3 vote, council members Charles Tillman, Frank Bluntson and Kenneth Stokes voted in favor of the order, while council members Marshand Crisler, Jeff Weill and Council President Leslie McLemore opposed. Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon was absent.

Debate Time: No Red Room Party Tonight; Next One, Though

Due to the schedule at Hal & Mal's tonight, we are not holding a debate party there, so you get to watch this one at home! We will have a party for the last debate, as well as election night, in the Red Room, though. So make plans now!

McCain Attacks Open His and Palin's Closets to Scrutiny

The McCain-Palin campaign opened the floodgates when they told the media this weekend that they were about to start launching personal attacks against Barack Obama in order to "change the subject" away from the economy. In response to their (and especially Palin's) "terrorist" jabs (because Obama knows William Ayers, formerly of the Weathermen, when Obama was 8), media from national to local newspapers in Nevada are opening the doors of McCain and Palin's closets, revealing plenty. A sampling since yesterday:

Unbelievable: Press Can't Interview Palin Supporters

Press kept under a watchful eye

The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reports:

Wall Street ‘Sells the Rally', Ends Worst Week in 7 Years

On the week, the Dow Industrials average was down about 7.5 percent and the NASDAQ down almost 11 percent, in part because traders "sold the rally," resulting in a down day on Friday despite the passage (and signing) of a $700 billion bailout package by the House and President Bush.

Court Casting Wide Net for Jurors In Melton Trial

Citing exhaustive coverage of Frank Melton in local media, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Jordan said at a hearing today that juror selection for the Jackson mayor's federal trial will pull from as far away as Pascagoula. Jordan said that it will be difficult to find jurors in the Jackson metropolitan area not "potentially tainted by the exposure of this case."

Libertarian Attacks Palin for Wanting to Expand Veep Role

[Verbatim from Libertarian candidate Bob Barr]

McCain Ticket Assumes Expanded Presidential Powers: Governor Palin looks forward to greater legislative power as Vice President

Project Vote Blasts GOP Attack on Montana Voters

[Verbatim statement]As reported yesterday in the online news outlet The Missoulian, the Republican Party of Montana is challenging the eligibility to vote of at least 6,000 residents of that statemostly in key Democratic strongholdsbased solely on the fact that the residents have filed change-of-address cards with the U.S. Postal Service. While state GOP Executive Director Jacob Eaton claims the challenges are an attempt to protect "the integrity of the voting process," such massive challenges at this late date threaten to overwhelm election officials, suppress turnout of eligible voters, and create chaos at the polls.

JUST IN: House Passes Bailout Plan 263-171; Stocks Rally, Then Fall

See: JFP Business Blog

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Senate's bailout plan on the second try. Mississippi congressmen voted the same as they did Mondaywith the three Democrats opposing the bailout and the lone Republican, Rep. Chip Pickering, voting for it. Roll call vote here.

McCain Damage Control on Palin Bankruptcy Gaffe

ABC News is reporting that the campaign is frantically backtracking on her misstatement of the campaign's position on some protections for homeowners under foreclosuregiving them too much:

Register to Vote TODAY

Now is the time to double-check your registration, or, for procrastinators, it's time to register to vote. The deadline for the presidential election is Saturday, Oct. 4, if your county has an office open on Saturday. Otherwise, it's Friday, Oct. 3.

More Bad Economic NewsHuge Job Losses in September

The New York Times is reporting:

‘Social Security' E-mail Debunked By Snopes

I was just forwarded an interesting e-mail about 'Social Security Changes' that you might want to be aware of if you happen to be on the receiving end of an occasional chain e-mail. This one begins pretty benignly, but it gets pretty worked up by the end:

Dow Down 350, Unemployment Highest Since Sept ‘01

Stocks were down again on Thursday despite news that the Senate had passed a $700 billion Wall Street bailout package amid reports that credit was tight, and today's unemployment report indicated a continued slow-down in the economy. The Dow lost nearly 350 points, closing further down than it had after its precipitous drop on Monday. While it appeared that Congress might act on the bailout bill before the week ends, other economic news kept stocks from rebounding:

BAM! The JFP Biden-Palin Drinking Game

1. Biden looks at Palin like she's stupid.

In honor of the vice presidential debate tonight, the JFP staff put our heads together to create a drinking game. So print this out, study it a bit (debate practice?), then drink every time ...

Odds of V.P. Palin Becoming President

I just saw a report that 30 percent of vice presidents have become president. Gulp. This is what Roger Cohen of the New York Times says about the odds:

It's P-Day! Debate Party in the Red Room!

Here at the office, I'm referring to today as P-Day. Take that as you will. To celebrate it, we are gathering tonight to watch the vice presidential debate in the Red Room, along with Lawyers for Obama and local Democratic folks. Now, you are welcome as long as you do not mind a room tilted toward Obama. It doesn't matter what party you are (I'm an Independent for Obama, for instance); you are welcome. Word is that the bartenders will look suspiciously like Sarah Palin, and that beehives and glasses will rule the evening. So come on out if you dare. ;-)

The Palins: What They Earn and Own

The Anchorage Daily News today reports on financial information about Sarah and Todd Palin that hasn't previously been disclosed, and prior to her federal tax records, which she has not yet released. Love those socialistic oil royalties:

Veep Debate: Possible Pitfalls for Both Sides

Interesting preview on the New York Times' Caucus blog. In part:

McCain Gives Up on Michigan

Politico just broke the news that John McCain is giving up on Michigan:

DNA Exonerates Sunflower County Man After 16 Years

[Verbatim from Innocence Project] Sixteen years after his arrest, all charges were dropped against Arthur Johnson today when it was revealed that the DNA testing that led to his release in February pointed directly to another man who is in prison for sexual assault. Arthur Johnson is the fourth man to be exonerated in Mississippi since 2006. Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks were exonerated in January due to post conviction DNA testing. Cedric Willis was also exonerated in Jackson in 2006, but DNA testing in that case was completed before trial. As in this case, in the Brewer and Brooks cases, the DNA tests that exonerated them led to the identification of the real perpetrator.

Senate Passes Bailout Plan 74-25; Wicker and Cochran Oppose

In start contrast to the House of Representatives Monday, a bipartisan majority of senators voted for a bailout plan tonight. Mississippi Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker were among the small number of senators who voted against the plan.Read more.

St. Pete Times: ‘Obama Effect' Could Elect Musgrove

A story in the St. Petersburg Times highlights the enthusiasm they say many African-American voters are bringing to this year's presidential election in support of Barack Obama. This enthusiasm is expected to help both Obama and down-ticket races in many Southern states.

Senate Passes Emmett Till Act

If there is any doubt that the wheels of power grind slowly, the U.S. Senate proved the point this week, when, after more than three years of delays, it unanimously passed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which will strengthen federal and local agencies' abilities to investigate and prosecute unsolved civil rights era murders.

Madeleine Albright Weighs In

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took questions from reporters, including the Jackson Free Press, after Friday's presidential debate. Here's what she had to say.

Gretchen Cook

Gretchen Cook was something of a child prodigy, spending her days reading instead of going to the beach near her home in Pensacola, Fla.

AG Hood Warns Against Misleading Voter Registration Info

[Verbatim from AG Hood] Jackson, MS -- Phone calls to the Attorney General's Office suggest some mis-information may be circulating about the upcoming election and designated deadlines. Attorney General Jim Hood would like to clarify what Mississippi law mandates for Mississippi voters. Per state statute, the deadline for voter registration in Mississippi is Saturday, October 4 at NOON. "The Secretary of State's Office has done a good job in letting Mississippians know the deadline to register to vote is October 4 for those counties that will be open on that day," said Attorney General Hood. "However, it is important to note, that the law specifically says NOON on October 4. Calls in to our office suggest that some people may think they have the entire day, when in fact they do not."

Round 1: Obama Wins Oxford Debate, Polls Say

Jean Tripp, 34, of Alabama, expected nothing short of "fire and brimstone" when she came to Oxford.

Is Palin Causing McCain's Dramatic Poll Drops?

Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic says that's what the latest polls show:

Ellington