All results / Stories / Donna Ladd
April 4 Update: COVID-19 Deaths in Mississippi Rise to 35, Could Reach 1,000
Confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 1,455 today, with the Mississippi State Department of Health adding 97 more infected people to its official tally. It also added six more deaths since yesterday, bringing the total to 35, with the state health officer warning Friday that the state may see 1,000 fatalities due to the virus.
Governor Does About-Face, Issues Statewide ‘Shelter In Place’ For Mississippi
In an overnight about-face, Gov. Tate Reeves signed a long-awaited executive order today closing non-essential businesses and directing all Mississippians to shelter at home between Friday, April 3, and Monday, April 20, to help lessen the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Fallout of Tate Reeves’ Executive Order: Department Store Roulette, Scared Associates
The concrete shopping jungle known as Dogwood Festival Market looked as much like a ghost town as it could as the sun started to set on a warm spring Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, March 29: MSDH Reports 95 New COVID-19 Cases, 1 New Death, Up to 74 Counties
The MSDH added 95 reported cases of COVID-19 for a new total of 758 in Mississippi. New counties reporting cases are Carroll, Claiborne and Warren, bringing to the total number of counties reporting cases to 74 of 82.
Saturday, March 28: COVID-19 Cases in 71 Mississippi Counties, Total 663 with 13 Deaths
Today’s coronavirus numbers are in for Mississippi, leaving very few counties on the map in white, denoting which of our 82 counties do not yet have an official confirmed case. Today, MSDH added 84 cases to bring the total to 663 with 13 deaths. Of 82 counties, 71 now are reporting at least one case of COVID-19.
UPDATE: Four Mississippi Men, One Woman Die from COVID-19 as State Cases Rise to 377
Men from Holmes, Webster and Wilkinson counties and a woman from Tunica county are the second, third, fourth and fifth person to die from the coronavirus in the state, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced today.
Up 159% Up Since Friday, Mississippi COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise, Spread
This weekend just saw its second huge spike in coronavirus cases in Mississippi, continuing to spread throughout the state and jumping to 207 cases today from a total of 140 Saturday and 80 on Friday.
Mississippi COVID-19 Cases Rise to 21 with 6 in Hinds, National Guard Activated
The day after Gov. Tate Reeves activated the National Guard to help, the number of officially confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Mississippi rose to 21 on the Mississippi State Department of Health's website.
EDITOR'S LETTER: Keep Calm, Stay Safe and Flatten the Curve
"Flattening the curve" matters. We can all help limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in our own communities by social distancing, avoiding groups and staying home as much as possible. Do it.
URGENT: Two Hinds County Cases of COVID-19 Confirmed Today, 10 Total in State
The Mississippi State Department of Health <added four new confirmed cases of the coronavirus to its website this morning—two of them in the Jackson metro area of Hinds County
Gang Bill Trying to Be a Baby RICO Mob Bill, But Too Wide, Critics Say
The Jackson Free Press recently asked Sen. Brice Wiggins if his push for Senate Bill 2459 is a way for Mississippi to have its own little Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. He looked surprised at the question, but answered yes.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In Love, Life and Work, Do the Right Thing and Wait
"The word 'power is often misused. It's not about money or controlling everything. To me, showing unconditional love for a partner, a city, a state or a nation through the toughest times is the most powerful one can be. And I couldn't be prouder than the man on this crazy journey with me."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson’s Need for a Collaborative ‘Growth Mindset’
"On vexing community issues like violence, we can find and embrace solutions that are evidence-tested in other cities and that make a hell of a lot of sense for Jackson if we bother to get off the mental treadmill."
DOSSIER: Shame on WLBT for Dishonoring Past with Empty Crime Rhetoric
WLBT, the NBC affiliate of the Atlanta-based Gray Television, climbed fully on board with U.S. Attorney Hurst's false rhetoric that Jackson leaders and other locals are somehow "denying" gun violence in the capital city.
DOSSIER: Chuck Todd’s ‘Naive’ Screw-up Is Warning for Mississippi Reporting, Too
If you were caught up in the spirit of the holiday, as I was on Christmas Eve, you might have missed one of the most disturbing interviews ever with a national journalist that Rolling Stone posted around midnight. In the interview with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd, also the host of "Meet the Press," the beleaguered and supposedly expert journalist revealed that he has recently figured out that Donald Trump and his supporters are intentionally using his program to spread disinformation (which he inaccurately called "misinformation," but we'll come back to that.)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Be Clear; Trump (and Clinton) Caused Own Impeachment
"Impeachment is hell for a the country—but the reasons impeachment proceedings begin are very serious. They are the kinds of violations of public trust than set dangerous precedents for the future."
DOSSIER: Mississippi Secrets Revealed, from 'Ole Miss' to RFK to Charles Overby
"Most people in Mississippi who do not agree with the radical-conservative, racist status quo have always been afraid to speak publicly about it—certainly at least the white ones."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Meet the Mississippi Free Press, Focused on Causes and Solutions
The need for a new moral and cultural compass is why I and my co-founder Kimberly Griffin are announcing a new media project today called the Mississippi Free Press, which, like my newspaper, is named in homage to a Civil Rights Movement newspaper in Jackson.
DOSSIER: Shanda Yates' Win in Mississippi Inspires Voters, Teaches Lessons
If the last week has proved anything, it's that people in the U.S., in Mississippi and especially in the Jackson metropolitan area are excited about a political newcomer, Shanda Yates, defeating a long-time incumbent for the District 64 seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
DOSSIER: From Bashing 'Boys of Spring' to Unpacking a Mississippi-Brexit Love Affair
"TV networks may live and die on ratings and people screaming opinions at each other from two "sides," but our democracy really can't take much more of this kind of dangerous political gamesmanship."