Ashton Pittman

Hattiesburg

News Editor at Mississippi Free Press

News Editor @MSFreePress • Tips: [email protected] • Since this site is now run by a state-aligned fascist, I have left X for bluer skies.

Articles

Trump Approves Disaster Assistance for Mississippi Tornadoes

2 weeks ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

President Donald Trump has approved disaster assistance to Mississippi counties affected by tornadoes that struck that state in mid-March. The monthslong wait had cast doubt over whether Mississippi would be approved, as Trump has publicly argued for less federal support for disasters while calling for states to pick up more of the cost. The governor’s statement on the declaration is below: “Thank you, President Donald J.
Medicaid and SNAP Cuts, Trans Care Ban

2 weeks ago | mississippifreepress.org | Kevin Freking |Lisa Mascaro |Ashton Pittman

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans early Thursday took a major step forward on President Donald Trump’s agenda, approving a legislative package that combines tax breaks, spending cuts, border security funding, prohibitions on care for transgender people and other priorities. House committees labored for months on the bill, which underwent late changes to win over holdouts in the Republican conference. It exceeds 1,000 pages and is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a nod to Trump himself.
Mississippi Holiday Honors Those Who Died Defending Slavery

1 month ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

State offices in Mississippi are closed today to commemorate the men who died fighting the United States government to protect the institution of human slavery. Confederate Memorial Day is a state holiday observed in several southern states. As in years past, the majority-white, Republican-led Mississippi Legislature once again allowed a Black Democrat’s bill to get rid of Confederate Memorial Day to die without a vote. That lawmaker, Sen.
Horhn Defeats Lumumba in Democratic Primary for Jackson Mayor

1 month ago | mississippifreepress.org | Shaunicy Muhammad |Ashton Pittman

JACKSON, Miss.—John Horhn, a longtime Mississippi senator, is the Democratic nominee to be the next mayor of Jackson. Horhn defeated the incumbent, Chokwe A. Lumumba, in a landslide victory on Tuesday night following a primary runoff. As of 9:20 p.m., with 79 of 80 precincts reporting, Horhn had 17,729 votes to Lumumba’s 5,940—a lead of about 75% to 25%.
Mississippi Governor Declares April Confederate Heritage Month

1 month ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has declared April 2025 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, keeping alive a 32-year-old tradition that began in 1993. A member of the Rankin Greys, a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp based in Florence, Mississippi, announced the proclamation in a post in the organization’s Facebook group on April 18. The SCV annually asks governors to issue the Confederate Heritage Month proclamations.
If They Can Be Disappeared, You Can, Too

1 month ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

Philip Holsinger, a photojournalist from Nashville, Tenn., watched as a young man wept while a guard pushed him to the floor at CECOT, the El Salvadoran prison notorious for human-rights abuses. “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber,” said the man, who Holsinger would later write “didn’t look like what I had expected” because “he wasn’t a tattooed monster.” The man was Andry Hernandez Romero, a Venezuelan man who had come to the United States in 2024 in search of asylum.
Bryant Defamation Lawsuit Against Mississippi Today Dismissed

2 months ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

A judge has dismissed former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Today, which he first filed in 2023 over the publication’s reporting on the welfare scandal that began during his time in office. The ruling comes after a federal court dismissed a separate defamation lawsuit the former governor filed against Sports Illustrated.
Tornadoes Possible Across Mississippi Friday and Saturday

2 months ago | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

Fast-moving storms could bring severe weather across Mississippi starting on Friday afternoon and throughout Saturday, with the possibility of damaging winds and tornadoes, the National Weather Service and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency say. Forecasts say the most severe weather will likely arrive Saturday, with enhanced risks for tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. Some wind gusts Saturday could exceed 70 mph, forecasts say.
Why the Mississippi Free Press is Leaving X

Mar 7, 2025 | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

From the time we launched the Mississippi Free Press at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly five years ago in March 2020, Twitter served as a vital tool for us to share our stories, build an audience and grow as a publication. It made it easy to get potentially life-saving information to people—not only in Mississippi, but around the country and the world—in mere minutes.
Why the Mississippi Free Press is Leaving X

Mar 7, 2025 | mississippifreepress.org | Ashton Pittman

From the time we launched the Mississippi Free Press at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly five years ago in March 2020, Twitter served as a vital tool for us to share our stories, build an audience and grow as a publication. It made it easy to get potentially life-saving information to people—not only in Mississippi, but around the country and the world—in mere minutes.