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Mississippi’s school miracle shames failing Chicago leaders on education

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Mississippi’s school miracle shames failing Chicago leaders on education

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As I walk across Mississippi in my “Walk Across America” campaign to help reverse the fortunes of my South Side Chicago neighborhood, I see something powerful unfolding. This state, often dismissed by other parts of America as backward, has turned its schools into engines of progress. Children are no longer trapped in failing schools but are moving toward promising futures. Meanwhile, back in Chicago’s South Side, schools in my own neighborhood continue to let kids down. The contrast couldn’t be starker, and it forces a hard question: If Mississippi can make such dramatic gains, why does a city like Chicago, with far greater resources, continue to fail its children?

The stereotype that the South is ignorant while the North is enlightened is crumbling before my eyes.

Mississippi’s transformation, often called the “Mississippi Miracle,” is not an accident. In 2013, the state ranked 49th in fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. By 2024, fourth graders ranked ninth in the nation in reading and 16th in math. Adjusted for demographics and poverty, Mississippi fourth graders ranked first nationally in reading and math, according to the Urban Institute. The state achieved its highest-ever rates of students scoring proficient or advanced across tested grades and subjects. Fourth-grade reading proficiency reached levels where Mississippi students outperformed the national average for the first time. Black fourth graders rose to third in the nation in both reading and math, while low-income and Hispanic students ranked among the top performers nationally in key categories.

HERE’S THE SECRET BEHIND MISSISSIPPI’S EDUCATION MIRACLE — AND WHY IT’S NO ACCIDENT

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The foundation? The 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act, which mandated evidence-based phonics instruction, early identification of struggling readers, literacy coaches and retention in third grade for students not reading at grade level.

We can’t wait for broken systems to fix themselves. At Project H.O.O.D. in Chicago we will be working to create a model that equips kids with skills, faith and opportunity — something Mississippi proves is possible when priorities align.

Former State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright emphasized the deliberate work behind it: “Educators do not call these achievements a ‘miracle’ because we know Mississippi’s progress in education is the result of strong policies, the effective implementation of a comprehensive statewide strategy, and years of hard work from the state to the classroom level.”

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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has celebrated the sustained gains, noting how conservative reforms and a focus on phonics have made Mississippi a national model. Even with a slight dip in 2024-25 state accountability grades — 80.1% of schools and 87.2% of districts earning a C or higher, down from the previous year — the long-term trajectory shows what evidence-based reform can achieve, even in a state with high poverty.

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By contrast, Dulles Elementary School in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood —right in the heart of the community I serve — presents the opposite picture. The school, serving mostly Black and low-income students in grades pre-K through 8, ranks in the bottom 50% of Illinois elementary schools. In recent data, only about 1% to 5% of students scored proficient in math, and 3% in reading, on state assessments. In the 2024-25 school year, just 3.9% were proficient or better in mathematics and 13.8% in English language arts — far below Chicago Public Schools district averages (27.3% in math, 42.8% in ELA) and state averages (38.5% in math, 53.1% in ELA). Chronic absenteeism remains high, often between 25% and 40%, and the school struggles across student subgroups. It is labeled “Commendable” in Illinois’ system, but those numbers don’t lie. Far too many children are leaving without the foundational skills they need to thrive.

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That’s why Project H.O.O.D. is building the Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center down the block from this elementary school. The $45 million center will include a private Christian school for boys from single-parent households, and I am working to learn as much as possible from Mississippi’s success so that our school can follow a similar model. I am driven by the urgent need to reverse these fortunes. We can’t wait for broken systems to fix themselves. We will be working to create a model that equips kids with skills, faith and opportunity — something Mississippi proves is possible when priorities align.

The contrast between Mississippi and Chicago is so stark that I am tempted to call what’s happening in Chicago criminal. It borders on educational malpractice. Mississippi succeeded with clear standards, teacher retraining in the science of reading, accountability through letter grades and the courage to hold students back until they master the basics — policies rooted in what works, not ideology. Chicago, despite vast funding and talent, remains mired in bureaucracy, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandates, resistance to proven methods and excuses about poverty. It doesn’t help that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson focuses on blaming phantoms of White supremacy instead of doing the real work and confronting academic failure head-on.

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That’s the true backwardness — not the South, which has shown wisdom in embracing evidence over excuses. From these Mississippi roads, the message is clear: The chains of low expectations can be broken anywhere — with bold policy, hard work and faith in children’s potential. 

Mississippi is proof. Chicago can follow. Project H.O.O.D. will help lead the way.

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Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say

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Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say

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A former Louisiana mayor is on trial after prosecutors allege her teenage son caught her having sex with one of his 16-year-old friends at a booze-filled pool party. 

Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. She has pleaded not guilty. 

Roberts’ second trial is underway after the first case resulted in a mistrial due to judicial issues in nearby Beauregard Parish, the outlet reported. 

The charges stem from a 2024 late-night gathering at Roberts’ home. 

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Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC.  (Louisiana Highway Patrol)

Last week, Roberts’ children and her ex-husband took the stand in her trial, along with a DoorDash driver, family friend and multiple teenagers who were present at the party, according to KPLC. 

Jurors were shown a video interview of Roberts’ son, taken last year, in which the teenager reportedly told authorities he witnessed his mother having sex with his friend through a crack in a window during the party. 

However, upon taking the stand last week, the teenager reportedly told jurors he was not certain of what he actually saw that evening. 

Roberts’ defense attorneys have disputed the recording, telling jurors that part of the interview could have been improperly transcribed. 

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Prosecutors allege Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)

Text messages between the mother and son were also shown to the jury, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teenagers wanted for the party. 

In another exchange, Roberts’ son warned her of the victim’s age, texting her, “He is seventeen,” according to the outlet. The victim was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident. 

Additional text messages from the night of the party show Roberts’ son calling the situation “crazy” and telling her that his younger sister was emotional. 

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Upon taking the stand, Roberts’ daughter told the court that she witnessed her mother and the victim “on top of each other” the night of the party,” KPLC reported. 

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Following the alleged encounter, prosecutors reportedly said the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant. 

Roberts replied that she was on birth control, and later screenshotted the messages and sent them in a separate group chat while suggesting she would take an emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.” 

Jurors also heard from a DoorDash driver who testified that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home, the outlet reported. 

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The driver added that he later heard rumors about the alleged incident and believed his delivery was connected. 

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Roberts’ nephew also testified that he attempted to see what was happening in the room during the party by using his phone’s camera, but was unsure if he recorded any footage and did not send anything to anyone following the alleged encounter, according to the outlet.  

The nephew also admitted to deleting his Snapchat memories before investigators took custody of his phone because he did not want to get in trouble over photos of underage drinking, adding he did not intend to delete evidence. 

Another member of the victim’s friend group also told jurors that he witnessed Roberts flirting with the victim on the night of the party, while revealing the boy appeared to be drunk and vomited later that night, KPLC reported. 

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On Saturday, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, reportedly testified that Roberts confessed to having sex with the teenage boy and that the couple’s children had caught them in the act. 

CHILD PREDATOR DUBBED ‘MONSTER PARENTS FEAR MOST’ CLEARED FOR RELEASE THROUGH CALIFORNIA PAROLE PROGRAM

Misty Roberts is currently on trial in Beauregard Parish for allegedly having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a house party in 2024. (Google Maps)

Jurors were also shown text messages between the married couple, in which Clanton told Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting. 

In another exchange, Clanton reportedly testified Roberts texted him, “I need you to deny it, please.”

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Clanton added that while he refused to deny the allegations, he avoided talking about the incident. 

“I can’t keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows I’ve done enough,” Roberts reportedly texted Clanton, according to KPLC. 

On cross-examination, when Roberts’ defense attorney asked Clanton if he felt as though Roberts was a good mom, the father reportedly answered, “No.”

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Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024. She was initially prohibited from making contact with her children without permission from Clanton and the court revoked child support.

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Roberts’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.  

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Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected

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Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected

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A Florida man who prosecutors say wrestled a police officer’s service weapon away during a 1991 traffic stop and fatally shot him was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.

Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.

Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors were not properly instructed on aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. He was resentenced to death in 1997.

Kearse’s execution would mark the state’s third in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025.

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Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed more death warrants last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Before that, the highest number in a single year was eight in 1984 and 2014 under governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.

Court records show Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. After Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license and resisted being handcuffed, a struggle broke out.

During the confrontation, Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired 14 shots, striking the officer nine times and hitting his body armor four times, prosecutors said. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.

FLORIDA EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING AIRMAN AND GIRLFRIEND IN 1987 HOME INVASION

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This photo shows a gurney used in giving lethal injections to convicted death row inmates. (Sue Ogrocki, File)

Parrish was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

Investigators used license plate information Parrish had radioed in before the struggle to identify Kearse’s vehicle and home address. He was arrested shortly afterward.

Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kearse’s appeals, in which his attorneys argued he was deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal Tuesday without comment.

FLORIDA EXECUTES RICHARD BARRY RANDOLPH CONVICTED OF RAPING, KILLING FORMER CONVENIENCE STORE MANAGER

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. last year. Florida carried out the most, outpacing Texas, South Carolina and Alabama, which each conducted five executions.

Two more executions are scheduled in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is set to be executed March 17. James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.

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Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1987 of raping and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. At the time, he was working for the Mascotte Police Department when McAbee was last seen getting into his patrol car outside a convenience store. Her body was later found less than a mile away in a lake. Authorities said she had been sexually battered, strangled and drowned.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet

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Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet

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A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.

Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.

According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.

Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.

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Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Charlotte, N.C. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)

A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.

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In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”

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Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.

Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.

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The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.

Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)

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That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates. 

State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.

Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.

REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS HOSPITAL POLICE OFFICER JUST DAYS AFTER ARREST AT SAME FACILITY: REPORT

Republican Michael Whatley, left, and Democrat Roy Cooper (Getty Images)

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“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”

Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.

“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.

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“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”

Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.

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Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

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