https://violetjira.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Violet JiraenWed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.notus.org/metro/trump-american-flag-blue-reflecting-pool-is-green-with-algaePresident Donald Trump’s nearly $15 million directive to ensure the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool glistens a pristine, deep, “American flag blue” has hit a snag: The water is green.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.notus.org/metro/trump-american-flag-blue-reflecting-pool-is-green-with-algaehttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/8f2c1d8b-5e92-44ce-8de3-570a02d89ef4.pngWed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/8f2c1d8b-5e92-44ce-8de3-570a02d89ef4.pnghttps://www.notus.org/metro/election-night-dc-2026-primaryJaneese Lewis George took an early and significant lead in the District of Columbia’s bitterly contested Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night, coming one step closer to a progressive takeover of the city’s top office as it faces significant challenges from a floundering economy and increasingly aggressive Republican interference from the White House and Congress.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.notus.org/metro/election-night-dc-2026-primaryhttps://issuu.com/dailymississippian/docs/libby_3-30-23_finalPart of a photo essay, published in print, after the Rolling Fork tornado in 2023. 2nd place, Best General News Photo, Mississippi Press Foundation, Student Division (2024)Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://issuu.com/dailymississippian/docs/libby_3-30-23_finalhttps://thedmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_7281-1024x683.jpgMon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://thedmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_7281-1024x683.jpghttps://www.journoportfolio.com/sampleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.journoportfolio.com/samplehttps://www.notus.org/2026-election/massie-gallrein-primary-spending-donorsUsing FEC donor data, I painted a picture of the extent to which outside money had flooded the high-profile race between Republican incumbent Thomas Massie and Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, culminating in Massie's defeat.Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.notus.org/2026-election/massie-gallrein-primary-spending-donorshttps://www.notus.org/immigration/dhs-worst-of-the-worst-list-extradited-prisoners-apprehendedMy investigative report about how the Department of Homeland Security was including individuals that the Department of Justice extradited to the United States on its "Worst of the Worst" list, a database of undocumented immigrants the administration was deporting.Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.notus.org/immigration/dhs-worst-of-the-worst-list-extradited-prisoners-apprehendedhttps://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/trump-keeps-moving-the-goalposts-on-his-war-with-iran/A timeline of Trump’s shifting rationale for bombing Iran.Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/trump-keeps-moving-the-goalposts-on-his-war-with-iran/https://www.notus.org/congress/student-loan-debt-lawmakers-hakeem-jeffries-chip-roy-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortezUsing hundreds of House Ethics Committee financial disclosures, I calculated how much student loan debt is held by the 119th Congress and found that it's likely more than any other Congress before. I spoke with members — from New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Texas Republican Chip Roy — about their student loan debt and what Congress could be doing to improve the system.Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.notus.org/congress/student-loan-debt-lawmakers-hakeem-jeffries-chip-roy-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortezhttps://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/trump-expanded-executive-power-democrats-will-have-to-decide-how-to-use-it/NOTUS spoke to potential 2028 contenders about how the next Democratic president should wield their power.Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/trump-expanded-executive-power-democrats-will-have-to-decide-how-to-use-it/https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/incomplete-files-and-no-coordination-cuts-at-the-education-department-throw-civil-rights-cases-in-limbo/A dramatic downsizing at the Education Department left fired civil rights attorneys little time to roll over their casework.Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/incomplete-files-and-no-coordination-cuts-at-the-education-department-throw-civil-rights-cases-in-limbo/https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/where-the-department-of-education-staffing-cuts-hit-the-hardest/Civil rights attorneys, those overseeing student aid and the agency’s union leaders were among the 1,315 laid off.Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/where-the-department-of-education-staffing-cuts-hit-the-hardest/https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/millions-in-opioid-settlement-dollars-are-coming-to-mississippi-heres-what-you-need-to-know/Hundreds of Mississippians die every year from opioid overdoses, an epidemic that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands more nationwide. In a series of historic settlement agreements, pharmaceutical companies agreed to pay about $50 billion over 18 years for their role in fueling the crisis — and Mississippi has signed on to be part of the settlements. How the state and local governments choose to use this cash windfall in the years ahead will significantly shape Mississippi’s policies toward addiction treatment and prevention — as well as health care in general.Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/millions-in-opioid-settlement-dollars-are-coming-to-mississippi-heres-what-you-need-to-know/https://mississippitoday.org/2024/08/14/opioid-settlement-dollars-coming-to-mississippi/In collaboration with KFF Health News, I worked to produce a report about how Mississippi counties were planning on spending millions in opioid settlement dollars coming to the state.Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://mississippitoday.org/2024/08/14/opioid-settlement-dollars-coming-to-mississippi/https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/vendor-scored-thousands-of-state-tests-incorrectly-mde-finds/Spring 2024 preliminary state test results reported to districts across the state were scored incorrectly according to the Mississippi Department of Education, leading the agency to end a contract with the company responsible for the error. School districts across the state were left scrambling to re-assess the corrected data, which they use to make determinations about everything from graduation requirements to instructional strategies for the 2024-25 school year, which for some districts has already begun. Some students ended up meeting graduation requirements and graduating in the summertime.Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/vendor-scored-thousands-of-state-tests-incorrectly-mde-finds/https://mississippitoday.org/2024/08/02/vendor-scored-thousands-of-state-tests-incorrectly-mde-finds/A vendor that the state pays millions of dollars to every year scored state tests wrong, leading to turmoil for students who missed graduation for a results and administrators who had to adjust for the error.Fri, 02 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://mississippitoday.org/2024/08/02/vendor-scored-thousands-of-state-tests-incorrectly-mde-finds/https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/b9468652-5bed-4a07-8098-8f697a2f812e.pngReporting from Las Vegas, Nevada, I wrote stories and took photos for a report about how the state's rollout of medical cannabis was progressing, and what Mississippi could learn as it rolled out its own medical marijuana program.Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/b9468652-5bed-4a07-8098-8f697a2f812e.pnghttps://web.archive.org/web/20230403143309/https://thedmonline.com/delta-town-rolling-fork-devastated-by-tornado/Twenty-five Mississippians died and hundreds more were left without a home in the wake of devastating storms and tornadoes that ripped across the state in March 2023. One of my photos from Rolling Fork the next morning.Sun, 26 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://web.archive.org/web/20230403143309/https://thedmonline.com/delta-town-rolling-fork-devastated-by-tornado/https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/00257a8c-1aab-4e99-ae6b-1fb6f4420363.pngWed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/509071/images/00257a8c-1aab-4e99-ae6b-1fb6f4420363.pnghttps://cdispatch.com/news/what-are-you-doing-to-beat-the-heat/On a very hot summer day in Mississippi, residents of Starkville were doing their best to beat the heat. My photo of Veronica and her son, Josiah, keeping cool at a local splash pad.Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0100https://cdispatch.com/news/what-are-you-doing-to-beat-the-heat/https://thedmonline.com/in-the-business-of-beauty/My photo of Jamesetta Barron behind the counter at Loving My Hair 2, a Black-owned beauty supply store in Oxford, Mississippi.Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://thedmonline.com/in-the-business-of-beauty/https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/miller-rebuffs-public-call-to-step-down-as-supes-president/Less than five minutes into an Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors meeting, District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard asked Board President Bricklee Miller to relinquish the president’s role.Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://violetjira.journoportfolio.com/articles/miller-rebuffs-public-call-to-step-down-as-supes-president/