Violet Jira

NOTUS • June 2026

Trump’s ‘American Flag Blue’ Reflecting Pool is Green With Algae

President 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.

NOTUS • June 2026

Janeese Lewis George Leads Big in D.C. Mayoral Primary

Janeese 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.

Issuu • June 2026

Surviving an EF-4 Tornado: 'A disaster like this you've just gotta pray'

Part 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)

The Daily Mississippian • March 2023

Mississippi towns devastated by string of deadly tornadoes

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.

The Dispatch • June 2022

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.

NOTUS • May 2026

Out-of-State Money Helped Take Down Thomas Massie

Using 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.

The Daily Mississippian • February 2022

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.

The Daily Mississippian • May 2023

Campus cannabis: recreational marjuana in Nevada

Reporting 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.

NOTUS • February 2026

Saddled with Student Loan Debt? Lawmakers Are Too.

Using 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.