Shamira Muhammad

The service was held in Northminster Baptist Church, one of dozens of churches that have offered their facilities to the Beth Israel congregation.

Rabbi Benjamin Russell wore a telis he says may be one of the last artifacts from the synagogue's library.

According to court documents, 19-year-old Stephen Pittman has confessed to law enforcement to setting the synagogue on fire last week because of its Jewish ties.

For NPR News, I'm Shamira Mohamed in Jackson, Mississippi.

The charges carry a hate crime enhancement, meaning harsher penalties if the felony was committed because of the perceived race or religion of the victim.

He faces up to 60 years of prison on the state charges alone.

Pittman is a former honor student of a well-known Catholic school.

The Catholic Diocese of Jackson has condemned the actions attributed to Pittman.

And Hines County District Attorney Jody Owens says, quote, crimes motivated by hate and directed at places of worship strike at the core of who we are as a community.

For NPR News, I'm Shamira Muhammad in Jackson, Mississippi.

Thirteen percent of Mississippi's population relies on SNAP benefits.

Cassandra Mobley, interim CEO of the Mississippi Food Network, says food partners around the state accepted the egg donation swiftly.

Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gibson says the freeze in SNAP benefits has also hit farmers.

Mississippi has announced it'll begin to distribute 65 percent of SNAP benefits.

For NPR News, I'm Shamir Mohamed in Jackson.

The National Folk Festival has been featured in nearly 30 communities around the country, but it's the first time the festival is being hosted in the Deep South.

Mississippi Delta blues musician and artist James Johnson goes by the name Super Chicken.

He makes guitars from items such as electric fans and cigar boxes, as well as an instrument called the diddly bow.

Artists performed bluegrass, West African balafon, salsa, Irish music, and D.C.

go-go.