Hattiesburg American

Among the nation’s proudest college baseball states and the home of the two most recent national champions, Mississippi placed two teams in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

Ole Miss, coming off a title-winning season, enters the poll at No. 7.

The Rebels turned a disappointing 2022 regular season into a postseason for the ages, going unbeaten through the regional and super regional rounds, and eventually topping Oklahoma for the program’s first national title.

The headline returner for the Rebels is shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, who posted a .963 OPS and 18 home runs last season.

Southern Miss also…

An 18-year-old Jones College student and recent Quitman High School graduate could become Mississippi’s next commissioner of agriculture, if he can win the approval of Mississippi voters.

Terry Rogers, who qualified for the race Wednesday afternoon at the state Democratic Party headquarters in Jackson, could take on incumbent Republican Andy Gipson in November.

“I’m running for Commissioner of Agriculture to help all Mississippians get a piece of the economic pie,” Rogers said.

A number of experiences led him to believe he could serve the state as its commissioner of agriculture, Rogers said.

An amended version of a sports betting bill that included language creating a task force to study mobile sports wagering gained initial approval in a House committee Tuesday.

Supporters hope the bill could lead to full implementation of sports wagering next year.

The amended version of House Bill 606 passed the chamber’s appropriations committee Tuesday, coming in just before the deadline when bills either gain committee approval or die. Two bills that would have outright legalized mobile betting met the latter fate.

If the bill gains approval of the full House and can make its way through…

The MHSAA and the Mississippi Association of Coaches will crown the top Mississippi boys and girls high school basketball players in each classification in February. The MHSAA and MAC announced their partnership with C Spire to launch the Mr. and Miss Basketball awards for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday. The award winners will be announce before the start of the MHSAA playoff quarterfinals in February.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to recognize outstanding student-athletes who perform at a high level and represent their respective schools and our state so well,” MHSAA Executive…

JACKSON, Miss. — A physicians’ group based in the Midwest lacks legal standing to challenge a 25-year-old Mississippi Supreme Court ruling recognizing a right to abortion under the state constitution, lawyers for six women who support abortion rights argued in court papers filed Friday.

“This case was brought by an out-of-state organization that obviously believes the government should force Mississippi women to carry pregnancies to term and give birth against their will,” Mississippi Center for Justice attorney Rob McDuff said Friday, adding that those who filed suit have “no…

Far-right firebrand state Sen. Chris McDaniel will be making another attempt at taking down a sitting Republican statewide official, after signing papers Monday to qualify in the race for lieutenant governor.

In a primary campaign that could cast long shadows over the ongoing legislative session, McDaniel, R-Ellisville, will be facing off against current Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who is finishing his first term as leader of the chamber in which McDaniel serves, and Shane Quick, whom Hosemann defeated in the GOP primary four years ago.

Though weeks apart, both Hosemann and McDaniel qualified…

Poplarville country music trio Chapel Hart are becoming familiar faces in Nashville, having made a few appearances on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

The group also took the Ryman Auditorium stage Jan. 21 for their debut performance at the celebrated venue.

During the show, the trio debuted one of its newest songs, “Welcome to Fist City,” which is a tribute to the late Loretta Lynn. The song is a new take on Lynn’s “Fist City,” something she had asked for last summer.

“I love it, ladies. Now I’m wondering what you might be able to do with one of my songs,” Lynn tweeted to Chapel Hart in July…

JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge signed an order Friday to indefinitely delay sentencing of a former Mississippi welfare director in a case about misspending money that was intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S.

John Davis pleaded guilty to federal and state charges in September and agreed to testify against others in Mississippi’s largest public corruption case. His sentencing originally was set for Feb. 2.

The U.S. attorney’s office for southern Mississippi filed papers Jan. 20 to request a delay, writing that “sentencing in this case will be…

The Jackson State University faculty senate held a vote on Thursday expressing no confidence in President Thomas Hudson.

According to JSU Faculty Senate President Dr. Dawn Bishop McLin, who confirmed the vote, a resolution was presented by the executive committee and voted on by the university’s faculty senators.

“The Jackson State University Faculty Senate did in fact vote in favor of the resolution to move forward with bringing concerns to the Jackson State University campus community and other stakeholders,” McLin said. “This Resolution sets forth that there is no confidence in…

A bill that would mandate how cities calculate water bills, which critics say is targeted at the water system in the City of Jackson and would likely tie the hands of its federally appointed administrator, passed the Mississippi Senate on Thursday.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joel Carter, R-Gulfport, denied that the bill is specifically targeted at the capital city, saying it is only one of the municipalities that would be impacted.

“We keep on hearing Jackson, Jackson, Jackson,” Carter said. “I have a $100 million problem in my district because the rates were not set correctly, so we can sit…