Heavy rains offer relief from historic dry spell, burn bans
Farmers and firefighters got a brief reprieve this week after nearly four inches of rain fell across the Golden Triangle, easing conditions during one of the driest starts to a year in more than a century. Still, the drought is far from over.
Starkville eyes outdoor gyms at two parks by 2027
Residents who frequent McKee and J.L. King parks could see new outdoor gym areas constructed by January.
But the city still needs at least an additional $330,000 to bring both sites to fruition.
Collector built a 5,000-plus movie library. Now he’s giving it away
Van Roberts remembers the first movie he ever watched.
The Black Caucus is the ‘conscience of Congress.’ Supreme Court ruling has it bracing for a big hit
Black members of Congress are bracing for a crippling shake-up of their ranks after a Supreme Court ruling gutted a key section of the Voting Rights Act that had protected minority communities in political redistricting and helped boost their representation.
David Allan Coe, who wrote ‘Take This Job and Shove It’ and other country hits, dies at 86
David Allan Coe, the country singer-songwriter who wrote the working-class anthem “Take This Job and Shove It” and had hits with “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” and “The Ride” among others, has died.
Trump pulls Casey Means’ stalled surgeon general nomination. New pick is radiologist Nicole Saphier
President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s nominating radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Dr. Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.
Trump signs bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, ending record shutdown
President Donald Trump swiftly signed a bipartisan legislation Thursday to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations, shortly after the package won final approval in the House, ending the longest agency shutdown in history.
Supreme Court ruling on race-based redistricting prompts quick action in some states
Before the words were even written on a Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, some states already were taking steps to respond to it.
Reeves establishes Mississippi office for Rural Health Transformation Program funds
Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday announced he’s creating an office to oversee distribution of hundreds of millions of federal dollars aimed at improving rural healthcare.
Man accused of trying to kill President Trump at correspondents’ gala agrees to remain jailed for now
A man accused of trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives and attempting to kill President Donald Trump agreed on Thursday to remain jailed for now while he awaits trial.
US economy grew 2% from January-March, recovering from federal shutdown; Iran war clouds outlook
The U.S. economy accelerated at the start of 2026, expanding at a modest 2% pace from January through March after recovering from last fall’s 43-day federal government shutdown.
Numbers say Columbus prime for downtown hotel
Based on last year’s hotel occupancy rates, Berkeley Young, president of Young Strategies Inc., believes downtown is prime for a new hotel.
Freedom Summer visit to highlight Eighth of May
In the summer of 1964, Bernard Wasow, a 20-year-old college student from Los Angeles, spent his mornings teaching at a Freedom School in Columbus and his afternoons canvassing the city’s Black neighborhoods, urging residents to register to vote.
Officers, private security to patrol Cotton District on weekends
Business owners in the Cotton District are preparing for their first weekend under new city security measures following a Saturday shooting that left one victim hospitalized.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma set to dissolve after federal judge approves its criminal sentence
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is set to be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the week’s end, as a massive legal settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits takes effect.
Anonymous tip system started in wake of Sandy Hook shooting has fielded nearly 400,000 reports
Less than two years after her 6-year-old son was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Nicole Hockley was in an Ohio church basement teaching the first class of a program she hoped would help prevent future school shootings.
Man charged with trying to kill Trump at dinner took photo with knife in hotel, investigators say
The man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and kill President Donald Trump took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes earlier, outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife, authorities said Wednesday in a new court filing.
Many Democrats are stressed out by the news. They still can’t turn away, a new poll finds
Denver retiree Don Cohen spends about two-and-a-half hours each day consuming the news, between reading on his iPad and watching broadcast programs.
Push for raw milk intensifies across the US, despite illness outbreaks and scientists’ warnings
Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the potentially dangerous product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a new disease outbreak — one of at least five in the past year — sickens U.S. children.
Elon Musk tells his side of OpenAI’s beginnings in trial pitting him against CEO Sam Altman
Elon Musk took the stand for the second day Wednesday in the landmark trial that pits the world’s richest man against Sam Altman, a fellow OpenAI co-founder he accuses of betraying promises to keep the company as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity’s benefit.
