Mississippi
No. 9 LSU;s comeback not enough at Mississippi State, 77-73

STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 9 LSU saw a fourth quarter comeback effort fall short at Mississippi State, 77-73, in front of a sold out Humphrey Coliseum on Monday night. The Tigers fall to 18-4 overall and 5-3 in SEC play.
After LSU went into halftime with a 5 point lead, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 28-17 in the third quarter to take a six point advantage into the final quarter. Mississippi State led by as many as nine in the final quarter, but LSU, using a full-court press was able to get it within three, but ultimately the Tigers did not get the stops they needed to have a chance to tie or take the lead.
“When you play a big game on the road like we had against South Carolina, you kind of watch your team and see how they react,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “We played in spurts again. We had a lead and did some things early and then again in the second half we can’t seem to defensively get stops with this team when they matter.”
Angel Reese had another double-double that featured 18 rebounds and 20 points. It marks the 11th game this season Reese has reached 20-points or more. Reese accounted for 51-percent of the LSU rebounds. The junior went 7-17 from the field and was 6-8 from the foul line.
Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow, and Mikaylah Williams were the only other Tigers to reach double figures. Johnson had 18 on 8-11, Morrow scored 14 on 6-18, and Mikaylah Williams had 12, with 9 in the second half.
Jerkaila Jordan led all scorers with 24 points on 9-17 and 3-3 from deep. Jordan scored 12 of her points in the third quarter. Other Bulldogs to reach double figures were Miracle Sheppard with 12 and Darrione Rogers who finished with 19 points and 4 three-pointers. No Mississippi St. player had more than 6 rebounds.
The Tigers are off on Thursday and will be back in action when they host Florida in the PMAC on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
LSU got off to an 8-2 start, but Mississippi St. used defensive pressure and sharp-shooting to build a 16-10 lead into the first media timeout. The Bulldogs held LSU scoreless for over three minutes through the middle of the quarter. The Tigers held Mississippi State without a field goal for the final three minutes of the quarter. LSU ended the opening quarter with a perfectly executed full court in bound play. Williams passed the ball to Reese over midcourt, Reese dropped it off to Johnson, who then assisted a wide open Morrow underneath the rim to make it 20-18, Bulldogs.
After Williams toed things at 20, Reese hit two free throws to regain the LSU lead with two minutes to go before the half. The Tigers outscored Mississippi St. 12-4 for the first half of the quarter as LSU built its lead back up to 6 ahead of the media timeout. Morrow snapped a 6-0 Buldog run with a last second triple to take a 5 point lead into the break.
Three Tigers ended the first half in double figures. Johnson, Reese, and Morrow all had 10 points in the first 20 minutes. Reese accounted for 9 of the Tigers’ 16 rebounds. LSU shot 16-32 for 50-percent from the field compared to Mississippi St.’s 15-34 for 44.1-percent. The Tigers earned 19 points off of 10 Bulldog turnovers in the first half.
Jordan led the Bulldogs on a 12-2 run that was capped off with a go-ahead three-pointer that gave Mississippi St. a 49-46 lead three and a half minutes into the third. After two more lead changes, Jordan had 21 points at the media timeout. LSU called a timeout with under three minutes to go as the Bulldogs went 4 of its last 4 from the field to go on a 7-0 run and take a 5-point lead. The Tigers went 0-10 from the field down the stretch, but hit all 4 of its free throws to stay within striking distance. LSU was outscored 28-17 in the third quarter and went into the final ten minutes behind by 6.
After a 4-0 Johnson run, Mississippi St. scored 7 straight to extend its lead to double-digits, 72-16. At the next timeout 2 points were taken off the board for Mississippi St. after the previous bucket was reviewed and shot clock violation awarded. The Bulldogs called for a timeout after Johnson and Morrow scored on back to back possessions to put the Tigers within five, 70-65.
LSU forced 4 turnovers and held Mississippi St. scoreless for over 4 minutes as the Tigers had fouls to give. Rogers broke the drought with a big three to put Mississippi St. up by 6 with a minute remaining. With 17 seconds to go, Williams connected on her first three of the night to put LSU down by 3. Rogers went to the line and went 1-1 to make it a 4 point game and hand LSU its second loss in a row.
Mississippi
GPS data tracks boat Mississippi teen Nolan Wells was on before he went missing
GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, obtained by CBS News, tracks the movements of the boat that carried Nolan Wells to Horn Island on July 4. Wells was found dead after going missing following an outing on the island.
The vessel left a dock at approximately 9:56 a.m. that morning and arrived at Horn Island at 11:14 a.m. CBS News has previously reported that Wells was not on the boat when it departed the island.
According to the GPS data, the boat left Horn Island at 4:31 p.m. and returned to its original departure dock. It then traveled into Fort Bayou around 5:52 p.m. before returning to the dock at 6:06 p.m.
Later that evening, the boat went to the Fort Bayou boat launch at 7:19 p.m., according to the MSDMR report. From there, it traveled over land — presumably towed by a vehicle — to the Biloxi, Mississippi, residence of the boat’s owners.
The MSDMR report indicates that the boat’s owner, his mother and one other individual who was reportedly with Wells on the day of the incident have cooperated with the investigation.
The department’s report ends on July 5, following notification that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office would take over as the lead investigative agency.
Wells, 18, was last seen on July 4 on Horn Island, where he had taken a boat trip with friends to celebrate the holiday, officials said. Wells traveled to the island with his friends but did not return to the mainland with them that afternoon, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said.
He was last seen on the island at 3 p.m., according to attorney Ben Crump’s office. His mother reported him missing later that night and a search began.
His body was discovered July 6 off the coast of the island, which is about 10 miles south of the Mississippi mainland, following a search that involved the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Park Service.
Dental records confirmed the body was Wells, Jackson County coroner Bruce Lynd told CBS News. An autopsy took place on July 7, Lynd said, but the results were not immediately made public. Wells’ body was flown to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy, according to Crump.
Wells’ parents have said they don’t believe their son would’ve stayed behind on the island by choice when his friends left by boat.
“No, he wouldn’t. Nolan always stays with the group,” Elmore Wonsley, Nolan’s father, told “CBS Mornings” last week. “If you be with me, you come back with me. So that I don’t understand, and with me being a parent, if I was in that situation, I would have told them, ‘You’re going to get back on this boat with me because I don’t want to answer to your parents if something happens to you.’”
When directly asked if he believed Nolan was left behind on the island, his father responded, “Yes. I don’t believe he decided to stay on the island by himself. It just doesn’t — that’s not his character.”
Wells went to Ocean Springs High School and was a rising sophomore on Southwest Mississippi Community College’s football team. Crump said Wells was a good swimmer.
Mississippi
How permanent daylight saving time would impact Mississippi
Permanent daylight saving time in New Jersey
House approves permanent DST: NJ gets later sunsets year-round but darker winter mornings; sunrise could be ~8:25 a.m.
Are Americans finally done changing the clocks twice a year? Congress moved a step closer to ending the ritual after the U.S. House passed legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent.
It hasn’t been approved by the Senate yet, but it did pass the House with broad support (308-117). If it passes the Senate, it could be signed by President Donald Trump or become law without his signature, unless he vetoes it.
Trump has previously backed ending twice-a-year time changes.
“I am going to work very hard to see The Sunshine Protection Act signed into Law. It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’” he wrote in a May Truth Social post.
A few versions of the Sunshine Protection Act were introduced in Congress. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, introduced the one that’s gaining ground last year.
Here’s what to know about daylight saving time and the move to change it.
What is daylight saving time and why do we use it?
Daylight saving time is the practice of setting clocks forward an hour from March until November in an effort to gain more sunlight during the summer months.
According to the Library of Congress, it was first enacted in 1918 as a fuel cost-saving measure during World War I.
Daylight saving time became federal law under the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Under the law, some states can opt to exempt themselves from daylight saving time.
Would Mississippi keep daylight saving time year-round?
In 2021, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law saying the state plans to stick with daylight saving time year-round. But that only takes effect if Congress changes the federal law to let states adopt it all the time. A bill updating the effective date died in committee in the 2026 session.
Nineteen states, including Mississippi, are ready to make daylight saving time permanent if Congress changes the law to make the twice-a-year time shift optional, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
How later sunrises would affect Mississippi
Sunrise and sunset times in summer would look the same.
But the period from November to March would be different. The amount of daylight would be the same, just shifted an hour later than usual.
Mississippi could expect the latest winter sunrises around 7:59 a.m. in mid-January. The earliest sunsets would shift from about 4:46 p.m. in early December to 5:46 p.m., according to timeanddate.com.
Why permanent daylight saving time failed before
Yes. Congress did drop Daylight Saving Time before.
The move failed in 1974 after parents worried about kids going to school before dawn, risking more vehicle crashes.
Some parts of the country, like Michigan or Indiana, don’t see sunrise until after 9 a.m. with the permanent daylight saving time.
When clocks fall back in 2026
Clocks will “fall back” from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, unless Congress changes the law.
Daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday in November each year, under current law. That’s when we get back that missing hour of sleep from the spring time change.
Does Mississippi change clocks twice a year?
Yes. Mississippi, which is in the Central time zone, observes daylight saving time.
What time is it in Mississippi?
Visit timeanddate.com to see the current time in Jackson.
Which states don’t observe daylight saving time?
Most of the U.S. participates in daylight saving time except for Hawaii and most of Arizona. The Navajo Nation in the northeast corner of the state does participate.
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@usatodayco.com.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
Mississippi
Mississippi teen accused of killing elderly couple had worked for them before shooting: family
A teenager in Mississippi knew the elderly couple he’s accused of killing before sparking a standoff with law enforcement, according to new testimony in court.
Cordarius Hobbs, 17, is charged with killing 74-year-old Billy Blair and his 71-year-old wife Virginia Carol Blair during a home break-in on June 3 in Mendenhall, Mississippi.
Family members of Hobbs testified during the Thursday preliminary hearing that he knew the couple.
Family members testified that Hobbs did work for the Blairs for things like cleaning around the house before the alleged shooting, according to WAPT.
Billy Newsome, Hobbs’ grandfather, said he believes his grandson was called to work on the day of the alleged shooting but believes he’s innocent.
“My grandson used to work for the man, why you gone rob a man that you work for,” Newsome said. “Why you gone stay there that long and you know the police out there, and then you gone wait until everybody gets there to run, it just ain’t adding up, something just ain’t right here.”
On June 3, three contractors installing a generator at the Blairs’ home discovered Carol Blair’s car door open with several guns on the seats around 10 a.m., prompting them to call the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department for a welfare check at 11:30 a.m, according to a Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigator.
By noon, the investigator said that officers arrived and were met with shots fired at them, starting a nearly two-hour-long standoff.
Hobbs was captured after trying to run away from officers, the official said, adding that the teen was unarmed when he was caught.
Carol Blair was found in a bedroom curled in the fetal position and had three gunshots to the back of her head. Bill Blair was found lying on his back in the kitchen with three gunshot wounds to his face.
The state investigator said three firearms were found inside the home as well as 280 shell casings, all owned by Bill Blair.
Hobbs’ defense attorney, Zachary Vaugh, argued that there’s a lack of direct forensic evidence connecting the teenager to the shooting.
“There was nothing to say he’s a principal, he’s the one that pulled the trigger on these things,” Vaugh said. “One of the things alone was, one of the victims was shot twice on one side of the head and once on the other. I think that’s pretty compelling that somebody else may have been in there. There’s a lot of things that are possible, just a tremendous amount of things.”
“When you have an officer say there’s no one that can identify him at the time of the shooting, I just don’t see how that adds up,” he said.
Hobbs is charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of burglary, in addition to 10 other charges. He was denied bond.
In a statement on Facebook, the couple’s family previously said, “We are crushed in spirit, bruised, and brokenhearted, but we are not alone.”
Jason Busby, who was friends with the couple, remembered them as being extremely selfless when speaking with WLBT.
“The man would’ve given you the shirt off his back, his wife is the same, and they’re just great people. It’s just a tragedy,” Busby said. “Everybody around here is still in shock. They were just good people.”
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