Mississippi
What brought RJ Melendez to tears after Mississippi State basketball’s OT loss to Texas
STARKVILLE — RJ Melendez walked into the press conference room in Humphrey Coliseum with red, watery eyes. He took a seat next to Shawn Jones Jr. at the podium and covered his face with his shirt for a brief moment, fighting back tears.
Mississippi State basketball had just suffered an 87-82 overtime loss to Texas (17-13, 6-11 SEC) on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum. After charging out of a 12-point hole in the second half, the Bulldogs (20-10, 8-9) never held a lead in overtime, but were tied with 38 seconds remaining.
Melendez, when asked why he was so emotional, quickly pointed ahead to MSU’s regular season finale at Arkansas (18-12, 7-10) on Saturday (11 a.m., SEC Network).
“Arkansas,” he said. “We just got to go onto the next one. That game’s over. We just got ready for a tough road win, and then everybody loves March. It’s just a beautiful thing to be a part of and looking forward to it.”
Mississippi State was down by nine points with 3:52 remaining in regulation but closed the half on an 11-2 run. It forced overtime when Melendez, a senior forward who transferred from Georgia, stole an inbounds pass on a full-court press. His pass to Riley Kugel for an open layup tied the game with nine seconds remaining.
Melendez scored 15 points with eight rebounds, three assists, one block, and two steals.
“Our locker room was very somber to say the least,” MSU coach Chris Jans said. “We’ve obviously lost plenty of games this year, but I know that was a hard one to swallow for all of us.”
Mississippi State hasn’t been able to capture momentum in SEC play
On paper, this looked like the easiest stretch of Mississippi State’s SEC schedule. It was closing the regular season with three consecutive unranked opponents, the first time that’s happened since mid-December, so it could be the perfect crescendo into the SEC tournament and then the NCAA tournament.
“This is March, right?” Jans said. “That’s what everybody’s searching for.”
MSU took care of business with an 81-69 win against LSU on March 1 after a 38-point loss at Alabama but stumbled again against Texas.
It’s another instance where MSU hasn’t been able to string together wins in SEC play. It hasn’t lost three consecutive conference games but hasn’t won three in a row either. Each time it seems like the Bulldogs have turned a corner, like the back-to-back ranked wins against Ole Miss and Texas A&M two weeks ago, they lay a dud.
“I was hoping that we could win back-to-back games at home and have some momentum going into our last road meeting, which is obviously a very difficult place to play,” Jans said. “What these kids have shown me, this group in particular, is their mental toughness, their resilience, their belief in one another. I know they’re going to regroup and get ready for one last road trip before Nashville.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
11 indicted in $12.3 million Mississippi Medicaid fraud scheme, AG says
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Eleven people have been indicted in connection with an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme involving more than $12.3 million.
This according to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who said the indictments involve allegations of fraudulent billing, wire fraud, and/or false documentation seeking to defraud the government.
All 11 charged include:
- Isluv Robertson, 36, of Jackson
- Shawncee Vassar-Cunningham, 51, of Olive Branch
- Katricia Smith, 47, of Olive Branch
- Sheila Boney Collins, 53, of Hollandale
- Ahyana Nicole Crosby, 34, of Laurel
- Angela Nannette Crosby, 51, of Laurel
- Yolanda Evette Blackman, 54, of Hattiesburg
- Linda Jenkins, 46, of Hermanville
- Deja Almore, 30, of Yazoo City
- Curtis Moore, 51, of Gulfport
- Taylor Christian Rushing, 34, of Gautier
Officials said the defendants are accused of participating in health care fraud schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in intended loss.
“These indictments are just the latest efforts we are taking to fight waste, fraud, and corruption,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I am proud to partner with President Trump to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that money meant to help those in need is not stolen from safety net programs. I will remain laser-focused on rooting out fraud, recovering money wrongfully stolen from hard-working taxpayers, and holding fraudsters accountable.”
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Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Governor: At least 47 homes, 50 roads damaged by Mississippi storms, flooding – SuperTalk Mississippi
Gov. Tate Reeves has released updated damage assessments following the severe weather and flooding that inundated parts of southern Mississippi last week.
According to Reeves, assessments through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are ongoing, and disaster aid is still being distributed through a mix of federal, state, and local agencies, along with nonprofits. But numbers as of Monday morning showed dozens of homes and businesses damaged and even more public roads affected.

Among the counties with significant impacts are Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Perry and Stone. Across those counties and others, at least 47 homes were affected, seven of which were completely destroyed. Nine businesses sustained damaged, six of which are considered major. One farm sustained major damage.
50 public roadways were affected, including four that are considered major and four that were completely destroyed. Two bridges sustained major damage, while two public buildings sustained minor damage.
Reeves said two rivers are in the moderate flood stage – Leaf River near McClain and the Pascagoula River at Graham Ferry.
15 other waterways are in the minor flood stage: Big Black River near Bentonia, Biloxi River near Lyman, Chickasawhay River at Enterprise, Chickasawhay River at Leakesville, East Hobolochitto Creek near Caesar, Pascagoula River at Merrill, Pearl River at Jackson, Pearl River near Pearl River, Pearl River near Philadelphia, Pearl River at Rockport, Strong River at D’Lo, Tallahala Creek at Laurel, Tuscolameta Creek at Laurel, West Hobolochitto Creek near McNeill, and Wolf River around Gulfport.


Damage reports could have worsened on Monday with additional rounds of severe weather in some parts of the state. The worst of the storms and floods came with the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Arthur late last week and into the weekend.
Mississippi
Family of 1-year-old killed by police at a Walmart in Mississippi wants video released
(AP) – A Mississippi family whose 1-year-old child was killed when police fired into a moving vehicle said Monday they want authorities to release video showing whether officers were in danger of being struck when one of them opened fire.
The shooting has sparked outrage in the small city of Senatobia, where some say it’s the latest in a series of troubling encounters between police and Black residents.
Kohen Wiley was riding with his mother and another woman in a Walmart parking lot on June 14 when police responded to a shoplifting call. The family says they were driving away, while the officers say the car was heading toward them.
“I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Vellesiya Wiley said at a news conference Monday.
The other woman in the car, whose name has not been released, suffered “critical injuries,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry.
Standing alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters Monday that the best way to determine whether the officers were at risk is to publicly release any body camera, dash camera or Walmart security camera video.
“If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on what videos investigators have or whether they would be released, agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday.
“This case has been made a top priority,” Martin said in an emailed statement, “and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”
The agency says the officers weren’t hurt. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
State investigators gave an initial account of the shooting last week, saying that when Senatobia police arrived at the Walmart, they found two women and a child getting into a car and driving away.
“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene,” the agency statement said.
Kohen’s mother has said the shoplifting call was over a box of diapers that her friend was carrying — and that she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. State investigators declined to comment on those details.
Crump questioned why police didn’t let the car go and take down the license plate number.
“They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said Monday. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”
Crump also said an independent autopsy would be performed.
While there’s no question the child was shot by police, he said, details about the angles at which any bullets struck the child could yield clues as to whether the officer fired from in front of the car or off to the side — and therefore whether that officer was in any danger.
Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press last week that police should know that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” noting the danger to passengers and other bystanders.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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