| Thursday, July 16, 2026 |
| Downtown Jackson Partners launches Urban Studio in historic Heritage Building | |
 | Downtown Jackson Partners has launched the Urban Studio, a new space designed to tap into student innovation for downtown revitalization and retain Mississippi talent in the state. The Urban Studio is located in the historic Heritage Building on Capitol Street. "Jacksonians should expect a place, I think, that is going to get their young folks excited," said Bishop Ronnie Crudup. "We talk a lot about young people and young adults leaving. We think places like this that's gonna be attractive things to help keep folks here and be a part of the change that the community wants." The Urban Studio is a collaborative initiative with Mississippi State University's College of Architecture, Art and Design, Jackson State University's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and Millsaps College Else School of Management. |
| Trump drifts into campaign topics while addressing defense technology gathering | |
 | President Donald Trump addressed a defense summit at the U.S. Army War College on Wednesday but spent little time talking about battlefield issues --- even as the war in Iran has reduced the U.S. supply of critical missile and interceptor systems. Seated at a roundtable with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Republican Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick, Trump said the gathering would generate around $10 billion in pledged investments from domestic defense and technology companies, without providing details. "The talent and innovation in this room will keep America safe for many years to come," Trump said. But his lengthy speech spent more time drifting into themes Trump repeats during his political rallies, boasting about -- and sometimes exaggerating -- his administration's accomplishments. Trump also diverted into a broadside against the use of windmills in Britain, questioned having steam catapults on U.S. ships and pondered the Battle of Gettysburg. "What a war that was, when you read about it," the president said of the Civil War. |
SPORTS
| MHSAA football state championships staying in Starkville, at Mississippi State | |
 | For the second straight season, Starkville will host the Mississippi high school football state championships. Mississippi High School Activities Association executive director Rickey Neaves confirmed to the Clarion Ledger on July 15 that Mississippi State will host the 2026 MHSAA football championships. The MHSAA board voted to hold the 2026 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Gridiron Classic Dec. 3-5 at Davis Wade Stadium. It will only be the third time in 10 years that Starkville has hosted. Since 2016, the football championship games have been held at Mississippi State (2016, 2025), Ole Miss (2017, 2023), Southern Miss (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024) and Jackson State (2020). |
| NCAA subcommittee approves use of ABS system in college baseball games: Report | |
 | The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system is working in its debut season for Major League Baseball, it got positive reviews after it was used experimentally at the SEC tournament in May, and now it's coming to college baseball at large. The NCAA rules subcommittee approved the use of ABS for games in the 2027 college baseball season in which the technology is available, according to a Baseball America report. The NCAA's baseball oversight committee would still have to give final approval. Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, who serves on the baseball rules committee and was part of Wednesday's discussions, did not confirm voting results but told The Athletic there was a "positive discussion" on ABS. "From my perspective, it has been one of the more positive rules experiments we've had in recent years," Corbin said Wednesday. "The feedback from coaches, players and umpires has been encouraging, and the committee recognizes its potential to improve competitive integrity while preserving the human element of the game." West Virginia coach Steve Sabins, reached by The Athletic about ABS in college baseball, said: "Not opposed to moving the game forward. Let's do it." |
| ACC looks to corporate sponsorships as a way to boost the bottom line of league revenue | |
| Jim Phillips has spent his five-plus-year tenure as Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner trying to generate more revenue for a league facing financial pressures even with yearly record hauls. For his league -- and across the national landscape in the revenue-sharing era, for that matter -- that has included more emphasis on corporate sponsorships. Finding event sponsors for naming rights. Securing deals for advertisements on conference TV networks. It's all about looking for ways to sell those options and supplement the media rights payouts and earnings from postseason success that stand as core engines of the college financial system. And stacking every bit helps in a time when schools are allowed to pay athletes directly. "I don't know if it's pressure, but it's the reality," Phillips said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press during the league's preseason football media days. "To me it's the reality of this role and it's reality of our league. We have to continue to find incremental dollars each and every year that continue to grow." |
| Triathlon unites to increase its popularity closer to the level of tennis and golf | |
| Triathlon is taking action to try to boost its popularity, with hopes of bringing it closer to the level of tennis and golf. A new global circuit will debut in 2027 following an alliance between the international federation and private organizers in an attempt to unify the sport that has been historically fragmented and difficult to follow because of the large number of events worldwide. Officials are hoping the new tour will promote mass-participation events, attract new audiences and enhance the broadcast and digital storytelling of triathlon. There will be greater investment aimed at making the sport a better product for television and easier to showcase on social media in order to land bigger sponsors. The formal announcement of the new tour is expected by the end of the month. "Our goal is for the sport to be attractive not only for triathlon fans but to be attractive for sport fans. We need to grow the sport to be more attractive to the general public," Antonio Arimany, president of World Triathlon, said in an interview with The Associated Press. |
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