Police investigating 2 Ole Miss students’ deaths after kratom found
Sign and banner for Ole Miss. (Getty Images stock photo/Melissa Kopka)
(NEW YORK) — Local officials are looking for answers after two Ole Miss students were found dead in separate incidents in Oxford, Mississippi, this week, police said.
Despite “packaged Kratom” being found during both investigations into the students’ deaths, officials asked students not to speculate as the police conduct their probe.
A cause of death hasn’t immediately been determined, according to the school. The victims’ identities have not been released.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage everyone to avoid kratom and any other medication or substance that was not prescribed to you or obtained from a trusted, regulated source,” the Oxford Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
The police said that packaged kratom “sold from a retail store” was found during their investigations into the two deaths. Kratom is sold in convenience stores, gas stations and online, and linked to a growing number of overdoses.
Kratom products contain chemicals that can increase alertness, physical energy and talkativeness. At higher doses, users may experience sedating effects.
The FDA has warned that kratom and especially concentrated 7-OH products can carry risks including dependence, addiction, and serious adverse effects.
Advocates have called on the Food and Drug Administration for stricter regulations on the products and bans.
Oxford police said they are still trying to see if the drug was a factor in the students’ deaths as their probes continue.
“We do not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death,” they said in a statement.
“Local, state and federal partners are working collaboratively to gather the facts and provide answers as quickly and responsibly as possible,” the police added.
The police noted that Narcan, which may be able to reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose of Kratom and other substances, is available on the campus.
Dr. Shawnboda Mead, the vice chancellor for student affairs at Ole Miss, said in a statement Tuesday that the school expressed its condolences and remorse to the family members of the deceased students.
“We encourage our community not to speculate about the circumstances or repeat information that has not been officially confirmed,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Moke continues to churn in open waters in the Central Pacific, just days after Hurricane Lala left widespread destruction across Hawaii.
The new system is currently located about 755 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with winds of 50 mph.
It is moving west-northwest at 12 mph and is expected to pass south of the Hawaiian islands through the weekend into early next week.
Moke is forecast to remain at tropical storm strength through next Wednesday before weakening Thursday.
On the current forecast track, rain and gusty winds will arrive to the Big Island Saturday night and continue through the beginning of next week.
The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with maximum amounts of 15 inches across the Big Island.
Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, with maximum amounts of 5, are expected across the remainder of the Hawaiian islands.
This rainfall may produce life threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Hurricane Lala.
Lala moved south of the Big Island on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes and cutting off some communities, according to the governor. The storm dumped more than a foot of rain over parts of the state, with the highest elevations getting more than 40 inches. Thousands on the Big Island are still without power.
Former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama speak with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts at the Obama Presidential Center on June 13, 2026. (Michael Le Brecht IL/ABC News)
(CHICAGO) — For former President Barack Obama and former first Lady Michelle Obama, the opening of the Obama Presidential Center Friday is the culmination of their shared journey from Chicago’s South Side to the White House.
In their first joint network TV interview since leaving office in 2017, the couple reflected on their accomplishments in their eight years in the White House and the hope they have for the country ahead.
“People are a little discouraged right now,” Barack Obama told ABC News’ Robin Roberts in an interview that aired Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” “But, again, I believe that we go through these cycles, and there’s going to be a younger generation that pops up and there are going to be leaders who pop up.”
The former president said since leaving office, he has largely refrained from inserting himself too much into public policy debates as he sees himself these days as less of a “player” and more of a “coach” for the new generation of leaders.
“You pick and choose your spots. I’m not suggesting I’ve done it perfectly,” he said, going on to cite the example of how George Washington stepped away from politics after his time in office.
“He kind of said, ‘All right, I’ve done my stint. And now I’m going, you know, back home,'” Barack Obama said of the nation’s first president. “I think Michelle, you know, very much would prefer a quieter life for us. And on the other hand, there’ve been some folks who would like to see me out every day, right, banging the drum.”
With the Obama Presidential Center, part of the hope, he said, is to “encourage the next generation of leadership.”
The center’s campus encompasses 19 acres in Chicago’s Jackson Park, just steps from the University of Chicago. At a cost of $850 million, it includes 3.7 acres of parkland, offices for the Obama Foundation, an auditorium for public events, public art and athletic facilities, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.
In collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration, the Obama presidential archives are fully digital.
The center’s centerpiece is a four-story museum that places the Obama years within a greater context of social change, starting with the Declaration of Independence and spanning the civil rights and labor movements, as well as the grassroots political movement in Chicago that led to Barack Obama’s political ascent.
Obama on his greatest accomplishment in office When asked by Roberts what he considers the greatest accomplishment of his two terms in office, Barack Obama cited the passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, which expanded Medicaid, provided greater consumer protections, and lowered health insurance costs, especially for households at or below the federal poverty level.
He said the legislation continues to show that his administration represented all of America.
“For all the resistance from our political opposition, the Affordable Care Act has now helped 50, 60 million people, and continues to help people even though the current Congress has tried to weaken it and taken away some of the subsidies that were really helping a lot of working people,” the former president said. “I’m very proud of the message we sent to the country that we’re representing everybody.”
In addition to his legislative accomplishments, museum also tells the story of Barack Obama’s political ascendancy and how the core messages of “hope” and “change” were critical to his campaign for his first term.
Despite the harsh partisanship of today’s political culture, Michelle Obama said those messages are still possible.
“People just have to be fed up enough. They have to want more,” she said. “And I think the presidential center hopefully will remind people of just how close we are to moving this country in the direction that we want to move it in.”
Michelle Obama said an exhibit in the center that reflects on the Obamas’ position as the first Black first family in the history of America reflects that.
“You have one exhibit where people thought that it could never happen, that a Black man, a Black family would never live in the White House. That America would never accept that,” she said. “And lo and behold, the whole country, you know, the vast majority of the country believe differently.”
Amid the museum’s focus on the promise of democracy, Barack Obama said Americans, in times of disagreement, can focus on making their voice heard with their vote.
“The premise of this country is everybody gets a right to say, ‘No, I don’t agree with that. I challenge that. No, Obama, I think you’re making a mistake,’ you know?” he said. “And then we have a conversation about it, and then it gets settled in an election. And if enough people decide I didn’t know what I was doing, then you move on to the next person.”
Tune into the ABC News special “The Obama Legacy: First Joint Interview Post-White House,” streaming Thursday, June 18, on Disney+ and Hulu.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan leaves the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse on May 15, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(MILWAUKEE) — Hannah Dugan, a former Wisconsin judge who was found guilty of obstructing federal immigration agents, was spared prison time, according to ABC Milwaukee affiliate WISN, which was in the courtroom for the sentencing on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said prison was unnecessary and imposed a $5,000 fine, according to WISN.
Dugan, 67, faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Adelman described the former judge as a dedicated public servant who “made a bad decision in the moment.”
“This is a person who has done a lot of good for our community,” Adelman said, according to WISN.
Dugan addressed the court prior to her sentencing, saying that during her nine years as judge, she “strived to do my best to uphold justice,” according to WISN.
“I’ve been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job,” she said, WISN reported.
The defense had asked for time served, arguing in a filing ahead of sentencing that the circumstances of the offense were “isolated and unique” and that Dugan has been a “exemplary member of this community.”
“As a result of her conviction in this case, Hannah Dugan has lost the judicial job she loved and that was the culmination of a career spent serving others,” her defense wrote. “Sentencing need not do worse to her.”
The government had argued for a “meaningful sentence,” stating in a filing prior to sentencing that this was a “serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence.”
“The Court’s sentence should not only reflect the personal consequences to the defendant but also the broader institutional harm caused when a judge obstructs the lawful administration of justice,” the federal prosecutors wrote.
Dugan was accused of obstructing official Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings and knowingly concealing an undocumented man from immigration authorities at a courthouse in April 2025 while serving as a Milwaukee County Circuit judge.
A jury found her guilty of obstructing federal agents and not guilty of concealing an undocumented immigrant from arrest during the courthouse incident following a weeklong trial in December 2025. She resigned the following month.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
