| Friday, July 31, 2026 |
| Americans feel the sting of high prices every day, so why does the Fed need so many ways to measure inflation? | |
 | Mississippi State University's Brian Blank and Appalachian State University's Brandy Hadley write in The Conversation: From gas to housing to groceries, consumers can't escape inflation in their everyday lives. So why can't policymakers agree on what the data is telling them -- and if prices are falling fast enough? With tariffs pushing up prices of goods and energy markets swinging on geopolitical news, the Federal Reserve's policymaking committee concluded its July 2026 meeting with a contentious 9-3 vote to hold interest rates steady. But three dissents signaled unease by pushing for a rate hike -- the most in nearly a decade. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh tried to thread the needle, emphasizing that inflation still must fall without tipping his hand on where rates would go in the future. He emphasized that the central bank won't loosen its standards, declaring there's "no soft inflation target." But the Fed's meeting was followed by mixed news the following day, when its preferred gauge showed that inflation is still well above its 2% target, even though it dipped from 4.1% in May to 3.7% in June. This confusion is a big reason why the once-obscure argument over the best inflation speedometer is heating up. |
| Know how to protect pets from New World Screwworm | |
| While most confirmed cases of New World Screwworm in the U.S. have been detected in cattle, sheep and goats, animal health officials in Mississippi want pet owners to know dogs and cats are vulnerable to the pest. As of July 24, 42 total cases have been confirmed in Texas and New Mexico. Three of those were confirmed in dogs. "This pest is still contained in Texas and New Mexico, and there is no reason to panic," said Carla Huston, Mississippi State University Extension Service veterinarian and professor with the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. "But it is important to know that any animal is susceptible to these flies and how to protect your pets." The best way to protect pets is to carefully monitor them and make sure they are up to date on flea and tick preventives. If a pet is suspected of having an infection, contact a veterinarian immediately for evaluation and proper treatment. Several effective medications are available for dogs and cats. "Even if you find larvae on an animal, it may not be screwworm," Huston said. "But a veterinarian will need to determine what it is and treat it." |
| Code change could force developers to bury utilities | |
 | Starkville is considering requiring underground utility access be installed in all new developments and substantial redevelopments that will cost 50% or more than the value of structures already there. The proposed requirement was spurred by a desire for increased storm preparedness and improved city aesthetics, according to the drafted code amendment. "This is really a response to that ice storm we got really lucky and dodged last year," said Daniel Havelin, city planner. "You know the communities that are north of us that got hit, they were hit hard, and it was very difficult for them to overcome." The board will hold its second public hearing for these changes during its Aug 4. meeting, at which time it will be able to vote on the change. The underground utility requirement is one of 20 changes the board of aldermen are considering, which also include restricting food trucks to one sign and limiting their tent size, new pedestrian lighting requirements for some developments and adjustments to rules for cottage courts. |
| Indictments handed down over stolen farm equipment | |
| Federal indictments were handed down this week following an investigation by the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau (MALTB) dating back to 2022. The Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau started an investigation in November 2022 into the theft of an airplane engine from a farm hanger which led to the recovery of a large cache of stolen equipment in Sunflower and Issaquena counties. Since then, the investigation continued with MALTB partnering with federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Federal Aviation Administration; Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General; and the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi. MALTB and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce said that as a result of the investigation, Christopher Douglas Showah, 51, of Indianola, has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to three felonies. According to court documents, Showah pleaded guilty to possession of firearms by a convicted felon, flying without a valid airman's certificate, and fraud relating to maintenance work performed on an aircraft donated to Delta State University for their aviation program. |
| 7 Mississippi officials participating in regional partnership to crack down on fraud | |
| A group of officials representing Mississippi have launched a regional partnership to crack down on fraud. Organized through the U.S. Department of Justice's National Fraud Enforcement Division, seven Mississippi officials will work with counterparts from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, in a coordinated effort to fight fraudulent activities. Representing Mississippi are Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Secretary of State Michael Watson, State Auditor Shad White, State Treasurer David McRae, Southern District U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger, Northern District U.S. Attorney Scott Leary, and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Field Office Robert Eikhoff. As part of the collaboration, the Mississippi Attorney General's Office has been awarded over $2.5 million to start the first-of-its-kind law enforcement partnership called Joint Task Force Vigilance. |
| Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says states, not Washington, should control elections | |
 | The last time Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma hosted the nation's governors, it didn't go so well. The annual gathering of state leaders in Washington in February was overshadowed by a fight with President Donald Trump, who refused to allow two governors -- both Democrats -- to attend a White House meeting. As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt successfully pressed Trump to reverse course but got an earful in the process. Trump, who carried each of Oklahoma's 77 counties in 2024, blasted Stitt as a "RINO," meaning Republican in name only, and criticized the term-limited governor's performance in office. Stitt is again hosting his colleagues this weekend, this time on his home turf in Oklahoma City as he turns over leadership of the National Governors Association to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat and one of the governors Trump had sought to exclude. In an interview, Stitt discussed the dust-up with Trump, warned against efforts to federalize elections, and expressed concern that a mammoth federal government has contributed to the country's tense political climate. |
| Claims of noncitizens on voter rolls leave states baffled | |
 | Two weeks after Trump officials said they had found more than 250,000 non-U.S. citizens on voter rolls in just four states, election officials are still struggling to understand where the numbers came from, and what the claims may portend for federal interference in this year's midterms. Multiple state officials told NPR they fear these unverified numbers, or similar ones unveiled closer to the general election, could be used as pretext for warrants to allow law enforcement to interfere in vote-counting. Several reviews in recent years have found that actual voting by noncitizens is extremely rare. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversaw the voter roll analysis of four states -- California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- asked the states to respond to its allegations by Thursday. But the agency has not explained its methodology or provided the states with clarity on how it came to its conclusions. "These numbers, until they're backed up by any kind of clear, transparent methodology, should be considered made up," said David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. |
| 43,000 fewer Mississippians are on SNAP after Congress and President Trump slashed funding | |
| Mississippi and the U.S. are experiencing the steepest drop-off of participation in the nation's largest anti-hunger program in nearly 30 years following federal cuts made last summer by Congress and President Donald Trump, experts say. In April, 43,000 fewer Mississippians had access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program than nine months earlier. Mississippi's decline of 12% in the program previously known as food stamps is slightly higher than the national average of 11%, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "And it's not because the need is any lower," said Ty Jones Cox, vice president for food assistance at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, during a July 22 press conference. In fact, food insecurity in the U.S. is the highest it's been in a decade, according to the most recent data. Dr. Patricia Tibbs, president of the Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she worries about the effect that the decrease in enrollment will have on the next generation. Nutrition is one of the most influential determinants of health -- and children are the most vulnerable. |
| Extra Table celebrates 16 years of fighting hunger, unveils new awards and Mississippi license plate | |
 | Extra Table Feeds celebrated 16 years of fighting hunger in Mississippi with a "Sweet 16" birthday banquet Thursday night. The celebration brought together local and state leaders, donors, volunteers and community partners to recognize the organization's growth and the people who have helped make its mission possible. During the event, the nonprofit introduced its new "Good on the Go Awards," honoring individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact in the fight against food insecurity across the state. One of the recipients was Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson. "I want to give a big shout out to Extra Table, but our involvement was with the ice storm in North Mississippi back in January when it hit," Gipson said. "And so many people without power, without water, without food. And if it weren't for Extra Table, we would not have been able to feed 40,000 hot meals to the people of North Mississippi." The banquet also featured the unveiling of the new Extra Table Feeds Mississippi specialty license plate, giving Mississippians another way to support the nonprofit's efforts to provide food to pantries across the state. |
| Senate Considering a Delay in SNAP Cost Shift to States | |
| The chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee said Thursday he is considering some respite for states that must start sharing costs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) told NOTUS the issue is part of negotiations with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), the panel's ranking member, on a way forward on the Senate's version of a farm bill. Democrats have asked for a two-year delay in the cost shift to states with SNAP payment error rates above 6%, an increase scheduled to start next year. Republicans have preferred to leave the changes made to SNAP in a 2025 reconciliation law. "I think what we're looking at is possibly a short-term extension," Boozman told NOTUS. "We've been talking to Sen. Klobuchar, talking to the administration, seeing if the time we've given is adequate. Nothing has been finalized," he said. Boozman didn't specify how long a delay could be, only referring to it as "short-term." Boozman has said the committee will mark up the farm bill late next week. |
| Colom to campaign with Alsobrooks, Thompson | |
| Mississippi U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom has announced that U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland, will spend the day in Jackson campaigning with him on Saturday. Given Alsobrooks' stated policy positions, campaigning alongside her in conservative Mississippi is sure to raise eyebrows as Colom has tried to distance himself from the more progressive wing in the Democrat Party. To have a chance to win in the General Election, Colom either needs a significant number of Republican voters to stay home or cross party lines and vote for a Democrat, both of which seem increasingly unlikely as the political tenor continues to build ahead of the November midterms. Even though Colom has received support from over 30 sitting Democrat Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, Alsobrooks will be the first sitting U.S. Senator to come to Mississippi and campaign with Colom, the Democrat nominee trying to unseat Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Mississippi's 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson (D) is also slated to attend the second event with Colom and Alsobrooks. |
| Senate Republican warns Trump against delaying Blanche nomination: 'This place could be very different' | |
 | Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is warning that President Trump's threat to withdraw Todd Blanche's nomination to serve as attorney general and resubmit it in 2027 to circumvent GOP critics could backfire because control of the Senate could flip in November. Asked by a reporter Thursday whether it would be "risky" to delay Blanche's nomination until the next Congress, Kennedy responded: "Well, duh. Yeah." "This place could be very different," Kennedy said, noting that Democrats could pick up seats in the Senate or win control of the upper chamber. Senate Republicans now control 53 seats. Trump on Thursday threatened to withdraw Blanche's nomination because Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) are threatening to block it in the Judiciary Committee unless the Department of Justice and Trump agree to revise or clarify a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a $1.8 billion legal compensation fund for MAGA allies. |
| Defense Hawks Challenge the White House Push for a Narrow Reconciliation Bill | |
| Senate defense hawks are pushing back on the White House plan for a narrowly tailored reconciliation bill, warning that Republicans may have only one opportunity to finance President Donald Trump's military buildup and demanding far more than the House's $60 billion defense proposal. The fight is complicating Senate Majority Leader John Thune's effort to cobble together 50 Republican votes before the Senate adjourns next week until mid-September. Republicans broadly agree the Pentagon needs significantly more money, but they are divided over whether the next reconciliation bill should cover only immediate needs or finance a sweeping military buildup. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) said the package should include roughly $300 billion for defense -- roughly five times the House instruction -- while other hawks urged Republican leaders to increase the number substantially. "We need something close to $300 billion for this generational investment, to defend ourselves in the world against the axis of aggression," Wicker said. |
| U.S. Says Hamas Has Agreed to Broad Plan to Disarm | |
 | Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups agreed to a plan that, if followed, would see the groups disarm and lose power in the Gaza Strip as long as Israel withdraws from the enclave, U.S. officials said. The officials, speaking to reporters Thursday evening, said the agreement is the start of an indefinite, multiphase process to end Hamas's rule in Gaza and rebuild the enclave. The officials acknowledged many challenges ahead, such as verifying the Palestinian groups' compliance and ensuring that a skeptical Israeli government doesn't scuttle any progress. The announcement is the culmination of months of diplomacy between the U.S., Israel, Hamas and Middle East mediators, as well as the Board of Peace created by President Trump to oversee Gaza's transition. But it is only the first step in a pathway laden with political and military traps. "What the agreement says matters. What happens next matters even more. Implementation and verification have to be real," Nickolay Mladenov, the board's chairman, said in a social-media statement praising the agreement. Trump was far more optimistic in his own social-media post minutes before the briefing. |
| U.S. spy agencies suspect Iran launched cyberattack on Minnesota water facilities | |
 | U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran was likely behind a coordinated cyberattack on more than 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota this week, according to several U.S. officials. The FBI is investigating the attack, which comes as a five-month-old military conflict between the United States and Iran threatens to escalate. Though intelligence agencies have not definitively concluded that Tehran is responsible, the hack follows urgent warnings by federal cybersecurity officials that Iran for months has been targeting internet-exposed devices that control operations at water, wastewater and energy facilities in the U.S. and, in some cases, causing disruptions. Intrusions have been noted at several water and energy systems across the country since shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, said Joe Slowik, director of threat research for Dataminr, a real-time commercial intelligence platform. "It is not a secret that these things have been taking place since the spring," he said. "There have been disruptions in multiple critical infrastructure sectors. It's a big deal." In general, Iran's goal with cyberattacks seems to be less outright destruction than to deliver psychological effects to two audiences, said Alex Orleans, head of threat intelligence at Sublime Security, an email security company. |
| Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher | |
| American oil and gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran and the U.S. impeded petroleum shipments and consumers around the world paid more for fuel and confronted shortages. The conflict, now in its sixth month, halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that previously served as a delivery route for a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas. The attacks between the U.S. and Iran resulted in huge profits for some of the biggest publicly traded oil companies as they sold their goods for higher prices. Exxon Mobil on Friday reported doubling its second-quarter profits to $14.53 billion, up 105% from the same time a year ago. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42% from the same time last year. Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion, up 385% from the same quarter last year, and reported $70.06 billion in revenue, up 56% from the same time last year. Energy companies such as Exxon and Chevron do not set the price of American oil, which ricocheted from $68 to $115 a barrel during the quarter. It's driven by supply and demand, and what traders, refiners and other buyers are willing to pay. Nevertheless, Democrats in Congress introduced bills in March to tax major oil producers for profits they show from 2026 onward and have the tax proceeds redistributed to consumers. |
| Food commodity prices predicted to jump | |
| When the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February and the Strait of Hormuz closed, Nick Kraft at Eurasia Group was worried food prices would spike. But his fears ended up being overblown. "When it comes to commodities and retail food prices, I didn't see as big of a jump as I expected," Kraft said. A big part of the reason there wasn't as much disruption as people like Kraft expected is that last year's crop yields were strong. "Coming into 2026, we had huge grain harvests that were buffering some of the food shortage worries and food price increase expectations," he said. But, according to Kraft, those buffers are shrinking. And the disruptions to global food supply chains are growing. A new analysis from Eurasia Group reports that prices for food commodities like wheat, corn, and rice could jump 10 to 18% by next summer because of the ongoing wars in Iran, Russia, and Ukraine -- plus what is forecast to be a "super El Niño" this year. JPMorgan issued a similar warning last week. But there's one group that may benefit from the higher grocery prices: farmers. "At the farm level, this would be viewed as a good thing," said Grant Gardner at the University of Kentucky. |
| College students end weeks at Asylum Hill, earning credits and searching for the unknown | |
| Students from across the country wrapped up weeks of digging at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Asylum Hill, earning college credit while working to identify the unknown buried there. It's been grueling work in the Mississippi heat and a training ground for the next generation of forensic scientists. "Growing up in the military, I know that people who don't come home, I know how hard that is on a family," said Morgan Reeder. Asylum Hill brought the 26-year-old closer to becoming a bioarchaeologist. The University of Nebraska grad student is working toward her Ph.D. Her father was in Army Special Forces. She wants to work for the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. "I'd love to help find missing soldiers over in France or Germany or wherever the next dig is going and help to bring them home," said Reeder. Over the past five weeks, 19 students excavated 23 graves. |
| Ole Miss saxophone quartet cuts record, tours state | |
 | Four University of Mississippi students are on a mission to share their love for the saxophone and turn high school students across the state on to chamber music. Performing as the Shades of Blue Quartet, the group used a Stamps Impact Prize to record an album and conduct a concert tour to six Mississippi high schools. The quartet began the project by recording, editing, and publishing "Let the Funk Out!" an album of chamber music appropriate for high school-level musicians. They recorded the album at Taproot Audio in Oxford, where they worked with founder and producer-engineer Jeffrey Reed to record, edit, mix and master the project. The second phase of the project took the group from north Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, where they performed and presented to high school bands on the benefits and opportunities of studying chamber music. The tour included Olive Branch High School, Senatobia High School, Germantown High School, Madison, Northwest Rankin High School, Flowood, Oak Grove High School and Ocean Springs High School. |
| Trey Reed's Family Says Crump Never Shared Final Independent Autopsy Results, Stopped Responding | |
| Nearly a year after a group of Delta State University football players found 21-year-old student Trey Reed hanging from a tree on campus, his family says that the attorney who vowed a full investigation in the early days has not spoken to them in seven months. He also never gave them the final results of the independent autopsy he promised. The discovery of a young Black man hanging in a tree on Sept. 15, 2025, made national news, raising the specter of Mississippi's history of racist lynchings. Ben Crump, a nationally renowned civil rights lawyer who helped secure a $27 million settlement for the family of George Floyd, came to the family's aid and cast doubt on the state autopsy's official ruling that Reed's death was a suicide. He helped the family secure an independent autopsy with funding from former NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative. But more than 10 months later, Reed's family members say they feel that they've been abandoned by the advocates who pledged to stand at their side -- the lawyers and institutions that first spoke up on their behalf when Reed's death was national news. Now, as the public's eye has moved to more recent causes, the family says they're left waiting for answers. |
| MCC, Compass partnering to train Mississippians to fill data center jobs | |
| A new 14-week training program is being established at Meridian Community College to help staff a data center being built by Compass in the Central Mississippi region. It is estimated that the U.S. will need an additional 6 million skilled workers by 2030, with about 500,000 such roles currently going unfilled each year. In response, Compass is partnering with the Mississippi Community College to train people to fill those jobs. On Friday, the community college and Compass, the company building a $10 billion, eight data center campus in the Meridian area, will officially launch a Mechanical, Electrical and Information Technology Data Center Pathway Program. The program will be Mississippi's first such training program. It is being modeled after a similar program Compass successfully launched in Texas and will provide students with hands-on training in careers that support the data centers being built in Mississippi. Full scholarships for the first cohort in the training program are being provided by Compass. |
| U. of Alabama removes LGBTQ language from nondiscrimination statement | |
 | The University of Alabama System has removed sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression from its non-discrimination policy. AL.com reviewed archived web pages that show the words were deleted in 2025 from the Equal Opportunity Program statements for UA, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. UA told AL.com in a statement that the word "sex" includes sexual orientation and gender, and there has been no change to how the policy is applied. "The University will continue to apply its policies consistent with applicable law and remains committed to providing a welcoming environment free from discrimination and harassment for everyone," said Alex House, director of communications. Robert Kim, executive director of the advocacy group the Education Law Center, said words and categories do matter. |
| AU sued over alleged sexual discrimination, retaliation against faculty and students | |
| Auburn University is facing a lawsuit after two former doctoral students and three faculty members in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) alleged they faced sexual discrimination and a hostile work environment, which prevented them from conducting their research. The lawsuit raises retaliation claims under both Title IX and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit centers on events surrounding the university's federally funded Inventory and Conservation Planning Project (ICP2), a research project that examines the effects of habitat management on Alabama's wildlife during 2024. According to the complaint, doctoral students Kaitlin Connelly and Marlene 'Mars' Walters worked as graduate research assistants on the project when they began to experience what they characterize as a workplace culture that was both hostile and discriminatory. |
| Texas A&M has four projects selected for Department of Energy Genesis Mission | |
| Texas A&M University has had four projects selected as part of 278 projects slated to be part of the U.S. Department of Energy Genesis Mission. The university made the announcement Monday. Two of the projects are from professors in the College of Arts and Sciences and two are from the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). Kung-Hui Chu of TEES has a project creating an AI-guided map for biomining of critical minerals and integrating microbial, hydrological and geochemical data. Chu's project hopes to combine biological, water system and geochemical information to create AI-enabled tools for biomining research. Chu's project is in collaboration with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California. Yang Liu's project is called SHIELD, which stands for Secure Human-in-the-loop Intelligence for Engineering and Licensing Deployment of Advanced Nuclear Systems. TEES-based Liu's project will explore how AI can accelerate the engineering analysis and licensing work needed to bring advanced nuclear technologies into operation. Liu is working in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory. |
| U.S. Weighs $100,000 Fee for Foreign Students Wanting to Work After Graduation | |
| The Trump administration is considering attaching a $100,000 price tag on international students' ability to work in the U.S. after they graduate from an American university, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would make it much less attractive for foreigners to study in the U.S. If enacted, the fee would significantly advance President Trump's efforts to restrict nearly all forms of legal immigration. It would particularly harm universities, which rely on recruiting international students as a reliable source of revenue, as well as top Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms, which disproportionately hire international college graduates to fill technical roles. The fee would be attached to a program called optional practical training, or OPT, which allows international university graduates to work for one to three years on their student visas. There were roughly 419,000 foreigners working on OPT in 2024, the latest year that data are available. The move, in essence, accomplishes the goal originally set out by the administration's $100,000 levy on H-1B visas for foreign professionals, which caused a panic in Silicon Valley last year. The government was blocked from collecting the H-1B fee by an appeals court in Boston last week. |
| GOP Rift Over Education Department's Future | |
 | In a rebuke of President Trump's efforts to shutter the Education Department, a Senate committee voted Thursday to block the White House from outsourcing the responsibilities of four key ED offices to other federal agencies. The bill, which advanced to the Senate floor following the 13-to-9 vote, specifically protects programs within the offices of special education, elementary and secondary education, postsecondary education, and Indian education. Those are fewer than half of the education offices affected by the 14 interagency agreements signed so far, and many education advocates hope to see them all blocked. But Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who sponsored the bill, said that while he would love to reach a bipartisan consensus on the other offices, this is a strong step forward for now. Kaine's willingness to block some but not all of the interagency agreements was key to securing support from Republican co-sponsors Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, from Maine and Alaska, respectively, who crossed party lines to help the minority advance the bill. |
| Top senators consider blocking Trump's grant shakeup in spending stopgap | |
 | Senate leaders are deciding whether to block President Donald Trump from finalizing a plan to put political appointees in charge of approving grants, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said Thursday. "I have made very clear that I oppose the new rule," the Maine Republican told reporters. "So I hope we'll take advantage of this opportunity to delay it. But that's up to the leadership." Senate leaders are working to finalize a bipartisan stopgap bill to keep federal agencies funded beyond the Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune reiterated Thursday that he hopes to pass the measure next week. The South Dakota Republican did not say, however, whether the legislation will stifle the Trump administration's proposed regulation to do away with the peer-review process for awarding billions of dollars each year to state and local governments, community groups, education institutions and nonprofit organizations. "There are a handful of issues still under consideration," Thune told reporters Thursday afternoon. "And I'm hoping that both sides can come together and figure the last couple of remaining issues out." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State basketball to host Jackson State for the first time since 2020 | |
 | Mississippi State basketball will host Jackson State at Humphrey Coliseum for the first time since 2020. The game is scheduled for Nov. 9 and was part of a July 30 announcement that included two other nonconference home games for MSU. The Bulldogs also will host Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 15 and Campbell on Dec. 28. Start times for the games were not announced. Those three games finalize Mississippi State's 2026-27 home schedule, with the season opener Nov. 2 against Tennessee Tech. Mississippi State has two other nonconference games that haven't been announced. Jackson State went 12-21 last season. The Tigers promoted Trey Johnson to coach after Mo Williams left to be an assistant coach at Kentucky. Mississippi State is 7-0 all-time against Jackson State. The last game was in 2022 at the Mississippi Coliseum, a 69-59 win for MSU. The Bulldogs won the 2020 game at Humphrey Coliseum, 82-59. |
| Senate wraps up week with college sports bill on hold as it awaits word from Big Ten, SEC | |
| Seven years ago, the NCAA and conferences marched to Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to pass federal legislation to regulate an unruly ecosystem. On Thursday, at least two of those conferences rebuffed Congress' most bipartisan product yet. The SEC and Big Ten remain opposed to the U.S. Senate's Protect College Sports Act, thrusting the legislation into an uncertain and perilous place. The U.S. Senate adjourned on Thursday without beginning the procedure of scheduling the bill for a vote next week -- the final week that lawmakers are in session before a monthlong recess. While the bill's chances of a vote next week are in peril, there remains a very narrow and somewhat unlikely path: Majority Leader John Thune could still file cloture for the act on Monday evening once the Senate's session begins, potentially scheduling it for a late-week vote. But the opposition from the industry's two most valuable stakeholders stands as a significant impediment to Congressional passage. Big Ten and SEC university presidents and chancellors met, separately, on Thursday and did not formally vote --- a signal that their monthslong opposition remains for legislation that they believe doesn't provide enough legal protection and doesn't close a cap circumvention loophole. |
| Senate adjourns without scheduling vote Protect College Sports Act | |
| The U.S. Senate adjourned for the week Thursday without scheduling a vote for a wide-sweeping college sports bill, making it increasingly unlikely that the floundering legislative effort will move forward this summer despite a flurry of negotiations in the past week to try to revive it. Administrators from the Big Ten and SEC held separate meetings Thursday to decide if they wanted to support the latest version of the expansive Protect College Sports Act, a Senate bill aimed at reforming college sports. Neither conference ultimately voted on the matter, according to sources with knowledge of their meetings. The two conferences are home to schools in 26 states. Their widespread influence would make it difficult to earn enough votes to pass a law without their public support. A senate aide told ESPN there was "technically still time" for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to call the bill for a full vote early next week, but the odds are growing longer with each passing day. The Senate begins its summer recess Aug. 7. Without a vote before then, the chances for passing the bill into law would face a very tight window of time during a part of the year when most lawmakers will be focused on the federal budget and campaigning. |
| In NIL stalemate, Cruz insists new $48M cap would be a hard cap. SEC, Big Ten not convinced | |
| One key difference between Senate negotiators and the conferences still holding out on proposed legislation to regulate college sports is whether language in the bill would truly create a "hard salary cap" that would eliminate many third-party payments that have sent roster costs skyrocketing. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and cosponsor of the bill, sent out a social media post that said "The cap is a hard cap. Full stop. That loophole is closed." But the refusal by the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference to sign off on changes to the Protect College Sports Act during a frenzied week of negotiating is a sign that they do not agree with Cruz's assessment and would like to see stronger language in the bill. The Senate broke for the weekend late Thursday without taking action on the bill. It goes on vacation next Friday and the likelihood of the bill reaching a vote before then has grown slim. The NCAA, which has supported the bill, put out a statement from President Charlie Baker acknowledging the shrinking window to get this done. |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker on Protect College Sports Act: 'Support this bill now' | |
 | With Congress soon to begin its August recess, the finalization of the Protect College Sports Act negotiations between lawmakers and college sports leaders remains at a standstill on Capitol Hill, leaving the bill's path to a Senate floor vote uncertain. The impasse comes as leaders from the Power Four conferences -- the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12 -- meet Thursday, July 30 with university presidents to review the latest revisions to the bill made by lawmakers. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). Late Thursday afternoon, NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement saying that while no bill is "perfect," he "implores college sports leaders and Senators to support this bill now." Baker, of course, is hinting at the ticking clock on getting the bill passed this session. "While no bill is perfect, I implore college sports leaders and Senators to support this bill now. It is our best chance to deliver the benefits and level playing field student-athletes deserve while providing the protections institutions need to sustain college athletics long-term," Baker continued in his statement. |
| How Louisiana colleges will use an infusion of tax money for their sports programs | |
| Scholarships and budget balancing are the main ways athletics programs at Louisiana colleges plan to use their allotments of gambling tax revenue under a new state law, but their exact spending might never be known because the law doesn't require them to disclose it. The first annual allotment of sports gambling tax revenue was made available to Division I schools with football programs this month. The money comes from the Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources and Teams (SPORT) Fund, created during the 2025 legislative session. Each program -- LSU, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Grambling, Southern, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern State and Southeastern -- will each receive approximately $2 million annually. The law requires that money be used on things that benefit student-athletes, such as scholarships. The fund was created to assist athletics programs in navigating uncertain fiscal times for college athletics. The enabling legislation specifically mentions the money cannot be used to fund existing scholarships, but rather to provide new opportunities for students. |
| LSU is racing to raise millions in a new college sports landscape. What model will it choose? | |
 | LSU will convene its biggest sports donors next week in two closed-door meetings at the Louisiana Governor's Mansion to discuss "the future of LSU athletics" and propose an "alternative revenue generating opportunity" that university leaders say could "change the future of college sports in America." What exactly that means isn't clear because officials say their plan will be made public after getting feedback from donors. What the meeting portends for LSU and major college athletics, however, is better understood. Division I schools have faced "absolute financial pressure" ever since a recent NCAA legal settlement allowed them to pay upwards of $20.5 million to student athletes each year, said Kathryn Kisska-Schulze, a sports tax scholar and professor of business and law at Clemson University. "Major athletic departments have become so financially stressed that they are actively searching for revenue models that did not exist in college sports even just a couple of years ago," she said. A range of solutions are being implemented. |
| Big Ten seeking clarity on playoff expansion before addressing its nonconference scheduling policy | |
| The Big Ten appears to be in no hurry to change its status as the only major conference that doesn't require its schools to schedule at least one nonconference game against another Power Four member each year. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said this week at the Big Ten media days event that any proposed scheduling decisions would have to wait until a final decision comes on playoff expansion. The Big Ten is pushing for a 24-team approach to replace the current 12-team format. That's fine with many of the conference's coaches and athletic directors. "We've talked a lot about scheduling in our AD room and with our coaches about what's coming next and what's the right way to do things," Petitti said. "I will tell you that our focus now is seeing clarity around the playoff and access and how that's going to work before we make the next decision." Scheduling moves by other conferences have left the Big Ten as the lone holdout in this regard. |
| Banks Are Rushing to Grab College Sports' Newest Ad Space | |
| SoFi has a sports sponsorship portfolio that includes the NFL's richest naming-rights deal, the NBA, golf and a number of prominent athletes. This week it signed a deal that CEO Anthony Noto said "brings something truly unique." SoFi will be the first jersey patch partner of Notre Dame athletics, with its logo featured prominently on the uniforms of 26 Fighting Irish varsity teams, including its storied football program. It's part of a wider six-year deal, worth about $18-$20 million annually, under which the fintech firm will also provide financial education and career development for students. The deal was announced on Tuesday, just hours after Ohio State unveiled a similar partnership, also with a major financial institution, JPMorgan Chase, that will pay OSU in the $15-$17 million range annually. They're two data points in a much wider trend. A number of the schools that have already announced patch partners -- a new allowance by the NCAA -- have done so with either national or local banks. |
| NFL players at higher risk for neurodegenerative diseases, new study shows | |
 | National Football League players are three to four times more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, dementia and ALS compared to the general population, according to new research published this month. Ross Zafonte, a brain injury medicine expert from University of Missouri Health Care and the MU School of Medicine's executive vice dean, contributed to the study. Mass General Brigham, Boston University and the Concussion & CTE Foundation spearheaded the research. In a press conference Thursday, Zafonte said the study did not intend to imply that every NFL player would face neurodegenerative diseases. "It's not that everyone gets it," he said. "It's that the risk is elevated for particular neurodegenerative diseases." The research did find that NFL players are generally healthier than the general population but that they are still more likely to succumb to a neurodegenerative disease. |
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