| Wednesday, May 6, 2026 |
| Mississippi State opens new livestock evaluation laboratory to support students, industry | |
 | Mississippi State University has opened a new Livestock Evaluation Laboratory designed to enhance student training and support the state's livestock industry. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility was held Monday by the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. University officials said the new laboratory provides a dedicated, modern space for livestock judging and evaluation, a program that has been part of Mississippi State since the 1920s. The facility includes a workroom, lounge, office and conference room, along with a multipurpose open-air arena for live practice and competitions. MSU President Mark E. Keenum said the lab will benefit students as they prepare for careers in agriculture. "The new Livestock Evaluation Lab will benefit current and future generations of students and help ensure their success as they earn their degrees and begin their careers," Keenum said. |
| Mississippi State cuts ribbon on Livestock Evaluation Laboratory | |
| Mississippi State University's College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (CALS) and the Mississippi Agricultural & Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Livestock Evaluation Laboratory May 4. As part of a fifth-generation farming family and beef cattle producer, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who was in attendance, said she understands the importance of livestock evaluation. Her support was instrumental in bringing the new facility to fruition. "I'm thrilled with this new facility that adds to Mississippi State University's status as a leading agricultural institution," Hyde-Smith said. "Livestock judging is critical to the success of the industry in Mississippi and nationally. I trust that the lessons learned at the MSU Livestock Evaluation Lab will lead to opportunities for students and a stronger livestock sector here and nationally." "We are grateful for everything Sen. Hyde-Smith does to help our university carry out our mission to serve the entire state of Mississippi, especially our farmers, ranchers and rural communities," MSU president Mark E. Keenum said. |
| Mississippi farmers change the way they grow rice | |
| When a system works, there is little reason to change and many reasons to stick with success; any change in that system is often small things to improve efficiency. Mississippi's rice industry is not following that pattern. In the Midsouth, rice is drill seeded then grown in upland, or non-flooded conditions for roughly six weeks. Water is typically pumped from ground wells to flood rice fields once seedlings are established. That flood is maintained for the next ten to fourteen weeks as the rice grows. But research has shown that rice can be grown without the flood. MSU researchers are testing various methods of successfully growing rice without the traditional flood. Over the years, research has focused on precision land leveling, use of polypipe for flooding rice fields and furrow irrigation for the fields. Recently, MSU researchers have investigated alternative irrigation methods, including automating alternate wetting and drying. The system of alternate wetting and drying, called AWD for short, does things very differently but produces similar yields as flooded fields. |
| Helping Delta Farmers Save Water with Free Well Timers | |
| Farming in the Mississippi Delta depends on groundwater. More than 20,000 irrigation wells pump about 2 billion gallons of water each day from the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer. Over time, pumping has outpaced recharge, and water levels in the aquifer continue to decline. This decline threatens the long-term ability of the Delta to support agriculture, communities, and local industries. To help address this challenge, The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi is expanding a successful irrigation efficiency program that has already worked well for farmers in Arkansas. Through this program, TNC is offering well timers and installation at no cost to producers. Well timers are available to producers throughout the Delta, with priority given to farmers who have completed the Mississippi Master Irrigator Program, operate in areas with severe groundwater declines, or grow high water-use crops such as rice. Mississippi State University will help evaluate the program by comparing water use on fields with and without well timers using flow meter data. |
| Irrigation schools teach Southern farmers improved water strategies | |
| Sledge Taylor, a 71-year-old farmer in Como, Miss., grew up in an era when irrigation wasn't common. Despite his state receiving about 55 inches of annual rainfall, most of it comes during the winter months, making summer irrigation a challenge. Taylor's farm, which now spans about 4,000 acres, spreads across two locations -- one in the hill region and the other in the Delta -- where he grows two-thirds cotton and one-third corn. The silt loam soils present the greatest challenges, with 70% silt, 15% clay and 15% sand. "The old saying in this part of the country is, 'It doesn't matter if your soil is saturated; within two weeks, you're in a drought,'" Taylor said. He recalled gradually adding pivots in 1988, then again in 1998 and 2000. To further address irrigation challenges, he implemented no-till practices and cover crops, which successfully improved water infiltration. Then, Taylor, a lifelong learner, decided to attend the Master Irrigator Program offered by Mississippi State University. "I went to my first irrigation class last year in Mississippi, and I was 71 years old. You might wonder what a 71-year-old wants to do with this information. But I enjoy learning." |
| MSU bio engineering senior awarded UMMC's top academic scholarship | |
 | A Mississippi State University biomedical engineering senior from Amory now holds the most prestigious scholarship in the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Will McComb, a 4.0 GPA student at MSU during his four years in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, has been awarded UMMC's William K. Purks, M.D., Merit Scholarship for the upcoming academic year. McComb's selection was based on his "outstanding undergraduate academic record," a recent UMMC letter stated. The full attendance award covers tuition and cost of living expenses for the first year, and is renewable with good academic standing for the remaining three years. At Mississippi State, McComb said he's received a "phenomenal education." McComb also is quick to point out the invaluable role MSU's Health Pathways Resource Center and director Mary Celeste Reese have had in his medical school acceptance and securing the Purks Scholarship. |
| MSU junior receives prestigious Truman Scholarship | |
| Mississippi State junior Evan Garrison did not have a speech prepared when President Mark E. Keenum announced him as the university's newest Truman Scholar. He barely had words at all. Standing in a room full of people as Keenum revealed he was Mississippi State's 21st recipient of the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, Garrison said the moment did not feel real. "I literally just looked at him, didn't say a word and just shook my head because it wasn't real," Garrison said. "It was just a rush of a lot of things -- late nights, hard work, all of it coming together in a moment." For Garrison, a junior majoring in both aerospace engineering and mathematics from Webb City, Missouri, the award represents far more than national recognition. It represents years of work, a commitment to public service and a path he said would not have been possible without Mississippi State. He arrived in Starkville without plans to pursue research. That changed when mechanical engineering professor Matthew Priddy introduced him to undergraduate research, giving him an opportunity inside the lab and showing him what that work could look like. |
| Engineers track eye movements to advance student simulation training, enhance clinical preparedness in Meridian | |
| A Mississippi State University faculty member and undergraduate researcher are using eye-tracking technology at MSU-Meridian to study how students see, process and respond in high-pressure training scenarios, helping reshape how future healthcare professionals are educated. "By merging our university's deep-rooted engineering expertise with cutting-edge healthcare simulation, we aren't just teaching clinical skills," said Alaina Herrington, MSU-Meridian director of simulation and clinical affairs. "We are in a unique position to design and build the next generation of medical training tools right here on campus." Jessica Gonzalez-Vargas, an assistant professor with the Bagley College of Engineering's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is the project's principal investigator. Kayla Pigott, a senior industrial and systems engineering major from Lake Jackson, Texas, is spearheading data collection through a BCOE undergraduate research grant. |
| Why Students Take on Debt -- and What It Reveals | |
 | For Tyler Powe, a fourth-year student at Mississippi State University, taking out student loans wasn't for covering tuition -- it was for covering everything else. Despite earning significant scholarships, Powe, a business information systems major, said he still needed to borrow to pay for basic needs, even while working part-time in his campus IT department. "I'm blessed to have had multiple options and actually very big scholarships, but it still wasn't enough to cover college entirely," Powe said. "Like gas and groceries and really anything else that isn't tuition." Powe is one of many students who say the rising cost of living -- not just tuition -- is pushing them to take on debt, according to a new report from Trellis Strategies. The findings illustrate the financial stresses today's students are under. About 46 percent identified as independent students -- meaning they do not report parent income or assets for federal financial aid -- while 67 percent worked while enrolled and 19 percent were caregivers, with borrowers overrepresented among working students and caregivers. |
| Starkville utility bills to be rounded up | |
 | Residents will see their utility bills rounded up to the next dollar beginning in July after aldermen approved changes to Starkville Utilities' Power of Change program. The board voted 6-1 Tuesday to shift the program to a voluntary opt-out model, with Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins of Ward 6 casting the lone dissenting vote. The program currently requires customers to opt in, rounding their bills up to the nearest dollar to support the Starkville Community Foundation's utility assistance fund. Mayor Lynn Spruill voiced support for the change. "This is one of those things that helps the community," Spruill said during the board's regular meeting at City Hall. "It is a small measure. It is a round up opportunity, or if you wish to do more than that you can do more than that. ... I think it's a worthwhile program." Aldermen heard a presentation on the proposal during their Friday work session. Starkville Community Foundation Executive Director Stacey Parvin said the fund -- supported by donations from utility customers, the foundation and local churches -- assists five residents per week who cannot pay their full utility bill. That assistance totals roughly $1,250 per week. |
| Cater's Market celebrates 20 years with new carousel horse | |
 | Lauderdale County officials joined other community leaders Tuesday in celebrating a milestone in the life of one of Meridian's most well-known restaurants. Cater's Market marked 20 years in business with the unveiling of a carousel horse named "Handy." Kathy Parrish, community outreach coordinator for Hope Village for Children, a shelter for abused and neglected children, said Cater's Market owner Jamie Cater is not only responsible for building a successful restaurant but is also the brainchild, along with Debbie Martin, behind Meridian's carousel horse program. Founded in 2000, the Around Town Carousels About program encouraged local businesses and organizations to purchase a carousel horse and have it decorated. In addition to being a community-wide art piece of more than 80 horses, some of the money from the horses goes to benefit Hope Village. When the carousel horse program first launched, Cater said, she couldn't get a horse because she hadn't started her restaurant yet. Two decades later, both the carousel horses and her business are thriving. Cater's Market, originally opened on Highway 493 near North Hills Street, has since opened locations in Starkville and in downtown Meridian near the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian. |
| Much of Mississippi at risk of severe weather Wednesday afternoon into Thursday | |
| Rain started coming down in much of Mississippi on Wednesday morning with dangerous storms potentially moving in and sticking around until early Thursday. The National Weather Service has placed the entire state, apart from the immediate coastline, under a severe weather threat beginning after 4 p.m. on Wednesday. An Enhanced Risk (Level 3 of 5) is in place for much of central Mississippi, including areas along and near the Interstate 20 corridor from Vicksburg through Jackson to Meridian. Other cities in this zone include Columbus, Kosciusko, Yahoo City, Philadelphia, Magee, and Laurel. A Slight Risk (Level 2 of 5) covers two separate regions: a stretch of north Mississippi -- including pockets of the Delta, Oxford, and Tupelo -- and another area extending from Natchez to the Alabama state line, including Brookhaven, Hattiesburg, and McComb. A Marginal Risk (Level 1 of 5) is also in place for two areas: the very northern stretch of the state -- including Southaven, Tunica, and Corinth -- and a small portion of the lower Pine Belt, including Poplarville. |
| Trump's Indiana wins show his power over GOP with more primaries and redistricting debates ahead | |
 | Five months ago, President Donald Trump was stinging from one of the first political defeats of his second term as Republican state senators defied him on redistricting in Indiana. Now he has proved he can still punish wayward party members after he endorsed a slate of challengers who defeated almost every one of those lawmakers he wanted to dislodge. The results will likely bolster Trump's confidence heading into upcoming Republican primaries where he wants to help oust more incumbents, including U.S Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Indiana's primary also ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries before the November elections. Alabama and Tennessee have already begun special sessions that could limit Black voters' strength in Democratic-leaning districts, and some of Trump's allies in South Carolina want to follow suit. |
| Trump orders military to pause Strait of Hormuz mission to allow time for peace talks | |
 | President Donald Trump said he was pausing the military's new operation to clear a transit path through the Strait of Hormuz for commercial vessels, halting a mission that had only just begun, even as more than 1,500 commercial ships are still waiting to get through Iran's closure of the critical waterway. Global stocks jumped and oil prices fell Wednesday in reaction to Trump's statement, in which he hailed "Great Progress" toward a peace deal. S&P 500 futures were up nearly 1 percent in the early morning, with gains in major European and Asian indexes as well. The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was down about 9 percent to just under $100 per barrel. Trump said the pause comes "at the request of Pakistan and other countries," and means that U.S. military operations, including using warships to clear a path through the strait, will be halted "for a short period of time to see whether or not the [peace] agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote on social media. |
| 'The Kamala Harris problem': Vance's 2028 hopes hinge on Trump, Iowa Republicans say | |
 | Vice President JD Vance was greeted warmly by Republicans in Iowa on Tuesday, with would-be caucus goers and strategists optimistically curious about his potential as a 2028 presidential contender. But first, they're hoping he can help turn the economy around. Vance's fate is unavoidably linked to President Donald Trump's. He'll either carry the mantle of Trump's accomplishments all the way into his own term in the White House -- or be dragged down by Trump's dismal approval ratings, which have spiraled amid an unpopular war in Iran and voters' economic pessimism. During Vance's first trip as vice president to the early caucus state -- where he was campaigning for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn at a rally in a manufacturing warehouse in this battleground House district -- Vance's close ties with Trump were on full display. He credited the president repeatedly for tariffs, tax cuts and agriculture industry aid. And he avoided any mention of 2028. But his association with Trump's agenda presents a high-risk, high-reward proposition that could make or break his political future, operatives and rallygoers said. "That's the risk of being part of an administration," Iowa GOP strategist David Kochel said. "This is the Kamala Harris problem." |
| Rubio's Stint in the White House Briefing Room Sparks 2028 Chatter | |
 | Marco Rubio on Tuesday briefly added a new title to his ever-growing list of responsibilities: White House press secretary. Rubio, who serves as both secretary of state and President Trump's national security adviser, held court in the White House briefing room for almost an hour, acting as a temporary fill-in for Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. Rubio took questions from reporters about the escalating confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, rising gas prices and the pressure campaign on Cuba. He at times appeared to relish the job, grinning as he spoke to journalists, quoting rap lyrics and answering a question in Spanish. His performance contrasted with the more combative approach of other senior administration officials, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who recently compared reporters to the biblical Pharisees. Some pundits credited Rubio with delivering a more direct explanation of the administration's goals in Iran after weeks of mixed messaging from the president's team. "Frankly, they ought to put him out more," said Harold Ford Jr., a Fox News co-host and former Democratic congressman from Tennessee, arguing Rubio was adept at answering "tough questions about this war." |
| 'PAY OR LEAK': Hackers Target Big Higher Ed Vendor | |
| The higher education sector got another reminder over the weekend that it remains a prime target for cybercriminals. Hackers who have stolen data from Ticketmaster, Google and several high-profile universities kicked off the month of May by breaching Instructure; the education technology company owns the nation's most popular learning management system, Canvas, which is used by 41 percent of higher education institutions across North America to deliver courses. The criminal extortion group ShinyHunters -- which has also been linked to recent data breaches at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton and Harvard Universities -- claimed its attack on Instructure affected nearly 9,000 schools worldwide (including a mix of K–12 and higher education institutions) and compromised the personal identifying information of 275 million people, including students, teachers and staff. While Instructure says it has contained the attack, experts say it points to the added value cyberattackers see in going after third-party vendors instead of individual institutions. This isn't the first time ShinyHunters has victimized education-technology vendors. |
| Ask The Dispatch: How to prepare for graduation season in the Golden Triangle | |
| With graduation right around the corner for high school and college seniors, families are preparing to celebrate a milestone moment. But as ceremonies near, some may be wondering what to expect. Matthew Miles, dean of students at The W, said most students during this time are faced with mounting anxiety about "what's next." To counter that, he often tells seniors to "prepare for the unexpected." "Sometimes our own expectations can cause us to create more anxiety about ourselves," he told The Dispatch on Tuesday. "So I have those extra Plan B's and C's ready for when something doesn't happen the way that it was originally planned ... then you have a way ... to pivot. "... Tomorrow is going to come," he added. "It's going to come with its own challenges. But what can we do today to prepare for tomorrow?" |
| Dr. Jelani C. Zarif inspires JSU graduates to see degrees as pathways to leadership | |
| Jackson State University honored its Spring 2026 graduate class during commencement exercises at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, celebrating students whose academic journeys reflected perseverance, global scholarship and personal triumph. JSU's 14th president, Denise Jones Gregory, Ph.D., presided over her first commencement ceremony since being named in April. She said the Spring 2026 graduating class reflects the university's mission of academic excellence, leadership development and student success, noting that the graduates continue to demonstrate resilience and readiness to serve communities locally and globally. The ceremony featured keynote remarks from Dr. Jelani C. Zarif at the Jackson State University Spring 2026 Graduate Commencement Ceremony, who encouraged graduates to embrace resilience, purpose and long-term growth. |
| SC colleges pushed to trim expenses, degree programs in preparation for 'enrollment cliff' | |
| As the state considers how to fund its public colleges while keeping attendance affordable, particularly for South Carolinians, both Statehouse and university leaders are pushing schools to control their costs rather than continuously rely on taxpayer dollars to make up the difference. Earlier this year, legislators proposed requiring the state's four-year universities, as well as all University of South Carolina satellite campuses, to phase out academic programs that lose money. And at one of the state's largest colleges, it's the governing board telling administrators to tighten their belt. "We don't want to just say, 'Here's the money, don't raise tuition,'" said Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Irmo, chairman of the House's budget-writing panel for higher education. "We need to start looking at this a little bit closer." How (and whether) the General Assembly ultimately does that will be part of budget negotiations. Meanwhile, the Clemson University Board of Trustees, during its most recent meeting, directed college leadership to come up with a plan to cut costs and focus spending on programs where the school could get the most bang for its buck. |
| U. of Missouri researchers create new method to map natural disasters | |
 | Researchers at the University of Missouri have created an innovative method for mapping natural disaster damage and risk by combining satellite imagery and on the ground data. Using this combined model, researchers were able to identify the communities most affected by flooding and other hazards after Hurricane Helene, which swept through the southeastern U.S. in Sept. 2024, killing hundreds. By combining on-ground measurements with satellite imagery to map things like locations where floodwater had been, a more comprehensive map of the hurricane's damage could be constructed. "We linked all those things together into a composite map to show this is where, physically, between the environment feeling the impacts of Helene, and where more vulnerable people were, this is the highest impact score," MU Extension Natural Resources Specialist Michael Sunde said. |
| How college students are learning to socialize without cellphones | |
| At the gate, guests slipped their phones into little cloth bags, putting them away for the evening. As the sunlight faded on a cobblestone street, more than 200 students from New York University gathered at a table nearly as long as the city block. It was cold -- so cold that they ate wrapped in plush blankets and clutching handwarmers -- but they leaned in to talk with strangers, laughing and trading stories. "This is amazing," junior Grant Callahan said after conversations about philosophy, AI and Shanghai. That's because in his experience, something once quintessential to college life has been completely changed by technology. Instead of the socializing that American college culture is known for, many students walk around campus looking down at their phones, scroll through elevator rides and sit in classrooms glued to their laptops. Many college leaders are concerned about the amount of time students spend on screens and social media, worried that it is increasing isolation, loneliness and anxiety, shattering attention spans, and preventing social connections. New York University is one of the places trying to change that, with a global effort that they're calling NYU IRL -- or NYU "in real life." |
| First-Time Adult Enrollment Dropped This Fall. Should Colleges Be Worried? | |
| In the economic upheaval that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, adult students flocked to higher education in droves. Every fall from 2021 to 2024, the number of first-time students over the age of 25 grew -- including a substantial jump in fall 2024, when new students older than 25 grew 18.7 percent over the previous year, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data. But this past fall, that trend reversed. The number of first-time learners over the age of 25 dropped by 15.5 percent from fall 2024 to fall 2025. And though some experts see that decrease as a rightsizing of the post-COVID enrollment boom, others say it's a trend worth paying attention to, especially at a time when institutions are increasingly relying on adult enrollment to compensate for declining numbers of high school graduates. "We're always very cautious about our undergraduate enrollment, because we are experiencing a demographic decline in traditional-aged students going to college," said Beth Donaldson, managing director of consulting services for EAB, an enrollment management firm. And more students of all ages are deciding to forgo college altogether, she added. "So, now institutions have to be really thoughtful about their marketing strategies and how they can reach adult learners." |
| Higher Ed Has a New Business Model: Uncertainty | |
 | The gulf between a small private liberal-arts college and a state flagship university has long been huge, especially when it comes to finances. Budget directors at the private college are prone to break out into a sweat whenever student-enrollment reports show up in their email -- a drop of 10 or 20 students can be calamitous. Meanwhile, budget directors at the flagship historically haven't been as worried, knowing that a drop in enrollment can be balanced by growth in research dollars or state appropriations. That gulf has now shrunk considerably, as shown by an exclusive survey of 275 administrators with direct impact on their institution's budget that was conducted in fall 2025 by The Chronicle of Higher Education. As big universities and tiny colleges head into budget season, leaders at both kinds of institutions -- and all the others in between -- are gearing up for a lot of sleepless nights. More than 75 percent of those surveyed said they need to make some sort of changes to their budgets to be able to fulfill their mission. For many institutions, the looming changes are expected to be large -- and painful. |
| 'Everyone's Going to Experience a Shock' From New Federal Policies | |
| For months, college and university lobbyists and other experts have warned of the financial blow that institutions could face when new loan limits and accountability measures take effect this summer. But a new study shows that many public colleges and state university systems have been on shaky financial ground, which should have been sounding off alarms well before Congress's higher ed overhaul in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law. "A point too often missed in conversations about OBBBA is how it lands on a sector already experiencing a high degree of financial fragility. That fragility wasn't caused by OBBBA or by the current administration. But it will shape the outcome of any and all policy shifts for years to come," Daniel Greenstein, chancellor emeritus of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, wrote on LinkedIn about his research. The study, conducted over the course of months and broken down in a series of blog posts, uses three different databases to run nearly 1,400 colleges from more than 80 systems through what Greenstein -- who now works as chief of industry transformation at Ellucian, a higher ed tech company -- calls a "stress test." |
| ADL reports a sharp drop in US antisemitic incidents in 2025, driven by a steep fall on campuses | |
| The number of antisemitic incidents in the United States tallied by the Anti-Defamation League declined sharply in 2025 -- the first drop in five years -- due in part to what the ADL said was a dramatic decrease of incidents on college campuses. The ADL tallied 1,694 antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses in 2024, after pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist student protests proliferated due mostly to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. That figure fell by 66% in 2025, to 583, as many colleges and universities -- under pressure from President Donald Trump's administration -- took steps to curb such protests. With the drop in on-campus incidents a major factor, the ADL's latest annual audit -- released Wednesday -- says there were 6,274 incidents of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism overall in 2025. That's down 33% from the record-high 9,354 incidents counted for 2024. The states with the most antisemitic incidents in 2025 were New York (1,160), California (817) and New Jersey (687), the ADL says. Despite the decrease in total incidents, the ADL's national director and CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said 2025 "was one of the most violent years for American Jews," with a record-high 203 incidents of physical assault tallied in the audit. |
| After Louisiana v. Callais decision, voters should study demographic trends | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: For sixty years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act served as a kind of quiet referee in Southern politics. It didn't tell voters how to think or politicians how to govern. It simply enforced a basic principle: lines couldn't be drawn in a way that systematically canceled out minority votes. Last week, in Louisiana v. Callais, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively put that referee back on the bench. The Court did not formally strike Section 2 down. But by requiring proof of intentional racial discrimination -- and allowing partisan motivation to excuse almost any racial effect -- the Court rendered Section 2 something Justice Elena Kagan called "all but a dead letter." That ruling has immediate consequences for Louisiana's congressional map. But the deeper question -- one Mississippi ought to face squarely -- is what this ruling could mean over time for White Mississippians themselves. Mississippi is already something of a demographic outlier. It is one of the few states where Black citizens approach 40% of the total population. And yet, despite that near parity, White Mississippians continue to exercise disproportionate electoral influence -- especially in statewide and congressional elections -- thanks to turnout gaps, district design, and the slow churn of demographic change. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 11 Bulldogs Blast Nicholls, 21-6 | |
| No. 11 Mississippi State did not waste much time turning an early deficit into another lopsided night at Dudy Noble Field. Ace Reese homered twice and drove in six runs, Reed Stallman added two homers and five RBIs as MSU overwhelmed Nicholls 21-6 in seven innings Tuesday night. The Diamond Dawgs (37-12) trailed 2-0 after Caston Thompson's two-run homer in the top of the first, but MSU answered with a 12-run bottom half and never slowed down. State finished with 18 hits, six home runs and seven walks while ending the game early by the 10-run rule. Chris Billingsley Jr. started for Mississippi State and allowed five runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. Jack Gleason (4-1) earned the win in relief, giving up one run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings while striking out two. Parker Rhodes closed it out with two scoreless innings, striking out five. Mississippi State will wrap up its regular season home slate against sixth-ranked Auburn. The Bulldogs and Tigers open the three-game series on Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. |
| No. 6 Auburn defeats UAB in midweek showdown | |
| No. 6 Auburn baseball took down the UAB Blazers 10-2 on Tuesday night on the road in Birmingham, Alabama. After this weeknight win over the Blazers, the Tigers hold a 33-14 (14-10 SEC) record this season. While this was the third straight midweek win with double-digit runs for the Tigers, head coach Butch Thompson felt his team could have played better Tuesday night. "I'm thankful for the win, but not our best effort here recently," Thompson said. "I'm not disappointed or upset, but we committed to five weeks here to finish this thing. There were definitely some things that we'll take and put into practice tomorrow and keep pushing." The Tigers stay on the road and head to Starkville to face No. 11 Mississippi State for more conference play as the season comes to an end. Auburn will play a three-game weekend series against the Bulldogs starting on Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT. |
| Softball: Troutman Provides Walks-Off Winner Against Kentucky In SEC Tournament | |
| Taylor Troutman won the race and won the game on Tuesday as No. 19 Mississippi State rallied back to defeat host Kentucky, 4-3, at the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase a deficit. State (38-17, 9-15 SEC) came to the plate with three outs remaining and trailing by two runs in the seventh. Kiarra Sells hit a leadoff single off the diving third baseman, which was followed by Morgan Bernardini reaching on an error. Kinley Keller singled to load the bases, and Morgan Stiles plated a pair of runs to tie the game. With two outs, Troutman hit a sharp ground ball at the first baseman and won the race to the base while Stiles scampered home. Stiles scored or drove in all four runs. "I'm really excited for the team and the way they fought back" head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's been a long time coming, and they continue to trust in the work that we put in. They never quit. The fight the entire game, particularly in the seventh, was very positive. It was very much a 'Let's do this together,' attitude." No. 19 Mississippi State will face No. 9 Arkansas at approximately 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday. First pitch will be 35 minutes after the conclusion of the day's first game. |
| Women's Golf: Avery Weed Selected For 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup | |
| Avery Weed will become the first Bulldog to represent Team USA in the Arnold Palmer Cup, as her selection to the 2026 team was announced today on Golf Channel. The tournament will be played July 3-5 at Tralee Golf Links in West Barrow, Ireland. The Arnold Palmer Cup is Ryder Cup style tournament featuring the top men's and women's collegiate golfers, pitting Team USA against Team International. It is the only major tournament that see men and women compete on the same team. Each team selects 12 male and 12 female participants. This will be Weed's first appearance in the Arnold Palmer Cup. She becomes the first Bulldog to appear in the event since Julia Lopez Ramirez, who last played in the event for Team International in 2024, which was her third consecutive season. Before participating in the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer, Weed and the Bulldogs look to extend their collegiate season, as they begin their sixth-straight NCAA Tournament on May 11th in the Chapel Hill Regional. State will look to advance to the NCAA Championship for the fifth consecutive season, which will once again be held in Carlsbad, California, beginning May 22. |
| Sources: College football coaches throwing support behind 24-team CFP format | |
| Coaches are swinging their support behind a remade and expanded college football postseason. The American Football Coaches Association voted last week to recommend that college leaders implement a playoff with "the maximum number of participants," discontinue conference championship games, preserve the Army-Navy game's exclusive time window but hold other games on that day, and end the playoff by the second week of January. In their annual meeting, the AFCA's Board of Trustees discussed and adopted the recommendations, AFCA executive director Craig Bohl told Yahoo Sports. The association is expected to publicly release its decisions soon, most notable of which is the nod of support for a 24-team playoff and the elimination of league title games. Though the board has no authority within the NCAA or College Football Playoff governance structure, the group includes prominent coaching figures with influence over decision-makers, such as the conference commissioners and university presidents presiding over the CFP. The AFCA board includes names like Bret Bielema (Illinois), Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Rhett Lashlee (SMU), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech) and Pat Fitzgerald (Michigan State). |
| Brendan Sorsby Hiring Jeffrey Kessler Means Sports Law Battle Ahead | |
| Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has retained the Michael Jordan of sports litigators, Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn, a telling sign that "Sorsby v. NCAA" might come to fruition. Sorsby, who reportedly landed a $5 million NIL deal to join Texas Tech, has made for significant sports law news of late. Sorsby is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the University of Cincinnati -- for whom Sorsby played in 2024 and 2025 -- for breach of his 18-month NIL deal with the Bearcats. Sorsby maintains the NIL deal was really an employment contract and that "NIL" was pretext for pay-for-play. Then last week, Texas Tech announced Sorsby had taken an indefinite medical leave to participate in a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. Sorsby is under NCAA investigation for allegedly making bets -- possibly more than 10,000 bets -- through a gambling app, with some bets on Indiana football while a freshman backup at the Big Ten school in 2022. Kessler is as familiar with antitrust arguments against the NCAA as any sports litigator in America. He has led multiple antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA over the last decade, including his 9-0 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in NCAA v. Alston and engineering the House settlement. |
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