| Wednesday, August 26, 2026 |
| MSU Bagley College of Engineering continues national impact with faculty NSF CAREER Awards | |
 | Sources from an MSU press release say that two Mississippi State University faculty members in the Bagley College of Engineering are recent National Science Foundation CAREER Award winners, securing more than $1 million in combined federal funding to advance research in emergency response simulations and global space observation. Seunghan Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Junming Diao, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, each earned the prestigious five-year awards. Lee received more than $516,000 for his work with human-robot emergency response, while Diao received about $549,200 to develop distributed radio astronomy networks. Lee's project "AI-Driven Simulation Framework for Human-Autonomy Planning, Adaptive Control, and Immersive Virtual Reality Training" focuses on improving the safety and efficiency of human-robot collaboration in firefighting and emergency-response operations. Diao's project "A Distributed Radio Telescope Powered by Global IoT Networks: Low Cost, High-Performance and Spectrum Sharing," aims to connect millions of everyday Internet of Things, or IoT, devices to form a single radio telescope array. |
| 'Hamilton' sensation Leslie Odom Jr. to open MSU's Lyceum Series | |
 | Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. is sure to pack Mississippi State's Bettersworth Auditorium for the first performance of the university's 2026-27 Lyceum Series. Odom Jr., best known for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Hamilton," makes his MSU Starkville campus appearance September 11 at 7:30 p.m. in historic Lee Hall. Among the 2015 original cast members of "Hamilton," Odom Jr.'s Tony Award recognition followed in 2016 when his name was called for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album as a principal soloist on the "Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording." Last year, Odom Jr.'s book Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning was reissued in paperback, with the original hardcover first appearing in 2018. One of his most repeated quotes from the book speaks to his private and relentless dedication over the years. He said, "The work you put in when no one is watching will matter far more than the work you do when the cameras are rolling." |
| Mississippi soybean, corn crops may set yield records | |
 | August would typically be too early to accurately forecast Mississippi's soybean crop, but this year, it is a month ahead of schedule -- far enough along to predict a promising harvest. Mississippi State University Extension soybean specialist Justin Calhoun anticipates a state record-breaking yield in 2026. The previous record, 57 bushels per acre, was last reached in 2023. Calhoun's update was one of several shared by specialists and researchers with MSU Extension and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station during the annual Row Crop Field Day at the MSU R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center Aug. 17. The event gave producers, agricultural professionals and MSU graduate students an opportunity to tour research plots at the facility known commonly as "North Farm." Participants heard the latest observations from agricultural specialists and researchers on crop progress, insect and disease management, and ongoing research projects. |
| New invasive tick poses major risk to livestock | |
| According to a press release, scientists at Mississippi State University are on the lookout for a new invasive species of tick, and they want Mississippians to know their help is crucial in detecting the pest. The Asian long-horned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, has been confirmed in neighboring Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee, and more than 20 other states. They were first discovered in New Jersey in 2017, where they infested a herd of sheep. "As of August 21, there have been zero confirmed reports of the Asian long-horned tick in Mississippi," said Santos Portugal, an entomologist with the MSU Extension Service. "That doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't here, only that their presence has not yet been confirmed. It has been collected in neighboring states but not yet near the Mississippi border." The Asian long-horned tick is a major pest of livestock, but they feed on all types of animals, including birds, wildlife and pets, and even people. While Asian longhorned ticks have yet to be confirmed in the state, some of Mississippi's native ticks still pose a risk for disease transmission, and people should try to prevent tick bites, no matter what the species, Portugal said. |
| New invasive tick poses major risk to Mississippi livestock | |
| Scientists at Mississippi State University are on the lookout for a new invasive species of tick, and they want Mississippians to know their help is crucial in detecting the pest. The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, has been confirmed in neighboring Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee, and more than 20 other states. They were first discovered in New Jersey in 2017 where they infested a herd of sheep. Their ability to reproduce in such high numbers in a short amount of time, adapt and spread to new climates and spread disease makes them especially concerning to animal health officials, said Carla Huston, Extension veterinarian and professor with the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. "These ticks can begin reproducing at six months versus the two years typical of more common tick species. In other words, a single tick can create a whole new population of ticks in an area in a short amount of time," Huston said. The best defense for livestock owners against these ticks is to maintain a livestock tick control program and keep vegetation cut down. |
| Mississippi scientists warn of potential invasive tick arrival | |
 | Scientists at Mississippi State University (MSU) said they're are on the lookout for a new invasive species of tick, and they want Mississippians to know their help is crucial in detecting the pest. The Asian longhorned tick has been confirmed in neighboring Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee, and more than 20 other states. "As of August 21, there have been zero confirmed reports of the Asian longhorned tick in Mississippi," said Santos Portugal, an entomologist with the MSU Extension Service. "That doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't here, only that their presence has not yet been confirmed." They prefer areas with tall grass and high humidity, such as pastures, but have also been found in shaded lawns in neighborhoods. The ticks are known to transmit livestock and human diseases, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, theileriosis and rickettsiosis, in addition to several viruses. |
| MSU: Invasive pest crawling across US | |
| An invasive pest is crawling its way across the United States. Mississippi State University scientists said on Monday they want state residents to know how to help detect it. It is the Asian longhorned tick, and so far it has been confirmed in Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and more than 20 other states after first being discovered in New Jersey in 2017. They were found infesting a herd of sheep in the Garden State, MSU said. MSU Extension Service entomologist Santos Portugal said there are no confirmed cases of them in Mississippi, but that doesn't mean they are not here. If someone wants to submit a tick they believe may be an Asian longhorned tick, they can do so through the Mississippi State Department of Health's Entomology and Vector Control Program. More details on the process can be found on the Department of Health's website. |
| Organic vegetable production requires careful management | |
| Organic produce sells for a premium because of the promise made to consumers about the way it was grown and because making good on that promise is challenging. Crops marketed as organic in the U.S. promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity in all cultural, biological, mechanical and even approved chemical practices. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation and genetic engineering are not allowed, and products must be grown without prohibited substances and methods from the field to the final point of sale. Successfully producing crops under these conditions can be difficult, especially in a climate such as Mississippi's where ideal growing conditions for vegetables are also ideal for insect pests and disease. Mississippi State University research has long supported the safe and efficient production of produce crops and in recent years has included organic production in the practices it supports. Jermaine Perier, Extension entomologist, brought these efforts into the spotlight this summer with a conference focused entirely on growing organic crops successfully in the state. "Pest management, including weeds, diseases and insects, can be challenging for organic farmers, not only because of the National Organic Program protocols, but because of the limited amount of Organic Materials Review Institute products available," Perier said. |
| Habitat has homes to build, but finding buyers is a challenge | |
| Last spring, Chiquita Brown had not even heard of Habitat for Humanity. But now she's counting down the days to her September move-in thanks to Starkville Habitat for Humanity. Brown found out about the group close to the application deadline for its Partnership Program, which provides a pathway for low-cost homeownership for people who would otherwise be unable to own a house. Brown at the time was renting an apartment and rushed to submit her application, handing it in on the day of the deadline. She was interviewed by the Family Selection Committee, and construction began on her home a few months later. While Brown was approved quickly, the application process is rather intensive and often leaves Starkville Habitat struggling to find qualified applicants, the organization's public relations coordinator Charla Laney told The Dispatch. Laney estimated the group can usually find a partner within one to two months of closing applications, allowing it to build about two houses a year. The Starkville branch keeps a healthier network of volunteers, Laney said, with school groups and Mississippi State University students often present on sites and contractors taking on only more technical construction tasks like plumbing and electrical. MSU partners with the group for a Maroon Edition home each year, which it provides volunteers and some funding for, Laney said. Brown's house is the 17th built as part of this partnership and the 78th house Starkville Habitat has built since its founding in 1986. Brown's new home is also part of a new community Starkville Habitat is creating on the old Kelly Estate, where the organization is planning to build about 30 houses. Brown's home is the sixth built in the neighborhood. |
| Columbus closes in on target for sales tax revenue; Starkville remains on track to exceed | |
| With one month to go in the fiscal year, Columbus is closing in on its sales tax revenue target, while Starkville remains on track to exceed its budgeted figure. Both cities saw an increase in general sales tax collections compared to August 2025, leaving Columbus just $13,391 behind the pace of meeting its $12 million budget. Starkville remains on track to meet its projected budget of $10.3 million but is anticipating a smaller surplus than in previous months and still lags behind its Fiscal Year 2025 collections. Both cities' budget cycles began Oct. 1. while West Point's fiscal year began July 1. West Point is on track to surpass its projected $3.1 million budget after two strong months to start its fiscal year. Starkville collected about $827,902 from general sales tax this month, marking a 3.26% increase from last August's collections. This month's collections represent a 8.3% drop from last month's collections of about $902,839. So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $9,520,400, which is a 0.1% decrease from collections this time last year ($9,529,569). Starkville is still on pace to exceed its $10.3 million projected budget by about $85,891. |
| FDA Approves Drug for Pancreatic Cancer in Incredible Moment for Deadly Disease | |
 | For four decades, cancer researchers fought to disable a stubborn mutation that made pancreatic cancer a death sentence -- to little avail. Now, doctors have a medicine that targets the mutation. The Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug from Revolution Medicines on Wednesday marks a milestone in treatment of one of the most intractable kinds of tumors. "This is life-altering," said Carla Kurkjian, an oncologist at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, who wasn't involved in the studies. "Not just for patients, as far as helping them extend their lives beyond anything we'd ever seen, but for us as physicians, to be able to have a different conversation than we've had for so long." The drug, called Rasonque, helped subjects in a late-stage study live more than 13 months, nearly twice as long as those on chemotherapy alone. When presented at the world's largest gathering of cancer researchers last spring, the results drew a nearly minute-long standing ovation. Yet the drug does have side effects, including a harsh rash across the body and gastrointestinal issues. Former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who went public in the spring with what he described as a significant reduction in his tumors while in a clinical trial of the drug, appeared on television with his face covered in red blotches. |
| MDOT plans 'Big Fix': $400M, 2 1/2-year repair project for I-20 and I-55 | |
| Leaders at the Mississippi Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that some of Mississippi's busiest roadways will undergo major renovations over the next two-and-a-half years as part of a $400-million project. Called the "Big Fix," the project will improve roads and bridges on Interstate 20, which runs east-west, and Interstate 55, which runs north-south, in Hinds and Rankin counties. The project, funded with federal and state dollars, will rehabilitate 36 bridges, resurface 32 miles of roadway and deploy new technology to make travel safer. Willie Simmons, Central District transportation commissioner, said at a press conference that when the interstate system was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, it met all engineering and safety standards at the time. But since then, vehicles have grown larger and traffic has increased. "Updating this infrastructure today isn't about correcting the past," Simmons said. "It's about keeping pace with today's demands and tomorrow's needs." Brad White, executive director of MDOT, said the agency decided to renovate the longer stretch of road at one time instead of targeting portions of road piecemeal to save taxpayers money in the long term and reduce the disruption to drivers. |
| USDA takes next step to repeal regulations on road construction, timber harvest in national forests | |
 | The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially filed a proposal to repeal the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, after the Trump administration announced its intention to do so last year. While the proposal undergoes review, Mississippi's six national forests will still operate under the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, per the U.S. Forest Service. "The National Forests in Mississippi span 1.2 million acres, including 2,558 acres of inventoried roadless areas," the National Press Team for the Forest Service wrote in an email to MPB News, responding to an interview request. "All of those acres are located within the Sandy Creek area of the Homochitto National Forest." That rule was developed after hundreds of public hearings as a way to manage, at the national level, around 58 million acres of undeveloped land within national forests. It prohibited timber harvesting and road construction, among other activities. Repealing that rule could affect Mississippi's roadless areas, impacting things like recreation, clean drinking water and wildlife habitat. "To take advantage of these rare public lands that we have, that's not to be understated, because that's certainly important for the economy and the state of Mississippi," said Louie Miller, state director of the Mississippi Sierra Club. "Everyone knows we're a state that has deer populations, turkey populations, that are harvested on an annual basis." "That generates revenue for small counties, particularly in the Homochitto area; so these are things that should not be overlooked or marginalized simply to produce more timber." |
| Meta to pay $17 billion, overhaul Facebook and Instagram in teen addiction settlement | |
 | Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced Wednesday. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were among 29 states that sued the tech giant in 2023, but the deal cuts short the trial, which was expected to see CEO Mark Zuckerberg take the stand before a jury in federal court in California. The agreement is worth $353 million in Virginia alone and is one of the biggest in state consumer protection history, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement. "For years, Meta intentionally deceived the public about the addictive and harmful design features that have wreaked havoc on youth mental health," Jones said. The settlement "will put an end to these dangerous practices and deliver meaningful relief that will protect children from online harm." The $17 billion settlement is a fraction of the company's 2025 revenue of $201 billion. Arturo Béjar, a former Meta engineering director, said during his testimony last week that Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products, focusing on how often and for how long people used them, even if it was detrimental to their mental well-being. |
| In a divided America, the left and right unite to oppose artificial intelligence data centers | |
 | In rural eastern Nebraska, a technology revolution could rise from fields of corn and soybean in the form of new data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom. But just like around many parts of the country, opposition has been building in ways that defy typical partisan boundaries. Conservative farmers and the state Sierra Club chapter recently found common cause against labor leaders as they filled the firehouse in Murdock -- population around 275 -- to share concerns about data center development moving too quickly. The scene exemplified an unlikely coalition that worries about dwindling farmland, declining water supplies and rising electricity bills -- not to mention how massive corporations could reshape small town America into nodes in a national network of computing warehouses. The debate around data center projects is one of the rare modern issues to cut across party lines, demographics and geography -- from Republican-dominated Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming to swing-state Pennsylvania to Democratic-leaning New Mexico. |
| FBI Shuts Down Sprawling China-Linked Hacking Network | |
| U.S. officials say they have disrupted a China-linked hacking operation that broke into U.S. government networks and critical infrastructure, while hiding its tracks on a global network of hacked devices, cloud computing infrastructure and even clandestine networks. The goal was to blend in with legitimate networking traffic, making the hacking activity hard to trace, federal officials say. The group exploited software vulnerabilities to launch cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies, power companies and hospital systems, and operated a worldwide network of hacked devices -- known as a botnet -- to conduct its hacking campaigns, according to Brett Leatherman, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber official. "We've seen, through this botnet, the targeting of entities and devices in more than 130 countries," he said. |
| Thompson and Colom urge Black voters to turn out in November amid redistricting fight | |
| U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom on Tuesday called for Black Mississippi voters to turn out in November's midterm elections to fight back against President Donald Trump's agenda and an expected effort from state leaders to redraw electoral maps in Republicans' favor. At a "Power in the Pews" luncheon in Jackson organized by the NAACP, the candidates spoke to a packed room at the Hilton Jackson filled with hundreds of attendees alongside faith leaders, political organizers and Democratic officials. Churches have long been an engine of political organizing for Black voters in Mississippi and across the Deep South. NAACP workers at the event handed out informational packets on voter engagement and urged attendees to consult their local churches for information on how to get involved. Thompson called such efforts a blueprint for turning out Black voters in Mississippi. Thompson and Colom warned about what they said were threats to voting rights and Black representation posed by Trump and Republican state officials. |
| G.O.P. Lawmakers Rebuke Trump on Plan to Increase Beef Imports | |
 | Congressional Republicans are leveling some rare and uncharacteristically harsh criticism of President Trump for his decision to increase imports of ground beef at a lower tariff rate, warning that the move will hurt American ranchers. The decision, announced late last week, appeared to be a bid to lower costs across the country before the midterm elections in which Republicans are fighting to preserve their narrow majorities. But it has drawn dissent from even reliable allies of Mr. Trump, many of them from states and districts with large cattle-raising areas, who fear that the move could harm another important constituency: the producers they represent. The cascade of statements -- including from Senators Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Steve Daines of Montana and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi -- amounted to an unusual chorus of protest from Republicans who have otherwise routinely deferred to Mr. Trump on nearly every major issue, from the war with Iran to his trade wars. |
| Republicans were already nervous about November. Then Trump restarted his trade war. | |
 | Republicans were already struggling to defuse simmering voter frustrations over the cost of living ahead of the midterms. Then President Donald Trump rekindled his trade wars. Trump's latest actions -- especially his decision to impose 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, inviting retaliatory duties from America's No. 2 trading partner -- has sparked new pushback from GOP lawmakers and candidates. His moves are set to reverberate especially hard in a handful of states crucial to the party's hopes of keeping their Senate majority. That includes northern border states, such as Maine and Michigan, as well as agriculture-heavy battlegrounds like Iowa and North Carolina that have been buffeted for more than a year by Trump's embrace of hardball trade tactics. "We've got 71 days, and right now we don't have a positive message to tell farm country," said retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, whose North Carolina seat is at risk of flipping into Democrats' hands in November. The beef imports have jolted races in Iowa, where GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, said in a social media post that the imports were "a bad idea" that would create "more uncertainty and instability for our farmers." Rep. Zach Nunn, another Republican who is seeking reelection, said Friday at the Iowa State Fair alongside Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that Trump is "right" that "we want to make sure that people can afford to eat" but that "we don't do it on the backs of our cattlemen." |
| USDA certified? Comments suggest beef deal not quite cooked | |
 | Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday distanced herself from President Donald Trump's surprise announcement last week that he had reached a deal with still-unnamed countries to ramp up beef imports. Trump on Friday announced a plan to temporarily allow more tariff-free foreign beef into the United States in an effort to bring down prices. But it was immediately met with pushback from America's beef sector and its congressional champions, including Montana GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy, a close Trump ally, and others. When pressed by reporters at the White House, Rollins also did not directly address concerns from some Republican lawmakers who represent beef-producing states. A top concern the GOP lawmakers and ranching officials have expressed was that cheaper foreign-produced beef would force down prices of American ground beef and other cattle-based products. And that would leave U.S. beef ranches with fewer profits to spend on efforts to grow the size of the American beef herd. |
| Mississippi cattle farmers 'angry' with Trump over plan to import foreign beef | |
| One of President Donald Trump's strongest support groups, cattle farmers, feel sheer betrayal from the White House as a result of a plan to lower beef prices. In Mississippi, a state Trump has won in three straight election cycles, the sentiment is no different. Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation President Mike McCormick noted that local cattle farmers are hurt by the president's Aug. 21 announcement that up to 300,000 metric tons of beef can be imported into the U.S. over the next 90 days without facing certain tariffs. The ire is not necessarily with the plan itself, but how the president's announcement wrecked futures markets. "The farmers are angry. They are very angry with what the president did. He could have done this without making a statement. It wouldn't have rattled the markets," McCormick said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. "He could have just brought more beef in. He could have brought it in with tariffs. Don't make me play on an unlevel playing field." McCormick added the following, and more strongly-worded, message for the president: "You tell us that you love us, but you're not showing us that you love us. You intentionally harmed the cattle markets for everybody selling cattle in the markets." |
| GOP faces jam-packed September with funding, reconciliation on agenda | |
 | Republicans in both chambers are staring down a September sprint after returning from August recess, with a jam-packed legislative agenda and little time to clear their biggest remaining priorities before the midterm election crunch. At the top of the House's list is passing a short-term stopgap spending measure -- also known as a continuing resolution (CR) -- to avert a potential shutdown and keep the government funded past the Sept. 30 fiscal deadline. What will likely be more of a headache for the GOP in both chambers is trying to push through a third reconciliation package that President Trump has been clamoring for. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the Senate Budget Committee's chair, released the GOP version of the budget resolution in early August, which the chamber didn't take up before leaving for its recess. In addition, the Senate ended up reaching a deal to postpone action on a college sports bill pushed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after failing to agree on whether to hold votes to proceed to the bill. The Senate, however, did pass a bill to expand sanctions targeting Russia, which the House is expected to take up when the lower chamber returns from its recess. The annual defense policy bill, the farm bill and a measure to reauthorize the nation's foreign spy powers are also on the list of unfinished congressional business, though priorities will almost certainly slip until after the midterms. |
| Political Operatives Warn Campaigns: Don't Trust Prediction Markets | |
| The slow decline of traditional polling has left politicos, who are always desperate for numbers, in a lurch. Two venture-backed prediction market companies are offering nothing short of magic to meet those needs: real-time odds on who will win elections, and even projections of how much they will win by. As these companies lean into aggressively gamifying -- or rather, gamblifying -- U.S. politics, political operatives are warning campaigns not to take them seriously. "The thing we have to remember is they're not in any way representative of the voters that decide elections," said Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist. "It is sort of like degenerate gambling for political hacks." Schale likened polls to "heroin" for people in politics. Prediction market projections offer more numbers for that demographic to obsess over, but that doesn't make them helpful to campaigns, he argued. Elections are big business for prediction markets. South Carolina's Senate Republican primary runoff between Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman saw more than $25.7 million in trading activity on Kalshi. The platform projected Graham's odds at around 56% when polls closed, and she won. Prediction markets, which claim to reflect the "wisdom of the crowd," have missed the mark several times this primary season though. |
| Darline Graham wins SC Republican Senate runoff, boosting Trump when his influence was on the line | |
 | First-time candidate U.S. Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination in the duel to succeed her late brother on the November ballot, securing her place in a race many saw as a referendum on President Donald Trump's influence following a string of endorsement defeats elsewhere in the country this primary season. Cheers broke out at Graham's election night party around 8:45 p.m., after results began surging in their favor as attendees began filing into a stuffed office ballroom where dozens of local and national news reporters were assembled. With better than 90 percent of the vote in, Graham led U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin, a difference that mirrored the tight result many expected entering election night. "I hate it for the state, I really hate it," Norman said, before criticizing Graham for her PAC funding and saying that Democrats "got what they wanted" in the race. Norman's supporters in the room booed at his mention of Trump's involvement in the campaign. |
| A rift over a weed killer is dividing a pro-Trump alliance | |
 | The MAGA-MAHA alliance helped carry Donald Trump back to the White House. It handed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. control of the nation's health agencies. Now, it may fracture over a widely used herbicide. President Donald Trump's decision that expanded domestic production of glyphosate earlier this year was a national security priority and not an endorsement of the use of the weed killer, White House officials have said -- part of his Make America Great Again platform. Some advocates of Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement, particularly those angry over pesticides, have countered that boosting the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup was unforgivable -- and part of a pattern of the administration siding with the industry over public health concerns. Now some influential MAHA activists are channeling their anger at Heidi Overton, a top Trump aide whom the president has selected to lead the Food and Drug Administration, saying they fear she will not fiercely challenge corporate interests and disrupt the status quo. Although the FDA isn't charged with evaluating the safety of pesticides, Overton's nomination has become emblematic of the broader frustrations from some MAHA activists -- and turned into a proxy war over the kinds of nominees they are seeking to lead the nation's health agencies. |
| Dolly Parton's philanthropy was based on 'her belief in the goodness of people' | |
| Just weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the American South in 2024, Dolly Parton stood on a stage in her iconic blonde wig, with a song on her lips. She promised the flood-ravaged community in her native Tennessee -- to the tune of her classic song "Jolene" -- that "we're all here to mend these broken hearts." For the music legend and multimillionaire businesswoman, that meant using her wealth for good. That day, she announced a $1 million donation, matched by her Dollywood companies and their partners, to an Appalachian relief nonprofit. It's one of the enduring images of the charismatic humanitarian, whose good humor and straightforward generosity lifted the well-being of communities in her home state and beyond. Fans across generations and geographies say it will remain part of Parton's legacy. She died Tuesday at the age of 80. The Library of Congress called Parton a "titan of children's literacy" for the millions of free books provided monthly through her Imagination Library. Also well-known is the $1 million gift she made to Vanderbilt University's Medical Center to help develop Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The not-for-profit Dolly Parton Children's Hospital recently received an undisclosed sum to improve pediatric care across eastern Tennessee. Then there's the quieter giving that the public was still uncovering in her final years. |
| Mississippi launches UPSKILL grant for adult education, training for in-demand careers | |
| The Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid and AccelerateMS, the state's workforce development office, have announced the launch of the UPSKILL Mississippi Grant. The grant is aimed at providing adult Mississippians greater access to state financial aid for education and training for in-demand careers. The UPSKILL Mississippi Grant -- short for Upgrading Priority Skills for Key Industry Learning and Labor -- will be administered by the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. The grant will cover any remaining tuition and fees after other aid is applied and include an additional $500 annual stipend for books and other educational materials. Dr. Jennifer Rogers, executive director of the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid said UPSKILL Mississippi creates an important new opportunity for adult Mississippians who may have thought the cost of returning to school to pursue a credential or degree was out of reach. "Mississippi has to be strategic about how we invest in workforce development," state Senator Nicole Boyd (R), chair of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee, said. "UPSKILL gives us a way to focus state resources on the skills our economy needs most while creating a stronger connection between education, workforce development, and the industries driving growth in our state." |
| Campus construction takes shape as fall semester begins | |
 | The University of Mississippi continues on with its construction projects as demand for student housing grows. These projects include two additional dormitories, new and renovated campus facilities and upgrades to sorority and fraternity houses. The additional dorms will be situated on West Row and will include a new dining facility and parking garage with about 1,500 parking spots. The project is currently in the demolition phase through September, as construction crews tear down the previous married student housing facilities located on the project site. The West Row dorms are expected to be completed in August 2028. The other new dorm under construction sits on the site of the now-demolished Kincannon Hall. The north portion of the building has been built up to its top floor, and the concrete is being poured for the south wing of the building. The dorm is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy in August 2027. Greystar is the private developer partnering with the university to complete these construction projects. |
| College Freshman Hires Designer to Transform 'Cinder Block Prison Cell' Dorm. The Results Leave Her Speechless | |
| After Bennett Gould graduated from high school, her grandmother was searching for the perfect graduation gift. The 18-year-old from Boulder, Colo., was heading to the University of Mississippi -- Ole Miss, as it's lovingly known -- and would be moving into her first dorm: a triple room in one of the oldest residential buildings on campus. Then it hit her: Gould's grandma stumbled across the work of Shelly Gates, who designs dorm rooms through her business Mary Margaret Designs, and thought it would be the perfect present. "She was like, 'This sounds fabulous. This is what I wanna give you. I wanna make the college process a little bit [easier] for you and your mom,' " Gould recalls to PEOPLE. "So we started talking to Shelly and setting up our meetings, and it was like a match made in heaven." At this point, Gates is a veteran of dorm room designing. After 13 years as an elementary school teacher, she quit her job to become a designer full-time -- and her specialty is dorms. Every year, she works with over a dozen students -- primarily those at Ole Miss, the University of Alabama, and Louisiana State University -- to give their rooms top-to-bottom makeovers that can cost between $5,000 and $20,000. |
| Southern Miss Alumni to induct 7 into Hall of Fame | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association said this week that it will induct seven alumni who bring favor and distinction to the University into its Hall of Fame during Homecoming festivities this fall. The 2026 inductees include: Jeff C. Bowman '93 of Hattiesburg, Miss., President, CEO of Cooperative Energy; Shea Kidd Brown '02 of Winston-Salem, N.C., Vice President for Campus Life at Wake Forest University; Louis V. Ehrlich, II '81 of Austin, Texas, CEO of Ehrlich Capital LLC, Retired CIO, Chevron Corporation; J. Todd Gregory '81 of Covington, La., Retired Senior Vice President of Cintas; Nelson Haskin Jr. '13 of Hattiesburg, Miss., Restauranter, JR Forty LLC; Missy Warren McGee '90, '93 of Hattiesburg, Miss., Mississippi State Representative, District 102; and Russell Willis '89 of Hattiesburg, Miss., Associate Provost for Student Success and Assistant Teaching Professor at The University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Jackson Public School supported by $10 million federal grant | |
 | The Jackson Public School District has received a $10.67 million federal grant to prepare students for life after high school, starting in seventh grade. Known as GEAR UP, the grant aims to promote college readiness in low-income school districts by providing students with additional learning resources such as campus tours, academic and career-focused clubs and camps, mentoring and college-transition guidance. The GEAR UP Grant also serves school districts in the Delta, including Cleveland, Greenville, Greenwood Leflore, Hollandale, Holmes, Leland, Mississippi Achievement, North Bolivar and Western Line. Mississippi State University partners with McComb, Meridian and Greenville public school districts through the program. JPS will also partner with local higher education institutions, including Tougaloo College, Hinds Community College and Jackson State University to prepare students for college, starting as early as seventh grade. Jackson State University President Denise Gregory said the program chooses to start this early because: "As we get further along into the 10th-, 11th-, 12th-grade years, it's kind of difficult to mold students, especially when they kind of already have an idea of what they want to do later in life." |
| Two Alcorn State students critically injured in Jefferson County crash | |
| Two Alcorn State University students suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday morning when a pickup truck left the roadway and crashed into a ravine in Jefferson County, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The crash happened at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on Highway 552 West. The students were traveling in a 2008 Ford F-250 westbound when the truck left the roadway, struck an embankment and entered a ravine. Both the driver and passenger were transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. |
| WCU students welcomed back to campus during first of two opening convocations | |
 | William Carey University (WCU) students are being officially welcomed back for a new academic year by university leaders. The first of two opening convocations this week was held Tuesday at the university's newly renovated Thomas Fine Arts Auditorium. Students majoring in business, education and natural and behavioral sciences participated. University president Ben Burnett spoke about WCU's theme for this school year. That theme is Better Together. "Our theme verse for this year is taken from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4, Verse 9, where it says, 'Two are better than one,' so our theme is just Better Together, because we feel like that everything we do, we rely on each other," Burnett said. "God didn't create us to be alone or to work alone or exist alone." Another convocation will be held Wednesday for students in the fields of health sciences, arts & letters, missions and ministry studies and music. |
| Brand brings lifelong love of performing arts to MCC | |
 | Lydia Noelle Brand has spent her life surrounded by music and theater. Now she's bringing that passion to Meridian Community College as its new choral and theater director. A Laurel native, Brand grew up around choir and show choir; her father directed show choir, and she remembers listening to rehearsals thinking, "I can't wait to do this one day." She earned a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Mississippi and a master of arts in musical theatre from the University of Mobile, and has spent the past five years teaching music, theater, dance, and visual arts. "The music practice rooms became my safe place. The theater stage became my escape," Brand said. "Every time I put on a costume, it felt like a superhero cape." Her college instructors gave her a sense of belonging and purpose, she said, and she wanted to create that same experience for others. MCC offered the chance. |
| U. of Alabama board approves tenure and curriculum review | |
 | Tenured University of Alabama faculty will receive a review every five years to comply with state legislation that limited the role of faculty senate groups in universities. The UA System Board of Trustees executive committee amended board policies on Aug. 14 that also included the board reviewing academic programs within the first five years. The board also said that faculty senate groups serve in an advisory capacity. The changes "will further strengthen academic quality, support faculty development and productivity, and ensure our institutions remain focused on fulfilling their core teaching, research and service missions," UA System Chancellor Sid Trant said before the unanimous vote. "The worry is that they're just setting up easy ways to terminate faculty or to threaten to terminate faculty," UA's American Association of University Professors president Sara McDaniel told AL.com. Over the summer, UA's faculty senate worked with Provost Lesley Reid on a draft of tenure review policies, which haven't been finalized yet. So the announcement did not come as a surprise, according to faculty senate president Tricia McElroy. |
| Higher education in Louisiana, short $800M, appears headed for a funding overhaul | |
| A legislative task force is staring at a growing problem with higher education in Louisiana: How to fund a system with more demands than ever before while state and federal dollars are on the decline. Louisiana uses a outcomes-based formula to fund its colleges and universities. The bulk of the money provided, 70%, is considered base funding to cover their operational expenses. The remaining 30% rewards schools for reaching benchmarks, such as student retention, and meeting state priorities like workforce needs. Questions about the formula were first raised earlier this year when some conservative lawmakers became aware of an old metric that incentivized universities to graduate already-enrolled minority students. Though it had already been removed from the formula, this metric became the topic of a U.S. Department of Education investigation. The task force, which held its first meeting Tuesday, comes together at a time when higher education financing in Louisiana faces myriad challenges. They include schools being asked to do more to promote workforce development as Louisiana launches a series of major industrial projects. Elizabeth Bentley-Smith, the deputy commissioner of higher education for finance and administration, told the task force that Louisiana’s public colleges and universities are underfunded by more than $800 million. |
| LSU student arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot up school | |
| An LSU student was arrested after allegedly threatening to "shoot up the school," triggering evacuations from the Skip Bertman memorial service in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Tuesday night. Gov. Jeff Landry, East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, First Lady Sharon Landry and Mayor-President Sid Edwards were among the local officials escorted from the building after campus was placed on high alert around 8 p.m. on Tuesday. According to LSU Police, 18-year-old Devriana Thomas posted a picture to Instagram from inside the Student Union with the text "im bout to shoot up the school im so irritated." WBRZ later reported that Thomas told LSUPD that she shared the image because she "was aggravated about not being able to receive a package at the Student Union." Thomas was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on terrorizing and menacing charges. Her bond has not been set. |
| Tennessee icon Dolly Parton dies at 80 | |
| Country music legend Dolly Parton died in Nashville at the age of 80 on Tuesday. The University of Tennessee's campus erupted with shock, grief and bewilderment at the news of the country music legend's passing. "This has been a very devastating realization," Caroline Brack, junior environmental and soil science major, said. "Nobody really ever had a bad thing to say about her and I mean, she has an incredible legacy that will surely live on, but it's just definitely heartbreaking to hear of this." Parton's legacy lives on not only in her music, but in her philanthropic efforts. Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 to promote childhood literacy by providing free books to children from birth to the age of 5 regardless of family income. Nick Geidner, director of The Media Center at UT, worked alongside university students in 2020 to produce a feature-length documentary about the Imagination Library. Geidner had the chance to interview Parton in the making of the documentary. "I mean, she had much bigger, more important documentarians than us come and ask her to do this film," Geidner said. "But they let us because it was tied to UT. Because we promised to engage students in every part of the process, and I think she was really all about that." |
| U. of Arkansas awards 15 research teams | |
| Seed funding of $1 million each for 15 research teams will be awarded through a new I³R (Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research) Watershed Grants Program, the University of Arkansas announced this week. The effort aims to turn new campus collaborations into research projects that can attract outside funding and move discoveries toward practical use. The 56 proposals involve 167 researchers from 10 colleges and units, the university said in its news release. The projects cover a diverse set of areas, including artificial intelligence, autonomous transportation, food insecurity, rural mental health and biomedical research. The one-year grants were scheduled to begin Aug. 15. They fall into three categories: Headwaters grants for forming teams, Confluence grants for producing early research results and Delta grants for moving discoveries toward commercial use. I³R says it will work with unsuccessful applicants to identify potential collaborators, institute resources and other funding opportunities. |
| U. of Arkansas says it will become more selective with out-of-state student admissions | |
| The University of Arkansas (U of A) says it will become more selective when admitting out-of-state students as the number of applications continues to grow. The change is part of the University of Arkansas' 150 Forward Reaching Higher strategic plan, which focuses on student success, research excellence, and strengthening the university as an employer of choice. Chancellor Charles Robinson announced Monday that it will become "harder and harder" for out-of-state students to get into the University of Arkansas. Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions, said the university has seen a significant increase in applications in recent years. "In 2019, we received 17,000 applications. This year, we've received almost 36,000 applications," McCray said. McCray said the increase in applications, along with the university's growing reputation, will make admission more competitive for students from outside Arkansas. "We've become a destination university, so lots of students are applying, and so that, of course, makes things more selective," she said. While out-of-state admissions will become more competitive, McCray said Arkansas students remain central to the university's mission as a land-grant institution. "In-state students have our hearts, and they are our mission, and so we want them to come and find a pathway to being an alum one day," McCray said. |
| Mizzou's annual Tomato Festival comes back bigger, better for its 21st year | |
 | Jefferson Farm will be rich with red, orange and green as the University of Missouri's annual Tomato Festival gears up. From 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, festival-goers will be in a fresh tomato haven. The festival started off as a small idea among three colleagues in 2005. They recalled Mizzou having a tomato breeding program and mini festival in the 1960s and wanted to bring that back, with the aim of helping people understand different types of tomatoes. Now, 21 years later, Tim Reinbott, who was one of the original organizers of the festival and is now the director of field operations, is getting ready to retire. For his final tomato festival, he wants to "go big or go home." This year's festival will have as many as 240 varieties of tomatoes, up from the 180 they had last year. From cherry tomatoes the size of buttons to large beef steak tomatoes, the festival will even show off an experimental breed flown in from the University of Florida. There will also be a range of sauces, some of the world's hottest peppers and other prepared food items. |
| Experienced higher education leader joins Mizzou as university registrar | |
| University of Missouri Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Steve Robinson has appointed Aimée Pfeifer as university registrar. Pfeifer brings more than 20 years of higher education leadership and expertise in enrollment and academic operations to Mizzou. An experienced registrar with a track record of managing complex academic systems, strengthening student services and leading cross-campus initiatives, she most recently served as university registrar at the College of Charleston. As registrar, Pfeifer will lead the systems and policies that help students navigate their academic journey at Mizzou. She earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University. Pfeifer succeeds Brenda Selman, who retired from Mizzou earlier this month after serving 26 years as university registrar. |
| AI can now credibly complete most undergraduate assignments, MIT warns | |
| Generative artificial intelligence is advancing so rapidly and producing such massive, long-term disruptions to education that a committee at MIT proposed profound changes Tuesday to counter the technology's risks. In a message to campus sharing the committee's report, MIT President Sally Kornbluth called the opportunities and risks of AI a "watershed for MIT -- and for all of higher education." The report found that even as AI accelerates and expands discoveries, it is also driving dramatic changes in campus culture, upending foundational experiences such as study groups, office hours and undergraduate research. The technologies are now able to credibly complete most undergraduate assignments, wrote the committee, co-chaired by professors Eric Klopfer and Samuel Madden. Most classes at MIT should be reviewed, and many will need substantial changes, they wrote, urging instructors to consider other means of assessment -- including oral exams, portfolios and in-person conversations tied to work done outside class. The report called on university officials to make it easier and quicker to modify courses, to provide more physical spaces for students and faculty to meet in person, and to build community. |
| New Student Visas Dropped 23% in 2025 | |
 | Twenty-three percent fewer student visas were issued in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to newly released Department of State figures. Some countries, like Iran, Myanmar and Venezuela, saw declines over 70 percent from year to year. India, the second-largest supplier of international students to the U.S. in 2024, also experienced a precipitous 56.6 percent drop. An Inside Higher Ed analysis of the data shows that visa issuances were essentially in line with the previous year for the first several months of 2025 but dropped in May -- the same month President Donald Trump paused all student visa interviews to implement new social media screenings for those applicants. The number of student visas issued remained below 2024 levels for the remainder of the year. The largest decrease was among F-1 visa holders, who are in the U.S. seeking a degree and who are at the center of concerns about how the Trump administration's international student policies will impact enrollments; those visas declined by 33.4 percent, versus 9.9 percent for J-1 and 6.7 percent for M-1 visas. (J-1 visas are for students and scholars in certain exchange programs, including the Fulbright program, while M-1 visas are for students in nondegree or vocational training.) |
| NSF Invests $290 Million In Eight University-Led Quantum Leap Institutes | |
| The National Science Foundation is investing more than $290 million to fund eight university-based research institutes as part of its Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes program, created by the agency in 2020 to fulfill the 2018 "National Quantum Initiative Act." Three of the eight institutes are new. The other five were established with previous NSF funding and will receive renewed support to continue their work. Each institute will receive between $28 and $37 million over five years. The eight institutes are being led by Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University of Colorado, the University of Illinois, and the University of Maryland. Each institute involves collaborations between academia, government and private industry. All together, the new funding will support researchers in 19 states at 36 institutions of higher education, according to NSF. |
| Treasurer David McRae urges parents to make saving for child's future part of back-to-school routine | |
| State Treasurer David McRae writes: The hustle and bustle of a new school year has already begun, at least in the McRae household. It's a time filled with new teachers, new school supplies and, of course, new routines. As Mississippi families settle into the back-to-school routines, I'd encourage you to consider adding one more: regularly setting aside money for your child's future. The cost of education and career training continues to climb, and too many young people are starting adulthood weighed down by debt. According to a 2026 analysis by the Education Data Initiative, the average Mississippian with student debt owes more than $39,000. That kind of debt can follow someone for years, delaying everything from buying a home to starting a family or saving for retirement. The state Treasurers office can provide some options. Of course, a four-year college isn't the only path that requires planning. Trade schools, certifications and other career training programs can come with significant costs, too. That's why starting early matters. |
| Supreme Court to rule on 2020 Census results that negatively impacted Mississippians | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: The Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the question of whether the federal Census Bureau relied too heavily on "imputation" -- a statistical method used to insert missing individuals into official population counts -- in achieving results in the 2020 Census that resulted in undercounts in six states, including Mississippi. Leading the legal fight is Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, a Republican gubernatorial contender in the Sunshine State, who claimed in federal court that Florida had been wrongfully denied an additional congressional seat and Electoral College vote because of the statistical methods used in the 2020 census. Donalds is affiliated with America First Legal, the ultra-conservative law firm founded by Stephen Miller, currently a key adviser to President Donald Trump. ... Why does the 2020 Census matter and particularly why does it matter in Mississippi? |
SPORTS
| College football's 25 most powerful people: From Congress to ESPN to the SEC | |
 | In today's college sports landscape, power no longer resides solely on the sidelines or in the commissioner's office. It sits in television boardrooms, law firms, courtrooms, congressional hearing rooms and donor suites. The people steering college sports have never been more diverse, or more influential. A panel of regional and national members of the USA TODAY Sports Network consulted industry sources, debated candidates and cast votes to identify the individuals exerting the greatest influence over the direction of college athletics. Here are the 25 Most Powerful People in College Football entering the 2026 season, including: 16. Mark Keenum, Mississippi State president. Why he is on the list: Keenum has served as the CFP's Chair of the Board of Managers since 2018. He's also publicly floated the potential for the SEC to forge its own unilateral path without meaningful progress on college athletics' governance at the federal level. |
| Mississippi State's defense looking more complete | |
 | Things are beginning to come together for Mississippi State, especially on defense. State had one more media availability before Week 1 on Tuesday morning at the Leo Seal Complex. In it, linebacker Fatt Forrest and safety Kendel Dolby discussed the state of their unit less than two weeks from the season opener. "I feel like we've meshed together well," Dolby said. "I feel like being with each other since the spring, there's been a lot of learning curves, but that's part of the process. Just growing with each other, learning to trust each other, and I feel like, in that room, we've been doing a great job." Forrest, a native of Kilmichael and an alum of Winona High School, feels that the defensive line helps him and his fellow linebackers to be able to do what they like to do most: hit people. "It's not like we're playing gaps," Forrest said. "They get to cut stuff up and let us free so we can go hit stuff, and do what a linebacker's supposed to do." Behind Forrest is a safety room with an experienced cast of characters. |
| 'Pressure builds diamonds': Williams welcoming high expectations in first season at MSU | |
| Amaree Williams could do it all at Florida State. The former Seminole played in 20 games over his two years in Tallahassee, getting snaps at both tight end and defensive lineman. He had seven receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns across both seasons, and had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a sophomore at FSU. Williams hit the portal this offseason, and has settled into a defense-only role with Mississippi State. That doesn't mean he's letting people forget about his two-way abilities. "I joke around all the time like, 'I'm the best tight end on this team,'" Williams said. Williams was a four-star recruit out of high school in Palm Beach Springs, Florida, and was rated the 24th best player in Florida by On3 for the class of 2023. He was one of MSU's highest gets in the portal, graded an 89.47 transfer prospect by On3. He'll be part of a pass rush returning guys like Jaray Bledsoe, who was named on Bruce Feldman's Freak List, and Will Whitson, who shot out of a cannon last season recording 2.5 sacks in six quarters before injury ended his season. Along with Williams, MSU also brought in defensive tackle Dealyn Evans, who played in 13 games over two seasons. |
| MSU lands defensive lineman out of the portal | |
| Mississippi State landed former West Virginia defensive lineman Eddie Kelly on Tuesday evening. The news was first reported by Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Last season, Kelly made 26 tackles, seven solo tackles, deflected a pass and earned half-a-sack in 12 games and four starts. He had previous stops at South Florida, Georgia Tech and Missouri in the years prior. Kelly is not currently eligible to play this season. His ability to play in 2026 will depend on the NCAA's legal battle regarding the proposed 5-for-5 rule. Mississippi State's season begins next Saturday, Sept. 5 against Louisiana-Monroe at Davis Wade Stadium. |
| UCF, 2 exhibitions on the books for MSU men's basketball | |
| Mississippi State's men's basketball schedule is one step closer to completion. The Bulldogs announced on Monday they'll head to Orlando Nov. 17 to take on the University of Central Florida. The Knights will play the following season in Starkville as part of a home and home agreement. MSU and UCF have played just once in their histories, the Knights taking down the Bulldogs 86-61 in a neutral site game in 2016. MSU now has three games on its schedule against Power 5 basketball opponents. They'll play Xavier of the Big East in the Greenbrier Tip off in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and will host the ACC's Georgia Tech in early December. The Bulldogs will also compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, which includes 6 other power conference opponents. The lone non-power conference team in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Memphis, will head to Starkville for an exhibition on Oct. 23. The Bulldogs will also play Florida State in an exhibition in Pensacola, Florida on Oct. 10. |
| Journeyman Adam Frazier still considers Starkville home | |
| The Los Angeles Angels are the seventh different team Adam Frazier has played for in the big leagues. Regardless of his employer, Frazier, 34, who starred at Mississippi State between 2011 and 2013, is steadfast that Starkville remains home. "I reminisce on those days a lot, whether it's here in the clubhouse talking trash with some of these guys about our school is better than yours. I consider that home," Frazier said. "The fans still show up here or travel around, so that's cool. The support has always been there, which is great. It feels like family there. I still keep in touch with pretty much that whole team. It's a special group of guys. Fortunate for my time there, and it's always fun to go back." A sixth-round pick of Pittsburgh in 2013, Frazier made his big league debut for the Pirates in June 2016. He remained with the Bucs through July 2021 when he was traded to San Diego. Since then, he's played for Seattle, Baltimore, Kansas City, and had second stints in Pittsburgh and K.C. before signing a minor league deal with the Angels this past offseason. The ex-Bulldog ended up making the Halos' opening day roster and through 52 games this season had played second base, left field and taken the mound three times. He's hitting .257 with 10 RBIs this season; he's a .264 career hitter. |
| East Lake general manager earns PGA Master Professional designation | |
| The PGA of America has announced that Chad Parker, President and General Manager of East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, has earned PGA Master Professional status, the highest educational designation available within the Association. The PGA Master Professional program recognizes PGA of America Members who demonstrate exceptional commitment to professional growth and maintain the highest standards of excellence for themselves and their facilities. Parker, a member of the Georgia PGA Section, has been a PGA Professional for more than 30 years. A 1995 graduate of Mississippi State University's PGA Golf Management program, Parker spent the first years of his career in Alabama at NorthRiver Yacht Club. Parker and his wife, Carrie, then moved to Atlanta where he began as an Assistant Professional at East Lake Golf Club. Soon thereafter, he was promoted to PGA Head Professional. During his more than three decades at East Lake, Parker has held numerous leadership positions. He also serves as an advisor and mentor to Mississippi State University's PGA Golf Management program. |
| SEC announces rule to ban players from returning after signing with NFL, NBA, WNBA teams | |
| The SEC has followed the Big Ten -- and gone against LSU coach Lane Kiffin -- by stipulating that players who signed pro contracts cannot return to a team in the conference. SEC presidents, chancellors and athletic directors met Tuesday and announced that schools are not permitted to have athletes who have: Previously declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA draft, and did not "appropriately withdraw" from those drafts. Signed a contract with an NFL or other professional league, NBA or G-League, or WNBA or affiliated team. Been listed on a roster by any of those professional teams. The SEC said commissioner Greg Sankey was "authorized to enforce this expectation with penalties against member institutions." It did not stipulate what those penalties were. Kiffin defended his actions Monday, echoing what players' lawyers said: that the players did not know the NCAA would change its rules to allow players a fifth year of eligibility. Kiffin also said that if LSU didn't recruit the players, others would. But by all indications, LSU was on an island in the SEC. |
| SEC draws rule to stop NFL, NBA, WNBA players from returning | |
| The SEC joined the Big Ten on Tuesday in its unanimous opposition to athletes leaving the NFL and returning to college teams, swiftly passing a new conference rule that gives commissioner Greg Sankey full authority to enforce it "with penalties." During an in-person meeting with league presidents, chancellors and athletic directors, the SEC took it even further than the Big Ten, prohibiting anyone who has previously declared for professional basketball from rejoining college athletics without appropriately withdrawing. Sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel the vote to implement the policy was 16-0 -- an important show of unity from conference leaders at a time when some of their own coaches are attempting to add players who were cut from professional teams. School officials at LSU did not immediately return requests for comment. It's unclear if LSU football coach Lane Kiffin and men's basketball coach Will Wade will continue to pursue these players in violation of the new conference rules, if they will let the courts decide or if they will part ways in compliance with the conference. As the Big Ten and SEC pushed back on these state-by-state court rulings on eligibility, the ACC, the Big 12 and Notre Dame also indicated they weren't far behind. "Notre Dame is also totally opposed" to any pro-to-college transaction, school sources said. |
| SEC v. LSU? Lane Kiffin's brazen approach raises question of whether league would sue its own school | |
| Within a skywalk connecting two high rises in downtown Tampa, Lane Kiffin strode toward the main ballroom of SEC football media days on a sun-splashed Thursday in July. As Kiffin approached the stage, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, as is customary with his introduction of each of the league's football coaches, offered to the hundreds of reporters before him a humorous anecdote. Sankey had learned of the big news that day: Kiffin revealed to reporters that he'd sworn off social media, pushing aside an addiction that, at times, got himself and his league in trouble. He made the decision after his son Knox challenged him to go social media free. By the time media days rolled around, Kiffin's streak had reached more than two months. Sankey told the story, looked up at the crowd and deadpanned, "Thank you, Knox." A month later, the head coach at LSU and commissioner of the SEC seem at odds, not over a post on X or a soundbite from a news conference. Kiffin is exploiting a loophole that, on Tuesday, Sankey and his band of presidents closed (at least in theory). But this fight does not appear to be over. Perhaps it is only getting started. |
| Big Ten bars football players with pro contracts from returning to play amid NCAA eligibility chaos | |
| The Big Ten became the first conference Tuesday to adopt a rule prohibiting football players who have signed professional contracts from returning to play at its schools as college sports finds itself mired in lawsuits and disputes over eligibility. The matter came to a head Monday when the agent for former Mississippi tight end Dae'Quan Wright said Wright could be heading to LSU thanks to a state-level court order allowing him and others an unexpected fifth year of eligibility despite a NCAA rule change in June impacting players who graduated from high school in 2022. There are a number of lawsuits in dispute around the country. The Big Ten said that administrators unanimously approved the rule to prohibit football players who have signed a professional contract, were on a professional roster at any point or declared for the NFL draft as an underclassman without withdrawing, from maintaining eligibility for athletic competition at a conference institution. It did not rule out restrictions in other sports like basketball. |
| Power Conference Bans of Former Pros Would Likely Spark Lawsuits | |
| The Power Four conferences are attempting to stop NFL players and other professionals from becoming college athletes again, but they'll likely need to convince federal and state courts that banning former (and perhaps future) pros is lawful under antitrust law. The Big Ten on Tuesday announced it was prohibiting players who signed with pro football teams or participated in a pro football draft without withdrawing. The SEC announced schools could not roster anyone who had declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts and not withdrawn; anyone who had signed a contract with a professional football team, NBA/G-League team or WNBA team; or anyone listed on a roster for those leagues. Media reports indicate that the Big 12 has approved and the ACC will likely approve similar new eligibility rules distinct from existing NCAA eligibility rules that deem ineligible players who declare for the NFL Draft and don't withdraw, or who take further steps, such as signing a contract with an NFL team. ... The U.S. Supreme Court has also held that conferences, at least when acting on their own, have substantial discretion to set rules. That point was made clear by Justice Neil Gorsuch in NCAA v. Alston (2021). The NCAA lost that case, with the Court holding that NCAA member schools' agreement not to pay athletes for academic-related expenses constituted illegal price fixing under antitrust law. But Gorsuch also wrote that an individual conference, through its members' voting, can adopt various rules restraining athletes' potential compensation as conference members see fit. |
| NCAA OKs automated ball-strike system option for next season | |
| The automated ball-strike system has been approved for use next season in all divisions of college baseball, the NCAA announced Tuesday. The Division I Baseball Oversight Committee and the Division II and Division III Playing Rules Oversight Panel recently voted to give teams the option, when available, of implementing a system to challenge called balls and strikes in regular-season and postseason games. The Southeastern Conference experimented with a system allowing batters, catchers and pitchers to challenge ball and strike calls during its conference tournament in May, and the rule will go nationwide on an experimental basis. The use of 18-inch square bases for next season will be permitted at all facilities in all three divisions, while 15-inch square bases remain the standard. A double first base will be required for all games. In Division I only, a 30-second timer will be used between batters, as well as during mound visits and offensive timeouts. |
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