| Tuesday, September 29, 2026 |
| Mississippi lawmaker calls for ban on kratom products | |
 | Following the death of two Ole Miss students, two men were arrested by Oxford Police last week for illegally selling kratom products out of a local convenience store. A connection between the deaths, arrests and kratom has not been announced by law enforcement. The State Medical Examiner has sought expedited toxicology testing from both student deaths. "Law enforcement is currently conducting two separate death investigations. At this time we have no confirmed evidence indicating that the two deaths are connected," read a statement from the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics unit. "However, packaged Kratom sold from a retail store was found during both investigations." In the wake of the deaths and subsequent arrests, one state lawmaker is calling for the Mississippi Legislature to once again consider a statewide ban on kratom. "Those deaths were so tragic and convenience stores have been peddling unregulated drugs for some time now," State Rep. Lee Yancey (R) told Magnolia Tribune on Monday. "It is beyond past time to take that seriously and demand that these products be tested." |
| SpaceXAI offering to buy homes affected by noise in Southaven | |
 | SpaceXAI has sent residents who live near their Southaven facility a letter offering to purchase their homes if they agree not to join a class action lawsuit against the company, which accuses them of causing a nuisance and inflicting emotional distress due to the noise coming from their power plant. The letter is a response by parent company MZX to a class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi by three residents -- Jason Haley, Preston Herrington, and Taylor Logsdon -- who live near the plant and say the noise from the company's turbines has negatively affected their quality of life, caused health issues, and lowered property values. The lawsuit describes the noise as a combination of "high-pitched squealing, continuous engine roaring, low frequency rumbling, or tonal humming whining that travels across property lines and into area homes." They further allege that SpaceXAI's noise mitigation efforts have been insufficient. The gas-fired turbines have been the subject of numerous complaints and lawsuits. |
| President Mohler, campus leaders speak on Future-Ready Flagship at Fall Campus Assembly | |
| University President Peter J. Mohler, University provost Lesley Reid and SGA President Samantha Simmons spoke at the Fall Campus Assembly Tuesday about Mohler's "Future-Ready Flagship" initiative and plans for the remainder of the school year. Mohler spoke for the majority of the assembly, reflecting on the first year of his presidency and the changes made across the University that align with the Future-Ready Flagship. "Last spring, we talked about where we wanted to be as a university. Today, you've seen some of the progress we've made of the last five months," Mohler said "Now, the question is, 'What difference are we making for Alabama, for leaders and for the future?'" He also announced the development of three new "future-ready" hubs in Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile. "Each new hub will reflect the needs and the economy of its region, helping us recruit Alabama students, strengthen industry partnerships, expand internships and workforce development and bring our research and expertise directly to communities," Mohler said. "That is what it means to be Alabama's flagship. Our reach and our responsibility must extend well beyond Tuscaloosa, and that responsibility begins even before students arrive on campus." |
| How the AI 'tidal wave' is transforming LSU: 'Not just something we can ignore' | |
 | At 9:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, LSU English instructor MJ Weerts gave only one instruction to his composition class: Put the phones and computers away. He displayed an aphorism on the board, his preferred style of short writing to teach students nowadays rather than the essay. "'A great photographer insists on writing poems,'" one student read aloud to the class. "'A brilliant essayist insists on writing novels. A singer with a voice like an angel insists on singing only her own, terrible songs.'" The students spent the rest of the hour pondering what the short quote meant and how it applied to their lives. There were no laptops with quiz questions to answer, no phones to take notes on. "I don't do anything more than they can read or write on a single notecard in a single day," Weerts said. Though he doesn't suggest every class go analog, Weerts said the approach works for his students to "get them into their own minds," particularly in the age of artificial intelligence tools. As AI becomes ubiquitous on campus, more classes at LSU may follow Weerts' lead. His approach is one of many among faculty to weather the revolution in higher education brought by powerful tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. |
SPORTS
| From growing up in Golden Meadow to hiring Lane Kiffin: The story of LSU President Wade Rousse | |
| LSU President Wade Rousse stood in the center of a horseshoe of desks in a business school classroom, cracking jokes to coax sleepy undergraduates into participating. "Are monopolies good or bad?" he asked. "It depends," the class chorused back. "It depends. Thank you for that. It depends. If you're a Rockefeller, were monopolies good?" "Yes." "If you're a Cajun in Golden Meadow, were monopolies good?" "No." Rousse may be the new leader of the $4.1 billion LSU System, with more than 78,000 students and 17,000 employees. But his mind often returns to his hometown of Golden Meadow, population less than 2,000, deep in Louisiana bayou country. With the Cajun accent, the purple suits and a politician's flair, Rousse's unabashed Louisianan demeanor and unconventional academic background in business and economics are a marked departure from recent leaders of LSU. Nationally, Rousse has perhaps drawn the most attention for a string of explosive events in the athletics department. He says the push for superior athletics is inextricable from his larger educational goals for the state. |
| Greg Byrne, 6 Alabama head coaches get new contracts | |
 | Alabama athletics is holding onto its leader for the near future. The UA board of trustees compensation committee approved a new contract for athletics director Greg Byrne during its Monday meeting. Byrne's new deal runs through June 30, 2033. He will make $2.675 million per year under the approved contract. Alabama president Peter Moeller praised Byrne when presenting the deal to the committee. "Greg's tenure at UA has consistently yielded significant academic and athletic success for our student-athletes," Moeller said. "He's also established himself as a premier leader in collegiate athletics. Greg provides stable force that is pivotal in helping UA navigate the current environment and chart a course for our future." Byrne made $2.09 annually under his previous contract, which he signed in 2024. That deal was set to run through June of 2031. |
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