| Thursday, July 30, 2026 |
| A Maroon and White Welcome: MSU greets new, returning Bulldogs with student-focused events, supports | |
 | According to an MSU press release, Mississippi State is welcoming new and returning Bulldogs to Starkville in the coming weeks with numerous student-focused events ahead of the upcoming academic year. Incoming freshmen and transfer students will acclimate to campus during August move-in days and community-building activities as the university provides support and resources, making the transition to their new home an easy one. "The start of the academic year is filled with excitement and nervousness, especially from our new students and their families. We are committed to making our campus feel welcoming from the moment our students begin to move into the residence halls and as they work to get settled and find their people through the first weeks of school," said Regina Hyatt, MSU vice president for student affairs. "We know how important it is to get students connected to campus resources and help them find their community to their success, and we'll do all we can to assist in making MSU their home away from home." |
| Twin brothers power through adversity, find home and voice | |
 | Twenty years before Kirklyn Johnson stood in front of thousands of onlookers at his 2026 Mississippi State commencement ceremony to sing the National Anthem, his parents were told he might never speak a word. When twin brothers Kirk and Kirklyn were diagnosed with non-verbal autism at three years old, they were already missing the typical milestones of early childhood. Their parents, Shae and Stan Johnson, refused to let a medical diagnosis define the limits of their boys' lives. So, they started early interventions to give their sons the support they needed. The Johnson family saw the impact music had on the boys, so they started using songs to help them learn. Kirklyn graduated from Houston High School and completed two years at Northeast Mississippi Community College before setting his sights on MSU. Meanwhile, Kirk earned a completion certificate from Houston High and looked for his next steps to grow. Both found their answers at Mississippi State. |
| Recent MSU graduate Perdue selected for major Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship | |
| According to an MSU Press Release, James "Brittin" Perdue, a spring semester Mississippi State graduate, is receiving a prestigious fellowship from Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Announced Tuesday [July 28], Perdue is now a PKP Marcus L. Urann Fellow and will use his $15,000 award in graduate studies at the United Kingdom's University of Cambridge. He is one of just 48 top scholars, from universities with active chapters, receiving one of the organization's national fellowships. The MSU electrical engineering graduate from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said, "Being accepted to the University of Cambridge was already an honor beyond my wildest dreams, but receiving a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship has given me the means to help make that dream a reality." Perdue earned several honors as a student in MSU's Shackouls Honors College, including the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, considered one of the most competitive and renowned undergraduate STEM field awards in the U.S. He also secured a national Astronaut Scholarship, which recognizes STEM students regarded among the "best and brightest" by the Astronaut Foundation. |
| SHARK WEEK: MSU researchers study shark species growth in coastal waters | |
 | Sharks are ferocious and sometimes scary, but absolutely crucial to a healthy environment. At the Mississippi State Extension and Research Center, researchers are taking an up-close look at sharks. "Sharks, in addition to just capturing the imagination of so many people, they are really important parts of healthy, coastal ecosystems, and here in the Northern Gulf, we have a really healthy population of coastal sharks which indicates that this system is in really great shape," Marcus Drymon, associate extension professor of marine, fisheries and ecology, said. |
| MSU prohibiting indoor e-scooter storage, charging | |
 | Last school year, Saketh Palagummi, a graduate student at Mississippi State University studying Aerospace Engineering, rode his electric longboard to campus every day. While he was in class he stored it in the back of the classroom. A new policy MSU will implement this fall prohibits Palagummi from doing that anymore. Last week, MSU informed faculty and staff that e-scooters, e-longboards and other "powered micromobility devices" will no longer be allowed inside buildings on campus. That includes classrooms and even residence halls. While they can be stored outside in bike racks, the university policy prohibits charging the power scooters anywhere on campus. The change was spurred by guidance issued by the State Fire Marshal's Office on June 26 that clarified only electronic-charged mobility devices that should be allowed inside a building are those used for disability assistance, like electric wheel chairs, according to Jeremiah Dumas, Office of Risk Management interim director. MSU is required by law to follow the guidance of the State Fire Marshal's Office, Sid Salter, director of public affairs, told The Dispatch. Dumas recommends that those who still want to bring their devices to campus store them in the campus bike racks with a lock or other protection device. Dumas believes that will be sufficient protection from theft as the only e-transportation devices reported stolen to MSU were not properly locked. |
| Meet these 4 innovative farmers at 2026 Farm Progress Show | |
 | The Women in the Field: Producer of the Year Award celebrates outstanding women who exemplify excellence in production agriculture, demonstrate innovation in sustainability and ag technology, and serve as leaders within the industry and their communities. The finalists include: Karen Makamson Edwards, Garry Makamson Farms, Morgan City, Miss. In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Makamson Edwards cultivates 5,500 acres of corn, soybeans and cotton, despite never intending to return to the family farm. Over the past decade, Makamson Edwards has emerged as a leader in southern agriculture, collaborating with Mississippi State University and advocating for the early adoption of technological innovations, data-driven decision-making and sustainable farming practices. |
| Early corn crop headed to good harvest | |
| Mississippi's corn crop is looking good this year, and harvest began in July for what was one of the earliest planted corn crops in state history. Erick Larson, corn specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said most of the crop will be mature by the end of the month. This is weeks earlier than usual. "Most of our corn crop was planted in the last 10 days of March," Larson said. "Early planting and warmer-than-normal spring temperatures promoted earlier maturity." Mississippi growers are estimated to have planted about 780,000 acres, down from a record 910,000 acres in 2025. Recent corn acreage has fluctuated widely, with 580,000 acres in 2022, 790,000 acres in 2023 and 490,000 acres in 2024. Pest and disease issues have been minimal. Larson said there has been an unusual amount of heat stress that has resulted from anaerobic soils, which limit plant and root function. |
| Monitoring and curbing West Nile virus takes more than a mosquito truck | |
| Wendy Varnado still remembers running behind the mosquito trucks. When she was a child in Edwards, in western Hinds County, in the 1980s, the trucks sprayed a haze of chemicals that mixed with engine smoke to create a dense fog the neighborhood children played in. These days, mosquito trucks spray an ultra low volume mist that is nearly invisible, and Varnado, the Mississippi state public health entomologist, sees them in a different light. They're now a tool she can harness against mosquito-borne diseases, including the most common one in Mississippi, West Nile virus. The majority of people who get infected with West Nile virus don't show any symptoms, said Santos Portugal, an urban entomologist at Mississippi State University. About one in five will develop symptoms like a fever, headaches and body aches. Less than one in a 100 may develop a severe disease that spreads into the nervous system and can cause swelling in the brain. Elderly and immunocompromised people are at higher risk for complications, including chronic fatigue, memory loss and in rare cases, death. "Mississippians should recognize that West Nile virus is very serious," Portugal said. "(It's) not something people should necessarily be afraid of, just something to be understood and do what you can to protect yourself." |
| Mississippi liquor delivery backlog improving, new warehouse concerns loom | |
| Mississippi liquor stores and restaurants have been dealing with delivery delays from the state's ABC warehouse for more than six months, but the latest data shows the backlog is improving. The Mississippi Department of Revenue began posting delivery details -- including cases ordered and turnaround times -- on its website as the issues continued. The most recent figures show cycle time has dropped to less than five days. Sunny Kapoor, owner of Olde Towne Fine Wine and Spirits, said the wait was far longer at the height of the delays. "We would order something. It would take almost a month for us to get our items," Kapoor said. Heather Mahaffey, an employee at Ridgewood Wine & Spirits, said conditions have improved significantly since then. Even as delivery speeds improve, some stores say accuracy remains an issue. Mahaffey said incorrect shipments have caused problems. "I think we had maybe 30 cases that were wrong at one time and that kind of hurts us because it says the right labels on it, but it's the wrong product to go with the label," Mahaffey said. |
| Caldwell opens coffee shop in Nesbit | |
 | For years, John and Lee Caldwell dreamed about revitalizing the old downtown in Nesbit back to its glory days when it was a thriving community back in the early 1900s. Having lived in Nesbit for close to 40 years, the couple would drive by the old downtown from their home, which is just up the road and around the corner, on their way to church. And every time the conversation would always be the same. Somebody needs to do something to bring back life to the historic buildings in the downtown. "It ended up being us," Lee, who is a DeSoto County Supervisor, said. They bought the old Bank of Nesbit building about eight years ago and the old general store, both of which were crumbling eyesores and lovingly restored them. A few weeks ago, they opened a coffee shop called "The Colonel's Coffee Mess," a nod to John's service in the Marine Corps, in the old general store building which they hope will bring residents downtown and help spur even more investment into the area. Caldwell is using the bank building as an art studio for the time being. John, who is Northern District Transportation Commissioner, said he never imagined one day that he would be opening a coffee shop. His goal was to save the building from being demolished and lost to time. |
| US economic growth slows in second quarter, but domestic demand robust | |
 | U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter amid a widening in the trade deficit, but an acceleration in consumer spending and robust business investment in equipment related to the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure pointed to underlying strength. Gross domestic product increased at a 1.5% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP on Thursday, July 30. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP rising at a 2.1% pace. Estimates ranged from a 0.8% rate to a 2.9% pace. The survey was, however, conducted before the release of June's advance economic indicators report, which showed a moderate contraction in the goods trade deficit and retail inventories unchanged. That data prompted some economists to cut their GDP estimates by as much as 0.8 percentage point to as low as a 1.5% rate. The economy grew at a 2.1% pace in the first quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, surged at a 3.2% rate last quarter after abruptly slowing to a 0.5% growth pace in the January-March quarter. Despite the Middle East conflict, spending has remained resilient, in part thanks to bigger tax refunds this year, which provided a cushion for consumers against higher gasoline prices stemming from the war. |
| Fed Holds Rates Steady but Three Officials Vote for Increase | |
 | Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady Wednesday over the objections of three bank presidents who wanted an increase, underscoring how pressure is building inside the central bank to act on inflation that has run above its target for five years. The Fed held its benchmark rate steady, in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, in a 9-3 vote. The rate-setting panel issued the same policy statement as it did in June, when it also held rates steady. The decision left Chairman Kevin Warsh's vow to end the run of above-target inflation to rest for a second straight meeting on words rather than action. The three Fed presidents who voted for a quarter-point rate increase -- Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis, and Lorie Logan of Dallas -- had opposed in April the decision to issue a statement that suggested a rate cut was more likely than an increase. It was the first time since 2016 that three officials dissented in the same direction over a policy change. After the meeting, Warsh said the Fed didn't have a magical ability to bring inflation down quickly. |
| Boozman Plans Senate Farm Bill Markup Without Clear Bipartisan Deal | |
| The chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee said Wednesday that the panel will take up the farm bill late next week, despite what has been a partisan deadlock on the measure. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) told reporters he is working closely with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), the committee's ranking member, "to see if we can get a path forward" and that details are still being worked out. "We've got a good bill. I think lots of our members and both sides want to support it," Boozman said. But Klobuchar, in a statement from her office, said there is still plenty of ground to cover. "We're continuing to have productive negotiations, but there is a lot of work left to do. Senate Ag Democrats have been clear that a Farm Bill must meet the needs of both farmers and families across America," Klobuchar said in a statement. Boozman did not go into details of the negotiations, but any deal is likely to include some compromise on when states must start sharing costs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a change Republicans put in a previous law. |
| Senate GOP to add ethanol legislation to farm bill | |
 | Senate Republicans will include language to permanently allow year-round sales of E15 fuel in the farm bill they plan to mark up next Thursday, according to two people familiar with the plans. The E15 language that senators are planning to attach to their package is a scaled-back version of the bill the House passed in May. The House bill narrowed exemptions for certain small refiners, a provision that became a sticking point for some GOP senators. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) is set to formally schedule the farm bill markup Thursday for Aug. 6. His bill will include E15 language that more closely mirrors legislation championed by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), according to the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations. Republican senators have spent recent weeks negotiating an approach that would expand ethanol sales while addressing refining industry concerns. They ultimately concluded that attaching the provision to the farm bill offered its best chance of becoming law this year, according to the two people. |
| Blanche's attorney general nomination paused as 2 Republicans hold out | |
 | The Senate committee weighing Todd Blanche's bid to become the next attorney general postponed a key vote on his nomination Wednesday, amid a standoff between the Trump administration and two Republican senators who have threatened to withhold their support. The postponement was a high-profile setback for President Donald Trump, and a further indication that congressional Republicans are becoming more willing to stand up to him on key matters. It also leaves the fate of Blanche's nomination uncertain after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced the vote's deferral just hours before it was set to take place at a 9 a.m. Thursday hearing. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) had insisted that the Trump administration limit -- in writing -- central provisions of a controversial deal struck this spring between the Justice Department and the president to resolve a lawsuit he filed against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. DOJ was not able to provide the senators sufficient assurances to win their agreement to support Blanche. |
| John Thune hopes to orchestrate a great Senate escape | |
| John Thune is eager to let GOP senators out of the Capitol and onto the campaign trail as Republicans fight to hold the Senate majority in November. First, he has to get through the next eight days. The majority leader is hoping to fund the government, confirm dozens of President Donald Trump's nominees and hand him new powers to punish Russia's trading partners before letting his members leave for a five-week recess. But Trump has turned Thune's exit strategy into a cascading political test. The vise-like pressure campaign was playing out as Thune sat down with POLITICO in his Capitol office Wednesday. At about the same moment, Trump was in the Oval Office insisting Thune "has the votes" to kill the Senate's long-standing filibuster rule and pass a GOP elections bill. He went on to sow doubt as to whether he felt Thune was fit to lead the chamber's Republicans. "We will find out, and I will let you know," Trump told reporters. Unaware of Trump's latest attacks, Thune in the interview nonetheless repeated that, no, he does not have anywhere near the votes to kill the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act --- the partisan elections bill Trump is pushing for. And he spoke frankly about the political risk Trump and other Republicans who are training their fire inward are assuming. |
| U.S. Retaliates Against Iran for Tuesday's Surprise Attack | |
| American forces carried out strikes against Iran on Wednesday night, in what the U.S. military called a "powerful response" to Iran's missile attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan. The strikes came hours after President Trump vowed to retaliate for the surprise ballistic missile strike, dashing hopes for an imminent diplomatic breakthrough. Though the assault was larger in scope than recent U.S. attacks, it didn't amount to a return to major combat operations, according to a U.S. official. U.S. forces carried out a "heavy wave" of strikes, attacking dozens of targets, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities, said U.S. Central Command after the strikes were completed. "The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries," the command said. "We are going to be hitting them very hard," Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, "because it's our turn." |
| Trump administration ending Medicare premium subsidy program | |
 | The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would move to end a Biden-era Medicare premium subsidy program, alleging it benefited insurance companies more than enrollees. As a result, Medicare Part D subsidies will expire at the end of the year and no longer be offered in 2027. Medicare Part D is optional prescription drug coverage offered by private insurance companies to help people with Medicare pay for brand-name and generic medications. It is available as a stand-alone plan to add to Original Medicare or as part of a bundled Medicare Advantage plan. The program was restructured under former President Biden to implement a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs. It also permitted Medicare to negotiate prices for certain high-cost Part D drugs. The majority of enrollees in the subsidy program were seniors or those with disabilities, who are now awaiting information regarding new monthly prices. |
| Lawmakers want better data on AI's workforce impacts | |
 | A bipartisan pair of senators is pushing for more and better data to understand the impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce. That data could help back up what experts told a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday -- that the biggest AI-fueled change may be different tasks at work rather than mass unemployment. Sens. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., urged support for their bill that would add questions to federal surveys about how AI is used in the workplace and which occupations are most impacted. Banks introduced the bill, known as the AI Workforce Projections, Research and Evaluations to Promote AI Readiness and Employment, or AI Workforce PREPARE Act, in December. At a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's panel on Employment and Workforce Safety, which Banks chairs, he said that better data is a first step toward helping workers master skills needed "in the AI economy." The bill would allow the Labor Department to hire experts in AI and require the department to set up an AI Workforce Research Hub, monitor how employees move between jobs impacted by AI and develop benchmarks to measure which tasks may be automated, requiring employees to be retrained. |
| Fauci pleads the Fifth to COVID questions by US Sen. Rand Paul at intense hearing | |
| Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's most visible public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic, declined to answer questions from a U.S. Senate committee in a tense and confrontational hearing Wednesday, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. Fauci said during a brief opening statement he believed Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., was trying to get him to make statements under oath that would lead to criminal charges. Fauci has testified publicly 13 times before Senate committees and 11 times before House committees since January 2020. This was the first time he declined to answer any questions from lawmakers. Paul said the committee will hold a vote next week to hold Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions under a subpoena. "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today," he said. Fauci's decision not to answer questions didn't stop Republicans and Democrats on the committee from asking him questions and making lengthy statements throughout the three-hour hearing. |
| Why does Mississippi struggle to keep college graduates? Brain drain persists | |
 | Mississippi is losing fewer people than it was a decade ago, but the state continues to struggle with a persistent brain drain that sends many of its young, educated workers elsewhere in search of opportunity. Demographers, economic development experts and young entrepreneurs say reversing the trend will require more than headline-grabbing industrial projects. It will demand a long-term strategy that aligns education, workforce development, quality of life and job creation. Jake McGraw, policy director for Working Together Mississippi, said Mississippi's migration losses have slowed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. "If you would have looked at Mississippi in the last few years, you see that we are not losing nearly as many people as we had been," McGraw said. "Some recent years we've actually had net migration." "We have trimmed the decline," McGraw said. The problem, he added, is that neighboring states are improving even faster. |
| TVA donates $50,000 to help restore trees on Ole Miss campus | |
| The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is helping Ole Miss restore the trees lost in on campus, including in The Grove, earlier this year in Winter Storm Fern. Ole Miss announced Wednesday that TVA is donating $50,000 to the university to assist in restoring the storied campus tree canopy as part of the utility's commitment to environmental stewardship, community resilience and the long-term health of natural resources across the region. The university estimates that about 11% of the tree canopy on its Oxford campus was lost as a result of the days-long ice storm that blanketed the North Mississippi region. David Mitchell, TVA's program manager for environmental stewardship and sustainability, said the donation is intended to "help accelerate the replanting of trees lost during the storm, restore the beauty and ecological benefits of the university's landscape, and create a more resilient urban forest that can better withstand future weather events." |
| College instructor goes viral for catching students using AI on exam | |
| A college instructor in Mississippi has gone viral for sharing how he caught students using AI chatbots to complete a midterm exam. Jason Gibson, an instructor at Alcorn State University, about 75 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, said in a July 20 TikTok video that 32 of his 35 students failed a portion of their midterm exams for using artificial intelligence to write a discussion post about the Industrial Revolution. The clip, which as of July 29 has garnered more than 2.2 million views collectively, is part of a three-video series in which Gibson explains the situation. Gibson did not wish to comment on the videos when contacted by USA TODAY on July 29. Alcorn State University said in a statement to USA TODAY that the institution does not comment on individual personnel matters. "Academic integrity is central to our mission at Alcorn State. We're proud of our faculty and the creative ways they uphold it as AI reshapes the classroom and our world today," Marketing and Communications Vice President Maxine Greenleaf told USA TODAY. "Our focus stays on preparing our students to use these tools honestly and to graduate ready to lead in this evolving landscape." |
| Comedian Nate Bargatze to headline event at Mississippi Christian University in September | |
| Comedian Nate Bargatze will headline the Mississippi Christian University Foundation's Bicentennial Gala on Sept. 29, the school announced. Bargatze is a Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated comedian, author, podcaster, director and producer who has sold more than 2 million tickets on his current tour. He will perform in the A.E. Wood Coliseum on Mississippi Christian University's Clinton campus. Proceeds from the Bicentennial Gala, the single largest annual fundraising event for MC, benefit academic and athletic programs. The event will feature a seated dinner for table sponsors, a stand-up performance by Bargatze and a Q&A segment with him, and a program filled with laughter and special moments. Katrina Pace, chief executive officer of the MC Foundation, said it's the MC students, employees, volunteers and supporters who make the event a reality. "With more than 100 students volunteering alongside our alumni, faculty, staff and friends, the gala is a wonderful reflection of what makes MC so unique," Pace said. |
| Belhaven University launches online special education endorsement amid growing teacher shortage | |
| For Mississippi students with special learning needs, having a certified teacher in the classroom can make all the difference. But across the state, hundreds of those positions sit vacant. Belhaven University's School of Education is now offering a fully online Special Education Endorsement program designed to help licensed teachers expand their credentials and better serve students with diverse learning needs. The program launched this semester with 14 teachers enrolled in its first class. A December 2025 report from the Mississippi Department of Education found nearly 600 special education teaching positions are vacant statewide, making it the single largest teacher vacancy category in Mississippi. That number has grown by more than 130 in just one year and by more than 200 since 2021. Mariella Simons, chair of the graduate program in education at Belhaven, said the university developed the program after recognizing the growing need across the state. |
| ICC Senior College kicks off fall semester with Lee County sheriff | |
| Itawamba Community College's Continuing Education department invites area adults to kick off the fall semester of Senior College with an informative presentation focused on staying safe and avoiding scams. The semester's first Senior College gathering will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the ICC Belden Center. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson will present "Senior Safety and Avoiding Scams." As scammers increasingly target older adults through phone calls, text messages, emails and social media, Johnson will share practical tips to help participants recognize warning signs, protect their personal information and avoid becoming victims of fraud. The presentation will also address personal safety and ways to remain alert in everyday situations. "Senior College is about much more than attending a class," said Rena Chism, ICC Continuing Education specialist. "It's about building community, staying curious and enjoying new experiences alongside friends. Whether you're learning about personal safety, discovering a new hobby or simply sharing a cup of coffee and conversation, each month offers something meaningful." |
| U. of Alabama to join Entente Cordiale Day | |
| The University of Alabama will join George Washington University, the College of William & Mary, Lafayette College, the University of Virginia and Columbia University at Entente Cordiale Day, an international academic competition among universities in the United Kingdom and France. Entente Cordiale Day brings together top academic institutions to "produce, discuss, and develop solution-focused research on today's most pressing global issues." The theme for the 2026-27 challenge is "Artificial Intelligence, Power and Ethics," which the University said would "play directly to several of UA's fastest growing strengths." As a part of Peter Mohler's "Future-Ready Flagship" initiative, the University has invested in the new School of Leadership and Policy and School of Data Science, as well as the High Performance Computing and Data Center. "Being selected for the inaugural U.S. Entente Cordiale Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for our students," said UA Provost Lesley Reid. "This experience will allow them to collaborate across disciplines, develop innovative solutions to complex global challenges, and learn alongside peers from some of the world's leading universities. It reflects The University of Alabama's growing strength in data science and leadership." |
| U. of Kentucky said laid-off food staff would get jobs with new partner. Only half have been rehired | |
 | The University of Kentucky previously said its new public-private dining partner, Compass Group, would try to rehire dining workers who were terminated when UK cut ties with Aramark. But only about half of those laid off by Aramark -- 462 out of 926 -- had been rehired by Compass Group by July 10, according to public records from UK requested by the Herald-Leader. The July 10 data was the most recently-available information. The layoffs went into effect June 30. Lindsay Travis, a UK spokesperson, told the Herald-Leader Wednesday she was unsure if the other half would be rehired by Compass Group. The company is focused on retaining full-time workers, not necessarily students and part-time employees, Travis said. While only half of Aramark employees were rehired by Compass Group, Travis said she doesn't think their workload will increase. "I think part of the other numbers (who haven't been rehired) include part-time people and student workers," she said. In the future, UK's own workers in maintenance, grounds, custodial and some in-patient services may be able to choose to continue in their roles as UK employees, or quit and become Compass Group employees while still working on the university campuses or medical facilities, according to Travis. |
| Two Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars to join UGA | |
| Researchers Francisco Fernandez-Lima and Guo-Wei Wei will join the University of Georgia as its newest Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholars on Aug. 1, according to a UGA press release. Both professors' work involves drug development, environmental science and personalized medicine. Fernandez-Lima is currently a professor of chemistry, physics and biochemistry at Florida International University. He will be UGA's GRA Eminent Scholar in Microbial Physiology, as well as director of the Biomolecular and Human Analysis Center. Guo-Wei Wei is an MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Michigan State University. Wei will be UGA's GRA Eminent Scholar in Structural Biology, working in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology along with the department of mathematics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. UGA currently has 18 active GRA Eminent Scholars, including Fernandez-Lima and Wei. The GRA is a nonprofit, public-private partnership that uses state funds to recruit scientific talent, improve labs and promote entrepreneurship to further Georgia's economy. |
| Texas DEI watchdog received 73 college complaints. Just 2 led to investigations | |
| Six months after lawmakers launched an initiative to hold colleges and universities accountable over a statewide diversity, equity and inclusion ban and limits on core curriculum, the new ombudsman office has only investigated two complaints. The office opened in January after Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 37, a higher education reform law that mandates more regent authority over universities to counter a perceived liberal bias in education. So far, 73 complaints have been filed with the office, but only two have warranted an investigation, Brandon Simmons, who leads the office, told the Senate Higher Education Committee this week. At an interim hearing Tuesday, Simmons told lawmakers that though the office is up and running, it is hindered by misinformation related to the laws it investigates and by the office's lack of recognition among average Texans. Students, faculty and employees are the only ones who can submit complaints, and they cannot do so anonymously. |
| Texas A&M to receive $2M federal grant for AI and cybersecurity training | |
| Texas A&M University has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $2 million to bolster artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity workforce development, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced. The $1,997,970 grant, funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation, aims to equip professionals with the necessary skills to protect critical technology systems and defend against an increasing number of cyberattacks from foreign adversaries. "We must take steps to defend against cyberattacks by training students with the AI and cybersecurity skills needed to protect our critical technology systems," Sen. Cornyn said in a statement. "This grant will help Texas grow the ranks of cyber professionals by funding specialized training at universities across the nation, including at some of Texas' top academic institutions." The funding is part of the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) Program, originally established by the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014. The program was later amended by the National Defense Authorization Acts for 2018 and 2021, and recently expanded to include AI workforce development under the Cornyn-negotiated CHIPS and Science Act. |
| Texas senators call on higher education leaders to help students understand full cost of college | |
| Texas senators say students should have a better understanding of what college will actually cost before they commit to a school. That was one of the biggest takeaways from Wednesday's Senate Higher Education Committee hearing where lawmakers questioned university leaders about financial aid, housing costs and whether students are getting enough information to make informed decisions. Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, said students often compare financial aid offers without realizing how much the cost of living differs from campus to campus. "We see students who get accepted to great universities and colleges, but they don't graduate," Paxton said. "They don't last because they just didn't have the information of mainly financial information." University leaders agreed colleges can do a better job explaining costs. Glenn Hegar, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, said universities already provide financial aid information but need to present it in a way students are more likely to understand. Lawmakers also discussed whether colleges should give students a clearer picture of what they can expect to earn after graduation before taking on student debt. |
| Centering humans in AI education might be key to innovation and research | |
| What do the physics of beatboxing have to do with artificial intelligence? Well, at the University of Southern California it's all part of a blueprint for keeping the technology human-centered. Shri Narayanan, a professor of engineering, psychology, and linguistics, runs USC's Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab. At a recent visit, he showed "Marketplace Tech" real-time MRI videos of beatboxers mapped by machine learning algorithms. "Can you believe that the human vocal instrument can provide this, make this sound?" he said. "So, what you're seeing here is a cross section of a person's head. You can see that there's the tongue, the lips, the airway trachea, and this is all machine learning." Those models aren't just for tracking musical performers. Narayanan's core research is in behavioral signal processing using AI to analyze physical patterns in humans to tackle profound clinical challenges -- from mapping neurodevelopment in autism, to identifying early biomarkers for depression or suicidal ideation. This isn't the buzzy AI of chatbots or coding agents that have been all the rage, but research like this is at the core of a $200 million bet USC is making about what a university can still offer in the age of AI. The new Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence is pushing to embed the technology across the campus. USC will launch a new AI major this fall, as well as minors, designed for non-STEM students to learn to apply AI to disciplines like history and art. |
| NSF testing new Ph.D. model giving trainees academic and industry experience | |
| Young life scientists have been increasingly abandoning academia, a seismic shift that has fueled calls for rethinking graduate education. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it's funding a pilot program to test a new strategy: Giving Ph.D. students industry experience -- and dollars -- as part of their training. The program is creating four-year Ph.D. programs that are jointly bankrolled by universities and industry partners, with additional support from the National Science Foundation. During their Ph.D. studies, participants will spend at least one year conducting research at a company site. Around 30 university-industry pairs plan to participate, with academic partners including the University of California, San Diego, and Northwestern, Purdue, and Columbia universities. The companies include life science instrument and service firm Agilent Technologies, as well as chemical company DuPont and Bayer's Crop Science division. The industry-university partners have signed letters of intent, though they have not signed final agreements. |
| Gates Foundation's New Goal: 10M 'Credentials of Value' by 2045 | |
 | The Gates Foundation has a new North Star: ensuring 10 million learners ages 18 to 34 earn "credentials of value" by 2045. That's double the current rate of growth. The new goal and a fresh strategic plan for how to get there were announced Wednesday. Allan Golston, president of the foundation's U.S. program, says the shift is largely due to a finite window facing the organization. Last year, the philanthropy's founder Bill Gates announced that it must spend roughly $200 billion before it closes permanently Dec. 31, 2045. "If we get this right, the result will be more than higher completion rates or stronger educational outcomes," Golston wrote in an online post about the new vision. "It will be a country where aspiration matters more than circumstance and where opportunity is within reach for far more learners." |
| West Point professors free to comment publicly as school declines to appeal ruling | |
| A West Point professor and his colleagues will remain ungagged for now, after the military academy declined to appeal a judge's ruling that barred the school from restricting professors' public comments. The West Point policy, adopted early last year, says no professor can give a speech, publish a paper or speak on a podcast without seeking approval from their department head. School leadership announced it a month after President Donald Trump issued an executive order forbidding military service academies from "promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating" ideas deemed "un-American" or "divisive." In late 2025, West Point's longest-serving law professor, Tim Bakken, sued the academy in federal court over the policy. He contends the policy violates the First Amendment by suppressing professors' speech in an effort to "censor viewpoints that might be contrary" to those of West Point, the Army, the Defense Department, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Bakken sued on behalf of all civilian professors, who make up about a third of West Point's faculty. |
| Fired Over Speech, Professors Take Their Employers to Court -- and Win | |
| Rima Kapitan is busy. An employment lawyer focused on academia, Kapitan is currently representing more than a dozen faculty members who were terminated or otherwise disciplined for their speech. Her client list includes Savneet Talwar, an art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who was put on indefinite leave for assigning a case study that featured a woman sympathetic to Palestinians, and Steven Thrasher, who sued Northwestern University earlier this month alleging he was denied tenure because of his pro-Palestinian activism. "I get way more Palestinian cases than I ever did before," Kapitan said during a phone call with Inside Higher Ed Tuesday, speaking from the road after presenting oral argument on behalf of one of her professor clients. "It was pretty seldom in the first 10, 15 years of my practicing law that we got a Palestinian case ... but now we're just bombarded." Professors are becoming more litigious, and their increasingly censorial institutions are driving them past arbitration and onto the judicial battlefield, experts say. Over the past several years, dozens of faculty and staff members who were disciplined or terminated for something they said on campus or online have sued their institutions, alleging wrongful termination and First Amendment violations. |
| Will the College Transparency Act get the green light from lawmakers? | |
| Major higher education associations are calling on congressional lawmakers to advance the College Transparency Act, which would lift a ban on the federal government collecting student-level data. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions plans to consider the bipartisan legislation Thursday. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana and the committee's chair, reintroduced the bill last year alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts. The higher ed associations argue the measure would provide students with better information about their options and more accurate data on college outcomes, such as graduation rates and earnings. The U.S. Department of Education collects institution-level and aggregate data from colleges on their students through surveys, including on graduation and retention rates. But federal data on college outcomes is often limited. Supporters of the College Transparency Act say it would fill in those gaps. The bill would overturn the ban on student-level data collection and create a new database within the National Center for Education Statistics. |
SPORTS
| O'Brien leading pack of fresh faces into 2026 season | |
| Mississippi State soccer head coach Kevin O'Brien and his staff haven't done much to the shared coaches' office at the MSU Soccer facility. A white board covered in tactical arrangements and hand drawn soccer pitches is the only thing on the walls of the workspace, which O'Brien stepped into at the end of last year. But the lone decoration, a MSU soccer cowbell caddy-cornered on the right side of his window sill, shows he is settling into MSU's culture. "I've loved Starkville. The people here are incredible," O'Brien said at a media availability on Wednesday. "The community, how they've welcomed me... it's been really amazing." O'Brien was hired as the program's head coach in December after a 14-year tenure at Lipscomb. He was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year five times with the Bison, and won a combined 12 ASUN regular season and tournament championships. His second-to-last game coaching Lipscomb was in Starkville, a 1-0 upset win over MSU in the NCAA Tournament. He's taking over a program with recent success, including an SEC regular season championship in 2024 and four straight NCAA tournament appearances, but also a lot of change. |
| State Well Represented At USA Softball International Cup | |
| Four former Bulldogs will be in action at USA Softball's International Cup this week as Samantha Ricketts' Team American Samoa squad includes three of her former players. Sierra Sacco-Ferrie is also competing as a member of the U.S. Elite team. In her second tournament leading American Samoa, Ricketts has added Chloe Malau'ulu to a roster that also includes Matalasi Faapito and Kiarra Sells, who both made their international debuts earlier this month at the Canada Cup. The tournament will span five days from July 30-Aug. 3 in Oklahoma City. The event will feature 20 games as some of the top teams in the world compete on the international stage. Team USA will field both its national team and an elite team in separate pools. Any game featuring one of those two squads will be available to watch on ESPN+ with all remaining contests streaming on USASoftball.tv. |
| Volleyball: Lindsey Mangelson Earns Preseason All-SEC Honors | |
| Lindsey Mangelson earned a spot on the SEC's 2026 Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team, the Southeastern Conference announced on Wednesday morning. Mangelson is one of 16 players and one of three underclassmen to be named among the conference's best before the 2026 season. Mangelson, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, had a record-setting rookie campaign in the Maroon and White last season that led to SEC All-Freshman honors. She completed the season ranking second national among all freshmen and sixth in the SEC with 4.35 kills per set. Mangelson and the Bulldogs will begin the regular season on August 28 against Georgia State. Fans can get their first look at this year's volleyball team on August 15, as the Bulldogs will play host to an exhibition against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 2 p.m. inside the Newell-Grissom Building. |
| Millsaps move to SCAC driven by enrollment goals, student-athlete experience | |
| Millsaps College's incoming return to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference after 15 years in the Southern Athletic Association was a decision made not only for the school's athletics, but mostly to boost its enrollment. According to Millsaps Athletic Director Justin LeBlanc, the conference switch stemmed from an overall department evaluation in 2025, not long after LeBlanc was promoted from head women's basketball coach to athletic director. He said the decision to return to the SCAC in the 2027- 28 academic year involved several factors, including a review of the school's long-term goals, geographical footprint, recruiting base, and investment priorities, but emphasized that the move is not due to any dissatisfaction with the SAA. While looking to higher goals, LeBlanc said that the main driving factor for the school to move to the SCAC is a strategic plan to align Millsaps' recruiting and enrollment visions, especially with the school's recent downtick in admissions numbers. As Millsaps looks to renew old rivalries through its move to the SCAC, including with Centenary College and Austin College, LeBlanc assured fans that the change will not impact the Riverside Rumble against crosstown rival Belhaven. |
| Without Big Ten and SEC support, Congress' Protect College Sports Act is in peril | |
| At Big Ten football media days, here within the downtown Hilton hotel, an elaborate room exists, named after the SS Normandie. Among the room's concrete columns and carpeted grand staircase, a plaque details the fate of the French ocean liner: It sank at its pier in New York Harbor in 1942 after catching fire, capsizing and finally resting half-submerged at the bottom of the Hudson River. Is the Protect College Sports Act sinking, too? As of Wednesday evening, officials from the Big Ten and SEC had not delivered to congressional lawmakers their position on a piece of legislation intended to regulate the college sports industry. And without their support, the bill faces steep odds of passage through the U.S. Congress as time ticks away. Conference leadership did not meet an original deadline set by lawmakers -- 9 a.m. ET Wednesday -- and instead the two sides spent most of Tuesday night and Wednesday embroiled in discussions over several provisions in the bill. |
| Senators still working with SEC, Big Ten on thorny issues involved in college sports bill | |
 | Senate negotiators worked Wednesday to resolve thorny differences with leaders of the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences over revisions to a bill designed to regulate college sports that sponsors want a vote on before the chamber goes on summer break next week. "Those conversations are ongoing," said one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz and co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., are pushing to bring the Protect College Sports Act to a vote before Aug. 7, the last day the Senate meets before going on break. Senators return for the second half of September, before breaking for all of October -- leaving little time remaining before the November midterms. A pair of documents outlining concessions the lawmakers have made in the negotiations were headlined by a $20 million-plus "retention pool" that schools could use to keep players from leaving. It would amount to a doubling of the revenue-sharing "salary cap," which is currently set at $21.3 million for this school year. |
| 'Stunningly little progress': College sports overhaul teeters amid fierce industry battle | |
| Efforts to pass legislation governing the nation's $19 billion college sports industry are teetering amid a fierce lobbying fight over media rights and antitrust protections. The Protect College Sports Act advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-9 vote last month that pulled in seven Democrats. It was a hopeful moment for advocates of the Senate's yearslong legislative push to regulate college athletics after the 2021 landmark Supreme Court decision that ultimately led to the NCAA allowing college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness. But nine people close to the process say Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have struggled to secure support among key industry players, including the Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference, and universities are pushing for major changes to the bill before it's brought to the floor. With just a handful of legislative days left before the Senate leaves town for August recess, universities are on the cusp of starting another school year governed by a patchwork of state laws and court rulings that they say is financially unsustainable. "It would be challenging for me to imagine supporting it if the Big Ten Conference and our two member universities in the state aren't supportive," Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said of Cruz's bill. |
| Michigan Left Out Key Details on Probe Into Its Athletic Department | |
| An investigation commissioned by the University of Michigan following the firing of football coach Sherrone Moore highlighted problems inside the athletic department that went far beyond his intimate relationship with a staff member. Jenner & Block, the law firm Michigan hired late last year to investigate Moore and the broader culture inside the athletic department, called out the handling of controversies surrounding the previous football coach, Jim Harbaugh, and former men's basketball coach Juwan Howard in documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The law firm laid out a series of potential red flags about Moore, and outlined problems in Michigan's athletic department in other sports, including previously unreported issues with a water polo coach. Those findings contrast with what the university said in a recently released summary of the investigation. Michigan said that the law firm had not found widespread misconduct in athletics, and didn't detail issues within other sports. Michigan paid the firm $12 million for the investigation. |
| Jimmy Pitaro addresses ESPN's financial challenges, dodges app subs question | |
| If the latest round of layoffs at ESPN weren't enough to convince you that the business is struggling to maintain the profits of yesteryear, a quick look at the company's quarterly financials will paint a pretty clear picture. Disney will report earnings for the second quarter of 2026 next week, but looking back to the first quarter, the company's sports division, comprised almost entirely of ESPN, saw its operating income decline by 23 percent over the same period in 2025. Some of that decline can be attributed to a protracted distribution battle with YouTube TV, which cost Disney some $5 million each day it stretched on. Since Disney began reporting operating income for its sports division separately in FY22, performance from the segment has been bumpy. The sports segment began with $2.7 billion in profits in 2022, dropped to $2.5 billion in 2023, then $2.4 billion in 2024, before rebounding to $2.9 billion in 2025. Considering the number of households that continue to cut the cord, the 2025 rebound is commendable. However, as fewer people subscribe to pay-TV bundles and the cost of live sports rights continues to increase, continuing an upward trajectory seems like a challenge. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro was asked about this directly during an interview with CNBC's Alex Sherman last week. In addressing ESPN's financial challenges, Pitaro pointed to the network's surging ratings amid an overall decline in pay-TV subscribers. |
| How college teams embraced World Cup fever in 2026 | |
| Diego Maradona was out of shape when he landed at Babson College in June 1994. The small, private university in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was home to Argentina's national team in the weeks leading up to the 1994 World Cup, one of 15 colleges to serve as a base camp that summer. Argentina's football federation resurfaced Babson's home pitch, brought in new goals and attracted television cameras from across the globe. Thirty-two years later, some of the biggest stars in global soccer returned to the United States this summer, and college athletic departments were once again ready to capitalize on World Cup fever. This time, however, the conditions and incentive structures that schools were operating under were considerably different. There were viral moments with Argentina's Lionel Messi; fresh infusions of expensive equipment; and on-campus exhibitions with seven-figure revenues. As college athletics becomes an ever more expensive proposition, the 2026 World Cup offered another window into how schools are getting creative about generating buzz and critical dollars in order to stay competitive. "Most every athletic department has been reliant on tickets and fundraising and sponsorships," said Taylor McGillis, Texas A&M's associate athletic director for external relations and revenue generation. "I'm not going to say that's not enough. But we all know the needs are increasing every single day. We're more open to going down roads that we probably previously haven't gone down if there's really good commercial upside for us." |
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