| Friday, July 24, 2026 |
| Science, engineering in focus as MSU hosts Mississippi Academy of Sciences summer symposium | |
 | According to an MSU press release, nearly 100 students showcased their science and engineering research this week as Mississippi State hosted the Mississippi Academy of Sciences for its annual Summer Science and Engineering Symposium Tuesday, July 21. MSU Research Professor Emeritus of Plant and Soil Sciences Raja Reddy, now in his third consecutive term as MAS president, served as the symposium's chair. "The Mississippi Academy of Sciences ranks among the top 10 academies of science in the U.S., and this is the largest gathering in Mississippi for high school, undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in science and engineering," Reddy said. "The event gives students the chance to connect with peers and mentors while gaining insight into opportunities such as graduate school." Reddy said this marks the seventh year MSU has hosted the event. |
| Ahead of 'Shark Week': How MSU graduate students are taking a bite out of shark research | |
| According to an MSU press release, as Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" enters its 38th season, public fascination with apex predators continues to rise. But while television audiences tune in for the drama, two Mississippi State graduate students are part of the network of scientists who help provide necessary data behind the public's often-varying opinions on sharks. Alena Anderson and Danielle McAree, graduate researchers in MSU's College of Forest Resources, are contributing to long-term scientific studies that plumb the depths of shark biology and behavior, a field that inspires equal parts curiosity and fear. In 2021, Anderson and McAree moved to Mississippi from opposite ends of the country -- California and Massachusetts, respectively -- for internships in the Marine Fisheries Ecology program at MSU's Coastal Research and Extension Center. The following year, both enrolled in the master's program within the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture. Their shared passion for sharks forged a strong professional partnership and lasting friendship. |
| 16 WAPT names Christana Kay chief meteorologist after David Hartman retires | |
 | 16 WAPT today announced the promotion of Christana Kay to Chief Meteorologist. Christana will lead the station's weather team, continuing its commitment to providing accurate, clear and potentially lifesaving forecasts. Christana succeeds longtime Chief Meteorologist David Hartman, who is retiring after 40 years of service to Central Mississippi. The promotion continues a trusted tradition of weather leadership at 16 WAPT while introducing a new generation of leadership rooted in science, service and a deep connection to the community. A Georgia native, Christana's interest in meteorology began at age 12 as she watched local meteorologists track an EF2 tornado through downtown Atlanta. That experience inspired her to study geosciences with an emphasis in professional broadcast meteorology at Mississippi State University. She later returned to Mississippi State to pursue a master's degree in meteorology. |
| USDA to purchase $20 million in catfish, benefiting Mississippi catfish producers | |
| U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced Thursday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase up to $20 million in farm-raised catfish, which will likely benefit Mississippi catfish producers. The USDA's purchase will largely be used for distribution through food banks, charities, and other nutritional assistance programs and builds off a 2025 agreement to purchase $55 million in farm-raised catfish and Gulf shrimp. This $20 million promise comes as part of a larger $76.5 million purchase in U.S. commodities through Section 32 -- a program that supports producers of agricultural commodities that are not supported by large farm support programs. In June, Hyde-Smith, along with U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Republican senators from Alabama and Arkansas, wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that the USDA purchase surplus catfish products from the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry through Section 32. |
| Ezell bringing House colleagues to Biloxi for roundtable on health of Mississippi Sound | |
| Mississippi 4th District Congressman Mike Ezell (R) has invited his colleagues on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment to hold a Congressional roundtable in Biloxi next week. The roundtable is intended for members of the House subcommittee to hear concerns from invited witnesses and the public on a variety of issues, including reforms of permitting, impacts of the Bonnet Carré Spillway on the Mississippi Sound, and other matters managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Members of the Mississippi Sound Coalition, which has been advocating for restoring and protecting the ecosystem of the Mississippi Sound estuary, along with the Corps of Engineers will be on hand for the event. The goal of the session, as stated by the Coalition, is to bolster relations, community engagement, and discuss possible solutions to problems facing Congressman Mike Ezell's constituents who live and work in the area. |
| Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library surpasses $500M in fundraising | |
| Fundraising for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has eclipsed $500 million, exceeding the $450 million goal of the project that opened its doors July 4. The total fundraising includes about $79 million in commitments mostly spread over the next five years, Library CEO Ed O'Keefe said Wednesday. He declined to say how much money has been raised over $500 million. Part of the money will go toward paying back a $70 million line of credit North Dakota's Republican-controlled Legislature approved in 2023 as a backstop for beginning construction. The line of credit from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota gave library planners confidence to start construction in June 2023, and without it, the library would not have opened July 4, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, O'Keefe said. "North Dakota just had its moment on the global stage, and people liked what they saw," he said. Since then, 40,000 people have visited the library, he added. Library planners expect 150,000 to 200,000 people will visit the library annually, with an annual economic impact of $42 million on the region. |
| Education Department rescinds disparate impact rule, a key tool used to assess school discrimination | |
 | The Education Department will no longer consider school policies that disproportionately harm one group of students as discriminatory unless the discrimination is intentional, rescinding a decades-long standard for civil rights enforcement. In a rule change announced Thursday, the department said it would remove a number of disparate impact provisions from its regulations related to the implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of race or national origin. In schools, the standard has most notably been applied to school discipline policies. Across the country, data shows Black students have been more likely to receive punishments that remove them from the classroom, such as suspensions, expulsions and transfers to alternative schools. Racial justice advocates have pushed for policies that would reduce those disparities, and those efforts in turn have drawn opposition from the Trump administration. |
| Workforce Pell Grants are coming to Louisiana, along with strict requirements | |
| Students in Louisiana will soon be able to receive federal grants, once exclusively available to attend four-year schools, to take part in short-term workforce training programs. Unlike traditional Pell Grants, schools that accept Workforce Pell will have stringent reporting requirements. Their programs can only remain eligible if 70% of recipients earn the credential, a very high rate for workforce training programs in which students tend to be older and have other obligations such as jobs and families. Richard Nelson, the state's current community college system president, said these requirements might impact what programs remain eligible beyond the first year of the Workforce Pell program, as the state doesn't currently fully track those metrics. For students, one complicating factor is that the Workforce Pell Grant might not cover the full cost of a training program. "If you tell somebody that you can take this class, it'll triple your salary or triple your wage, but you have to have $2,000 first," Nelson said, "I mean, for a lot of folks, that's out of reach, and so having that [Pell Grant] support ... helps close that gap." |
| Colleges Pitch Classics Studies as 'The Odyssey' Takes Over | |
 | Jack Davis is exactly where you'd expect a professor of Greek archaeology to be over summer break: in Pylos, Greece, researching the Palace of Nestor. "It's hotter than Hades," Davis says, an appropriate reference --- both Hades and the Bronze Age palace figure in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, which was adapted by Christopher Nolan into a film out this month. Davis, who's at the University of Cincinnati, caught the film last Friday in a local outdoor theater. (Also appropriate for a story set thousands of years ago, the venue did not have comfortable chairs.) "It's a very good Marvel movie," the professor joked. "Some of the scenes are absolutely spectacular. Some of it I found a little silly." The Greek commander Agamemnon, Davis noted, presents as "a kind of Darth Vader." But that is adaptation for you, and Davis and the other classics scholars I spoke to are happy to have a light shone on the antiquities, a field that's often singled out in debates about academic relevance for being, well, antiquated. At a time when humanities degrees are being questioned and classics departments collapsed, some colleges are seizing on the blockbuster to showcase their studies in Greek and Roman literature and culture. |
| Business Officers Gird for Higher Ed's 'Seismic Shift' | |
| It's not unusual for Arne Duncan, the former U.S. Education secretary, to be in a text conversation with Ted Mitchell, his onetime undersecretary, about actions the Trump administration is taking. They've even developed their own shorthand: "idkycdt." The acronym stands for "I didn't know you could do that," Mitchell, now the president of the American Council on Education, said from the main stage of the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officials, or NACUBO, earlier this week in Anaheim, Calif. As he mentioned it, laughter from the more than 1,500 financial officials in attendance gave way to knowing glances and nods of agreement. College administrators spent much of 2025 in a defensive crouch, warding off blow after blow from the Trump administration and trying to keep their shields up in case their institution became a target. Much of 2026 has been slightly different. Still crouched behind shields, administrators are seeing blows rain down from all sides. "The financial squeeze has hit every single institution," said Kara D. Freeman, NACUBO's president and chief executive officer. |
| Competition is intensifying among universities and colleges for a dwindling supply of students | |
| t seemed like a win-win: a proposal to let community colleges in Illinois award bachelor's degrees in certain subjects to rural residents and working adults who live beyond commuting distance of four-year universities. The change would not only make things "easier and more affordable for students," according to backers including Gov. JB Pritzker; it would increase the supply of workers with the skills employers need. But four-year universities lined up against it. And a political ally, flanked by several of their presidents, was blunt about why: It would cut into their business. "We'll lose those students to the community college level," Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford pronounced. Under attack from politicians, scorned by the public for their cost and facing unprecedented enrollment and financial problems, universities and colleges are responding by taking the fight to ... each other. |
| In a first, Chinese woman wins the prestigious Fields Medal | |
 | For the first time, a Chinese woman has been awarded the world's most prestigious mathematics prize, the Fields Medal, bringing the total count of Chinese-born medalists to three, as two mathematicians from the country clinched medals this year. Often referred to as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, Fields Medals are awarded every four years to between two and four mathematicians under 40, recognizing both achievement and potential. This year marks only the third time a woman has ever won the coveted award in its 90-year history. The recipients, whose medals were presented at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia on Thursday, included Chinese mathematicians Hong Wang and Yu Deng, American John Pardon and Canadian Jacob Tsimerman. Originally from China's mountainous Guilin City, Hong Wang is the first Chinese woman to ever receive the medal. Wang, who researches at both NYU and France's Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, shot to fame after resolving a century-old problem known as the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions, together with University of British Columbia's Joshua Zahl. |
SPORTS
| Takeaways From State's SEC Media Days Trip To Tampa | |
| Kickoff will be here soon enough for Mississippi State and the rest of the college football world. For now, it's talking season. MSU head coach Jeff Lebby and Bulldog players Kamario Taylor, Anthony Evans III and Kelley Jones all represented the Maroon and White as State made its annual trek to Southeastern Conference Media Days on Thursday. As is typical at the event, much was said. So what did we learn, and what do you need to know with preseason camp nearing for the Dawgs? After taking the main stage, Lebby didn't take long to outline his goal for MSU's upcoming campaign. "As I think about year three for us, I think about taking the next step," Lebby said. "That's what it's all about this fall." |
| 'It's a blessing': Kamario Taylor entering first year as full-time Mississippi State starting QB with hype | |
| Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby said he has no ceiling. Nick Saban, arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, said he could be "the truth." And countless media figures have said he will dominate headlines in the near future. Needless to say, a lot of hype surrounds Kamario Taylor going into the upcoming season. "I really do appreciate that from Coach Saban," Taylor said. "Hopefully, I can prove that right this season." The 6-foot-4 sophomore Mississippi State quarterback made his SEC Media Days debut on Thursday and had the red carpet rolled out for him. The Noxubee County High School product, accompanied by Lebby, wideout Anthony Evans III, and defensive back Kelley Jones, had all eyes on him during his team's availability in Tampa. "It's a blessing. Growing up a Mississippi State fan, it's something I always wanted to do. It was one of my dreams," Taylor said of getting to play for the Bulldogs. "That was one of the things I wanted to check off my bucket list, and I got to do it." |
| Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby foresees 'big year' for Alabama native Fluff Bothwell | |
 | Fluff Bothwell was only a part-time starter at Mississippi State last season, but still managed to lead the Bulldogs in rushing. With co-starter Davon Booth now in the NFL, Bothwell enters 2026 as the unquestioned lead back for the Bulldogs. The South Alabama transfer has enjoyed a healthy, productive offseason, head coach Jeff Lebby said. "I think he's got an opportunity to accomplish a lot," Lebby said. "... He's done a great job with his body and putting himself in position to succeed. He feels better than he's ever felt and excited about his ceiling and what he's got a chance to do." Bothwell, an Oneonta native, totaled 834 yards with 13 touchdowns as a freshman at South Alabama in 2024. He transferred to Mississippi State, where he totaled 677 yards and six scores in 11 games, missing one game and part of another due to injury. "I think Fluff will be the running back that takes the bulk of the carries," Lebby said. "I also love the depth in that room with Kolin Wilson, Xavier Gayten and a couple of young guys that we've added to the roster that got here in January. So really excited about that room. Specifically Fluff, he's had a great spring and a great summer and ready to go have a big year." |
| Mississippi wants hunters to kill more deer. See the reasons why | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is pushing for a greater harvest of deer with the goals being to not only slow the spread of chronic wasting disease, but to grow more trophy bucks. "What has our deer population been doing?" asked William McKinley, MDWFP Deer Program coordinator. "Well, it's been rising and it's been rising at a rate that is a little bit alarming." McKinley spoke before the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks during an educational session in Jackson on Thursday, July 23. McKinley's presentation largely focused on CWD; a neurological disease that affects deer and similar animals and is always fatal. It's a disease that is spreading in Mississippi and is having a pronounced impact on deer numbers in parts of the state. McKinley also discussed another issue; the lack of trophy bucks harvested in Mississippi in recent years. The two may seem unrelated, but he explained that they are. Both are being fueled, at least in part, by far too many deer on the landscape. The high number of deer means less food for each deer and less food means smaller deer. The high density is also a factor in the spread of CWD. |
| Greg Sankey doesn't favor SEC breakaway, but options being explored amid 'real frustrations' | |
 | The notion of the SEC breaking away, whether it's making its own rules or even making its own football playoff, entered the public discourse this summer. But it's been going on within the conference for almost a year. Last October, SEC presidents asked commissioner Greg Sankey to present an analysis on "stepping away, or our relationship with the NCAA," Sankey told The Athletic on Thursday. "I identified some key elements, and at the end my recommendation was we not pursue that," Sankey said. Then in January, the SEC contracted with an outside firm to hold confidential interviews with its 16 athletic directors, as part of putting together a "comprehensive strategic plan for the conference," according to a document obtained by The Athletic. A number of topics came up in those interviews, and the breakaway idea was among them, according to a source briefed on the discussion, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meetings. Since then, frustration has only mounted. |
| Trump-Backed College Sports Bill Faces Hurdles As Deadline Nears | |
| Last month, the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act passed its first test when the Senate Commerce Committee voted to recommend it to the Senate floor for a full vote. The legislation certainly had momentum. Since being introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), and co-sponsored by Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.), it has gained two more co-sponsors in Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.) and Peter Welch (D., Vt.). It also won endorsements from several FBS leagues and the NCAA, and even got a vote of confidence from U.S. President Donald Trump. But it remains unclear whether the bill will reach the Senate floor before Aug. 7, when the chamber goes into its monthlong August recess. Hurdles span from external critiques to legislative priorities. Bill sponsors have been embroiled in negotiations to placate the Big Ten and SEC, who came out against the bill and still stand against it, and to secure 60 votes. Meanwhile, several other Senate to-do list items are competing for airtime. |
| Protect College Sports Act running out of time for vote before Senate recess: What's next? | |
| Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday the Protect College Sports Act is not likely to reach the floor for a vote before the session ends in two weeks. The bipartisan bill introduced in May by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) addresses a wide range of issues in college sports, including antitrust exemptions that would allow the NCAA and member conferences to make rules on athlete eligibility, transfers and player compensation while shielding them from the onslaught of legal challenges that have limited the regulation of college sports. Cruz and Cantwell need 60 votes to pass the bill, but to get it to the floor, leadership would like to see robust support. Right now, that doesn't exist. Stakeholders have been working to bring the bill for a full Senate vote prior to the Aug. 8 recess in hopes of then passing it through the House and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law this fall before the November midterm elections. Trump and the White House, which hosted a presidential roundtable on college sports in March, are supportive of the Protect College Sports Act, but the midterm elections represent a de facto deadline. The closer it gets to the midterms, the less likely it is that any legislation will pass through Congress, especially a bipartisan bill. |
| NCAA Division I board: No plans to change age-based eligibility rule being challenged in court | |
| The NCAA Division I Board of Directors doubled down Thursday on the new age-based eligibility rule that has prompted some athletes to go to court in hopes of extending their college careers. The Division I Cabinet, which approved the new rule last month, issued a similar statement last month after a group of basketball players filed a lawsuit in an Ohio state court contending the age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition. More lawsuits have been filed across the country since, some of them reportedly with their coaches' encouragement. The board statement indicates it won't budge from its stance like it did when, in response to former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia's 2024 court win, it granted an additional year to athletes who had competed at non-NCAA schools for at least one season and were set to complete their eligibility. |
| Texas Tech's Campbell Warned Big 12 He Had Sorsby 'Receipts' on Cincy | |
| On the same day the NCAA reportedly opened an investigation into the University of Cincinnati over former quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech board chairman Cody Campbell warned Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark he had "receipts" capable of implicating UC in the scandal. Campbell's threat came after head football coach Scott Satterfield publicly accused the Red Raiders of improperly recruiting Sorsby while he was at UC. "In the spirit of not publicly airing 'family disputes,' somebody should inform Coach Satterfield that Texas Tech has gone out of its way to not drag Cincinnati on the Sorsby deal,'" Campbell wrote in a July 8 text message to Yormark. A copy of their exchange was obtained by Sportico through a public records request. "We have plenty of receipts, and he wants no part of it," Campbell continued. "This is not a fight he should start." The exchange captures the tension at the center of Campbell's combative role in L'Affaire Sorsby, specifically, and intercollegiate athletics more broadly. He is Texas Tech's billionaire benefactor, a major political donor, and leading voice for saving a college sports system that he argues has become distorted by the money and influence. Yet, his critics contend he has come to embody those very forces, oscillating between the moral authority of a reformer and the instincts of a partisan fan. |
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