| Friday, December 19, 2025 |
| USDA leaders visit MSU to honor Jenkins' 64-year career, highlight 'Mississippi Model' partnership | |
 | Mississippi State University welcomed leaders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, or ARS, to campus on Tuesday [Dec. 16] to celebrate the retirement of Johnie Jenkins, an ARS Hall of Fame research plant geneticist whose 64-year career has had a global impact on agriculture. Over many decades at ARS, Jenkins conducted groundbreaking research, working on boll weevil eradication, transgenic cotton development and nematode resistance, often collaborating closely with MSU researchers. His longtime USDA office was on the MSU campus, allowing him to work with university faculty and Extension personnel -- an arrangement often referred to as the "Mississippi Model," a seamless partnership between MSU and USDA that focuses on solving real-world problems for farmers. MSU President Mark E. Keenum met with USDA leaders, highlighting the university's commitment to supporting the agency and advancing agricultural innovation. He pointed to MSU's work in precision agriculture, agricultural autonomy and unmanned aerial systems as examples of efforts to help farmers stay efficient and profitable amid rising costs. |
| MSU scientists cast light on Christmas tree research | |
 | From the Griswolds to the Grinch, just about every holiday movie features characters cutting, decorating or stealing the perfect Christmas tree. But most people -- including moviegoers -- don't consider that Christmas trees take work to cultivate. Like all trees, they are subject to the threats of disease, insects, fungi and other menaces. This is why scientists in Mississippi State's Forest and Wildlife Research Center have been studying some of the most popular tree species that decorate homes for the holidays. Forestry Associate Professor Joshua Granger explained why Christmas trees often get overlooked in forestry programs. "Christmas trees are considered a gray area in the forestry industry. Is it horticulture? Is it landscaping? Or is it forestry?" Granger said. "When I came to MSU, we didn't have any research with these trees, but I've begun working with the Southern Christmas Tree Association to develop some studies to help our growers out." |
| Marker to honor 10 Black legislators in Adams County | |
 | Adams County will install a new state historical marker on the grounds of the Adams Courthouse. The marker will honor the county's 10 Black legislators, who were elected during Reconstruction. According to Visit Natchez, the marker is part of the "Making Their Mark" project, a statewide, grant-funded initiative to recognize the first African Americans to hold legislative office in Mississippi after the Civil War. The Adams County Board of Supervisors approved a request for the marker, presented by DeeDee Baldwin, of Mississippi State University (MSU), on November 17, 2025. "This marker recognizes an important chapter in Adams County's history and the men who served during a transformative period in Mississippi," said Board President Kevin Wilson. The marker will be acquired through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). Installation is planned for late 2026. |
| Starkville pursuit leads to two arrests | |
| A motorist fleeing from a Friday night police roadblock later wrecked, leading to the arrest of the driver and an accomplice. The Starkville Police Department were conducting a driver's license checkpoint in the area of Highway 389 and Garrard Road on the north end of town on Friday, Dec. 12. Around 9:30 p.m., a vehicle evaded the checkpoint and fled from officers. Officers began pursuing the vehicle but terminated the chase for a number of reasons, including the safety of the public. A short time later, the suspect vehicle was located wrecked by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office on North Frontage Road between Columbus and Starkville. The driver, later identified as Lanforth Lee, 36, of Shuqualak, was arrested Tuesday, Dec. 16, and charged with felony fleeing, reckless driving, and failure to use a signal. Gina Hill, 38, of Columbus, was also arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to a felony. |
| Navy Announces New Warship for Trump's 'Golden Fleet' | |
 | The U.S. Navy will commission a new class of frigates, the first in a series of warships that will make up President Trump's envisioned "Golden Fleet." The Navy chose HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding to build the new ship, it announced Friday in a video posted on social media. The new ship will be based on the Coast Guard's Legend-class National Security Cutter, which Ingalls builds in Pascagoula, Miss., and will replace the Constellation-class frigate that the Navy canceled last month after years of delays. "Recent operations from the Red Sea to the Caribbean make the requirement undeniable -- our small surface combatant inventory is a third of what we need," Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Chief of Naval Operations, said in the video. "We need more capable blue water small combatants to close the gap and keep our [destroyers] focused on the high end fight." While HII will build the lead ship, the Navy plans to complete construction of additional vessels at other shipyards so that they can get into the fleet faster, Navy Secretary John Phelan said in the video. The Navy wants the first ship in the water by 2028. Trump has been personally involved in drawing up plans for the new fleet, which will be designed to better counter China and other threats. |
| Steel Industry Supplier P.C. Campana selects Vicksburg and Warren County for first southern expansion | |
| The Vicksburg-Warren Economic Development Partnership announced today that steel industry supplier P.C. Campana has selected a site at the Port of Vicksburg to locate its first operations in the South. P.C. Campana produces alloyed cored wire, cored wire feeders and metal cutting products used in the steel manufacturing industry. The project entails the location of two manufacturing lines to the Port of Vicksburg into two existing buildings being acquired by P.C. Campana. The project represents a capital investment of $3.43 million dollars and will create 17 direct jobs. The Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership worked with the company and the Mississippi Development Authority to secure assistance for the project through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. Governor Tate Reeves praised the move by P.C. Campana. Austin Golding, incoming Chairman of the Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership added, "We congratulate P.C. Campana on their decision to select Vicksburg for their first manufacturing location in the South. It is exciting to see a steel supplier choose Vicksburg, especially in light of our region's continued efforts and the impressive progress toward completion of the new port, and what this will mean for the rapid expansion of the metals sector in our region. We look forward to working closely with P.C. Campana and welcoming them into the Vicksburg business community." |
| American Airlines adds new flight from Jackson starting in 2026 | |
 | Travelers in Mississippi will soon have a new nonstop option to the Sunshine State. The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority announced Dec. 18 that American Airlines will launch a weekly nonstop flight from Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport to Miami International Airport, beginning March 14, 2026. Bookings for the new route are already open. The new service, set to operate every Saturday through the 2026 summer season, is expected to boost connectivity for both leisure and business travelers, according to a statement from JMAA. "This route brings tremendous value to both leisure and business travelers while strengthening our partnership with American Airlines," Rosa Beckett, JMAA CEO said. "And just as Miami welcomes the world, we are equally proud that this route brings more visitors into Jackson -- where travelers can experience our culture, creativity, music, food, and unmatched Southern hospitality the moment they step off the plane." |
| Next step is imminent for new $750 million casino resort plan in Biloxi | |
 | Developers of another proposed casino are seeking a lease with Biloxi to build a pier that will connect their site to the water's edge. On Tuesday's Biloxi Council agenda is a planned vote on approval of a 40-year lease with Biloxi Capital LLC, the company that wants to build a casino resort on the former Tivoli Hotel property in east Biloxi. Harrison County already approved the lease and Biloxi and the county have a similar lease with RW Development, a company working to build a casino and pier at Veterans Avenue. With Mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich and the council looking for more tax money to balance the budget, a casino that provides millions of dollars in revenue is likely to get approval. The developers estimate it will bring 2,000 permanent jobs as well as construction jobs, plus an increase in property and sales tax for the city and county. Tivoli Casino would be built north of U.S. 90 and west of Harrah's Gulf Coast on land that has been vacant 20 years since a casino barge landed on the hotel during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The 32-acre Tivoli property was purchased for $40 million after Katrina. The cost of the casino has increased to $750 million and is proposed as a 1,300 room hotel --- well over the 300-rooms required by the Mississippi Gaming Commission. It also will have a 100,000-square-foot casino and sports book, restaurants, entertainment and recreation. |
| Hosemann, White talk priorities heading into 2026 legislative session | |
| Lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol January 6th to convene the 2026 session of the Mississippi Legislature. Both Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) and Speaker Jason White (R) have been working with members in the state Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, to craft legislation that aligns with their agendas. Addressing the financial stability of the Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, is high on both of their priority lists. Hosemann hopes to expedite the solvency of PERS by infusing additional funds towards the unfunded actuarial liability that is pushing $26 billion. White said his chamber has proposed an annual dedicated stream of revenue for PERS for the last two years, and in the upcoming 2026 Legislative Session, members "will continue to push policies that stabilize and secure our commitment to current and future state retirees." White also expressed the need to readdress the new Tier 5 lawmakers passed during the 2025 session. "We have also heard the concerns of the new Tier 5 and we plan to make adjustments to that Tier that better reflect the needs for new hires and recruitment," the Speaker said. The additional tier will not impact those currently in PERS. |
| Mississippi Department of Mental Health says fewer people who need mental health services are being held in county jails | |
| The Mississippi Department of Mental Health said significantly fewer people they oversee who needed mental health services in the state ended up in county jails over the last year, findings it attributed to a 2024 bill lawmakers passed to reduce how often people are placed in that position. Sharing statistics from the department's fiscal year 2025 annual report at the agency's board meeting Thursday, Executive Director Wendy Bailey said there was a 31% decrease in state hospital admissions from jails since the House Bill 1640 became law in July 2024. Before the new legislation, people going through the civil commitment process could be jailed if county officials determined they did not have another place to hold them. Now, local community mental health center staffers screen people who are reported to be a potential danger to themself or others before they are taken into state custody and must note why a less restrictive treatment is not an option. A person cannot be held in jail unless all other options for care have been exhausted, they are "actively violent" and never for more than 48 hours. |
| xAI addresses Southaven's concerns over noise | |
 | Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite says xAI recently took some steps to cut down on the noise coming from its powerplant in Southaven and is making further adjustments to their site plan to reduce noise levels even more following concerns from nearby neighbors. Elon Musk's company purchased Duke Energy's former natural gas power plant in June to power its Colossus 2 artificial intelligence data center. The 114-acre site is located at 2875 Stanton Road just south of the Tennessee-Mississippi border by Tulane Road. Nearby residents have complained about noise pollution coming from the generators at the site. Musselwhite said he had many people reach out to him about the noise but that he had walked the property and was already in touch with the company about doing something about the noise. "They heard my concerns," Musselwhite said. "I told them the noise levels were not acceptable. They listened to me." Musselwhite said xAI told him that the portable generators currently operating on the site are only temporary and that they have put up a sound wall to lessen the noise. The meeting became somewhat heated after several residents interrupted the mayor as he was explaining the latest developments. James Hayley, who lives in Colonial Hills, said the turbines create a constant whining sound which carries more than half a mile through the wooded area. He's worried that the measures xAI have implemented are only a temporary relief to the noise. |
| Opposed to Data Centers? The Working Families Party Wants You to Run for Office | |
 | The Working Families Party said Thursday that it is putting out a specific recruitment call for people who are organizing against data centers in their communities to run for office. The announcement comes amid a period of heightened political turmoil around data centers, as some high-profile Democrats wade into the fight. Earlier this week, three Democrats in the Senate sent letters seeking information from Big Tech companies about how data centers impact electricity bills, while senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, became the first national politician to call for a moratorium on data center construction. "We see our role as responding to what working families and working people are concerned about, what issues are keeping them up at night," says Ravi Mangla, the national press secretary for the Working Families Party. "We would be ignoring the needs of our constituents if we were not responding to the issue of data centers and their impacts on communities." Opposition to data centers has skyrocketed in some areas of the country over the past year, as tech companies have ramped up their investment in building out hundreds of facilities across the country. In many regions of the country, affordability issues -- including rising electricity bills -- are becoming tangled with other concerns around data centers, like worries over the climate and water impacts, or even noise from the centers themselves. Concern over data centers played a role in a number of midterm elections. |
| Congress leaves for Christmas, closes the books on 2025 | |
 | The Senate followed the House in leaving for the Christmas break on Thursday, clearing another batch of President Donald Trump's nominations but kicking to January the fate of the next handful of spending bills. The Senate confirmed, 53-43, an en bloc package of 97 nominations. Senators also by unanimous consent confirmed the nomination of Kevin E. Lunday to be commandant of the Coast Guard. And they reached an agreement to set up confirmation of additional Trump nominees when they return in January. "One of the lessons I think you always have to keep in perspective in this job, is that the most important vote isn't the last vote, it's the next vote," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters late Thursday night, after being asked about lessons from his first year leading the chamber. According to Thune's office, the additional civilian confirmations Thursday night bring the total for the year to 417. enate Republicans had essentially changed the Senate rules earlier in the year to allow them to get long lists of nominees through to confirmation without needing Democratic votes, after Democrats blocked pre-recess unanimous consent packages that used to be commonplace. But the aspiration of Thune and Senate Republican appropriators to get the ball rolling on a package of fiscal 2026 spending bills was not to be. |
| Trump move to dismantle climate agency blows up Senate funding deal | |
 | A potential deal to fund large swaths of the federal government, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, collapsed on Thursday night after Colorado senators demanded that Congress stop President Trump's efforts to dismantle a key climate agency. A Democratic senator involved in the negotiations over passing a five-bill package of appropriations bills before Christmas said that Trump's attempt to break up a premier weather and climate center based in Boulder, Colo., was like a "stick of dynamite" that exploded any chance of a bipartisan breakthrough on spending. Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet (D) and John Hickenlooper (D) objected to moving forward with the so-called minibus spending package that, if enacted into law, would result in 85 to 90 percent of the federal government being funding through September of 2026. "We need to fix this problem," Bennet said, explaining his opposition to moving forward with the spending package. "We'll have to work together. We'll have to work together to figure out how do this." "We have to find a way together to fix this problem," he added. Bennet said that his Republican colleagues know how critical the center is to providing scientific analysis of weather patterns. |
| 'You cannot hide': Democrats' swaggering approach stymies House Republicans | |
 | On paper, Democrats are locked out of legislative power in the majority-rules House. In practice over the past several months, they have been a swaggering force. Time and again this year, Democrats under Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have maneuvered to successfully undercut the GOP agenda and put its leaders on the back foot. From a daily drumbeat on health care to the long-running saga over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to a new focus on the rising cost of living, they believe they're succeeding by making the party in power talk about Democratic priorities, not its own. Their success was underscored this week when four House Republicans joined a Jeffries-led effort to force a vote on expiring Obamacare insurance subsidies -- a major embarrassment for the GOP speaker. "Our message to Mike Johnson is clear -- you can run, but you cannot hide," Jeffries said as he took a victory lap on the House steps Thursday. The New Yorker was referring to his party's effort to address a so-called health care "crisis" brought about by Republican governance. But it could just as well apply to the overall Democratic attitude at the moment, with the party increasingly buoyant about its political fortunes heading into next year's midterm elections. |
| Johnson says he still controls the House. Some fellow Republicans disagree. | |
 | Following a year of guiding an unruly House Republican conference to legislative victories, there are signs that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is losing his grip. For the fourth time in recent weeks, a group of frustrated Republicans banded with Democrats to try to force a vote on legislation that Johnson fought to keep from reaching the House floor. Tensions boiled over Wednesday when four moderate Republicans -- scorned by Johnson's decision to withhold votes on their health care proposals -- joined all Democrats in muscling the House to vote next month on a bill led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) that would extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years. With the House adjourning for the year on Thursday, Johnson is downplaying tensions among Republicans that for months he had tamped down with the help of President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Johnson insisted that he has "not lost control of the House." But some of his colleagues are beginning to question that. Since Trump took office in January, Johnson has been able to rely on him to smooth out tensions among House Republicans. But over the last month, Trump's waning interest in Congress coupled with Johnson's stubbornness at times has contributed to lawmakers feeling a sense of aimlessness as they step into a midterm election year facing significant headwinds, according to multiple GOP lawmakers, aides and consultants. |
| Conservatives clash at Turning Point USA conference over MAGA movement's direction | |
 | A simmering battle over the future of President Donald Trump's political movement exploded on one of the right's biggest stages Thursday, as prominent conservative influencers used Turning Point USA's annual youth conference to attack each other and their competing visions. The feuding threatened to eclipse efforts to memorialize Charlie Kirk, the organization's charismatic founder who was assassinated in September, even as participants insisted they were honoring the legacy of a unifying figure within the Republican Party. First up was Ben Shapiro, who described Tucker Carlson and others as grifters and charlatans, guilty of misleading their audiences with falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Shapiro sharply criticized Carlson, a former Fox News host, for interviewing outspoken antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast, calling it "an act of moral imbecility." Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro's attempt to "deplatform and denounce" people who disagree with him. "I watched it," he said. "I laughed." The raw bitterness on the opening night of the four-day conference reflected deep divisions over the meaning of "America First" and next steps for the "Make America Great Again" movement defined more by the force of Trump's personality than loyalty to a particular ideological project. |
| Erika Kirk Endorses JD Vance for 2028 | |
 | Erika Kirk, the widow of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, endorsed Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 presidential election, promising to throw the weight of her influential organization behind his bid for the White House. "We are going to get my husband's friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible," she said, referring to the 48th president, as she gave a speech on Thursday that opened Turning Point USA's annual national conference in Phoenix. Mr. Vance has not announced plans to run for president, but speculation is well underway over which Republican could succeed President Trump as the leader of the party. The vice president has emerged as a front-runner, leading early surveys and betting-market predictions that explore potential primary matchups. Even some possible primary opponents are already acknowledging his strength in the race. In comments published this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, widely considered to be another strong potential contender, signaled that he would defer to Mr. Vance. The support of Turning Point USA could provide a significant boost to Mr. Vance if he decides to run, particularly among Mr. Trump's MAGA base and younger voters. |
| China's ByteDance signs deal to form joint venture in step to avoid US TikTok ban | |
| TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, on Thursday signed binding agreements to hand control of the short video app's U.S. operations to a group of investors, including Oracle, in a big step toward avoiding a U.S. ban and ending years of uncertainty. The deal is a milestone for the short video app used regularly by more than 170 million Americans after years of battles that began in August 2020, when President Donald Trump first tried unsuccessfully to ban the app over U.S. national security concerns. Financial terms of the deal, announced in an internal memo by TikTok (U.S.) seen by Reuters, were not disclosed. Other details of the deal are in line with those outlined in September, when Trump delayed until January 20 enforcement of the law that bans the app unless its Chinese owners sell it amid efforts to extract TikTok's U.S. assets from the global platform. He also declared the deal met the terms of the divestiture requirements under a 2024 law. The new U.S. company will be valued at around $14 billion, Vice President JD Vance said in September. That was below analysts' estimates and the final figure was not made public on Thursday. Under the agreement, American and global investors including cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold an 80.1% stake in the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, while ByteDance will retain 19.9%. Oracle shares rose nearly 6% in premarket trading on Friday. |
| Treasurer's office wants to help families save for college | |
| Parents who are interested in ensuring their child will have their higher education covered before they even graduate high school have options through the State Treasurer's office. Currently, the state treasury offers two types of savings accounts, the MACS program and the MPACT prepaid program. State Treasurer David McRae (R) said the prepaid MPACT program covers all college expenses as though tuition was locked from today until their child attends college years in the future. Locking in tuition costs is beneficial because the cost of college continues to rise. Additionally, enrollment in the program ensures the child graduates college with little to no debt. "Whatever college costs today, it'll cost that when your child is ready to go to college," McRae said of the MPACT program. "So, we're locking in tuition rates and that helps alleviate debt." The second program is the MACS plan. McRae describes this option as similar to a checking account. Families can start an account under this program for as little as $25. The account can be used to cover various expenses such as tuition, room and board, and books. Plans offered today by the treasury are not just for attending a university, they can be used to get an education at a community college to obtain a certification, vocational degree or even later transfer to a university. |
| Town and Tower Club holds annual awards luncheon on MUW campus | |
 | Mississippi University for Women celebrated the holidays and its community partners Thursday. The Town and Tower Club held its annual awards luncheon on the MUW campus. The organization brings people from the university, the surrounding communities, and Columbus Air Force Base together to focus on the need for cooperation among the institutions. That cooperation has been on full display this past year, with both the Columbus Mayor and City Council and the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors lobbying the Legislature and the Department of Education to keep the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science on the MUW campus. For those efforts, they were presented this year's Community Service Award. "Well, I hope they will get to see the closeness of the community and The W, and recognize what an integral part of the community The W is," said Nora Miller, President of MUW. |
| The hunt for JSU's next president moves forward | |
| The hunt for Jackson State University's next president has taken another step after Mississippi's Institutions of Higher Learning passed two motions. Beginning next week, JSU's top job will officially be open for applicants. "The board today did two things. First, they approved a leadership profile for the JSU president search. This profile will be used as part of the formal search for candidates," said John Sewell, IHL Director of Communications. After the board approved the JSU presidential profile, they then waived the restriction for Jackson State University's interim president Dr. Denise Jones Gregory to apply for the post. "But this was done, again, in the spirit of transparency to allow the interim president to apply if she so wished. It's important to keep in mind that this search process is confidential. No one knows who has applied. No one will know who has applied for this position," Sewell continued. "So, that's a really key important part of this is that this is a confidential search." The IHL is walking the public through the timeline for selecting a candidate once the posting goes live. "Once we do the national advertising that begins the first week of January, we are looking for about an eight-week period of accepting applications. The deadline for applications will be March 3rd, 2026, and we are moving on. We hope to have somebody named by the spring," said Sewell. |
| IHL board will allow JSU's interim president to vie for the permanent role | |
| Denise Jones Gregory, Jackson State University's interim president, is now eligible to apply for the permanent position thanks to a one-time policy waiver. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, which oversees the state's public universities, voted Thursday to waive part of a policy that would prevent an interim president from applying for the permanent position at the institution they lead, according to a news release from IHL. The waiver only applies to the current JSU president search, and the vote was unanimous, said John Sewell, IHL's communications director. Without the waiver, if Jones Gregory wanted to apply for the permanent role as president, she would first have to step down from the interim position. The vote reflects feedback the board received from JSU alumni and some students this summer questioning the fairness of the search process and criticizing the approach for a repeated lack of transparency. At a July meeting, some JSU stakeholders asked if Jones Gregory would get a fair shot at the permanent role. |
| IHL waives policy prohibiting interim from seeking full-time position as Jackson State president | |
| The search for a new president at Jackson State University can commence now that a leadership profile has been completed. The Institutions of Higher Learning's board of trustees voted on Thursday to approve the leadership profile. According to officials, the profile highlights the university and is the lead promotional piece used in the recruitment of candidates by consultants at AGB Search, an outside firm hired by the state to help with the search. Joining the state and AGB in the hunt for a new head honcho at Jackson State is a coalition of individuals with deep ties to the university. Officials are working to fill the vacancy left by former Jackson State president Dr. Marcus Thompson, who resigned from his post amid litigation pending against him. Dr. Denise Jones Gregory, the university's provost and vice president of academic affairs, has taken Thompson's former office in the interim. Now that a leadership profile has been completed, officials can begin the vetting process. No timeline has been presented for a new Jackson State president to be announced. |
| Mississippi sees rise in K-12 teacher vacancies | |
| Teacher shortages in Mississippi's K-12 education system have increased over the previous year, the Mississippi Department of Education reported on Thursday. Officials have cited low teacher pay as contributing to the continued turnover rates in the state's education profession. MDE said teacher shortages increased by 1,747 positions compared to the prior year. Results from the Educator Shortage Survey demonstrate as of November 1st Mississippi's education system had a total of 6,907 vacancies across the positions of teachers, administrators and support staff. Of the 1,747 total vacancies, 851 were in teacher vacancies, while 56 vacancies were noted in K-12 licensed educators. The increase in administrative vacancies over the year totaled 128, while 712 of those vacancies were in the positions of nurses, teacher and administrative assistants, bus drivers, custodial staff and food service crews. Reported vacancies were most prominent in the Congressional Districts One (84) and Two (436). |
| The U. of Arkansas Is Trying to Fire a Tenured Professor for Statements on Iran and Israel | |
 | The University of Arkansas flagship has removed the director of its King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies and is considering firing her from her tenured faculty role -- an escalation of a monthslong conflict between the Iranian American academic and the administration. In a Tuesday letter the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Brian Raines, told Shirin Saeidi, an associate professor of political science, that he recommended she be fired for cause. Raines cited as reasons letters she'd signed and her social-media posts expressing anti-Israel views and opining about other conflicts in the Middle East, in addition to testimony she submitted on university letterhead in the 2023 appeal of a case involving an Iranian convicted of war crimes. The justification largely mirrored a December 5 letter from Raines removing her as director. Saeidi shared the letters with The Chronicle; a university spokesperson confirmed their authenticity. Saeidi told The Chronicle she is the victim of a smear campaign led by a political activist who opposed her involvement in the 2023 legal proceeding. The university caved to outside pressure, she alleged, and punished her because of her speech. She plans to fight the decision. |
| U. of Kentucky plans to raze a 1908 campus building. Preservationists say it would be a mistake | |
 | A Lexington preservation group is pushing back against a plan by the University of Kentucky to raze a former agricultural building to make way to expand the business school. In a Facebook post, Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation said the state's flagship university plans to demolish the C.W. Mathews building at 606 S. Limestone. The building was constructed in 1908. "In 1907, mechanical engineering professors F. Paul Anderson and Leon Frankel (of the firm Frankel & Curtis) designed this striking Beaux-Arts/Colonial Revival building as one wing of a much larger facility for the Department of Agriculture that was never constructed," the Dec. 17 post reads. Zak Leonard, historic preservation manager for Blue Grass Trust, said the Mathews building is unique as it also represents the university's past, when it was largely an agriculture school. It's also unique because it was designed by UK professors. The Mathews building will be razed to make room for an expansion of the nearby UK Gatton College of Business and Economics. Jay Blanton, a spokesman for UK, said the university needs to tear down the building, which has long been plagued with mechanical and insect problems, to make room for the business school expansion. |
| U. of Tennessee student businesses span hot mustard to farm stays | |
 | University of Tennessee at Knoxville students might have just the gift you are looking for this holiday season. In between lectures and studying, some UT students run their own businesses with support from the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, whose executive director, Breanna Hale, recently was named to Knox News' 40 Under 40 Class of 2025. The center's holiday gift guide highlights students who have embraced their passion and skills with an entrepreneurial spirit, from mustard-making and cookie-baking to photography and fitness. Knox News caught up with a handful of these students to learn more about their ventures and how you can support them this holiday season. |
| Texas A&M System tightens restrictions on discussing race and gender in class | |
| About a month after adopting a policy requiring approval for courses that address race, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, Texas A&M University System regents on Thursday approved changes that faculty worry might effectively ban those topics in introductory-level courses. Regents approved the revisions during a special meeting on Thursday without reading the updated language aloud or discussing its substance in open session. System officials provided a copy of the new language hours after regents had approved it. According to the revised text, "no system academic course will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity," with a narrow exception for certain non-core curriculum or graduate courses. Those exempted course materials must first be reviewed, show that they serve a "necessary educational purpose" and be approved in writing by the campus president. Chris Bryan, the system's vice chancellor for marketing and communications, did not say what prompted the change, how "necessary educational purpose" will be defined or who will make that determination. In a statement, he said, "These updates simply make clear which academic courses the policy applies to and outline the process for reviewing and approving those courses." |
| Inside Clemson U.'s Response to Backlash Over Employees' Charlie Kirk Posts | |
| By the end of the day on September 11, Clemson University President James P. Clements had received 15 emails demanding he fire one of the institution's professors. It had been less than 24 hours since the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah, and social-media observers were amplifying posts by users who were critical of Kirk or made light of the killing. Melvin Earl Villaver Jr., an assistant professor of audio technology and global Black studies at Clemson, was one of those users. On his X account, he suggested that Kirk was a racist and a white supremacist, and shared another user's post that said, "keep the jokes coming. it's what he would've wanted." People began demanding that Villaver be fired. Fifteen decided to take their case directly to Clements. Those 15 emails would quickly turn to hundreds. Over the next five days, ultimatums flooded administrators' inboxes from parents, donors, alumni, children of alumni, students, sports fans, and people with no connection to Clemson at all. They pledged to pull their support for Clemson if administrators did not take action against Villaver and two other employees whose social-media activity had come under scrutiny: Joshua Bregy, an assistant professor in the environmental-engineering and earth-sciences department; and Robert Newberry, Clemson's asbestos-program manager. |
| UNC System's New Accreditor Hopes to Go National in 2026 | |
| The Commission for Public Higher Education, the accreditation agency for state universities founded by the UNC System and several other Southern states, has gotten off to a quick start in its first six months. Officials have settled on the standards CPHE will use to measure schools and announced an initial cohort of 10 universities that it will assess as it prepares to seek formal recognition from the U.S. Department of Education in 2027. The agency is now selecting peer reviewers who will evaluate the participating schools. The group has big ambitions. Near the top of the list for next year is expanding the agency's reach beyond the South, said Dan Harrison, the UNC System vice president for academic affairs who guided the development of CPHE and is leading much of its initial work. "Instead of being bound by geography, we want to have a membership that is nationwide, that is made up of publics," Harrison said. As the agency's first calendar year winds down, The Assembly spoke with Harrison about his thoughts on CPHE's development and what else is in store for 2026. |
| U-Va. board likely to name president Friday amid calls to pause search | |
| The dean of the University of Virginia's business school has emerged as the top candidate in the search for the flagship's next president ahead of a board meeting Friday in Charlottesville, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Board of Visitors is scheduled to review candidates for the top job at the university, a role that has been vacant since James E. Ryan stepped down in the summer amid pressure from the Trump administration over diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The meeting is expected to start at 1 p.m. Friday. The board is likely to vote to appoint Scott C. Beardsley, the dean of the Darden School of Business since 2015, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. A search committee has spent months considering candidates. But a vote Friday could spark backlash on and off campus after calls in recent weeks by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) and others for the board to pause the process until she takes office in January. Beardsley was reappointed to a third term as dean of the Darden school last year. During his tenure, the business school has expanded academic programs, grown its enrollment and received more than $610 million in gifts for the schools, the university said in a news release on his reappointment. |
| They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can't find a job | |
 | A Stanford software engineering degree used to be a golden ticket. Artificial intelligence has devalued it to bronze, recent graduates say. The elite students are shocked by the lack of job offers as they finish studies at what is often ranked as the top university in America. When they were freshmen, ChatGPT hadn't yet been released upon the world. Today, AI can code better than most humans. Top tech companies just don't need as many fresh graduates. "Stanford computer science graduates are struggling to find entry-level jobs" with the most prominent tech brands, said Jan Liphardt, associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University. "I think that's crazy." While the rapidly advancing coding capabilities of generative AI have made experienced engineers more productive, they have also hobbled the job prospects of early-career software engineers. Stanford students describe a suddenly skewed job market, where just a small slice of graduates -- those considered "cracked engineers" who already have thick resumes building products and doing research -- are getting the few good jobs, leaving everyone else to fight for scraps. The shake-up is being felt across California colleges, including UC Berkeley, USC and others. The job search has been even tougher for those with less prestigious degrees. |
| Recent college graduates face a world with fewer jobs -- and loan payments are due soon | |
| As Ryan Jenkins was finishing his last semester of college, all he could do was watch while the jobs he was hoping to apply for were being cut. Jenkins, then a student at St. Louis University, always wanted to work in local government, but federal funding cuts and the shrinking of government agencies meant there were fewer jobs to apply for. "We just feel like the door is being closed in front of us," Jenkins said, describing cuts to agencies carried out this spring by the Department of Government Efficiency. Graduation came, and, from the 16 applications he submitted, Jenkins got no offers. The Midwest Newsroom spoke to a dozen recent college graduates in six states about their experiences in the job market. These would-be entry level workers described using elaborate spreadsheets to track dozens of job applications, lost opportunities from federal cuts and hiring processes that made them question their self-worth. While most of the 2025 spring graduates who spoke with The Midwest Newsroom ended up finding full-time jobs, graduates described hiring processes with limited communication. The lack of communication is a point of tension for Generation Z, who have heard of peers submitting hundreds of applications and hearing nothing back. |
| A Long-Ago Brown U. Grad Student Is Suspected of Shooting 11 Students and an MIT Professor | |
| A man suspected of killing two students and wounding nine others at Brown University on Saturday was found dead Thursday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a storage unit in Salem, N.H., authorities said. The suspect, whom police believe was also responsible for the shooting death of a Portuguese professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this week, was identified as a former Brown student, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48. Neves Valente, who was enrolled in a Ph.D. program in physics at Brown from 2000 to 2001, attended the same graduate program in Lisbon as the MIT victim, and the two knew each other, authorities said at news conferences Thursday. Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics at MIT, was shot Monday night in his home outside Boston, around 50 miles from the Brown campus, and died Tuesday. Authorities believe Neves Valente acted alone and that the killings were not related to antisemitism. The five-day manhunt allowed conspiracy theories to get a foothold online. University officials "have worked aggressively to combat disinformation in online media and activity that has gone as far as to threaten individuals in our community," Brown President Christina H. Paxson said. |
| Trump suspends green card lottery program that let Brown University, MIT shootings suspect into US | |
| President Donald Trump suspended the green card lottery program on Thursday that allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on the social platform X that, at Trump's direction, she is ordering the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program. "This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country," she said of the suspect, Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente. Neves Valente had studied at Brown on a student visa beginning in 2000, according to an affidavit from a Providence police detective. In 2017, he was issued a diversity immigrant visa and months later obtained legal permanent residence status, according to the affidavit. It was not immediately clear where he was between taking a leave of absence from the school in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017. The diversity visa program makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year by lottery to people from countries that are little represented in the U.S., many of them in Africa. The lottery was created by Congress, and the move is almost certain to invite legal challenges. |
| The Year That Changed Research | |
 | Ask just about any federally funded researcher to describe 2025, and they use words like chaotic, demoralizing, confusing, destabilizing and transformational. "It's been a very destabilizing year [that's made] people question the nation's commitment to research," Heather Pierce, senior director for science policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges, told Inside Higher Ed. She expects 2026 to be a year of rebuilding and standard setting. Speaking of the National Institutes of Health, which calls itself the world's largest public biomedical research funder, Pierce said the research community is expecting more major regulation and written policy changes in 2026, which will shed more light on how grants will be funded, how much the federal government will invest in the research enterprise and what priorities will emerge from this administration. If the administration's attacks on federally funded research in 2025 are any indication, the federal government of 2026 will likely be just as willing to advance its conservative ideological agenda by controlling universities through the nation's research enterprise. And while the administration may not let up in the new year, courts stymied some of its most sweeping changes in 2025 and may continue to be an obstacle in the new year. |
| Colleges Share Joyful Messages This Holiday Season | |
| We're approaching the end of a year that was at various times frightening, difficult and downright ridiculous. We hope that, despite the struggles higher education faced this year, you can still find something to be thankful for this holiday season, whether it's generous donors making big differences for small campuses, colleges striving to improve cost transparency, or institutions supporting their communities through tough times. If not, maybe you can take some inspiration from the videos below. Here are Inside Higher Ed's favorite holiday greetings, from the wacky to the artsy to the classy, showcasing the talents and holiday spirit of students, staff and faculty across the country. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State hosts Memphis after Hubbard's 34-point game | |
| Mississippi State hosts Memphis Saturday after Josh Hubbard scored 34 points in Mississippi State's 87-83 victory over the Long Island Sharks. The Bulldogs are 4-1 on their home court. Mississippi State is 1-2 in games decided by less than 4 points. The Tigers are 0-2 in road games. Memphis gives up 76.9 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.8 points per game. Mississippi State makes 45.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.4 percentage points higher than Memphis has allowed to its opponents (41.6%). Memphis has shot at a 42.2% clip from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points fewer than the 42.5% shooting opponents of Mississippi State have averaged. Quincy Ballard is averaging seven points and 6.8 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Hubbard is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. |
| 30 for 40: Francis joins elite company in blowout win | |
 | Mississippi State freshman Madison Francis saw her chance to dunk early in the first quarter against Alabama State. The 6-2 forward made headlines for her breakaway dunk as a high school senior last year, and got the green light from her head coach to try the same feat in college. "I told her, if we get a breakaway, my Christmas present is for you to dunk," head coach Sam Purcell said. Unfortunately, Christmas didn't come early for Francis. She left the ground a bit too early and the ball ricocheted off the rim. "I didn't, I tried though," Francis said with a smile after the game. "My footing was wrong and it came off, but I've got y'all for sure." She was positive for a reason. Despite the miss, she recorded a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double, becoming just the fourth Bulldog freshman in the 30-point club after LaToya Thomas, Victoria Vivians and Rickea Jackson. The Bulldogs have one more road trip to face La Salle this weekend before Christmas, and then a return home to face Samford before starting an SEC gauntlet of six ranked opponents in eight games. For Purcell, that shift in intensity is coming at just the right time, and he's seeing a team that is clicking at the right time. |
| Titans' Jeffery Simmons grateful nobody home during burglary | |
| Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said he is grateful none of his family members were home when burglars broke into his house while the team was in Santa Clara, California, to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. Simmons, speaking Thursday for the first time since his home was broken into, said he called authorities when he arrived home from California early Monday morning. According to Simmons, various items were stolen from his home. But he's glad no one was harmed during the burglary. "It makes you realize that all the material things they took don't matter," Simmons said. "I'm just grateful my mom or none of my family members were in the house. They had guns. The only thing I think about is what if my mom was there." Simmons is the Titans' 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for his extensive community outreach through his foundation, Give Em a Reason, which aims to provide opportunities for the youth to build their confidence to help them succeed in life. As he watched the replay of his home being broken into, Simmons said the burglars looked like kids and called them "lost souls." Simmons got emotional as he began explaining why he does his community outreach work and how it could avoid future incidents like his break-in. |
| CVB hopes to reel in big catch with Bassmaster high school tournament | |
| The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau is hoping to reel in a big catch this summer and potentially host the 2026 Mississippi B.A.S.S. Nation High School State Tournament. At Wednesday's CVB board meeting Tourism Director Frances Glenn presented a proposal for a $10,000 hosting fee to help cover general set up costs, hotel rooms and food for the tournament and its organizers. The Mississippi B.A.S.S. Nation High School State Tournament is a gathering of North, South and Central Mississippi Bassmaster chapters, Mississippi B.A.S.S. Nation President Skipper Smith told The Dispatch. He said students typically compete in the first week of May. Looking for tournament locations farther north in the state, Smith said he recommended Columbus because the city has been a great host for their other events in the past. Columbus hosted a Bassmasters Open in 2025 for the first time since 2004 and is scheduled to be the only Mississippi stop of the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2026. "We're trying to stay away from the coast, because the northern teams and the central teams get tired of going to the coast," Smith told The Dispatch. "And so we're actually forcing our way up north to try to make something happen ... (and) Columbus is just easy. They understand what we bring financially to the city." |
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