| Thursday, July 2, 2026 |
| MSU Riley Center receives endowment gift from Meridian's Davidson family | |
 | A new endowment from Marty and Linda Davidson of Meridian will support the continued operation and mission of Mississippi State University's Riley Center, MSU announced. The couple made their gift through the Community Foundation of East Mississippi. The endowment supports the Riley Center's operations and ongoing mission. The MSU Riley Center is located on the MSU-Meridian campus in downtown Meridian. The facility includes a theater with seating for nearly 1,000 and draws more than 80,000 visitors and 100 events per year to the city. It hosts nationally known artists and entertainers, educational conferences, and middle school and high school student events. The center also engages with a network of restaurant, retail and hotel enterprises. "Their generosity strengthens our ability to create memorable experiences for everyone who walks through our doors," said Morgan Dudley, MSU Riley Center executive director. "They are helping ensure we can continue to be a place where community, education and the arts thrive together, and we are profoundly thankful for their support and their belief in the Riley Center's impact." |
| Marty, Linda Davidson gift aids MSU Riley Center operation, mission | |
 | According to an MSU press release, a new endowment from Marty and Linda Davidson of Meridian will ensure the continued growth of art, education, and community engagement at Mississippi State University's Riley Center. MSU's Riley Center is a multifaceted and historic facility, hub of the MSU-Meridian campus, and a centerpiece of downtown Meridian. Serving as a cornerstone and cultural anchor of the community's economy, it includes a grand operatic theater with seating for nearly 1,000 and brings more than 80,000 visitors and 100 events per year to the city. "Marty and Linda Davidson are helping ensure the continued growth and sustainability of one of East Mississippi's most treasured cultural institutions," said Christin Waters, CEO of the Community Foundation of East Mississippi. The couple made their gift through the foundation, and their endowment supports the Riley Center's operation and ongoing mission. |
| Mississippi State partners with Uwill for free mental health support | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) will partner with Uwill, a leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students, to provide students with free, confidential, 24-7 telehealth access to licensed mental health support and on-demand wellness resources. This service started on July 1, 2026. "At Mississippi State, we are committed to making sure students have the support they need to thrive academically, personally and emotionally," MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt said. "This partnership with Uwill will be a great addition to our amazing Student Counseling Services staff to ensure our students have resources available whenever and wherever they need them. By adding another layer of support, we are helping students build resilience, navigate challenges and succeed both inside and outside the classroom." |
| MSU Extension offers tips to protect backyard chickens, livestock from extreme heat | |
 | When summer heat reaches extreme levels, humans are not the only ones that struggle to stay cool. Livestock, including backyard chickens, can also be at risk for dangerous -- and even deadly -- heat stress. "While backyard chickens are much more tolerant of heat stress than our commercial birds that are grown in controlled settings, you can have extreme cases that can cause problems for backyard birds," said Jessica Wells, a poultry specialist who focuses on backyard chickens with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Wells cautioned backyard bird keepers to make sure they understand the source of any information they choose to follow when it comes to taking care of their birds. The local MSU Extension office is a good place to start. "Unfortunately, we tend to turn to social media for advice because it is so readily available. But it's important that we fact check. I have seen some advice that seems good but can be harmful to birds or is not the best method to use," she said. Carla Huston, Extension veterinarian and professor with the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, said extreme heat is also dangerous to larger livestock that may not be able to find adequate shade easily. |
| Watermelons, blueberries devastated by summer rain | |
| Sources from an MSU press release say that, while some areas of Mississippi are still experiencing drought, recent double-digit rainfall in southern portions of the state devastated fruit and vegetable crops. Watermelons and blueberries are primarily grown in the southern half of the state, and growers there have seen high yield losses. "Some watermelon growers say they lost as much as 90% of their crop," said Heath Steede, Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in George County. "Others say their losses fall somewhere between 60% and 90%." Both Steede and Eric Stafne, Extension fruit and nut specialist based in Poplarville at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, said they have received at least 30 inches of rain during mid-May to mid-June. Some areas have gotten even more. Farmers are losing even the remaining percentage of melons that were harvested. Vegetable crops in the area were also affected. Row crops, on the other hand, are faring much better. |
| Rain affects Mississippi watermelon, blueberry crops | |
| While some areas of Mississippi are still experiencing drought, officials with the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service said the recent double-digit rainfall in southern portions of the state devastated fruit and vegetable crops. Watermelons and blueberries are primarily grown in the southern half of the state, and officials said growers there have seen high yield losses. "Some watermelon growers say they lost as much as 90% of their crop," said Heath Steede, MSU Extension Service agent in George County. "Others say their losses fall somewhere between 60% and 90%." "During the harvest period, we have had 30 inches of rain, and some areas had more than that," Steede said. "Some growers have lost their entire crop or most of it. This year has been extremely bad for blueberries. We had two unusually cold events in January and February. Then, we had a late freeze in March and now excessive rainfall." Overall, the rain has not had a negative effect on soybeans, cotton or rice. |
| Veteran TV broadcaster Marcus Hunter joins WTVA 9 News team | |
 | WTVA is excited to announce the addition of veteran news broadcaster Marcus Hunter. Hunter will serve as WTVA's weekday evening anchor, alongside anchor Daniella Oropeza and Chief Meteorologist Chelsea Simmons. His official first day on the anchor desk is Thursday, July 2. However, WTVA will formally introduce him on-air on Wednesday evening. The Columbus native is a veteran in the broadcast TV industry. Hunter spent 10 years in Memphis, Tennessee, eight years in Jackson and most recently anchored and reported at WCBI in Columbus. He's also a professor of practice at Mississippi State University, where he teaches broadcast journalism classes. |
| Three victims, one child rescued in trafficking sting | |
 | A man faces prostitution charges after he was arrested during a sting led by the Attorney General's Office Human Trafficking Task Force that resulted in the recovery of three victims and one child. Veto Jemal Young, 32, is charged with felony promoting prostitution, which includes knowingly or intentionally enticing or compelling another to become a prostitute, according to booking information at Oktibbeha County Jail. MaryAsa Lee, communications director for the attorney general's office, confirmed Young was the only suspect booked on the day of the operation. Young's bond is set at $100,000. The arrest came during Operation Stark Reality, conducted June 25 by the task force and several of its law enforcement partners, including Starkville Police Department, Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office, Mississippi State University Police Department, Webster County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and Alcoholic Beverage Control, according to a press release from the attorney general's office. |
| US hiring slows sharply as employers add just 57,000 jobs, Labor Department says | |
 | U.S. employers pulled back on hiring last month and added only 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month's total and a sign companies still have a cautious economic outlook. The Labor Department said Thursday that the unemployment rate declined to a low 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though the decline mostly occurred because many people out of work gave up looking and were no longer counted as unemployed. The figures suggest businesses remain wary of the economy's health, with inflation at a three-year high and consumer confidence near post-pandemic lows. The solid job gains that were initially reported in April and May were also revised lower. Hiring in May was marked down to 129,000 from 172,000, while April's job gains are now 148,000, down from an initial estimate of 179,000. Many businesses may be wary of hiring as they navigate the implementation of artificial intelligence, but last month professional and business services, a category that includes architecture, engineering, and software developers -- occupations expected to be vulnerable to AI -- added 36,000 jobs. Healthcare, the economy's most consistent job creator, added nearly 47,000 positions. |
| What fewer working teenagers could mean for the future workforce | |
| This is a pretty tough summer for young job-seekers. Outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas predicts this will be the worst summer for teen hiring in the nearly 80 years that BLS has been gathering the data. The unemployment rate among 16-to-19-year-olds has been ticking up steadily in recent years -- from 10.3% in May 2023, to 14.7% in May 2026. Meanwhile, there's been another change with teen participation in the labor market over many decades -- fewer of them have been working or looking for work. In the 1980s, about two out of three teenagers had paid work in the summer, according to BLS's data on labor force participation, which is not seasonally adjusted. In recent years, that's down to around one in three. The long-running decline in teen employment has consequences for young people, their parents, and U.S. employers. So what's driven the decline in work among teens? |
| Warsh Says Inflation Outlook Has Improved but Won't Say if Fed Should Hike Rates | |
 | Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh declined to say Wednesday whether the central bank needed to consider a rate increase later this month but said his first weeks in the job have seen risks of higher inflation recede. That was evidence, he said, that markets have already grasped his hard line on prices. "Expectations of future inflation [over the last four weeks] have come down. Inflation risks have come down," Warsh said at a conference in Portugal alongside foreign counterparts. Anyone expecting the Fed would tolerate inflation running above its 2% goal "would be disappointed," he added. Warsh demurred when pressed on the tactics he might deploy to deliver on his pledge to restore price stability, including the prospect of a rate increase at the Fed's meeting later this month. He said only that he wanted a "good family fight" among colleagues before they decide. Asked separately whether the artificial-intelligence boom could stoke broader inflationary pressures, he sidestepped again: "I'm not going to make a judgment now." Warsh's reticence is deliberate, and it has drawn grumbling from former colleagues and central-bank watchers. |
| A grim job outlook meets a scrappy workforce as administrative assistants harness AI | |
| With their numbers already in decline, secretaries and administrative assistants face another growing threat: artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Claude that can accomplish aspects of their workload with a tap. Employment projection data offers a grim outlook for the women-dominated profession that may be particularly vulnerable to AI-induced job displacement compared to the broader workforce. But some admins are embracing the technology -- and even using it as a tool to get ahead. Deanna Danger, 43, has worked in an administrative role since 2003. She says adapting and staying ahead of the curve is a key part of her constantly-changing role, and AI is no exception. "All you do is have to evolve," she says. Danger started using AI professionally in 2022, learning through experimentation and collaboration with fellow admins. Today, she no longer takes notes during meetings -- she's set up Copilot and ChatGPT to do it for her. That has freed her to "actually participate in the meetings, and not just worry about making sure I typed everything out that was said," says Danger, executive assistant to the chief information officer at Vanderbilt University. "Honestly, what used to take me hours I'm now done with in under five minutes." |
| TVA clears huge hurdle in race to build America's first small nuclear reactor | |
 | A federal agency that approves new nuclear projects said in a June report the Tennessee Valley Authority's plans to build a small but highly advanced nuclear reactor along the Clinch River in Oak Ridge are safe and feasible. The decision solidifies East Tennessee as a world leader in the race to create power from next-gen small nuclear reactors. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission submitted a final safety evaluation report on TVA's construction permit application for its Oak Ridge site near the Clinch River in Roane County. TVA plans to build small modular nuclear reactors -- advanced power producers with a much smaller physical and financial profile than traditional reactors. Nuclear power plants are expensive to build. Even the small modular reactors TVA hopes to build -- meant to be cheaper than standard reactors with giant cooling towers -- will cost it billions. TVA in 2024 estimated the price of one small modular reactor at about $5.4 billion before interest and tax credits. Though they're pricey, the nuclear units will be a reliable source of power, a core focus at a utility that serves seven states and has seen demand rise amid data center development and population growth. |
| A group of farmers walked into the Oval Office. A policy fight broke out. | |
 | A group of farmers walked into the Oval Office last week expecting to smile as the president signed an executive order supporting the popular farming practice called regenerative agriculture, a method cheered by the Make America Healthy Again movement as an alternative to pesticides. Instead they were greeted by a virtual buzzsaw as President Donald Trump also brought in a top advocate who opposed the policy, prompting a live debate between top advisers, Cabinet secretaries and farmers. The roughly hour-long meeting, which ended with the president signing the executive order, provided a vivid illustration of the president's freewheeling governing style in action. The scramble showed that policy, even when it's the product of months of work and widely supported among top brass, can face an uncertain fate up until the moment the president puts his thick black marker to the page. "I thought the farmers ... were going in there just for a photo opportunity," said Jonathan Lundgren, a former scientist for the Department of Agriculture who runs a regenerative farm in South Dakota. "I didn't think that it was actually important that we had to convince the president to sign the executive order -- and we did." They were up against Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents over 5 million farmers -- a prized constituency for Trump -- and who often has the president's ear. |
| America's July 2 birthday, Philadelphia style | |
 | As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th birthday, Congress is taking a road trip back to the place where it all began -- Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Led by Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, members will gather for a ceremonial event Thursday in his hometown, an effort Boyle said was two years in the making. "This is going to be truly one of the highlights of my tenure in Congress, to be sitting there where our Founding Fathers sat exactly 250 years prior, to the exact day," Boyle said, adding he hoped it could be a rare "unifying moment." While July 4 gets most of the fanfare, Boyle said its lesser-known neighbor, July 2, deserves more attention as the day the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. "It was always the date that John Adams thought would be celebrated as America's birthday. Unfortunately, this was another instance in which Adams lost to [Thomas] Jefferson -- because Americans came to, of course, celebrate two days later the Fourth of July, which is the date Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence," he said. |
| Trump honors Theodore Roosevelt at new library site | |
 | President Donald Trump compared Theodore Roosevelt's tenacity and grit to America at the dedication of the former president's presidential library July 1 in Medora, North Dakota. "As America turns 250 years old, we look at this remarkable man and we recall that with effort, determination and drive there is nothing that Americans of competence can't do," he said. In a more than hour-long speech in 80-degree weather, Trump told stories of Roosevelt's strength and masculinity, despite a childhood plagued with asthma. The privately-run library focusing on Roosevelt's presidency is holding events for donors starting July 2 and will open to the public July 4. Trump announced that the library will receive $750,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support its first year. The library also received a $5 million grant this year from the Interior Department, now run by former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Trump was accompanied on the tour by Burgum and Robbie Lauf, the library's executive director. He told reporters he was getting ideas for his own presidential library. "It's been really very inspiring. They've done a fantastic job with the museum," he said. |
| Democratic Socialists Are On the Rise. What to Know About the Movement. | |
| Members of the Democratic Socialists of America have ended the careers of two Democratic House members and won a competitive open election in just over a week, catching Democratic leadership off-guard and bringing national prominence to a far-left group that believes in taxing the wealthy, defunding the police and supporting Palestinian self-determination. The latest victory came Tuesday in Denver, where 29-year-old Democratic socialist Melat Kiros ousted the city's longtime congressional representative, 68-year-old Diana DeGette. Last week, two Democratic socialists who had the backing of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won primaries against another powerful incumbent and a candidate who had the blessing of Democratic leaders. The nationwide group consists of chapters in all 50 states and counts more than 100,000 members. The group, which is often referred to as the DSA, says that it thinks "working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few." It describes itself as a political and activist organization, but not a party. So far, Democratic socialists have had great success taking out incumbents in extremely liberal areas and then cruising through a general election. Whether they can win highly competitive general elections is unclear. |
| Justice Barrett faces conservative ire, sexist attacks after birthright citizenship ruling | |
 | Justice Amy Coney Barrett is facing fierce backlash from conservative lawmakers and pundits after voting to uphold birthright citizenship, serving a severe blow to a core pillar of President Trump's immigration agenda. Barrett joined Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the court's three liberal justices in striking down Trump's Day 1 executive order restricting birthright citizenship -- but she's taken the brunt of the conservative outrage in the ruling's aftermath. Much of that criticism has been overtly sexist, while other attacks have carried more subtle gendered undertones. The College Republicans chapter of Barrett's law school also laid blame for the ruling at her feet. "Barrett is an absolute disgrace to the Notre Dame name. We apologize on her behalf to all who will suffer the devastating consequences of infinity third-world migration," Notre Dame College Republicans wrote on X. Elsewhere in conservative circles online, the sexism has been more explicit. |
| Workforce Pell Grant program ramping up in Mississippi | |
| Mississippians looking to seek a degree or training in a high-skill, high-wage job will soon be able to apply for Workforce Pell Grant funds. Expanded access to the federal aid within Mississippi follows approval of a policy by the State Workforce Investment Board that will be used for recommendations for approval of those Workforce Pell Grant programs, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced. After the Workforce Pell program was approved by Congress in 2025 to expand access to the federal aid, Reeves asked AccelerateMS to work with the Mississippi Office of Workforce Development to coordinate in the program's implementation. Implementation of the new program begins today, July 1, and opens the door for Mississippians to use federal aid to get training through certain workforce education programs as short as eight weeks. Requirements state the short-term programs must be approved on the state and federal level. Those programs are expected to train people for in-demand jobs that offer high wages and require a high amount of skill. According to information posted on the Accelerate MS website, specific job titles eligible for the program could include EMTs, welders, machinists, pipefitters, plumbers, commercial truck drivers, heavy equipment operators and power line technicians. |
| Mississippi Facing Financial Aid Shortfall | |
 | Mississippi is facing a $7.3 million financial aid deficit, which could result in as many as 27,000 students receiving less aid than anticipated in spring 2027, Mississippi Today reported. State aid officials attributed the gap to a 2025 change in how the funds were distributed, expanding eligibility from students taking at least 15 credits to those taking 12 or more. State lawmakers also raised the income threshold for the state's Higher Education Legislative Plan, a need-based grant. As a result of those changes, as well as the simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, more students are now applying and qualifying for state aid. Without additional funding, the state may have to limit the number of students who can access a scholarship for former foster youth and could have to decrease award amounts for other grants. Mississippi is just one of several states that have faced student aid deficits in recent years. |
| Weakley gift offsets textbook costs | |
| Sometimes the difference between staying in college and leaving comes down to a single expense. For University of Mississippi Foundation CEO Wendell Weakley, that reality prompted a $50,000 gift designed to ease one of the most common, but often overlooked, barriers faced by students with financial need: the cost of textbooks. The contribution establishes the Weakley Family Ole Miss Opportunity Book Endowment, which supplements the Let's Book It: Ole Miss Opportunity Book Fund. The fund expands support for students in Ole Miss Opportunity, a scholarship program that fills critical funding gaps for Mississippi students with limited financial resources. Weakley believes investing in students is essential to shaping Mississippi's future. "For many students, textbook costs are the deciding factor in whether they can stay in school," Weakley said. |
| Vicksburg's Lewis leads regional cultural efforts in Alcorn post | |
| As a young man, Dr. Garry Lewis spent four seasons as an NFL cornerback, defending against some of football's toughest receivers. Today, the seasoned educator faces a different challenge: helping Mississippi communities navigate complex conversations about race and culture while preserving and sharing African American history. As executive director of the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State University, Lewis works with community leaders, educators, historians, and cultural organizations to identify regional needs and support projects that preserve and share the area's rich history. "I lead the institution's efforts to preserve, interpret, and elevate the unique culture, history, and heritage of southwest Mississippi," Lewis said. "My role blends strategic leadership, community partnership development, academic engagement, and cultural stewardship." Over the past year, he has expanded educational programming by facilitating the showing of the documentary "Natchez" on Alcorn's campus. "That was one of the biggest events that I enjoyed," he says, adding he also valued taking students to The Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. |
| State gives K–12 teachers earlier access to money for classroom supplies | |
| As the first day of school inches closer, Mississippi education officials are making it easier for K-12 teachers to access the money the state gives teachers to set up their classrooms. The Education Enhancement Fund, or EEF, procurement card program, which was established in 2012, gives every teacher $748 -- around $25 million in total -- to buy supplies for their classrooms. However, a report released last year by State Auditor Shad White's office concluded that $17.8 million of that money is locked when "teachers need it most" because the cards weren't activated for districts until Aug. 1, as required by state law. That meant teachers, in some cases, had to dip into their own pockets to purchase the supplies or start the year without things they needed. This year, the education agency is making the money available to districts on July 15 and shifting to a digital wallet platform instead of dispersing physical cards for payments. |
| Stuart Bell is the new U. of Florida president, concluding a two-year search | |
| The University of Florida has a permanent president again. The Florida Board of Governors approved former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell as president of the university Wednesday, ending two years of interim leadership. During a two-hour special meeting in Tampa, Bell laid out his vision for the university while facing questions from governors about his experience responding to COVID, allowing free speech on campus, and about diversity, equity, and inclusion, the topic that tanked the last presidential finalist. One of the first comments Bell made during the meeting reaffirmed his commitment to not endorse policies aligned with diversity, equity, and inclusion. "I am not coming to Florida to bring DEI or woke back to the state of Florida," Bell said. A couple of questions from governors revolved around American exceptionalism and America's 250th anniversary. Bell responded by touting the Hamilton School, UF's classical and civic education arm. "Students will know I love this country. If you ask my kids, they know how much I love this country," Bell said. |
| Mississippi's top health officer: Measles cases are 'inevitable' as county vaccination rates fall | |
| Mississippi's kindergarten vaccination rates declined during the most recent academic year, continuing a downward trend that began after the state started granting religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements. During the 2025-2026 school year, vaccination rates for required kindergarten immunizations fell nearly half a percentage point to 97.2% coverage, according to data from the Mississippi State Health Department. This rate, which depicts students who received all of the vaccines required for school entry, is down from 97.6% during the previous year. Children entering a Mississippi school for the first time are required to receive vaccines that prevent chickenpox, diphtheria, hepatitis, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough and polio. This coverage rate is high, along with the overall vaccination rate for school-aged children up to 12th grade, at 99%, data shows. But health officials say the statewide averages mask growing pockets of lower immunization levels. Eight counties have fallen below a 95% kindergarten vaccine coverage rate, the threshold needed to prevent outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious and life-threatening virus. These counties include Franklin, George, Jackson, Lincoln, Pontotoc, Tate, Tishomingo and Webster. State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said this is an issue of growing concern for the agency. |
| U. of Alabama fraternity brothers killed in hunting camp fire | |
 | Two University of Alabama students were killed when fire swept through a hunting camp early Wednesday in south Alabama. The Conecuh County Coroner's Office identified the victims as Mark "McNeil" Mostellar, 21, and James "Walter" Hensley, 19. According to their LinkedIn profiles, both young men were business majors, and members of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Hensley was a graduate of St. Paul's Episcopal School. Mostellar was a graduate UMS-Wright Preparatory School. "In the wake of great loss, we are reminded just how fragile life truly is," St. Paul's school wrote in a Facebook post. "When words fall short, we gather." A vigil for Hensley was held at 6 p.m. at the school Wednesday. "May we carry one another with grace, hope, and love," the school wrote. Mostellar and Hensley were among four friends spending the night at the property when the fire erupted. Two of the friends were able to escape the blaze and were taken to the hospital. |
| Alabama colleges are attracting fewer international students: 'Ignore at our own peril' | |
| International student enrollment at Alabama public colleges is at its lowest rate since COVID, according to statewide data. Alabama four-year public colleges' international student enrollment dropped by 1,024 students last year, according to Alabama Commission on Higher Education data. There were 7,397 students who are not U.S. residents at Alabama colleges in 2025. "There are alarming declines that we ignore at our own peril," said Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, in a fall 2025 report. "Other countries are creating effective incentives to capitalize on our mistakes." Some specific colleges, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Auburn University at Montgomery, saw significant drops, with implications for jobs and economic development. The University of Alabama had a 6% increase in international student enrollment last year, while Auburn University dropped by 5.8%. The University of Alabama at Birmingham's international student enrollment decreased by 14.7%. |
| Glenn Hegar celebrates one year as chancellor of Texas A&M University System | |
 | On July 1, 2025, Glenn Hegar walked into the Texas A&M University System headquarters at the Moore/Connally Building on Tarrow Street for his first official day as the university's 15th chancellor. That day he told the gathered media that it felt like he was a kid again on his first day of school. "I'm back in class all over again; it's like the first day of class," Hegar said. "Today is really nice to be officially in the role. I'm extremely excited about what's on the horizon for the Texas A&M University System." It was quite a first year for Hegar. Just three days after he began his tenure, the Guadalupe River flood hit the Hill Country and half of the state agencies under the Texas A&M University System went to work. The Texas Division of Emergency Management deployed the State of Texas Incident Management Team. Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service sent Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Task Force 2 to assist in flood rescues and evacuations. Texas A&M Forest Service helped clear roadways and the AgriLife Extension sent disaster assessment and recovery agents. The system also sent the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team and the Public Works Response Team. |
| Columbia University Has a New President. Again. This One Plans to Stay. | |
 | In May 2024, a pro-Palestinian encampment formed on a campus lawn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When the students refused to leave, Jennifer Mnookin, who was then the chancellor of the flagship state university, called in the police to remove their tents. Thirty-four people were arrested. But after the students set up their tents again, Dr. Mnookin pivoted. She decided "there were limits to the extent of policing that I was prepared to authorize," she said, and spent the next nine days negotiating with the students. The resulting agreement ended the encampment peacefully, in exchange for little more than a chance for the students to present their case for divestment from Israel to university decision makers. The student activists were later critical of the deal, but the crisis was averted. Her confidence in handling that potential tinderbox, and others like it, impressed the trustees of Columbia University, who appointed Dr. Mnookin to be the 21st president, a role she starts on Wednesday. It is also emblematic of the deliberative leadership style she will seek to pursue at Columbia, she said in a wide-ranging interview last week. "I am a principled pragmatist," she said, "and I care about both parts of that sentence." Dr. Mnookin, 58, is arriving from the chancellorship of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with the belief that the tools of dialogue and negotiation -- tools she honed as a lifelong academic and lawyer -- will be integral to succeeding in her new role. |
| Colleges Have Paid Nearly $3 Million to Employees Fired for Comments About Charlie Kirk | |
 | Nine months after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, colleges have paid nearly $3 million to settle three legal challenges brought by former employees disciplined for remarks they made about the conservative activist. The biggest settlement came this week, when an anthropology professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who was fired after she made a private Facebook post about Kirk agreed to a $1.9-million settlement to end her wrongful-termination suit against the institution. Another public Tennessee university, Austin Peay State University, this week agreed to pay an associate professor of acting and directing half a million dollars as part of a settlement, and a fired health administrator's lawsuit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, against Ball State University was settled in May for $225,000. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting free speech, has been keeping track of 17 lawsuits against public institutions in the aftermath of Kirk's murder. Jacob Gaba, a legal fellow at FIRE, said it's too early to draw conclusions, as the majority of suits haven't been settled, but the costs of these settlements are notable. "It's becoming very expensive for these public institutions to retaliate against their employees for speaking on matters of public concern outside of their jobs." |
| New AI Agents Pose 'Existential Threat' to How Grants Are Awarded | |
| The rise of more sophisticated artificial intelligence agents poses an "existential threat" to the way research funding is awarded, experts have warned, saying autonomous AI systems could further flood grant competitions with applications, making it harder to identify the best ideas. Speaking during a webinar organized by the League of European Research Universities, Geraint Rees, vice provost for research, innovation and global engagement at UCL, said a new wave of AI tools represents a fundamental shift from today's widely used generative AI. Unlike large language models such as ChatGPT and Claude, AI agents can autonomously gather information, make decisions and produce work with minimal human oversight. "In the context of grants, generative AI may help you polish or write a better application," Rees said. "But agentic AI will go off and write the application and submit it for you." Such systems can be trained on a researcher's published work, funding criteria and previously successful grant applications to generate, review and improve proposals. "The marginal cost of producing an application falls to zero," Rees said. |
| Colleges Reflect on 250 Years of American History, Warts and All | |
| Colleges and universities are seizing the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence as an opportunity to facilitate community reflection about the complexities of the nation's history -- and what it means for the future of democracy. That reflection has taken on many forms, including essay contests, art installations, lectures, quilting bees, civic dialogue events and film screenings. And much of the semiquincentennial programming happening on college campuses this year shares a similar goal: foster respectful conversation about the people, policies and events that have shaped American history -- warts and all. For example, Ohio State University's America 250 web page says it's tapping university experts and community voices to "encourage honest exploration of American history." In Maryland, Towson University is putting on its monthlong America 250: Voices of a Nation celebration focused on honoring "the struggles and triumphs of those who have fought -- and continue to fight -- for freedom, equality, and self-expression." And earlier this week, Arizona State University President Michael Crow implored colleges and universities to embrace their role as "instrument[s] of democracy and equality" and "celebrate the sacred messiness of democracy." |
SPORTS
| Football: Kamario Taylor Welcoming High Expectations | |
| Did you open up any social media channels last weekend? If you did, you couldn't miss it. Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor was down at the Manning Passing Academy turning heads and getting the college football world talking. "He's impressive in every way," one reporter posted of Taylor. "I'm buying as much stock as I possibly can," wrote another. Praise for Taylor was abundant and coming from all corners of the football-covering universe. Taylor is of course getting ready for his first full season as the starting signal caller for the Bulldogs. As the top-rated quarterback recruit in MSU history, he needed no help amplifying the expectations for him in Starkville. |
| Men's Hoops In Battle 4 Atlantis Field | |
| The Mississippi State men's basketball program had another piece of its 2026-27 non-conference schedule come into focus announced on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will be joined by Memphis, Penn State and Wake Forest at the Battle 4 Atlantis on November 25 and November 27 at the Imperial Arena in Paradise Island, The Bahamas. Game matchups, game times and television network assignments will be announced at a later date. State has already announced a SEC/ACC Challenge home matchup with Georgia Tech on December 2 in addition to a road trip to Marquette on December 12 to start a home-and-home series that has a return game at Humphrey Coliseum in 2027-28. Mississippi State is now accepting season ticket deposits for the 2026-27 season at www.HailState.com/tickets. |
| Reps. Steube, Boyle Introduce HUSTLE Act to Help College Athletes Invest NIL Earnings and Build Long-Term Financial Security | |
| U.S. Representatives Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) today introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE) Act, bipartisan legislation that would create first-of-its-kind tax-advantaged investment accounts allowing college athletes to grow their name, image, and likeness (NIL) earnings without federal income tax liability and build lasting financial security. This bill is led in the Senate by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). "The Southeastern Conference is grateful for the continued engagement of lawmakers in addressing the evolving needs of student-athletes," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. "The HUSTLE Act represents a constructive approach by establishing tax-advantaged NIL investment accounts that encourage financial education, long-term savings, and responsible management of earnings. We appreciate Congress's sustained bipartisan commitment to developing national, consistent standards that support student-athletes and enhance their opportunities in this rapidly changing environment." |
| How the Tide Turned Against Transgender Athletes -- and the Movement | |
| When 11-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson wanted to run cross-country in middle school five years ago, it seemed like a favorable moment to challenge a West Virginia ban on transgender girls like her joining female teams. An openly transgender woman competed in weightlifting at the Olympic Games in Tokyo that summer. And the Supreme Court had recently delivered a landmark victory for the LGBTQ rights movement, establishing that bedrock federal civil-rights law prohibited employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. By the time the justices issued their opinion on Pepper-Jackson's case on Tuesday, upholding bans in West Virginia and Idaho, and 25 states like them, the tide had turned decisively. The transgender-rights movement has lost nearly all of its ground in red states, and is on the defensive in blue states. Conservatives paint the era in which Pepper-Jackson brought her case as a lapse of common sense. Transgender advocates concede they are, for now, on the back foot legally. |
| Inside the DHS World Cup nerve center | |
| Every day, FBI intelligence officials, weather forecasters, diplomats, security coordinators and people from more than a dozen federal agencies gather on a conference line for what has become one of the most unusual meetings in Washington. It's dubbed the "WISLE call" -- a soccer acronym that stands for Warning/Weather, Intent, Safety/Security, Logistics/Communications and Event Operations. And it happens every morning around 10 am Eastern during the FIFA World Cup, which is about to enter its fourth week. From a secure operations floor inside FEMA's Washington headquarters, officials spend about 30 minutes running through the day's World Cup matches, touching on everything from extreme heat advisories and fan festivals to cartel activity in Mexico, drone threats, visa issues and stadium security. On Tuesday, when Brazil played Japan in Houston and Germany faced Paraguay in Boston, the biggest concern on the call wasn't terrorism. It was the weather. "The main story over the next couple of days is going to be building heat across the central and eastern United States," a National Weather Service official told the group. Philadelphia, Boston and New York were all under heat watches, while Houston officials reported temperatures nearing 95 degrees with a heat index above 100. The daily briefing offers a rare window into the machinery and threat assessments that underpin the largest sporting event ever hosted in North America. |
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