| Thursday, May 28, 2026 |
| Hernandez named Miss. State's chief human resources officer | |
 | Jason I. Hernandez (who holds an Ed.D. from Vanderbilt University in Education, an MBA from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, and a B.S. degree in Biology and Social Science from Chapman University in Orange County, California) will succeed Leslie M. Corey, who is retiring July 1 after more than 31 years of service to the university, as Mississippi State's new chief human resources officer. "Leslie Corey has been a real hero during her outstanding career with MSU's Human Resources Management team," said MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David R. Shaw. "She has been a catalyst for stability, and at the same time brought innovation to MSU's human resources program. All of us at MSU thank Leslie for her service and wish her all the best." Hernandez previously served as vice president for human resources at FedEx Freight in Memphis, Tenn., and later as CHRO at Centerstone Healthcare. At FedEx, Hernandez led the company's global HR functions in one of the world's most complex and challenging business operations from 2007 to 2019. |
| Louisville St lane closures planned for utility pole replacement | |
 | Residents along Louisville Street can expect slightly longer commutes this summer as Starkville Utilities begins a major utility pole replacement project beginning June 1. The project, which entails replacing 17 wooden utility poles between Greensboro Street and Highway 12, is expected to last through July 31. During construction, the southbound lane of Louisville Street will be periodically closed. "Unfortunately, impacting traffic is part of the necessary requirements in order to keep our crews safe ... and also to get in and complete the work as quickly as we can," Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp told The Dispatch on Wednesday. "We appreciate the community's patience as we do this, and hopefully we'll be able to get in there and knock it out ... in time for the school season to start back up." Kemp said the aging utility poles slated for replacement were identified during the department's comprehensive pole-inspection program, which launched in June 2024 to evaluate the condition of every utility pole in the city. The Louisville Street work marks one of the first major replacement projects following the inspection program's completion in March. |
| Mary Means Business: Steakhouse opening in Columbus | |
| Martie's Steakhouse and More is opening soon in Columbus. Business partners Carl Ulmer and Martie Bowen are starting their own steakhouse at the former Office Sports Grill and Bar building at 3756 Hwy. 45 N. ... Moving over to Starkville, one of the city's most historic landmarks has officially changed hands. The Montgomery B&B, located at 607 Old West Point Road, has officially been taken over by new owners. Stephen Johnston and Corky Smith, who were Heritage Academy classmates and roommates at Mississippi State, officially took the reins earlier this month. Johnston told me that Smith happened to pass the bed and breakfast when it was listed for sale, which kicked off the duo's latest business venture. Right now, the duo is focused on the massive 11-acre property itself. They are working hard to clear back some of the overgrowth from the last few years, with big long-term plans to invest heavily in landscaping and customer service. ... Also in Starkville, Starkvegas Snowballs is also under new ownership. The Cater family announced after 11 years, they were stepping out of the snowball business. |
| Woody's sale hits snag as closing date delayed | |
| Development of the old Woody's on the Water property at Columbus Marina has hit a snag, with city council members voting at a Wednesday work session to extend the closing date to July 7. The city agreed in February to sell the long-vacant waterfront building to DJ Mantooth, owner of Daknas Holdings LLC, for $100,000. At the time, Mantooth planned to renovate the property at Marina Drive for a high-end steakhouse. The original closing date was set for Tuesday, but Mantooth's plans for the spot must first receive approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land and leases it to the Lowndes County Port Authority. City Attorney Jeff Turnage said that has not happened yet. "He said he wanted to put in a dock or a floating pier, something like that," Turnage told The Dispatch after the work session. "But I don't believe he's even submitted (those plans). ... I know the Corps hasn't given him the approval he needs, so we wanted to move the closing day." Built in 2001, the building at 233 Marina Drive has housed a number of restaurants, most recently Woody's on the Water, which closed in 2009. The building was donated to the city in 2020. |
| Early shrimp season catches give Coast fishermen reason for optimism | |
 | Shrimp season is underway on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and early catches are giving local fishermen reason for optimism. Maria Tran was peeling through an early catch at the Ocean Springs Harbor on the second day of shrimp season. "Mainly, we're catching small ones. Hopefully, we'll give them a couple more weeks for them to grow up," said Tran, who owns the Lil Ashley, docked at the harbor. Tran said rain hurt them last season, and that she's optimistic about this one. "A good one, I hope, if the fuel prices go down," she said. For customers like Bonnie Parker, buying local shrimp is about more than dinner. She's watched the industry bounce back from the BP oil spill to the Bonnet Carré Spillway openings. Jason Saucier with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources said early catches are encouraging, and that shrimpers are still weighing fuel costs against what they can bring in. "The catch looks good. We're seeing some brown shrimp and some white shrimp being landed already," Saucier said. |
| Mississippi looks to capitalize on new critical minerals industry | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced Wednesday that his office, along with the Mississippi Development Authority, was releasing a strategy to build out a new critical minerals industry in Mississippi. "It aligns with President Donald J. Trump's Energy Dominance agenda, and it will help strengthen America's economy, energy independence, and national security," Reeves said. "I'm excited about the opportunities this new industry can create for Mississippi and America." The Mississippi Development Authority report titled 2026 Mississippi Natural Resources Summit: Critical Minerals in the State outlines the strategy officials say will position Mississippi as a domestic producer of critical minerals. MDA executive director Bill Cork said Mississippi has everything it takes to compete and lead in one of the most strategically important industries in the world. |
| Many farmers, ranchers stare down an economic crisis | |
| American farmers and ranchers are staring down a lot of financial pressure: fuel and fertilizer prices, the war in Iran, tariffs, drought, and more. In the West, it's that time when ranchers move their cattle to public grazing lands, so the cattle can eat. But the summer pasture that normally feeds cattle through the fall isn't very green and lush this year. "The big word is drought," said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association. That means ranchers are looking to buy hay, Magagna said. Extra hay can cost $30,000 on the low end, and hundreds of thousands on the high end. "So many farmers are reporting, you know, that they're kind of on the brink of a crisis situation," said Aaron Lehman. A fifth-generation farmer, he grows corn, soybeans, and oats, and is president of the Iowa Farmers Union. Lehman said his costs are soaring, and so are his neighbors', for labor, health insurance, fuel, and fertilizer. |
| U.S. GDP Growth Revised Lower for First Quarter | |
 | The U.S. economy grew more slowly during the first three months of the year, updated government data showed Thursday. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the U.S., rose at a 1.6% seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate in January through March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The department previously estimated first-quarter GDP rose at a 2% rate. And economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected the pace to stay at 2%. The downgrade to the GDP reading was largely due to a lower estimate for inventory investment, a volatile category that is often subject to large revisions. Even so, consumer spending on services like healthcare was revised lower for the quarter. Overall consumer spending rose at a 1.4% rate, compared with a previous estimate for 1.6%. |
| Mississippi lawmakers plan to tour specialty schools | |
 | Mississippi lawmakers will take a closer look at the state's specialty schools this summer, as a House committee works to better understand the challenges and needs facing those students. The House Select Committee on Specialty Schools will look for ways to help make sure students with unique talents and educational needs have the support they need to succeed. State Rep. Fabian Nelson (D-District 66) said specialty schools often don't receive the attention they deserve, despite the important role they play for many Mississippi families. The committee will tour a few schools over the summer to see what their needs are. "We want to look at how they're funded and any way the legislature can do any new laws that can help them in the way they perform," said State Rep. Steve Massengill (R-District 13). The committee is expected to visit the Magnolia Speech School, the Mississippi School for the Blind and Deaf and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in the next few weeks. |
| Office of Courts asks Legislature for more money to pay judges | |
 | Mississippi's judicial system has a money problem. Judges, lawyers and Supreme Court justices met with Mississippi House committee members on May 26, most asking for cash infusions next legislative session to continue their operations. The Administrative Office of Courts is "getting close," said director Katharine Surkin, to running out of money to pay its employees. Mississippi's judges, from the county level to the Supreme Court, receive a minimum amount of money from the state's general fund each year. That amount is dictated by a Mississippi statute that hasn't changed since it was enacted, Surkin told the legislators. But judges make more than the statutory minimum outlined in the law. That's where the Judicial Systems Operation Fund comes in, Surkin said, to make up the different between the state's general fund payment and the amount that judges are required to make by law. Including fringe benefits, Surkin said, the special fund pays for more than half of all judges' salaries. That percentage will likely increase next year when judges will receive an average raise of around $13,000 thanks to a Mississippi Senate bill. |
| Factions inside the Trump administration wrestle over how to handle AI | |
 | President Donald Trump's sudden decision to scrap an AI executive order on May 21 has exposed a rift within the White House on how to regulate the emerging technology. There are three main camps in the West Wing, per two senior White House officials, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal dynamics. The first, which includes former AI czar David Sacks, favors less regulation to help the industry compete against China. It was Sacks who called the president last week and derailed the EO at the last minute due to industry concerns that the order could be too onerous for the relatively nascent industry. On the go-slow side: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his undersecretary Emil Michael, a former Silicon Valley executive. They are pushing for greater barriers to Mythos-type models, according to the senior White House officials, over concerns that the technology could be used by rivals such as China. Then, according to the White House officials, there's the middle ground camp involving chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who have pushed for a regulatory framework in which AI companies voluntarily provide the U.S. government first glance at its new models. These disparate camps underscore the degree to which Trump administration policy is being shaped in real time, trying to respond to a rapidly-developing technology. |
| U.S. and Iran trade strikes as Trump says he feels no pressure for peace deal | |
 | The United States and Iran attacked each other's military facilities overnight in tit-for-tat strikes that tested the countries' fragile truce and their ongoing negotiations over a broader peace deal. U.S. forces initially struck an Iranian launch site in Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz after shooting down five Iranian one-way attack drones, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the region. U.S. military officials said that the drones posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran had been ready to launch a sixth. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday morning that it retaliated by firing at a U.S. air base in Kuwait, where it said the attack on Bandar Abbas had originated. It was not immediately clear which U.S. base was targeted in Kuwait, which hosts a significant U.S. military presence. But Central Command said Thursday that Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile and condemned the action by Tehran. A U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, described the U.S. actions as "measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire." The IRGC, meanwhile, accused the U.S. of firing first and threatened escalation if Iran is attacked again. |
| Judge allows Trump to implement mail-in voting executive order in loss for Dems | |
 | A U.S. judge on Thursday, May 28, declined to block President Donald Trump's executive tightening rules on mail-in voting in a loss for the Democratic Party, whose lawyers argued that it could disenfranchise millions of voters. The decision comes as Trump's Republicans are locked in a tight battle to keep control of both houses of the U.S. Congress in the November midterm elections. Trump has for years pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud and has criticized voting by mail. The executive order signed by Trump on March 31 directed his administration to compile a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state and to use federal data to help state election officials verify who is eligible to vote. It also required the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver ballots to voters on each state's approved mail-in ballot list, and required states to preserve election-related records for five years. |
| Amazon Thinks the Future of Data Centers Depends on a Technical Problem It Just Solved | |
 | Amazon says it recently achieved a major breakthrough in networking design -- and has been quietly deploying the new technology in its data centers since late last year. The company claims it has significantly increased data speeds while reducing energy use, potentially giving the tech giant an edge as companies race to build ever-faster systems in the cloud. The new technology hinges on a "quasi-random" design that combines elements of traditional, structured data networks with the performance advantages of more random architectures. Researchers have explored random networks for decades, but the technology has never been successfully scaled. Now, Amazon thinks it has cracked the code. The fact that Amazon is using this in the real world is "remarkable," says Brighten Godfrey, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert in networking, who was not involved in Amazon's research. Godfrey co-authored a seminal 2012 paper on random network graphs, which he says are a "mind-bending problem to solve, in general." A team of engineers and researchers at Amazon Web Services, including several recruited from academia, has been working on the random networking problem since 2023. Amazon also designed a new piece of data center equipment it dubbed the ShuffleBox, which automatically shuffles the cables required for this kind of networking. |
| UM writing and rhetoric faculty member named top online instructor | |
 | Colleen Thorndike, a lecturer in the University of Mississippi's Department of Writing and Rhetoric, is this year's winner of the Paragon Award for Distance Learning Teaching. The Paragon Award recognizes UM faculty members who use online learning technology effectively through good practices in course design, innovative use of technologies and commitment to providing a quality education. The 2025-26 award, which includes a $1,000 prize, was presented during an annual recognition luncheon for Ole Miss Online faculty members. "Dr. Thorndike's course didn't stand out in just one category; she excelled in all of them," said Molly Coleman, associate director of the Office of Academic Outreach. "Her consistent communication and clearly articulated expectations in this course reminded students that there was a real human behind the screen, supporting them every step of the way." |
| Oxford's 'Thacker Mountain Radio Hour' Expands Into Television | |
| Lucy Gaines started her first day on the job as director of "Thacker Mountain Radio Hour" in 2024, navigating the crew's van through the narrow backroads of Neshoba County. "When you sign up for a job and are walking into your first day, the first things that pop in your head are like, 'OK, I need to act professional; I need to dress professional,'" the Jackson, Mississippi, native later told the Mississippi Free Press. Instead, she arrived on the job to see the rest of the crew dressed in casual wear, ready to start loading up the van in the summer heat. Hours later, the group was sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on dirt roads built only wide enough for one car. Closer to the Neshoba County Fair, she had to squeeze through several tight turns to avoid hitting any cabins built on the grounds. The rest of the day was a blur. After arriving in the 100-plus degree weather, she set to work coordinating all the little details required to set up for a radio show. The politicking, music and aromas of the Neshoba County Fair that surrounded the new director and her crew surprised her. "I had never been; it was like stepping into another world," Gaines said. |
| At a Mississippi anti-redistricting rally, voters say the 'headwinds suggest that a storm is here' | |
 | us after bus and van after van rolled up to the War Memorial in Jackson last Wednesday. Mostly older, Black Mississippians spilled out. The weather forecast had threatened rain. A deep heat foreshadowed the storm to come. Wearing shirts speaking out against "Jim Crow" and apparel encouraging voter participation, the attendees walked past a waiting pair of counterprotesters. After marchers arrived at the convention center, the array of voters in attendance listened to speakers. Organizers and attendees alike are hoping to use the summer to boost voter turnout in November. Jackson State University student Malik Alexander found out about the rally from a mentor. He now wants to work toward bringing awareness to more young people like himself ahead of the midterms. "Honestly, people who don't show up, sometimes they may feel like they, oh, I'm not needed in this space or I shouldn't be here, but no, we need everybody here," he said. "I told all my people at JSU, pull up. We gotta pull up, y'all in the city of Jackson, you ain't doing nothing right now, why you not here?" |
| Jackson State offers numerous summer camps for year-long learning and fun | |
| Parents looking for summer activities for their children while school is out have to look no further than Jackson State University. JSU is offering a variety of summer camps and programs to keep students engaged. Camps will be hosted across several colleges, including the College of Business, College of Education, and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. While sign-ups for some camps have ended, many programs are still open and accepting participants. |
| Auburn University appoints Timothy M. Chester as vice president for information technology and chief information officer | |
| Auburn University has named Timothy M. Chester as vice president for information technology and chief information officer, Kelli Shomaker, senior vice president for business and administration and chief financial officer, announced today. His appointment is effective Aug. 1. Chester currently serves as vice president for information technology at the University of Georgia, where he has led enterprise technology efforts since 2011. Since 2022, he has also served as vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer for the University System of Georgia, overseeing enterprise systems and network infrastructure supporting 26 institutions and more than 350,000 students statewide. As Auburn's vice president for information technology and CIO, Chester will oversee the university's enterprise technology strategy, operations and security initiatives while supporting Auburn's mission of instruction, research and extension. Chester holds a doctorate and master's degree in sociology from Texas A&M University and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Texas at Tyler. |
| In the Mojave, U. of Tennessee students attempt a rocket record | |
 | Rockets are having a big year. NASA launched the Artemis II mission, sending a crew to orbit the moon. It's the 100-year anniversary of Robert H. Goddard's pioneering work in liquid-fueled rockets. And now University of Tennessee at Knoxville students are attempting to break a world record in liquid rocketry. The group is a part of the Student Space Technology Association, a student-run organization with more than 200 members in such fields as robotics and rocketry. The group runs a workshop on campus, develops projects -- including a winning hypersonic team ‒- and hosts events, including the Student Space Tech Conference earlier this year, which connected university students and space technology personnel like Space Force Association CEO Brigadier General Damon Feltman. The UT team is now in California's Mojave Desert waiting to launch Big Liquid Mk II as the students try to break the altitude world record for a liquid rocket built by students. |
| Texas tuition freeze to continue as Abbott orders colleges to keep rates flat | |
| Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas universities to keep tuition flat for the upcoming academic year, maintaining the freeze he's mandated since 2023. Two years ago, Abbott ordered public higher education institutions to freeze tuition for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. In 2023, he signed a law requiring tuition freezes for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 years. In a letter Wednesday, Abbott told college and university presidents that the "directive remains fully in effect," warning them not to raise tuition or fees in the forthcoming year. He specified his order applies to all public universities and colleges, including health institutions and community colleges. Robert Kelchen, a higher education professor at the University of Tennessee specializing in finance, said tuition freezes often strain university resources unless accompanied by a large boost in funding. "The way to freeze tuition over the long term is either investing more money into the system, or it's allowing for... costs to be cut dramatically," Kelchen said. Freezes often respond to concerns the data doesn't support, Kelchen said. Though private university tuition can reach $75,000 per year, most public universities charge between $10,000 and $12,000 for annual in-state tuition, he said. |
| Departing Michigan State Leader Says Board Dysfunction Created 'Unsustainable Situation' | |
 | Outgoing Michigan State University president Kevin Guskiewicz minced no words about what drove him away from East Lansing and to Clemson University where, on Wednesday, he was named president. It was Michigan State's board, which has a long history of dysfunction. In his goodbye message posted on the Michigan State website, he wrote: "Effective university leadership requires a shared commitment to collaboration, trust, and a forward-looking vision. While many across this university community have embraced that spirit, it has become increasingly clear that there are differing perspectives within the Board of Trustees regarding how best to move MSU forward. At times, too much energy has been spent revisiting past conflicts and internal disagreements rather than focusing collectively on the opportunities and aspirations ahead of us." He didn't stop there. |
| A New Blueprint for Construction Training | |
 | Starting next spring, students at Southeast Technical College won't only learn how to build homes in the classroom; they will help meet housing needs in the Sioux Falls area while training for high-demand construction careers. The public technical college in South Dakota this month announced the Wells Fargo Homebuilding Lab, a campus expansion that will provide students with further hands-on construction experience while supporting regional affordable-housing efforts. Cory Clasemann, president of Southeast Technical College, said the home-building lab is intended to align the college's technical education programs with regional workforce needs. "It's our responsibility as a community partner to continue training more people in this field and help more graduates enter the workforce," Clasemann said. "That way employers have the workers they need to continue building and growing the city." |
| Fired for Criticizing Charlie Kirk, They're Now Getting Big Payouts | |
 | Ball State University in Indiana has agreed to pay $225,000 to a former administrator who was fired for her Facebook post accusing Charlie Kirk of spreading fear, the latest legal settlement awarded to a worker dismissed for criticizing the conservative activist after he was assassinated. "As a public university, Ball State cannot fire an employee for protected speech made as a private citizen," the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which sued on the administrator's behalf, said in a statement this week announcing the settlement. Employers in several states have also settled with or reinstated workers. Scores of people -- health care workers, lawyers, journalists, waiters and waitresses -- were fired or faced other repercussions for their negative comments about Mr. Kirk, igniting a debate over how far employers can go in restricting employees' political expression that occurs outside the workplace. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said it was tracking 13 lawsuits in federal court from people who had been disciplined or terminated for their comments about Mr. Kirk. Greg Greubel, a lawyer for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said that while public pressure campaigns have been around forever, the efforts to shame and punish private citizens, with the endorsement of political leaders, was new and troubling. |
| Virginia's colleges and universities brace for major accreditation overhaul | |
| Virginia's colleges and universities may soon face heightened competition and political scrutiny, educators and related groups say, as the U.S. Department of Education advanced draft rules last week that could change how institutions are accredited under stronger federal oversight and stricter accountability measures. This process plays a central role in U.S. higher education because it undergirds access to financial aid, the credibility of degrees, transferability of credits, and standards for holding colleges accountable. President Donald Trump directed the federal education agency to launch a reform effort to impact accreditors and institutions nationwide. He signed an executive order in April that alleged accreditors were not focused on outcomes such as affordability, graduation and employment, instead prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Most of Virginia's colleges and universities are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Although the administration has not targeted this accrediting agency, SACSCOC announced in December that it would implement several changes to improve efficiency and oversight of its process. |
| Citing 'severe' math deficits, U. of California faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants | |
 | More than 600 University of California faculty members, led by mathematicians at UC Berkeley, are calling on the system to reinstate standardized testing requirements for science, technology, engineering and mathematics applicants, saying that six years of test-free admissions has not reliably assessed readiness and professors are often teaching middle school math to incoming students. Without standardized testing in admissions, professors said they don't know whether incoming students can handle college-level math. The open letter, addressed to top UC leaders, asks for SAT or ACT exams to be required beginning in fall 2027 and for STEM faculty to be given formal oversight of readiness standards in their majors. "We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields," they warned. UC gained national attention in May 2020 when regents unanimously voted to suspend SAT and ACT testing requirements and eliminate them entirely by 2025. Board members cited concerns the tests were biased against students of color and those from lower-income families -- including students who did not have access to prep courses. |
| What the Education Department Projects for Workforce Pell | |
| After the U.S. Department of Education finalized regulations for Workforce Pell last week, the looming question centers on what its impact might be -- how quickly and widely Pell Grants will roll out to low-income students in short-term training programs. Department officials estimated over 100,000 students could benefit in the initial years of the program, though they acknowledged in their final rule that making programs eligible for Workforce Pell will take time and come at some cost for states and higher ed institutions. Programs eight to 15 weeks long are eligible if at least 70 percent of students enrolled complete the program and find a related job within 180 days. State governments also need to determine the programs are high skill, high wage or in demand. The department projected 184,000 students could take advantage of Workforce Pell in fiscal year 2027–28, the second year of implementing the policy, according to estimates based on an analysis of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data. Further, over the next 10 years, the department expects enrollment to increase at least 3 percent to 191,000 by the 2037–38 academic year. Over all, the program is projected to have a net budget impact of $3.2 billion over a decade. |
| 3 Things to Know About Trump's Higher Ed Grant Competitions | |
| Over the last two months, the Department of Education has announced a series of higher education–related grant programs collectively worth more than $600 million. The results of those competitions, which are slated to play out in the months ahead, could offer a key glimpse into how the Trump administration intends to use taxpayer dollars to advance its political agenda, higher education funding experts say. Colleges and other groups are seeking funding to support college access, student success and underresourced institutions, among other programs. As of Thursday, applications for nearly all the key awards overseen by the Office of Postsecondary Education have opened. Some are still live and open to applications. Others have since closed and are now being evaluated. Grant competitions are traditionally a rather bureaucratic process that attracts little public attention. But now, as the Trump administration outsources grant oversight to other agencies, proposes major cuts to federal funding and declares that any awardee that doesn't align with the administration's interpretation of civil rights law could lose access to federal funding, policy experts are following the process closely. |
SPORTS
| State Makes First Women's College World Series Appearance In Program History | |
| The No. 20 Mississippi State softball team will make its first Women's College World Series appearance this week, opening play in the first game of the tournament at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday against No. 4 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are a familiar foe for the Bulldogs. Texas Tech ended State's season in the Lubbock Regional last year. That game was part of MSU being the only team to play three games in 2025 against the final four teams at the 2025 Women's College World Series. Despite the season-ending loss, the Bulldogs did open the year last year with an extra-innings victory over the Red Raiders. Kiarra Sells drove in the game-winning run with her first career hit in that game. Sells is 4-for-7 against the Red Raiders in her career, and Morgan Stiles is 4-for-9. Should the Bulldogs win on Thursday, they will advance to play the winner of No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Tennessee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. That game will air nationally on ABC. In the event of a loss, the team plays the loser between the Longhorns and Lady Vols at 6 p.m. on Friday with the game airing on ESPN2. |
| MSU softball ready for stiff test in first WCWS | Mississippi State | |
| Samantha Ricketts believed a trip to Devon Park was possible when she took over as Mississippi State's softball coach seven years ago. "It is something that obviously is always a dream and a goal, not just for the players, but as coaches as well," Ricketts said Wednesday, about 24 hours before that dream became a reality. The former Oklahoma All-American, whose Bulldogs eliminated the eight-time national champions Sunday to win the Norman Super Regional and advance to the program's first Women's College World Series appearance, always knew it was in the cards. "It was the absolute goal and something that we knew we could achieve at Mississippi State when a lot of people told us it wasn't possible," she said. "Very thankful for this team and the alumni and players that chose Mississippi State before them that all led up to this moment for us." Ricketts said beating the No.3 seed has prepared the Bulldogs for what lies ahead. "I think really after facing that OU lineup and going into this Texas Tech lineup as our very next matchup, well, a bunch of big bats, a bunch of All-Americans," she said. "Here we go again. That's kind of the role we've embraced." |
| Women's College World Series: After missing pinnacle event as player, Ricketts finally in spotlight at WCWS | |
| Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts strolled on to Devon Field in Oklahoma City on Wednesday sporting sunglasses and a smile. She trailed behind a pack of players taking videos and photos of the field, watching her squad become the first in Mississippi State history to walk on softball's biggest stage. Ricketts, who came to Starkville 12 years ago as an assistant before taking over as head coach in 2019, seemed to be soaking it all in. But her smile soon began to fade as the Bulldogs walked down the third-base line and into the dugout on the first-base side. It was time to get serious. Ricketts huddled her team, and along with associate head coach Tyler Bratton, broke down the gameplan for State's Thursday game against Texas Tech; the Red Raiders' base-stealing strategies, their bunting tendencies, everything MSU needed to know to keep the upset train rolling. Ricketts, whose smile shone in dreary Oklahoma City weather just a minute prior, presented the plan straightfaced and in seconds without missing a beat. Despite her accolades and success as a player with Oklahoma, Ricketts left Norman without one major accomplishment -- an appearance in the Women's College World Series. |
| How broccoli became Mississippi State's rallying symbol during WCWS run | |
| If you've watched any of Mississippi State's softball run this postseason, you more than likely have noticed a peculiar vegetable in the dugout and throughout the stands. That's because Jim Stewart Allen, now lovingly referred to by Bulldog fans as the "Broccoli Guy," decided to bring what he calls "nature's pom pom" to the Eugene Regional. While Allen -- an outright sports fan from the Pacific Northwest who aims to bring "energy" and create "synergy" at every ballpark he visits -- was originally attending the Eugene Regional to cheer on the Oregon Ducks, he said it took just one minute of being inside Jane Sanders Stadium for his postseason fandom to shift to the maroon and white. "Our energy collided," Allen recounted on Good Things with Rebecca Turner. "I'm not making this up. Within the first minute of getting to seat in the bleachers, I started dancing and (Mississippi State utility player) Ally Supan saw me. She started dancing along with me, doing my moves, and I said, 'You know what? I like this team. I like this team.'" |
| What do the Bulldogs have to do to topple Texas Tech? | |
| Mississippi State Softball is in the midst of a program-changing run. The Bulldogs ran the table in the Eugene Regional, including a 4-0 victory against No. 12 Oregon. MSU followed it up with a shocking upset of Oklahoma in three games to advance to its first ever Women's College World Series. State's prize? A date with the reigning national runner-up Texas Tech, who boasts two of the country's top pitchers and the third-best scoring offense in the NCAA. MSU hasn't folded against top competition this postseason, but what does it have to do to take down yet another powerhouse? Here are three keys to victory in the Bulldogs' first-ever WCWS game: Keep offense rolling against Canady, Terry. Faircloth, Goold must get back to form. Keep it clean on defense. |
| Can underdog Mississippi State softball win WCWS? ESPN broadcasters say yes | |
| If Mississippi State softball has proven one thing in its NCAA Tournament run, it's that the Bulldogs can't be counted out, no matter how much of an underdog they are. That's exactly how ESPN broadcasters Alyssa Lang and Amanda Scarborough are thinking of them ahead of the Women's College World Series. "It really does feel so wide open," Lang said. "... Being able to walk out of (Oklahoma) tells me that they absolutely can make it to the finals here at the (Women's) College World Series. They have the horses to do it, or the dogs to do it, I should say." Mississippi State (43-19) plays No. 11 seed Texas Tech (57-7) to open its first WCWS at Devon Park on May 28 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN). The main thing the Bulldogs have going for them is their pitching staff, according to Scarborough. MSU's team ERA of 2.29 ranks No. 8 in the NCAA. Alyssa Faircloth (16-7. 2.47 ERA) and Peja Goold (15-11. 2.36) have pitched most of the innings. Delainey Everett (3-1, 0.69 ERA) emerged as another option after pitching a shutout in the final game of the super regionals. |
| Softball: State Charted Course To OKC Long Ago | |
| To arrive at a desired destination, it's best to know where you're going and how to get there. Aimlessly wandering and hoping for the best isn't a sound strategy. To the outside world, it might look as though this year's Mississippi State softball team used the risky latter plan to reach this year's Women's College World Series. After all, the Bulldogs are the only unseeded team in the field in Oklahoma City. To get there, they had to pull off a road regional win in Oregon before toppling mighty Oklahoma on its home field in the super regional round. None of this was a fluke though, as evidenced by the fact MSU literally charted its course to Oklahoma City months ago. "We did it early in the fall," State's Morgan Stiles said. "We came up with this idea, because we knew what our goal was. We knew we wanted to get to the World Series and we knew we had the ability to. We knew we had the pieces we needed and had something special. "So, we had the idea to kind of put it on paper -- put it in a place we all could see and look at to keep it at the front of our minds. We ended up drawing it all out on the glass right outside the team film room because we walk right by that glass every day." The Dawgs plotted every part of this magical journey, from the first day they were together as a team up until now. |
| Mississippi State softball will face Texas oil money and the sport's richest pitcher | |
| Mississippi sports writer Rick Cleveland writes: This history-making Mississippi State softball team already has written a fascinating story, lifting an often largely ignored sport in the Magnolia State's headlines. Win or lose at the Women's College World Series, which begins Thursday in Oklahoma City, that story is about to get all the more intriguing. At this point, State is playing with house money. Nobody expected this. Problem is, Texas Tech, the Bulldogs' first opponent, is playing with real money -- West Texas oil money. Millions. ... Now then, let's jump ahead to what the Bulldogs face Thursday at Oklahoma City. This is where a good story becomes captivating. State plays Texas Tech in the eight-team, double elimination tournament's first game at 11 a.m. And I know what many non-softball fans are thinking: Hmmm, Texas Tech softball, where have I heard about them before? Well, it was probably on July 24, 2024, when Texas Tech made front page news, the lead story on ESPN Sportscenter, signing former Stanford pitching star NiJaree Canady to a $1 million contract to switch schools and lead Tech to college softball's promised land. |
| Mississippi State readies to host first postseason baseball in five years | |
| For the first time since 2021, Dudy Noble field is hosting postseason baseball. The Bulldogs earned the No. 14 overall seed in this year's field, and are set to host Cincinnati, Louisiana and Lipscomb this weekend for the regional round. The regional will end a streak of five straight seasons without postseason baseball at The Dude. Mississippi State hosts Lipscomb in Game 1 beginning at 1 p.m. Friday. The stretch with no home postseason baseball is one most in the maroon and white would love to forget. It included two seasons without a tournament appearance, two losses in regional finals and the firing of former head coach Chris Lemonis. Now, in his first year with the program, head coach Brian O'Connor has his team at home in May for the right reason. "I'm so happy for our guys that they get to play more in this great stadium. I'm so happy for our fans." O'Connor said. "It's great to have postseason baseball back here at Dudy Noble." |
| Football: Kick Times, TV Info For First Three Games Announced | |
| The Southeastern Conference announced kickoff times and television networks for the first three weeks of the 2026 season on Wednesday. Mississippi State will open its season against Louisiana Monroe at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 5. That game will be broadcast on ESPNU. The Bulldogs will travel to Minneapolis for the first time in program history to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The week two contest is set for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on CBS. This game will be the first of a home-and-home series with Minnesota. Week three will see State travel to Columbia, S.C., to open SEC play against the Gamecocks. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast on SEC Network. |
| Track & Field: State Punches Three Tickets On Day One | |
| Mississippi State track and field began the NCAA East First Rounds in Lexington, Kentucky, with three athletes qualifying for national championships. Throwers Tuomas Narhi, Kaden Cartwright and Juha Narhi all punched tickets in their events for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Tuomas Narhi and Cartwright finished sixth and ninth in the javelin, respectively, to earn spots in the national championships. Juha Narhi tossed a 66.06m throw in the third round to qualify in the hammer throw. On the track, four Bulldogs will advance to the quarterfinals held on Friday. Nicholas Fakorede crossed the line in 10.08 in the 100m to earn an automatic qualifying spot in the next round. In the 800m, Keayari Lee, Harry Ross-Hughes and Sam Navarro each earned a "big Q" to advance to the final race of the meet. |
| City, restaurants, businesses preparing for NCAA Hattiesburg Regional | |
 | For the second year in a row, the city of Hattiesburg is hosting an NCAA baseball regional. Southern Miss baseball won 44 games this season, earning the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket and the opportunity to host a regional from May 29-June 1. As the start of the regional draws near, the excitement in the city is growing. Lining the streets of Downtown Hattiesburg are signs that read "Southern Miss vs. All Y'all." You won't make it far driving down 4th Street without seeing Southern Miss flags flown by residents and businesses alike. The city's support for the Golden Eagles is year-round, but it amplifies this time of year. "The electricity is just different," longtime Hattiesburg resident and owner of 4th Street Bar Slade White said. "I'm talking about when you can feel the energy around here, the hype, the buzz. Even your normal baseball fans, and I'm not knocking them, that aren't here day in and day out, come and the town just gets electric in general." Most businesses are waiting for the arrival of fans to see an increase in business, but Campus Book Mart, a local store that sells Southern Miss apparel, is already seeing the benefits of the Golden Eagles' successful season. |
| SEC requiring sports gambling education for all student-athletes | |
| The Southeastern Conference is looking to crack down on sports betting among its student-athletes. Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Wednesday at the conference's spring meetings in Florida that student-athletes will soon be required to watch an educational video related to sports betting. The video must be shown to all SEC athletes prior to the start of their first regular season game during the upcoming 2026-27 athletic year. Per conference officials, the video will serve to educate and safeguard student-athletes amid the growing prevalence of sports gambling nationwide. It is also an extension of the SEC's efforts to monitor gambling activities when partnering with IC360, formerly US Integrity, in 2018. The video comes as sports betting activity among young people has skyrocketed in the U.S. in recent years. SEC officials cited a report showing that 58% of people between 18 and 22 years old have placed at least one wager, with rates climbing to 67% among students living on college campuses. |
| Greg Sankey says SEC 'strongest football league by far' despite national title drought | |
| A three-year championship drought is not stopping the SEC from asserting its power and position as still the top conference in college football. "If you look at the entirety of our league, we are by far the most competitive, the strongest football league by far," commissioner Greg Sankey said Wednesday, addressing reporters after Day 2 of the SEC's spring meetings. The SEC won 13 national titles from 2006-22, never going more than two years without one, and only once (2014) not sending a team to the championship game. Since then, the Big Ten has won three straight national titles (Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana), and the SEC has not had a team play in any of the last three championship games. The Big Ten is 4-0 against the SEC in head-to-head College Football Playoff matchups during that time. Sankey pushed back on the notion -- based on that four-game sample -- that the SEC has fallen behind the Big Ten. "So that's a pretty narrow band," he said. |
| With expansion argument brewing, Smart hints at SEC secession | |
| Conversations around conference expansion have dominated the college football spring meetings thus far, and Kirby Smart's comments on Tuesday about the SEC essentially seceding have created plenty of questions. The Georgia coach suggested that if an agreement can't be reached on expansion, spending in the NIL era and beyond, perhaps the SEC should try to go it alone. "I've said this for a long time to our president," Smart said on Tuesday. "I've been a huge advocate that if we can't find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own. I'm not afraid of that. I'm not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play. The argument at front and center is whether to expand the College Football Playoff to 16 or 24 teams from the current 12-team model. For a change to occur, the conferences -- most notably the Big Ten and SEC -- must agree on a format. The Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame are all on board for expanding to 24. The SEC is against that model at this time. Smart's comments come after Georgia president Jere Morehead told On3 last week that if federal legislation isn't enacted to curb what he has called "anarchy" in the sport, he's prepared to "be ready to vote on creating an SEC mechanism and SEC rules. That's what we have to do." |
| Pete Golding threatens NCAA to expose rampant tampering if he's punished | |
| Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, at the center of a high-profile NCAA investigation into alleged tampering, has informed the NCAA he will expose rampant tampering in the sport if sanctioned, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. Golding declined comment to USA TODAY Sports when asked Wednesday if he threatened the NCAA -- but spoke at length on tampering problems in college football. "I think a lot of things make headlines," Golding said. "There's a lot more people involved that everybody might not know. I'm not gonna sit up here and say whatever we did or we didn't do, was it right or was it wrong? But, you know, when you go through what we went through (with tampering), and what you're seeing day-in and day-out, some things you feel like shouldn't matter that, you know, they're making a big deal about." At issue are the same problems SEC administrators and coaches have been debating all week at the league's spring meetings: a lack of rules, ambiguity within the rules, and outdated rules for the new NIL era of college sports. Just as critical to the process is where tampering is initiated. |
| Soaring Athletics Costs Raise Alarms | |
| The University of Georgia's president and head football coach both sounded the alarm over the rising costs of athletics in recent days. Kirby Smart, the head football coach, said at the Southeastern Conference summer meeting that he is worried that exploding expenses for his sport threatens to crowd out Olympic sports, and that other universities are unable to spend at the rate that Georgia is, according to ESPN. Mike Elko, head football coach at Texas A&M University, said the growth in spending on name, image, likeness, or NIL, costs is unsustainable. "If we don't get some level of regulation within the market, a lot of people are going to go bankrupt," he said. Jere W. Morehead, Georgia's president who attended the same meeting, said college athletics are approaching a state of "anarchy" and are in need of regulation a year after the House v. NCAA settlement went into effect. Institutions participating in that settlement will increase the amount they pay athletes to $21.3 million this summer. |
| Inside the making (and future) of the latest bill to 'save' college sports -- and the major sticking point that's rankling SEC, Big Ten officials | |
| On Wednesday afternoon, Trev Alberts, the Texas A&M athletic director, wheeled around toward a reporter. This time, he was asking the questions. "Have you read all 111 pages?" he said with a smile before dashing away down the hall. Amid the conference's annual spring meetings along the Florida Panhandle, SEC administrators and coaches learned, while quite literally in their meetings, of the introduction of perhaps the most comprehensive, bipartisan congressional legislation yet to reform college athletics. The bill --- the Protect College Sports Act -- is a cool 111 pages long. And while much of the legislation satisfies requests made by the Big Ten and SEC during their now-seven-year-long lobbying effort, the bill also takes particular aim at the two richest conferences in a way that is obvious. It hasn't gone unnoticed. One administrator quipped that the bill "targets" the two leagues in an uncomfortable way. Asked about that afterward here, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sidestepped the question and affirmed the league's position in a statement, one that mirrored all of the other power league statements: We are thankful for the work of lawmakers and will review the legislation before publicly supporting the bill, or not. |
| Key senators look to break college sports logjam in Congress with a bipartisan bill | |
 | Two key senators involved in a long-simmering debate over fixing college sports will introduce a bipartisan bill designed to break a congressional logjam that would regulate payments to players, limit them to one "free" transfer over their careers and create a "Lane Kiffin Rule" to restrict coach movement during the season. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees college sports, briefed The Associated Press on details of the bill they crafted in hopes it can get the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate. "This is a stability bill, not just an NIL bill," Cruz said, referencing the name, image and likeness payments that have led to football rosters with $30 million payrolls and reshaped the industry. Cantwell said she and Cruz teamed up on the legislation "because he and I really do believe the college sports system is in a bit of chaos." |
| Senate panel releases NIL bill, plans hearing | |
 | The top lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee released a bill Wednesday aimed at addressing the myriad issues with college athletics stemming from its largely ungoverned name, image and likeness era. In a call with reporters, a Republican Commerce Committee aide said the panel plans to hold hearings and mark up the "Protect College Sports Act" in June. The measure, released along with a summary, was largely worked out by the panel's GOP chairman and Democratic ranking member, Ted Cruz of Texas and Maria Cantwell of Washington. The Cruz-Cantwell measure might be the only college sports overhaul measure with a chance of passing both chambers. A House version that had been crafted largely by Republican leaders, known as the "SCORE Act," had to be pulled from the floor schedule last week. The Congressional Black Caucus, in announcing opposition to the House bill, cited silence from major athletic conferences and institutions on Black voting rights and political power. And a handful of GOP members had concerns the House version would have been too tilted toward big schools and conferences. One of the biggest differences between the bills is the Senate measure would etch into law more-specific NIL rules than the House version, which would give the NCAA more power to craft new nationwide guidelines. |
| Congress' Latest College Sports Reform Bill Still Faces Steep Odds | |
| U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) -- the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Commerce Committee -- are set to release a new bill, the Protect College Sports Act, that attempts to thread the needle of reforming college sports without creating new problems. The bill will likely face political and legal hurdles, though it reflects a bipartisan approach that might attract significant support. The Protect College Sports Act contemplates a targeted antitrust exemption related to eligibility and transfers, media rights pooling and a hard cap on school spending, among other components. It's the latest effort in what has thus far been a futile movement within the college sports community and on Capitol Hill to facilitate legal changes to the relationship among the NCAA, conferences, colleges and athletes. More than 40 college sports bills have been introduced in Congress over the last six years, and none has advanced, despite some garnering significant media coverage and confident statements by lawmakers. The newest bill contains features that might give it a better chance, though it still faces high odds and could still be challenged in courts. Most noticeably, the Protect College Sports Act avoids a declaration that college athletes aren't employees. |
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