| Thursday, July 30, 2026 |
| MSU prohibiting indoor e-scooter storage, charging | |
 | Last school year, Saketh Palagummi, a graduate student at Mississippi State University studying Aerospace Engineering, rode his electric longboard to campus every day. While he was in class he stored it in the back of the classroom. A new policy MSU will implement this fall prohibits Palagummi from doing that anymore. Last week, MSU informed faculty and staff that e-scooters, e-longboards and other "powered micromobility devices" will no longer be allowed inside buildings on campus. That includes classrooms and even residence halls. While they can be stored outside in bike racks, the university policy prohibits charging the power scooters anywhere on campus. The change was spurred by guidance issued by the State Fire Marshal's Office on June 26 that clarified only electronic-charged mobility devices that should be allowed inside a building are those used for disability assistance, like electric wheel chairs, according to Jeremiah Dumas, Office of Risk Management interim director. MSU is required by law to follow the guidance of the State Fire Marshal's Office, Sid Salter, director of public affairs, told The Dispatch. Dumas recommends that those who still want to bring their devices to campus store them in the campus bike racks with a lock or other protection device. Dumas believes that will be sufficient protection from theft as the only e-transportation devices reported stolen to MSU were not properly locked. |
| Meet these 4 innovative farmers at 2026 Farm Progress Show | |
 | The Women in the Field: Producer of the Year Award celebrates outstanding women who exemplify excellence in production agriculture, demonstrate innovation in sustainability and ag technology, and serve as leaders within the industry and their communities. The finalists include: Karen Makamson Edwards, Garry Makamson Farms, Morgan City, Miss. In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Makamson Edwards cultivates 5,500 acres of corn, soybeans and cotton, despite never intending to return to the family farm. Over the past decade, Makamson Edwards has emerged as a leader in southern agriculture, collaborating with Mississippi State University and advocating for the early adoption of technological innovations, data-driven decision-making and sustainable farming practices. |
| Monitoring and curbing West Nile virus takes more than a mosquito truck | |
| Wendy Varnado still remembers running behind the mosquito trucks. When she was a child in Edwards, in western Hinds County, in the 1980s, the trucks sprayed a haze of chemicals that mixed with engine smoke to create a dense fog the neighborhood children played in. These days, mosquito trucks spray an ultra low volume mist that is nearly invisible, and Varnado, the Mississippi state public health entomologist, sees them in a different light. They're now a tool she can harness against mosquito-borne diseases, including the most common one in Mississippi, West Nile virus. The majority of people who get infected with West Nile virus don't show any symptoms, said Santos Portugal, an urban entomologist at Mississippi State University. About one in five will develop symptoms like a fever, headaches and body aches. Less than one in a 100 may develop a severe disease that spreads into the nervous system and can cause swelling in the brain. Elderly and immunocompromised people are at higher risk for complications, including chronic fatigue, memory loss and in rare cases, death. "Mississippians should recognize that West Nile virus is very serious," Portugal said. "(It's) not something people should necessarily be afraid of, just something to be understood and do what you can to protect yourself." |
| Caldwell opens coffee shop in Nesbit | |
 | For years, John and Lee Caldwell dreamed about revitalizing the old downtown in Nesbit back to its glory days when it was a thriving community back in the early 1900s. Having lived in Nesbit for close to 40 years, the couple would drive by the old downtown from their home, which is just up the road and around the corner, on their way to church. And every time the conversation would always be the same. Somebody needs to do something to bring back life to the historic buildings in the downtown. "It ended up being us," Lee, who is a DeSoto County Supervisor, said. They bought the old Bank of Nesbit building about eight years ago and the old general store, both of which were crumbling eyesores and lovingly restored them. A few weeks ago, they opened a coffee shop called "The Colonel's Coffee Mess," a nod to John's service in the Marine Corps, in the old general store building which they hope will bring residents downtown and help spur even more investment into the area. Caldwell is using the bank building as an art studio for the time being. John, who is Northern District Transportation Commissioner, said he never imagined one day that he would be opening a coffee shop. His goal was to save the building from being demolished and lost to time. |
| Boozman Plans Senate Farm Bill Markup Without Clear Bipartisan Deal | |
| The chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee said Wednesday that the panel will take up the farm bill late next week, despite what has been a partisan deadlock on the measure. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) told reporters he is working closely with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), the committee's ranking member, "to see if we can get a path forward" and that details are still being worked out. "We've got a good bill. I think lots of our members and both sides want to support it," Boozman said. But Klobuchar, in a statement from her office, said there is still plenty of ground to cover. "We're continuing to have productive negotiations, but there is a lot of work left to do. Senate Ag Democrats have been clear that a Farm Bill must meet the needs of both farmers and families across America," Klobuchar said in a statement. Boozman did not go into details of the negotiations, but any deal is likely to include some compromise on when states must start sharing costs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a change Republicans put in a previous law. |
| John Thune hopes to orchestrate a great Senate escape | |
 | John Thune is eager to let GOP senators out of the Capitol and onto the campaign trail as Republicans fight to hold the Senate majority in November. First, he has to get through the next eight days. The majority leader is hoping to fund the government, confirm dozens of President Donald Trump's nominees and hand him new powers to punish Russia's trading partners before letting his members leave for a five-week recess. But Trump has turned Thune's exit strategy into a cascading political test. The vise-like pressure campaign was playing out as Thune sat down with POLITICO in his Capitol office Wednesday. At about the same moment, Trump was in the Oval Office insisting Thune "has the votes" to kill the Senate's long-standing filibuster rule and pass a GOP elections bill. He went on to sow doubt as to whether he felt Thune was fit to lead the chamber's Republicans. "We will find out, and I will let you know," Trump told reporters. Unaware of Trump's latest attacks, Thune in the interview nonetheless repeated that, no, he does not have anywhere near the votes to kill the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act --- the partisan elections bill Trump is pushing for. And he spoke frankly about the political risk Trump and other Republicans who are training their fire inward are assuming. |
| Trump administration ending Medicare premium subsidy program | |
 | The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would move to end a Biden-era Medicare premium subsidy program, alleging it benefited insurance companies more than enrollees. As a result, Medicare Part D subsidies will expire at the end of the year and no longer be offered in 2027. Medicare Part D is optional prescription drug coverage offered by private insurance companies to help people with Medicare pay for brand-name and generic medications. It is available as a stand-alone plan to add to Original Medicare or as part of a bundled Medicare Advantage plan. The program was restructured under former President Biden to implement a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs. It also permitted Medicare to negotiate prices for certain high-cost Part D drugs. The majority of enrollees in the subsidy program were seniors or those with disabilities, who are now awaiting information regarding new monthly prices. |
| TVA donates $50,000 to help restore trees on Ole Miss campus | |
| The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is helping Ole Miss restore the trees lost in on campus, including in The Grove, earlier this year in Winter Storm Fern. Ole Miss announced Wednesday that TVA is donating $50,000 to the university to assist in restoring the storied campus tree canopy as part of the utility's commitment to environmental stewardship, community resilience and the long-term health of natural resources across the region. The university estimates that about 11% of the tree canopy on its Oxford campus was lost as a result of the days-long ice storm that blanketed the North Mississippi region. David Mitchell, TVA's program manager for environmental stewardship and sustainability, said the donation is intended to "help accelerate the replanting of trees lost during the storm, restore the beauty and ecological benefits of the university's landscape, and create a more resilient urban forest that can better withstand future weather events." |
| College instructor goes viral for catching students using AI on exam | |
 | A college instructor in Mississippi has gone viral for sharing how he caught students using AI chatbots to complete a midterm exam. Jason Gibson, an instructor at Alcorn State University, about 75 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, said in a July 20 TikTok video that 32 of his 35 students failed a portion of their midterm exams for using artificial intelligence to write a discussion post about the Industrial Revolution. The clip, which as of July 29 has garnered more than 2.2 million views collectively, is part of a three-video series in which Gibson explains the situation. Gibson did not wish to comment on the videos when contacted by USA TODAY on July 29. Alcorn State University said in a statement to USA TODAY that the institution does not comment on individual personnel matters. "Academic integrity is central to our mission at Alcorn State. We're proud of our faculty and the creative ways they uphold it as AI reshapes the classroom and our world today," Marketing and Communications Vice President Maxine Greenleaf told USA TODAY. "Our focus stays on preparing our students to use these tools honestly and to graduate ready to lead in this evolving landscape." |
| U. of Alabama to join Entente Cordiale Day | |
| The University of Alabama will join George Washington University, the College of William & Mary, Lafayette College, the University of Virginia and Columbia University at Entente Cordiale Day, an international academic competition among universities in the United Kingdom and France. Entente Cordiale Day brings together top academic institutions to "produce, discuss, and develop solution-focused research on today's most pressing global issues." The theme for the 2026-27 challenge is "Artificial Intelligence, Power and Ethics," which the University said would "play directly to several of UA's fastest growing strengths." As a part of Peter Mohler's "Future-Ready Flagship" initiative, the University has invested in the new School of Leadership and Policy and School of Data Science, as well as the High Performance Computing and Data Center. "Being selected for the inaugural U.S. Entente Cordiale Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for our students," said UA Provost Lesley Reid. "This experience will allow them to collaborate across disciplines, develop innovative solutions to complex global challenges, and learn alongside peers from some of the world's leading universities. It reflects The University of Alabama's growing strength in data science and leadership." |
| 'Stunningly little progress': College sports overhaul teeters amid fierce industry battle | |
| Efforts to pass legislation governing the nation's $19 billion college sports industry are teetering amid a fierce lobbying fight over media rights and antitrust protections. The Protect College Sports Act advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-9 vote last month that pulled in seven Democrats. It was a hopeful moment for advocates of the Senate's yearslong legislative push to regulate college athletics after the 2021 landmark Supreme Court decision that ultimately led to the NCAA allowing college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness. But nine people close to the process say Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have struggled to secure support among key industry players, including the Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference, and universities are pushing for major changes to the bill before it's brought to the floor. With just a handful of legislative days left before the Senate leaves town for August recess, universities are on the cusp of starting another school year governed by a patchwork of state laws and court rulings that they say is financially unsustainable. "It would be challenging for me to imagine supporting it if the Big Ten Conference and our two member universities in the state aren't supportive," Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said of Cruz's bill. |
| U. of Kentucky said laid-off food staff would get jobs with new partner. Only half have been rehired | |
 | The University of Kentucky previously said its new public-private dining partner, Compass Group, would try to rehire dining workers who were terminated when UK cut ties with Aramark. But only about half of those laid off by Aramark -- 462 out of 926 -- had been rehired by Compass Group by July 10, according to public records from UK requested by the Herald-Leader. The July 10 data was the most recently-available information. The layoffs went into effect June 30. Lindsay Travis, a UK spokesperson, told the Herald-Leader Wednesday she was unsure if the other half would be rehired by Compass Group. The company is focused on retaining full-time workers, not necessarily students and part-time employees, Travis said. While only half of Aramark employees were rehired by Compass Group, Travis said she doesn't think their workload will increase. "I think part of the other numbers (who haven't been rehired) include part-time people and student workers," she said. In the future, UK's own workers in maintenance, grounds, custodial and some in-patient services may be able to choose to continue in their roles as UK employees, or quit and become Compass Group employees while still working on the university campuses or medical facilities, according to Travis. |
| Texas DEI watchdog received 73 college complaints. Just 2 led to investigations | |
| Six months after lawmakers launched an initiative to hold colleges and universities accountable over a statewide diversity, equity and inclusion ban and limits on core curriculum, the new ombudsman office has only investigated two complaints. The office opened in January after Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 37, a higher education reform law that mandates more regent authority over universities to counter a perceived liberal bias in education. So far, 73 complaints have been filed with the office, but only two have warranted an investigation, Brandon Simmons, who leads the office, told the Senate Higher Education Committee this week. At an interim hearing Tuesday, Simmons told lawmakers that though the office is up and running, it is hindered by misinformation related to the laws it investigates and by the office's lack of recognition among average Texans. Students, faculty and employees are the only ones who can submit complaints, and they cannot do so anonymously. |
| Texas A&M to receive $2M federal grant for AI and cybersecurity training | |
| Texas A&M University has been awarded a federal grant of nearly $2 million to bolster artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity workforce development, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced. The $1,997,970 grant, funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation, aims to equip professionals with the necessary skills to protect critical technology systems and defend against an increasing number of cyberattacks from foreign adversaries. "We must take steps to defend against cyberattacks by training students with the AI and cybersecurity skills needed to protect our critical technology systems," Sen. Cornyn said in a statement. "This grant will help Texas grow the ranks of cyber professionals by funding specialized training at universities across the nation, including at some of Texas' top academic institutions." The funding is part of the CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) Program, originally established by the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014. The program was later amended by the National Defense Authorization Acts for 2018 and 2021, and recently expanded to include AI workforce development under the Cornyn-negotiated CHIPS and Science Act. |
| Centering humans in AI education might be key to innovation and research | |
| What do the physics of beatboxing have to do with artificial intelligence? Well, at the University of Southern California it's all part of a blueprint for keeping the technology human-centered. Shri Narayanan, a professor of engineering, psychology, and linguistics, runs USC's Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab. At a recent visit, he showed "Marketplace Tech" real-time MRI videos of beatboxers mapped by machine learning algorithms. "Can you believe that the human vocal instrument can provide this, make this sound?" he said. "So, what you're seeing here is a cross section of a person's head. You can see that there's the tongue, the lips, the airway trachea, and this is all machine learning." Those models aren't just for tracking musical performers. Narayanan's core research is in behavioral signal processing using AI to analyze physical patterns in humans to tackle profound clinical challenges -- from mapping neurodevelopment in autism, to identifying early biomarkers for depression or suicidal ideation. This isn't the buzzy AI of chatbots or coding agents that have been all the rage, but research like this is at the core of a $200 million bet USC is making about what a university can still offer in the age of AI. The new Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence is pushing to embed the technology across the campus. USC will launch a new AI major this fall, as well as minors, designed for non-STEM students to learn to apply AI to disciplines like history and art. |
| West Point professors free to comment publicly as school declines to appeal ruling | |
 | A West Point professor and his colleagues will remain ungagged for now, after the military academy declined to appeal a judge's ruling that barred the school from restricting professors' public comments. The West Point policy, adopted early last year, says no professor can give a speech, publish a paper or speak on a podcast without seeking approval from their department head. School leadership announced it a month after President Donald Trump issued an executive order forbidding military service academies from "promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating" ideas deemed "un-American" or "divisive." In late 2025, West Point's longest-serving law professor, Tim Bakken, sued the academy in federal court over the policy. He contends the policy violates the First Amendment by suppressing professors' speech in an effort to "censor viewpoints that might be contrary" to those of West Point, the Army, the Defense Department, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Bakken sued on behalf of all civilian professors, who make up about a third of West Point's faculty. |
| Fired Over Speech, Professors Take Their Employers to Court -- and Win | |
 | Rima Kapitan is busy. An employment lawyer focused on academia, Kapitan is currently representing more than a dozen faculty members who were terminated or otherwise disciplined for their speech. Her client list includes Savneet Talwar, an art therapy professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who was put on indefinite leave for assigning a case study that featured a woman sympathetic to Palestinians, and Steven Thrasher, who sued Northwestern University earlier this month alleging he was denied tenure because of his pro-Palestinian activism. "I get way more Palestinian cases than I ever did before," Kapitan said during a phone call with Inside Higher Ed Tuesday, speaking from the road after presenting oral argument on behalf of one of her professor clients. "It was pretty seldom in the first 10, 15 years of my practicing law that we got a Palestinian case ... but now we're just bombarded." Professors are becoming more litigious, and their increasingly censorial institutions are driving them past arbitration and onto the judicial battlefield, experts say. Over the past several years, dozens of faculty and staff members who were disciplined or terminated for something they said on campus or online have sued their institutions, alleging wrongful termination and First Amendment violations. |
SPORTS
| State Well Represented At USA Softball International Cup | |
| Four former Bulldogs will be in action at USA Softball's International Cup this week as Samantha Ricketts' Team American Samoa squad includes three of her former players. Sierra Sacco-Ferrie is also competing as a member of the U.S. Elite team. In her second tournament leading American Samoa, Ricketts has added Chloe Malau'ulu to a roster that also includes Matalasi Faapito and Kiarra Sells, who both made their international debuts earlier this month at the Canada Cup. The tournament will span five days from July 30-Aug. 3 in Oklahoma City. The event will feature 20 games as some of the top teams in the world compete on the international stage. Team USA will field both its national team and an elite team in separate pools. Any game featuring one of those two squads will be available to watch on ESPN+ with all remaining contests streaming on USASoftball.tv. |
| Without Big Ten and SEC support, Congress' Protect College Sports Act is in peril | |
| At Big Ten football media days, here within the downtown Hilton hotel, an elaborate room exists, named after the SS Normandie. Among the room's concrete columns and carpeted grand staircase, a plaque details the fate of the French ocean liner: It sank at its pier in New York Harbor in 1942 after catching fire, capsizing and finally resting half-submerged at the bottom of the Hudson River. Is the Protect College Sports Act sinking, too? As of Wednesday evening, officials from the Big Ten and SEC had not delivered to congressional lawmakers their position on a piece of legislation intended to regulate the college sports industry. And without their support, the bill faces steep odds of passage through the U.S. Congress as time ticks away. Conference leadership did not meet an original deadline set by lawmakers -- 9 a.m. ET Wednesday -- and instead the two sides spent most of Tuesday night and Wednesday embroiled in discussions over several provisions in the bill. |
| Senators still working with SEC, Big Ten on thorny issues involved in college sports bill | |
 | Senate negotiators worked Wednesday to resolve thorny differences with leaders of the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences over revisions to a bill designed to regulate college sports that sponsors want a vote on before the chamber goes on summer break next week. "Those conversations are ongoing," said one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz and co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., are pushing to bring the Protect College Sports Act to a vote before Aug. 7, the last day the Senate meets before going on break. Senators return for the second half of September, before breaking for all of October -- leaving little time remaining before the November midterms. A pair of documents outlining concessions the lawmakers have made in the negotiations were headlined by a $20 million-plus "retention pool" that schools could use to keep players from leaving. It would amount to a doubling of the revenue-sharing "salary cap," which is currently set at $21.3 million for this school year. |
| Michigan Left Out Key Details on Probe Into Its Athletic Department | |
 | An investigation commissioned by the University of Michigan following the firing of football coach Sherrone Moore highlighted problems inside the athletic department that went far beyond his intimate relationship with a staff member. Jenner & Block, the law firm Michigan hired late last year to investigate Moore and the broader culture inside the athletic department, called out the handling of controversies surrounding the previous football coach, Jim Harbaugh, and former men's basketball coach Juwan Howard in documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The law firm laid out a series of potential red flags about Moore, and outlined problems in Michigan's athletic department in other sports, including previously unreported issues with a water polo coach. Those findings contrast with what the university said in a recently released summary of the investigation. Michigan said that the law firm had not found widespread misconduct in athletics, and didn't detail issues within other sports. Michigan paid the firm $12 million for the investigation. |
| Jimmy Pitaro addresses ESPN's financial challenges, dodges app subs question | |
| If the latest round of layoffs at ESPN weren't enough to convince you that the business is struggling to maintain the profits of yesteryear, a quick look at the company's quarterly financials will paint a pretty clear picture. Disney will report earnings for the second quarter of 2026 next week, but looking back to the first quarter, the company's sports division, comprised almost entirely of ESPN, saw its operating income decline by 23 percent over the same period in 2025. Some of that decline can be attributed to a protracted distribution battle with YouTube TV, which cost Disney some $5 million each day it stretched on. Since Disney began reporting operating income for its sports division separately in FY22, performance from the segment has been bumpy. The sports segment began with $2.7 billion in profits in 2022, dropped to $2.5 billion in 2023, then $2.4 billion in 2024, before rebounding to $2.9 billion in 2025. Considering the number of households that continue to cut the cord, the 2025 rebound is commendable. However, as fewer people subscribe to pay-TV bundles and the cost of live sports rights continues to increase, continuing an upward trajectory seems like a challenge. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro was asked about this directly during an interview with CNBC's Alex Sherman last week. In addressing ESPN's financial challenges, Pitaro pointed to the network's surging ratings amid an overall decline in pay-TV subscribers. |
| How college teams embraced World Cup fever in 2026 | |
| Diego Maradona was out of shape when he landed at Babson College in June 1994. The small, private university in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was home to Argentina's national team in the weeks leading up to the 1994 World Cup, one of 15 colleges to serve as a base camp that summer. Argentina's football federation resurfaced Babson's home pitch, brought in new goals and attracted television cameras from across the globe. Thirty-two years later, some of the biggest stars in global soccer returned to the United States this summer, and college athletic departments were once again ready to capitalize on World Cup fever. This time, however, the conditions and incentive structures that schools were operating under were considerably different. There were viral moments with Argentina's Lionel Messi; fresh infusions of expensive equipment; and on-campus exhibitions with seven-figure revenues. As college athletics becomes an ever more expensive proposition, the 2026 World Cup offered another window into how schools are getting creative about generating buzz and critical dollars in order to stay competitive. "Most every athletic department has been reliant on tickets and fundraising and sponsorships," said Taylor McGillis, Texas A&M's associate athletic director for external relations and revenue generation. "I'm not going to say that's not enough. But we all know the needs are increasing every single day. We're more open to going down roads that we probably previously haven't gone down if there's really good commercial upside for us." |
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