| Thursday, August 13, 2026 |
| Planning Commission rejects bitcoin mining facility | |
 | To the delight of a standing-room only crowd at City Hall on Tuesday, the Planning and Zoning Commission denied a special use exemption that would have allowed for a bitcoin mining facility to operate on Industrial Park Road. The commission rejected the bid, agreeing with City Planner Daniel Havelin and Assistant City Planner Lyle MeCaskey's recommendation due to project representatives' inability to address unknowns, missing information from the application and public outcry in opposition to the project. "I've never had an applicant that had such a contentious issue be so unprepared," Jeremiah Dumas, Ward 6 commissioner, told The Dispatch after the meeting. "...You're talking about a multimillion-dollar thing that people generally don't like anyway. You would think they would come in there prepared but, no, not at all." The commission’s rejection will go before the board of aldermen during its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. If the board votes to deny the project, it can appeal the decision to the judiciary or reapply next year. |
| SOCSD approves concrete, steel work for new high school | |
| More than $13 million in construction packages were approved Tuesday night to begin laying the physical foundation for the new Starkville High School. After fielding construction bids for the project in July, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees approved the acceptance of two bid packages for concrete and steel work, which came in about 3% above the estimated costs, Superintendent Tony McGee told The Dispatch. "We did a projection before we bid it out," McGee told The Dispatch Tuesday. "... We do know that there's been some rise in the cost of steel and electrical, and so we did see a little elevation in those two areas, but everybody else was about normal." Roughly $7.9 million in dirt work and grading is almost complete to prep the site for construction. With the acceptance of these packages, the project is entering its second phase. Sumner Davis, board president, said the board still has 13 other packages to approve for the rest of the phase's construction. McGee said the goal was to start with these two to make sure the project stays on schedule for its projected June 2028 completion. |
| Mary Means Business: Ollie's opens in Columbus Wednesday | |
| A long-awaited business is opening soon. Get your bargain boots ready. Ollie's is having its grand opening event at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The bargain store filling a Dirt Cheap-sized hole in my heart will be open daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. at 2312 Hwy. 45 N., next to Rural King. I checked out the Ollie's sale pages, and there are a ton of grand opening doorbusters, including free Ollie's swag to the first 500 folks to sign up for the store's loyalty program. ... Heading over to Starkville, we've got a couple of downtown updates. Birdcall is making its grand debut at 11 a.m. Monday at 213 E. Main St. The Colorado-based chicken franchise is handing out exclusive Birdcall Gold Cards to the first 50 guests in line, which covers $10 off every week for a full year. "Starkville has been an incredible community to work with, and we're thrilled to finally open our doors and celebrate this milestone with the community," said brothers Mark and Greg Hayden, who own and operate the new eatery, in a press release. |
| Speaker of the Mississippi House encourages students to bring their talents back home | |
 | Some of Mississippi's most academically gifted high school students started their school year Wednesday, and the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives encouraged them to consider staying in the state. Jason White was the featured speaker at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Convocation. White encouraged the students, who come from all over the state to the residential high school, to get involved with the local community during their time at MSMS. He also urged them to give back to Mississippi, and one of the best ways to do that, he says is by putting their talents to work in their home state. "And, I'm trying to plant that seed of 'Hey, we need you here in Mississippi.' When you get this great education, both here and in your higher ed experience, wherever that is, whether it's in our state or out, we want you to come back home and be a part of Mississippi's momentum and keep it going and carry us to that next place. Really want to encourage them in that area. We want them here, and we need them here." |
| Speaker White backs MSMS support, unsure on relocation | |
| Speaker of the House Jason White believes the state legislature needs to bolster its support for the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Though he believes that should happen regardless of if it stays in Columbus or relocates. "If this is where we are going to try to attract and retain our best and brightest high school students, we should be doing more for them and for that institution wherever it is," White told The Dispatch. "... And certainly (MSMS) centers around what's going on in Columbus, what's going on at the (Mississippi University for Women), what's going on in Lowndes County, but it's also great proximity to one of our major research universities here at Mississippi State (University). That proximity is close; they can avail themselves there, so trying to just be sure we're getting it right -- not necessarily about moving MSMS, but about taking them to that next level." White spoke with MSMS students Wednesday at the school's convocation to kick off the new school year. |
| State-of-the-art sawmill in New Albany expected to bridge manufacturing gap | |
 | After sitting empty for several years, the sprawling facility that was the spark and epicenter of upholstered manufacturing in Northeast Mississippi now brims with activity once again. But it isn't furniture being made in what began as Morris Futorian's Stratford Furniture Co. plant in 1948. Instead, it's a state-of-the-art sawmill, the first by The Lumber Manufactory, a venture-backed operation that plans to build more than a dozen plants by 2030. The premise is simple: Build sustainable mills closer to the source, where an over-supply of timber is bogging down the housing industry. And for TLM, that starts in New Albany. More than $15 million has been poured into the operation, which includes both production and research and development. More than 50 jobs have been created already; about 35 are on the production team with the remaining in research, engineering and maintenance. |
| Red States Are Racing to Roll Back Property Taxes | |
 | Voters in several states are about to have a chance to rein in surging property tax bills. North Carolina, Wyoming, Florida and Oklahoma all have some kind of property-tax limit or rollback on the ballot this November. This follows bills passed in more than 10 states since early last year, including Iowa and Georgia recently, aimed at hemming in a growing source of frustration for many homeowners. Lawmakers in yet more states are debating the issue. The ballots and bills are largely coming in Republican-led states, in some cases as part of political platforms in state-level races. The rollbacks are generating pushback from local government officials who say they will lose vital revenue needed for everything from schools to paying firefighters. Many homeowners, meanwhile, are looking for relief from spiraling housing costs that have been outpacing inflation. Property taxes comprised 29% of total U.S. collections in 2023, making them the single largest source of state and local tax revenue, according to the most recent Tax Foundation data. |
| Leavitt to depart the White House | |
 | White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her role at the end of August, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. The president, in a post on Truth Social, said Leavitt is departing to spend more time with her family, but will remain one of his "top outside advisors" and an "influential voice within the Republican Party." Leavitt's departure comes on the heels of a leave of absence this summer after the May birth of her second child, Viviana. She returned to the White House last month. Leavitt has served as White House press secretary since the start of the second Trump administration. During Trump's first term, she interned in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence while in college before becoming associate director, eventually joining the White House press team as assistant press secretary under then-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. As press secretary, she has been widely praised on both the left and the right for being an effective communicator for the president in the White House briefing room. She earned a reputation for her tough but friendly banter with the press in that format. |
| The data centers are coming. Is Congress ready? | |
 | Tucked in a deep-red district in West Virginia, two tiny tourist towns rest high up in the Allegheny Mountains along the Blackwater River, nestled alongside grand waterfalls, winding hollows and scenic overlooks. And soon, 10,000 acres between the towns of Thomas and Davis and spanning into neighboring Grant County could become home to one of the "largest data center campuses in the world," its developers told The Wall Street Journal, including a new natural gas power plant with diesel backup generators and a solar facility -- although its public details keep changing. Nikki Forrester, a resident and organizer with Tucker United, a group leading the charge against the data center and power plant, sat on a bench in early July along the few-block stretch of downtown Thomas, about a mile and a half away from the proposed site. Almost every store window brandished signs opposing the data center complex, and Forrester estimated hundreds of citizens support her group, citing concerns about air and water pollution. Tucker County is just one of thousands of communities across the country searching for answers amid a data center boom. While the majority of Americans oppose data centers in their areas, many of the lawmakers representing them in Washington argue the U.S. can't afford for the rapid buildout to slow. |
| Chatbots are doing the work of Congress with little oversight | |
 | The amendment was one of hundreds filed this summer to an annual defense bill making its way through Congress. Along with her proposed change, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's office had sent a summary of what it would do. But the first line made no sense. "increasing example specific factors. Identical to H.R. 100 (118th Congress).11:25 AM????Claude responded:" One of Luna's staffers had copied a chatbot's answer -- time-stamp and all -- and pasted it into the public record of the National Defense Authorization Act. As a screenshot of the garbled text circulated on social media, the Florida Republican was nonchalant. "Not a shocker," she wrote. "Most staff use it." Asked later about the incident, Luna went further. "A lot of staff will use ChatGPT, Claude, Grok. I personally like Grok better, but my staffer prefers Claude," she told The Washington Post. "I'm not gonna knock him for that. There's nothing illegal about him doing a summary." Across the Capitol, lawmakers and staffers are using artificial intelligence to write speeches and news releases, sort constituent mail, prepare questions for congressional hearings and draft amendments. Even as politicians are debating how to govern AI for the rest of America, Congress has already settled how it will use the technology: quickly, broadly and with little oversight. |
| Settler siege of Palestinian homes in the West Bank a 'horrific act of terror,' US ambassador says | |
 | The U.S. ambassador to Israel on Thursday condemned a siege by Israeli settlers of a Palestinian American family's home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, calling it a "horrific act of terror." Mike Huckabee's remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode in a surge of settler violencein the region. Starting Sunday, settlers gathered around three houses in the village of Qusra, including one belonging to Palestinian American Loui Ridi, according to local officials, Ridi and Ridi's brother. At times numbering dozens, the settlers threw stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving as their food and water dwindled. On Thursday morning, Ridi's brother, Qusai Abu Rida, who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it, said they were moved by Israel's military to another home but still cannot leave the area. Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians as clashes have surged in the last few years. |
| Online Agitator Hasan Piker Is Driving Democrats Up a Wall | |
| In the run-up to Michigan's heated Senate primary, Abdul El-Sayed hit the trail with a key surrogate: Hasan Piker. The two took selfies with students in Ann Arbor and stopped by a pool party for content creators supporting El-Sayed in Detroit. In between, he popped over to Milwaukee to campaign for Democratic socialist Francesca Hong. On election night, Piker held court at El-Sayed's watch party. "Hasan is reaching folks no one else is talking to," El-Sayed wrote in an email before voting started. "Every event I do, I get seniors who ask how I got so many young people to come, and young people who say 'I saw you on Hasan.'" One of the most controversial -- and influential -- online commentators, Piker has become famous for the impassioned left-wing appeals he makes to an audience of millions. His broadsides take aim at both Republicans and Democrats in a brazen, provocative tone that now suffuses the leftist internet, and has drawn 35-year-old Piker into debates and attack ads during the primaries. His name has become a political litmus test as Democrats fight over the party's future. |
| Vaping and cannabis hit record highs among young adults in 2025: Survey | |
 | Young adults' use of vapes and cannabis hit all-time highs last year, according to the results of a large new national survey conducted at the University of Michigan. The percentage of young adults who said they'd used nicotine vapes in the past 30 days reached the highest levels since the question was first added to the survey in 2017, more than tripling to 19%. For cannabis, 29% of young adults between the ages of 19 and 30 said they'd used the drug in the past 30 days -- just slightly below the all-time high of 30% the previous year. A record high of 12% reported daily cannabis use. The annual Monitoring the Future survey, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health, gathers data from about 20,000 Americans spanning the ages of 19 to 65. Overall, this year's report presents a mixed picture of substance use trends in the U.S., according to Nora Volkow, director of NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). "It is reassuring to continue to see relatively low smoking rates and a continuing decline in alcohol use among adults," Volkow said in a press release. "At the same time, rising rates of cannabis, nicotine, and certain other drug use warrant attention. Continued monitoring is vital for understanding the changing drug landscape so that we can develop effective interventions to support public health." |
| UM Faculty, First Amendment Law Firm File Briefs Supporting Lauren Stokes' Lawsuit Appeal | |
| The University of Mississippi has a long history of selective viewpoint discrimination, University of Mississippi employees argued in an amicus brief submitted to a federal court on July 24. That brief is one of two submitted in favor of former UM employee Lauren Stokes, whom the administration fired last year after she reposted a social media message critical of conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination. The briefs submitted by the UM employees and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression come after Stokes and her legal team appealed a federal judge's dismissal of her wrongful termination lawsuit against the university. The former executive assistant to the university's vice chancellor was one of several public employees throughout the United States who were fired following backlash over social-media posts following the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of Kirk while he spoke at a Turning Point USA event at a university in Utah. Stokes' case is the only of its kind to be dismissed in the nation, FIRE senior litigation attorney Greg Greubel told the Mississippi Free Press. Sociology professor James Thomas, senior composition and rhetoric lecturer Wendy Goldberg, and history and international studies assistant professor Graham Pitts worked together to write the brief in support of Stokes' appeal. |
| Joint College & Career Fair in September | |
| More than 3,000 high school students from across north Mississippi are expected to attend the 5th Annual Lafayette-Oxford-Ole Miss College & Career Fair on Sept. 30, from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m., at the Lafayette County Multi-Purpose Arena in Oxford. Hosted through a partnership between Lafayette High School, Oxford High School, and the University of Mississippi, the event has grown into what many participants consider to be the largest college and career fair of its kind in the State of Mississippi. The fair will bring together representatives from all of Mississippi's four-year colleges and universities, most branches of the United States military, and more than 90 businesses, industries, and workforce organizations, providing students in grades 10–12 with an opportunity to explore the many educational and career pathways available after high school. "This event is about helping students discover what's possible after high school," said Ronnie Williams, Career Coach at Lafayette High School. "Whether a student's next step is a four-year university, community college, technical training, military service, or entering the workforce, we want every student to leave with valuable connections and a clearer vision for their future." |
| UMMC granted more than $2.5 million for research related to prostate cancer | |
| The University of Mississippi Medical Center has been granted more than $2.5 million for research related to prostate cancer. The funding came from the National Cancer Institute and will go toward a five-year study focused on understanding how prostate cancer cells spread to bones and why the disease is so difficult to treat following bone metastasis. Metastasis is when cancer cells spread from the place where they first formed to another part of the body. Dr. Jawed Siddiqui, associate professor of cell and molecular biology, will serve as the principal investigator of the study entitled, "The Significance of Lipoylation in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis to Develop Innovative Therapeutics," at UMMC's Cancer Center and Research Institute. "This project primarily centers on investigating the role of protein lipoylation and mitochondrial metabolism in guiding prostate cancer cells to the bone microenvironment," Siddiqui said. "We will also investigate the importance of cuproptosis, a recently discovered form of cell death closely tied to cellular metabolic fate. We believe that prostate cancer cells hijack these metabolic processes to survive and grow in the bone." |
| USM history professor plays major role in Netflix's 'The American Experiment' | |
| University of Southern Mississippi professor and military historian Andrew Wiest is among the star-studded cast of Netflix's "The American Experiment" documentary. The five-part series chronicles the history of the American Revolution, coinciding with the nation's 250th birthday. It features commentary, voice-overs and interviews with academics, political figures and more. Wiest can be heard reading lines throughout the series, including parts of the Declaration of Independence and playing founding father Patrick Henry. He described what it was like to hear himself in the documentary. "The narrator says right before you hear us read it that these are some of the most important lines ever written in the English language, and I was like, 'Wow, and I got to read one of those,'" he said. Wiest recorded his lines in the sound booth at USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. |
| William Carey University awards honorary doctorate to Hattiesburg community advocate James Moore | |
 | William Carey University (WCU) is honoring Hattiesburg community advocate James Moore for his years of work supporting people in recovery and their families. Moore was recently awarded an honorary doctorate of public service from the university, a recognition he says highlights the efforts to change the way the community views addiction and to help families navigate the challenges that come with it. "Someone called up a few months ago and said that I had been nominated and would I consider accepting," Moore recalled. "I said, is this the kind of joke? Who are you? Because normally the bicycle man in the community is not the one that gets an honorary doctorate." For William Carey University, however, the recognition was no joke. Moore's advocacy work grew out of personal loss. He lost his son, Jeffrey, to an overdose in 2015. After his son's death, Moore began learning as much as he could about addiction. For Moore, the honorary doctorate also represents a broader shift in how addiction is understood. |
| 22 units declared uninhabitable at Tuscaloosa apartment complex | |
| Tuscaloosa city inspection officials have declared 22 apartments at The Walk, an apartment complex many college students lived at, uninhabitable due to mold. Originally, only six units were declared uninhabitable by the city, then 11. Now, 22. At least one parent has successfully broken her lease with the property, while others are still working to do the same. Colleen Cooper said she first noticed problems at The Walk in January and that conditions worsened over time. She said her daughter's roommate recorded video of mold growing on the walls of the unit. "There was mold on the walls, on the ceiling and growing out of the vats. That was the deciding factor," Cooper said. Cooper's daughter, Olivia, has since moved to a new complex near campus. Olivia Cooper credited her mother for resolving the situation while she was studying abroad. Classes at the University of Alabama begin on Wednesday, Aug. 19. |
| LSU hazing victim's mom tells parents how to prevent, spot hazing | |
 | Rae Ann Gruver brought a message about hazing to Shreveport on Tuesday, at the same time many parents are sending a child off to college for the first time. Gruver spoke at a Rotary Club meeting downtown, and she urged parents to do two things: seek information and know the signs. Her son, Max, died in 2017 following a night of hazing involving LSU's Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was a freshman pledging the organization, and Gruver said Tuesday he was made to chug at least 32 ounces of 190-proof liquor. Gruver encouraged parents to investigate clubs their children consider joining, and she directed them to hazinginfo.org. The site provides information about hazing, and it documents which American universities are in compliance with federal regulations for campus transparency and ease of reporting incidents. Forty-four of 50 states have laws against hazing, and it is a felony in 16, including Louisiana. The Stop Hazing Act, which Gruver supported, passed Congress in 2024 and requires universities to provide information online regarding violations of hazing policies, listing those policies as well as educational programs available. |
| It's an 'entirely different ecosystem' with this many U. of Tennessee students back in town | |
 | As Knox County anticipates 75,160 new residents by 2040, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will temporarily increase the local population by nearly half that number as students return for the fall semester. At a time when Knoxville ranks among the nation's top moving destinations, the university continues to build its enrollment while bringing tens of thousands of students to the city each academic year. "It is palpable when the students come back to campus," said Don Bruce, economic professor and director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at UT. "It is an entirely different ecosystem." The university projects 42,600 students will take classes in the fall 2026 semester beginning Aug. 17 and is pushing to enroll students from in-state high schools, especially in Knox County. Meanwhile, the university's plans to enroll 55,000 students by 2030 would include 14,000 online students as UT expands its virtual learning options. |
| How 2 Texas Lawsuits Could Tee Up a National Fight Over Academic Freedom | |
 | The American Association of University Professors sued Texas A&M University officials and the system Board of Regents last week to block a policy that limits discussion of "race or gender ideology" in class unless preapproved by the institution's president. The policy, implemented last November, resulted in a systemwide course review and several canceled courses. The lawsuit followed another, brought by the AAUP in July against Texas Tech officials, which similarly argues that Chancellor Brandon Creighton's memos preventing faculty from teaching content related to ill-defined concepts of sexual orientation and gender ideology violate the First and 14th Amendments. At both institutions, faculty resorted to self-censorship, unsure what material might violate the vague rules and put them at risk of discipline, including termination. Together the lawsuits are poised to bring the issue before the Fifth Circuit. "The Fifth Circuit is a very unusual circuit," said Robert Post, a professor at Yale Law School and co-author of For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom. "It's unpredictable and tends to extremes, so you never know where the Fifth Circuit is going to go." |
| Iowa State University opens cyber resiliency initiative to Iowa towns, counties, schools | |
| After a year of information gathering and piloting programs, Iowa State University is expanding its state-supported and federally funded cyber resilience program to political subdivisions across Iowa. The Ames university leads the Iowa Cyber Resilience Initiative through its Center for Cybersecurity Innovation and Outreach, center director Doug Jacobson said, supported by portions of $3 million in FEMA funding allocated to the state. This ensures that the cities, counties, school districts and other communities don't have to pay for cyber resilience services that "can be quite expensive," he said. "By having Iowa State sort of run all of this, we have kind of an economy of scale and be able to serve a lot more political subdivisions than if we were to just have each subdivision go out and contract to do this type of work on their own," Jacobson said. Unlike other "tabletop exercises," which Jacobson said focus on training information technology officials and leaders how to get services back online after an outage, the ISU exercises focus on ensuring functions continue through an outage, rather than having to stop everything for it. |
| Utah Valley University cancels classes on anniversary of Charlie Kirk killing | |
| Utah Valley University won't hold classes on Sept. 10, the anniversary of the killing of Charlie Kirk on campus. Kirk, a conservative political activist, was shot and killed while speaking at UVU on Sept. 10, 2025. "Healing continues in different ways for each member of our university community as we approach Sept. 10, the one-year anniversary of the tragic events surrounding Charlie Kirk's death," states an email sent to the campus community. "To provide time and space for reflection, service, and connection, UVU will close operations that day." Additionally, the email invited UVU students, faculty and staff to United Way's annual Day of Caring service day on Sept. 10, an event the school regularly participates in, including breakfast and a service project in the community -- this year, at Trailside Elementary in Vineyard. "This long-standing tradition of service is an opportunity to come together and continue healing through helping others," the institution said. |
| Finish degrees for less: Schools overseas pitch US community college students | |
 | Unlike her friends and classmates, Sloan Hull didn't want to attend a four-year college after high school. She knew she wanted to be a chef and chose Orange Coast College, a public community college near Los Angeles, for its culinary arts associate degree. She graduated in December, and had planned to transfer to a top U.S. culinary school, until she realized the school would not accept her transfer credits, meaning she faced four years of about $40,000 annual tuition. The Transfer Abroad Network, a new business based in California, offered another option. It helps U.S. community college students transfer to international schools to finish bachelor's degrees. Ms. Hull saw a more economical path to a higher degree and the opportunity to study abroad. TAN's founders, Ashley Warmington and Emma Schwartz Lara, told her about a short summer program at the Business and Hotel Management School in Lucerne, Switzerland. There Ms. Hull cooked with chefs, met students from around the world, and decided to enroll in a fast-track, one-year bachelor's degree program. She is scheduled to start school near the end of August. "I really never considered going abroad just because I had no idea that my credits could transfer," she says. Tara Zirkel, director of strategic research with education consultant firm EAB, says that TAN could appeal to community college students because the pathway is predictable and clear |
| Education Department Says It Plans to Spend Millions in Expiring Research Dollars. Concerns Remain | |
| Higher education advocates warned for months that hundreds of millions in federal funding for education research could expire Sept. 30 if the Education Department didn't start sending it out the door. In late June, some of them filed a lawsuit. They argued that while public records show the White House appeared to have released most of the IES funds in May, ED still had about $316 million "that have not been obligated, and for which IES has not publicly indicated any plans to obligate." That's out of the $768 million Congress originally allocated to IES for fiscal year 2025, which the department had two years to spend down. (It also still remains unclear exactly how and when the White House released the money shown in the report.) Now, IES Acting Director Matthew Soldner is saying the agency will spend all the remaining money Congress set aside for education research in "a timely manner," according to court records released last week as part of the suit. |
| Survey Shows Students Trust College Leaders More Than Politicians | |
| College students are roughly split on whether they think institutional leaders have their best interests at heart, according to new survey data from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation published Thursday. Fifty-five percent of students said they felt administrators act in students' best interest most or all of the time, while 45 percent said they thought leaders made decisions in their best interest sometimes, rarely or never. The survey, which examined students' perceptions of who influences their college experience, found that state and federal officials also played a role. With policy shifts affecting research funding, curriculum, diversity initiatives and more, 58 percent of undergraduate students reported that federal or state policies contributed to at least a moderate change on campus. And although students were divided on trust in campus leadership and the effects of federal and state policies, survey data showed that students from all political parties reported higher approval of campus-led policies compared to state and federal policies. While 79 percent of respondents approved of decisions made by their institution's leaders, only 56 percent said they approved of such policies made by state leaders and 45 percent approved of federal policy decisions affecting their campus. |
| What do college students think of their institutional leaders? | |
| Over half of surveyed college students, 55%, say their institutions' leadership makes decisions in their best interests "all" or "most of the time," according to a poll released Thursday by Lumina Foundation and Gallup. Students at top-ranked universities were less likely to say the same. Among students attending one of the top 100 institutions in U.S. News & World Report's national universities ranking, 45% said they trusted their leaders to act in their best interests most of the time. But campus leaders aren't the only ones calling the shots. The majority of students, 58%, said their campus policies have been influenced "a great deal" or "a moderate amount" by state or federal lawmakers. Policies and proposals from campus leaders enjoy higher approval ratings from students than those from state and federal lawmakers, the poll found. The poll found political divides in approval ratings, with Republican students tending to have more favorable views of policies from their campus, state and federal leaders than Democratic or independent students. |
| Can the world justify a trillion AI investment? | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: On the way back from a funeral in Shreveport, I decided to take I-20 exit 45 at Delhi and drive north about half a mile. There I witnessed what may be the largest one-location construction project in history -- Meta's Hyperion data center. For miles, there was nothing but big-building construction underway, with cranes, brick and steel frames, fuel storage tanks, thousands of pieces of building equipment and dozens of buses to ferry construction workers from nearby towns. Mind blowing. ... ChatGPT describes Hyperion as "one of the largest single-site industrial construction projects ever undertaken anywhere in the world." Seeing this project with my own eyes in the middle of rural Louisiana blew my mind. |
SPORTS
| Soccer: Newcomers Shine In Season-Opening Shutout Of South Alabama | |
| Mississippi State opened the 2026 soccer season with a 3-0 victory against South Alabama in head coach Kevin O'Brien's debut at the helm. Freshman Kati Anne Shepherd opened the O'Brien era early with a goal in the first five minutes of play. Shepherd pounced on a loose ball after a misplayed pass backwards from South Alabama. She beat the intended recipient to the free ball in the box and slotted it into the bottom left corner of the net with one touch. "It gave us confidence, and I think their team, their heads are spinning like, 'Holy cow, we didn't have it scripted like that.'" O'Brien said. "So in two ways, it's beneficial for the Bulldogs. It was awesome and for her to get that. I think she just grew into the game with confidence. I mean, she could be in high school right now as a senior. She's 17 years old and started her first college game and scored in the first five minutes. Probably couldn't have scripted it better for her." State controlled the remainder of the first half, outshooting the Jaguars, 15-2, with an 8-0 edge in shots on goal. The Bulldogs earned seven corners in the first 45 minutes alone. |
| Bulldogs open soccer season with 3-0 win over South Alabama | |
| It only took four minutes and 46 seconds, a fast break and the booming right foot of Kati Anne Shepherd for Mississippi State's soccer team to usher in the first goal of 2026 campaign on Wednesday and send the cowbell-wielding fans into a frenzy. The freshman from Birmingham, Ala., caught the visiting Jaguars of South Alabama off balance early with a screaming kick into the left side of the net to help start the Kevin O'Brien era with a 3-0 season-opening win. The team, which features 19 new transfers and nine freshmen, was all over the Jaguars early in the first half with suffocating pressure on offense that resulted in 14 shots and seven attempts from the corners in just the first half -- and Shepherd was a large contributor to those numbers. Her intensity near the net produced four of MSU's shots, while sophomore returner Laila Murillo created three shot attempts of her own to lead the team heading into the second half. In that second frame the Bulldogs didn't let up. |
| 'Old head' Anthony Evans III looking for leap in year 2 | |
| Anthony Evans III has never been a leading receiver in college. He tallied 13 receptions in his first two seasons at Georgia, sitting behind a surplus of NFL talent with the Bulldogs. Evans found his way to Mississippi State through the portal in 2025, starting all 13 games with MSU, but he still wasn't the main target. Brenen Thompson led MSU in receiving yards (1,054) and touchdowns (six) last season, playing his way to a fourth-round selection and NFL roster spot with the Los Angeles Chargers. Evans spent most of last season as wide receiver two, but he still wants people to know what he produced. "Going for 830 yards and four touchdowns, that was just the start," Evans said. He found a lot of success in his first season in Starkville, leading the team with 67 receptions on top of his second-on-the-team marks in yards and touchdowns. He was MSU's savior in its lone SEC win against Arkansas, catching a 4th-and-4 pass and breaking three tackles on his way to the game-winning touchdown with 50 seconds left. His performance last year earned praise from both inside and outside the program. He was one of MSU's three representatives at SEC Media Days in July, and was named to the Paul Hornung Award watchlist, given to the most "versatile" player in college football. |
| Giving Back: MSU Football's Pulliam Donates Funds for SOCSD School Supplies | |
| "Definitely dream big." Those are the hopes Mississippi State punter and former Yellow Jacket, Ethan Pulliam, shared for students in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, where he grew up and went to school himself. "As a kid, I had a lot of dreams," he said. "Being a kid, it's always fun to dream about things you want to be and places you want to go. I want kids to know there are no limitations on what you can do. So, never let anybody tell you, 'you can't'. Just continue to strive for it." Pulliam is serious about "no limitations", and this school year is helping young Yellow Jacket students clear some of the most immediate and basic hurdles for learning – access to school supplies. In July, Pulliam donated $2000 to be used to purchase classroom supplies at Sudduth Elementary and Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary for the 2026-2027 school year. He plans to provide another $2000 for next school year. During check presentations with administrators, families and teachers at each school, Pulliam said the $4000 total donation is a way to support and honor those who gave him opportunities to thrive. Pulliam, who is a 2023 graduate of Starkville High School was an award-winning three-sport athlete during his high school career. In addition to excelling academically, he played on the Yellow Jacket soccer, baseball and football teams, helping to lead Jacket Football to a State Championship in his senior season. He signed with Mississippi State University to play both baseball and football, and now serves as the Bulldog punter. |
| Madison-Ridgeland Academy to retire Mississippi State basketball star Josh Hubbard's number | |
| Madison-Ridgeland Academy has announced it will retire the number of alumnus and current Mississippi State basketball star Josh Hubbard, making him the first basketball player at the school to receive the honor. Hubbard donned No. 12 during his five years as a varsity starter for MRA, where he single-handedly rewrote the basketball record book at the private school. Hubbard finished his career in the red and blue as the all-time leading scorer in Mississippi high school basketball history – accumulating 4,367 career points. "That record places him among the most prolific scorers in the history of the sport," MRA said in an announcement. "His ability to score at every level, his elite competitiveness, and his leadership helped make him one of the most dominant players in Mississippi basketball history." During his senior year with the Patriots, Hubbard averaged 27.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He led MRA to a 34-8 record and a MAIS 6A State Championship. Additionally, Hubbard was named the 2023 Mississippi Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year -- the first time an MAIS player had earned the honor. MRA will officially retire No. 12 on Friday, Sept. 2 at halftime of the school's football game against Hartfield. |
| Kermit Davis Sr. left a lasting impact on his son and on his state | |
| Kermit Davis Jr. was raised in basketball gyms all over the South. His was not a typical childhood, and it laid a strong foundation for his future as a player and a coach. He has his father to thank for that. One of Davis' earliest memories is watching his dad, Kermit Sr., coach Tupelo's boys to back-to-back state championships in the mid-1960s. He remembers the trip to the Mississippi Coliseum, and all the fans, and Kermit Sr. being hoisted by his players after the Golden Wave's triumph. Those sorts of memories are abundant. Kermit Sr. left Tupelo in 1966 to be an assistant coach at Mississippi State, and he took over as head coach in 1970. Nearly always close by were Kermit Jr. and his siblings, Bill and Jennifer, as their mother Nancy would drop them off at the gym after school each day. "We probably drove everybody in the gym crazy," Kermit Jr. said with a chuckle. "Probably got nearly all the Mississippi State managers fired, because they were supposed to be in charge of us, and all we did was fight, and wouldn't hold the ball still. So we kept everybody in trouble." Kermit Sr. was head coach at MSU for seven years, and his children often could be seen right there on the bench. It was not only a fun experience for Kermit Jr., but it helped shape him. "It was kind of a childhood dream life, especially at State," he said. |
| SEC commissioner urges caution in approach to fifth-year eligibility court orders | |
| Commissioner Greg Sankey wants everyone in the Southeastern Conference to move carefully when adding players suddenly allowed by court rulings to seek a fifth year of eligibility. Sankey sent a memo to league members on the landscape created by court filings and rulings being "highly dynamic," a person familiar with the memo told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because of the volume of lawsuits, motions and courts involved. The memo, sent Tuesday, was first reported by CBS Sports. Sankey reminded SEC members that they should operate under existing NCAA rules, interpretations and applicable league rules until advised otherwise. He told them each school's compliance office should work with SEC staff before making any commitments on a player's eligibility. |
| College football 2026: How much does each position cost? | |
| There has never been a better time to be a college football player competing at the highest level. Just ask their agents. Last year, we dug into how much Power 4 starters are earning at every position. To find out just how much their value has increased 12 months later, we surveyed more than a dozen general managers and front office staffers as well as a dozen agents last week at the annual Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. We asked the folks tasked with negotiating their contracts to help define the new price ranges for each position, based on the deals they've struck for 2026 and what each side now considers fair value. And they had a lot to say. If every Power 4 program was carefully abiding by the new revenue sharing cap and spending the same amount, the price points for the deals would be easier to identify. But that's not the case. The sport's most competitive programs had the funds to go far beyond $20 million for their rosters this offseason. Agents say SEC and Big Ten programs continue to outspend the Big 12 and ACC. As one agent put it, the gap between good and elite feels greater than ever. This year's price ranges for deals reflect that, too. |
| Higher-income families more likely to enroll kids in organized sports, an AP-Ipsos poll finds | |
| Americans overwhelmingly see major benefits to children playing organized sports, a new poll finds, but higher-income families are more likely to participate. Learning teamwork and reducing screen time are among the perceived benefits of youth sports, according to the AP-Ipsos survey. About half of U.S. parents with K-12 school-aged children say their kids play a structured sport, but participation is higher among more affluent families. About 7 in 10 K-12 parents with a household income of at least $100,000 annually say their children play organized sports, compared to about 4 in 10 parents with a lower household income. The findings point to a key problem in youth sports: parents almost universally see participation as an important part of kids' childhood, but the out-of-pocket expenses can be significant, particularly for lower-income families. |
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