| Wednesday, June 3, 2026 |
| MSU Extension warns residents after invasive hammerhead worm found in Warren County | |
 | The Mississippi State University Extension Service is warning producers to be on the lookout for hammerhead worms after one of the invasive pests was recently spotted in Warren County. According to MSU's Warren County Extension office, hammerhead worms -- which can grow up to a foot long and are known for their distinctive shovel- or hammer-shaped heads -- pose concerns because they prey on earthworms, which are critical for healthy soils and productive gardens and farms. Dr. Jermaine Perier, an MSU Extension entomologist specializing in vegetables, fruits, and nuts, warned residents not to handle hammerhead worms with bare hands. "Their mucus can be an irritant, and some species produce neurotoxins," Perier said. Perier recommends using gloves or another barrier when disposing of hammerhead worms and cautioned that trying to kill them with a shovel or other garden tool will not work because the worms can regenerate from body fragments. Instead, residents should place hammerhead worms in an airtight container to prevent escape before attempting disposal. Several methods can then be used to kill the worms, including adding salt or soapy water to the container, leaving the container in direct sunlight, or soaking the worms in ethanol, alcohol, or hand sanitizer. |
| Murrell named communications director for Delta Wildlife, Delta Council | |
| Delta Wildlife and Delta Council have appointed Jamie Murrell as director of communications, officials announced. Murrell brings more than two decades of experience in marketing and community engagement. She has served as first vice president of marketing at Planters Bank since 2006 and previously worked as national showroom coordinator for Country Originals in Jackson. A graduate of Mississippi State University, Murrell also completed the American Bankers Association's School of Bank Marketing and Management in 2009. Murrell has been active in community and civic organizations across the Delta. "We are pleased to welcome Jamie Murrell to our team and excited about the strengths she brings to our organizations," said Austin Jones, chairman of Delta Wildlife. |
| The White House as a stage: Trump's hosting streak meets America's 250th birthday and the World Cup | |
 | When nearly all the scheduled musical performers pulled out of a concert series marking America's 250th anniversary -- fearing the event had become too closely tied to President Donald Trump -- he responded by making it official. Trump announced he'd now be the headlining act of the Great American State Fair. That put to rest any possible scenario where a president who has built his personal and political persona on seizing the spotlight might cede the stage to avoid overshadowing a national celebration bigger than himself. It also offered a peek into how the president is likely to approach hosting the upcoming World Cup. From his reality shows before becoming a politician, to hours spent entertaining at events in ways planned and impromptu, to proudly showing off his various properties and efforts to overhaul the White House, the president relishes hosting. Last year he even jokingly mused about leaving the presidency to do it again full time on TV. Andrew Jackson threw open the White House for an 1829 Inauguration Day bash so unruly that staff eventually dispersed the crowd by moving tubs of whiskey and ice cream to the lawn. Franklin D. Roosevelt mixed pre-dinner cocktails for friends and aides at White House gatherings he playfully dubbed "The Children's Hour." Audrey Hepburn was among the luminaries Ronald Reagan hosted at the White House. Trump frequently had first-term dinners with business leaders but has more fully embraced the role since returning to the White House. |
| Oxford Pitch Competition to award $25,000 to entrepreneurs, startups | |
| Entrepreneurs from across Mississippi and the Mid-South will compete for $25,000 in prize funding during the fifth annual Oxford Pitch Competition on June 11 at the Oxford Conference Center. The event, hosted by Oxford Lafayette Incorporated in partnership with Innovate Mississippi, the University of Mississippi and the Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network, is free and open to the public. The competition will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center, 102 Ed Perry Blvd. The Oxford Pitch Competition serves as one of seven regional qualifying events for Innovate Mississippi's CoBuilders Accelerator, a statewide program designed to help startup and small business founders grow their companies through mentorship, coaching and access to capital and business resources. This year's competition will feature two tracks: an SBDC Track for traditional and growth-oriented small businesses and an Innovate Track for high-growth and innovation-focused ventures. |
| Inside the U. of Texas' plan for an AI-native hospital in Austin | |
| Hongfang Liu has been in Austin for two weeks and has a massive task ahead of her. As chair of the department of quantitative and systems health sciences and the Carolyn and Kenneth Shine Endowed Chair of Artificial Intelligence, Liu is tasked with not only teaching and doing research on AI, but also figuring out how the new University of Texas Dell Medical Center will incorporate AI into the new hospital. The medical school is calling it the country's first AI-native hospital. Most existing and even new hospitals are retrofitting AI innovations into existing systems. "It's about being a model for health and health care redesign for Austin, Texas and the country," said Dell Medical School Dean Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti in an exclusive interview with the American-Statesman in April. Adding new AI technology is "very challenging to do in a very mature medical center," Liu said. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation gave more than $750 million to Dell Medical School to build the new hospital with the promise of an AI-native medical center. |
| Texas A&M System Taps Samuel Kim to Lead Innovation, Commercialization Strategy | |
| The Texas A&M University System announced today that Dr. Samuel Kim has been named Chief Innovation Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor, removing the interim title he has held since October 2025. Kim will continue leading Texas A&M Innovation, the System-level office charged with supporting inventors, commercializing discoveries, building industry partnerships and strengthening the path from research to real-world impact. Since being named interim chief innovation officer, Kim has led the development of a long-range strategic plan for research commercialization and impact. The plan positions the A&M System to become a national leader in translating discoveries into products, services, ventures and partnerships that drive economic growth and improve lives. Regent John Bellinger, chairman of the Board's Research Committee, said Kim's leadership comes at an important moment for the System's research enterprise. "The A&M System conducts research at a scale few institutions can match," Bellinger said. "The opportunity now is to organize that strength into a more coordinated, more visible and more effective innovation enterprise. Sam's strategic plan gives us a clear framework, measurable goals and an accountability structure for moving discoveries into use -- through startups, licensing, industry partnerships and other pathways to impact." |
| Colleges Feared Stackable Credits. Now They're Betting on Them. | |
 | Nolan Cottingham always knew he'd find a better-paying job and more fulfilling career after In-N-Out Burger. Still, his reluctance to take on tens of thousands of dollars in college-loan debt kept him donning his apron and clocking in year after year. He was saving up for flight school but said, "they wanted $80,000 out of pocket up front" before he even took a class. He'd taken a couple of semesters of coursework for an emergency-medical-technician license at a local community college but the job prospects seemed dim and he wasn't convinced he was cut out for the work. Last spring he got the break that offered a fast track toward both a decent-paying job and a college degree: He enrolled in a credential program between Maricopa Community Colleges, in Tempe, Ariz., and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a massive complex now sprawled across 1,100 acres of Sonoran Desert scrubland. When he finishes the program next May, he'll have 19 Maricopa credits, a certificate of completion from his apprenticeship as a process technician, and a journeyman's license. One more year of classes, and he could come out with an associate degree in semiconductor manufacturing debt-free and on a career path that satisfies his interest in cutting-edge technology. Maricopa is at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education: the fast-track, stackable credential or, in some cases, microcredential. |
| Trump's Education Department is backing away from addressing civil rights for Black students | |
| For generations, the federal government enforced civil rights laws with an eye toward remedying historic, systemic discrimination against Black people and other people of color. The Justice Department pressed schools to desegregate. The Education Department worked to promote equal opportunity and held schools accountable for racial bias. But under the Trump administration, efforts to address deep-rooted inequities for students of color are being cast as discriminatory against white students. Programs that have long withstood legal scrutiny are now quick to be deemed " illegal DEI " -- diversity, equity and inclusion -- by the White House. Schools that do not comply have faced threats to their funding, and in some cases, lost federal grants. Civil rights attorneys describe the administration's actions as a complete inversion of legal history. "It's literally flipping the purpose of civil rights law on its head, not just harming Black students and students of color, but entire school communities," said Michael Pillera, director of educational equity issues at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "It's unmoored from the actual history of our country and untethered to the reality of life in this country." |
SPORTS
| UGA athletic director voices opinion on Georgia baseball's 11 a.m. start | |
 | University of Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks is questioning why one of the highest-seeded teams left in the NCAA Baseball Tournament will open Super Regional play in one of the weekend's earliest windows. Brooks shared his frustration on social media after game times were announced Tuesday for the Super Regional round. "Nothing says 'top remaining seed' like an 11am Saturday start for Game 1," Brooks posted on X. The Bulldogs, the No. 3 national seed, are scheduled to host No. 14 Mississippi State in Athens. Game 1 is set for 11 a.m. ET Saturday on ESPN, followed by Game 2 at noon ET Sunday. A third game, if necessary, would be played Monday at a time to be determined. Georgia enters the Super Regional round as the highest remaining national seed in the tournament field following regional losses by No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Georgia Tech. Yet several lower-seeded teams received later start times, including prime-time television slots. |
| Men's Golf: Bulldogs Complete Historic Season At NCAA Championship | |
| Mississippi State men's golf ends its historic 2025-26 campaign at the NCAA Championship. The Bulldogs saved their best golf in Carlsbad for last, firing a final round of 9-under 279 -- the lowest NCAA Championship round in program history -- to give MSU its best-ever NCAA Championship finish at 17th overall. Senior Ugo Malcor wrapped up his collegiate career in style, carding a final round of 3-under 69 to tie the program's lowest NCAA Championship round by an individual. Malcor put together five birdies on the Omni La Costa North Course, including four in a stretch of 10 holes, to finish in a tie for 32nd overall. True freshman Jackson Skinner joined Malcor with a 3-under 69 in round three, catching fire on the back nine with three birdies in his last six holes. State concludes the season having compiled two tournament victories, six top-five finishes, an appearance in SEC Match Play, and the program's best NCAA Championship finish. |
| Women's Golf: Avery Weed Earns First Team WGCA All-American Selection | |
| Junior standout Avery Weed was named a PING First Team All-American by the Women's Golf Coaches Association on Tuesday. Weed, an Ocean Springs, Mississippi native, left her name in the Mississippi State record books after a stellar third year in the Maroon and White. Weed shot for a 70.13 scoring average, a mark that stands as the second-best single season scoring average in program history. Weed earned her third collegiate individual title this season at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. She finished the event at 14-under par, making her one of two golfers in the field to finish below par. She was also one of four to finish even par or better and was the only golfer that was not apart of the host team Arkansas to do so. This season, Weed also earned First Team All-SEC honors, as well as selections to the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the Curtis Cup and the Arnold Palmer Cup, which will see action begin on Friday, July 5. |
| Four teams will make their first appearance in NCAA super regionals | AP News | |
| A topsy-turvy regional round in the NCAA baseball tournament has set up an intriguing set of eight super regionals featuring seven teams from the Southeastern Conference, just one from the Atlantic Coast Conference and four mid-major programs. Nine of the 16 national seeds advanced to super regionals but conspicuously absent are the top two, UCLA and Georgia Tech. Two No. 4 regional seeds, Little Rock and St. John's, reached the tournament's second weekend for the first time. Four of the best-of-three supers are Friday through Sunday: Cal Poly (39-22) at No. 16 national seed West Virginia (43-15); Little Rock (39-26) at Troy (36-30); Southern California (47-16) at No. 5 North Carolina (48-11-1); and Mississippi (39-21) at No. 4 Auburn (42-20). The four series Saturday through Monday: Oklahoma (36-22) at No. 15 Kansas (45-16); St. John's (36-24) at No. 7 Alabama (40-19); No. 11 Oregon (43-16) at No. 6 Texas (43-13); and No. 14 Mississippi State (43-17) at No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The SEC had seven of its 12 tournament teams get through regionals after having only four of 13 do so last year. College baseball’s most powerful conference has produced the last six national champions, 11 of the last 16 and have had a team in 15 of the last 16 CWS finals. |
| White House 'reviewing' college sports bill ahead of Senate hearing | |
 | The House and Senate could be headed toward a showdown over competing bills that would usher in major changes to college sports, but President Donald Trump has yet to make clear just what he would sign. The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday morning is slated to hear from expert witnesses as both chambers push differing versions of legislation to shake up college athletics' "name, image and likeness" policies, as well as its controversial transfer portal. As Congress worked on the bills in recent months, Trump has largely limited his public comments to criticism of court decisions that paved the way for the NIL era and references to New York Yankees President Randy Levine, who is on Trump's hand-picked college sports commission, as "working to straighten out college sports now." One lobbyist who represents several collegiate conferences, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said stakeholders have been monitoring that commission, as it has successfully been "drumming up interest" and "having meetings on and off the Hill." "I think the White House knows it's going to take legislation at this point. An executive order wouldn't have as much impact," the lobbyist said. |
| Citing 'critical issues,' SEC, Big Ten withhold support for bipartisan college sports bill | |
| The two biggest conferences in college sports released a statement Tuesday saying they do not support the current version of a bipartisan bill designed to regulate an industry struggling for answers in a quickly changing era in which some players make millions. The Southeastern and Big Ten conferences said the "bill leaves critical issues unresolved," including not "meaningfully" preempting state laws with a federal one, which has long been considered a key element for a measure to get support from the NCAA and the conferences. In an interview last week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who drafted the bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told The Associated Press "the bill is drafted to preempt state laws that conflict with the provisions in this bill." The SEC-Big Ten statement came out less than 24 hours before a scheduled hearing about the bill in front of the Senate Commerce Committee. Cruz chairs the panel and Cantwell is the ranking Democrat. |
| US Senate committee reacts to SEC-Big Ten statement, cites court-induced chaos, Power 2 consolidation | |
 | U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation reacted to a joint statement from the SEC and Big Ten on Tuesday in which it stated it was vital that Congress "fixes the court-induced chaos" and prevent "Power 2 consolidation." The statement, sent to AL.com by the committee communications director, Blair Taylor, was in response to the athletic conference statement which cited "critical issues" ahead of Wednesday's hearing on the Protect College Sports Act. "The SEC and Big Ten agree the current system is broken and that college sports needs a national framework," the statement read. "That's significant. "We look forward to receiving constructive feedback from both conferences, but it's vital that Congress fixes the court-induced chaos now rather than allow litigation, NIL bidding wars, and Power 2 consolidation to further destabilize college sports. "Inaction will mean the shuttering of storied football and basketball programs across the country and the cancellation of many more Olympic sports, which will rob opportunity from thousands of student athletes." Nick Saban will be among those in attendance when US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will convene a committee hearing titled, "Protecting College Sports: Supporting Student Athletes, Restoring Fair Competition, and Saving the Games Fans Love," on Wednesday at 8 a.m. (9 a.m. ET). |
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