| Thursday, April 3, 2025 |
| Mississippi State to remember Abraham Lincoln's assassination with lecture, exhibit | |
 | 160 years after the assassination of former President Abraham Lincoln, Mississippi State University Libraries will offer the public an opportunity to step back in time and experience one of the most shocking events in U.S. history. Hosted by the Williams Collection of Lincolniana archivist Kaelynn Edmondson and Susannah J. Ural, the Frank and Virginia Williams Chair for Abraham Lincoln and Civil War Studies and history professor, the April 14 program will feature a lecture and an exclusive guided tour of its newly curated Lincoln assassination exhibit. Event planners are hoping to illuminate the facts and myths surrounding the nation's first presidential assassination. "Lincoln's murder shocked the nation just as the Civil War was coming to an end," Ural said. "This event offers an opportunity to better understand the tragedy, how Americans responded, and its lasting impact on our country." The program is designed for university faculty, staff, students, and the public, welcoming anyone curious about history, especially because many are unaware of what actually happened regarding the assassination. Mississippi State has become known nationally as one of the leading research sites for the study of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras since the Grant Library opening and the Williams Collection donation in 2017. |
| MSU Libraries to host lecture, exhibit on Lincoln's assassination | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries will offer the public a chance to step back in time and learn more about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, which occurred 160 years ago. MSU will host a lecture and an exclusive guided tour of its newly curated Lincoln assassination exhibit on April 14. "Lincoln's murder shocked the nation just as the Civil War was coming to an end," said Susannah J. Ural, the Frank and Virginia Williams Chair for Abraham Lincoln and Civil War Studies and history professor. "This event offers an opportunity to better understand the tragedy, how Americans responded, and its lasting impact on our country." Ural's lecture "Our Great Loss: The Lincoln Assassination" will take attendees beyond the textbook version of events, unraveling the myths and mysteries that have endured since the 16th president's death. Featuring rare artifacts from the Williams Collection, the exhibit brings to life the way Americans first learned of Lincoln's murder, gripping investigation, dramatic trial and execution of the accused conspirators. Williams Collection of Lincolniana archivist Kaelynn Edmondson designed the new exhibit with the help of Angela Whitlock, curator of exhibits and engagement, exhibit designer Dianna Janus and Ural. MSU doctoral student Will Epping played a critical role in the exhibit's design. |
| Producers Plan to Plant More Corn, Less Cotton | |
| Row crop growers in Mississippi expect to plant more corn in 2025 than they did last year, but not as much cotton or as many soybeans. The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released its annual prospective plantings report March 31. Surveys are conducted with farm operators nationwide during the first two weeks of March each year to collect data on which row crops they plan to plant and how many acres. Will Maples, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the increase in corn acreage is driven by a better profitability outlook compared to other commodities. "Corn prices, compared to those of cotton and soybeans, have shown more strength throughout the winter," Maples said. "Inputs have come down from last year for most commodities, but profit margins will remain tight, even for corn." MSU Extension grain crop specialist Erick Larson said corn planting is well underway in Mississippi. "Planting progress is currently estimated at 30%, which is well ahead of recent years and the long-term average," said Larson, also a research professor with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. |
| Spruill narrowly escapes runoff in mayoral primary | |
 | Incumbent Lynn Spruill has won the Democratic mayoral primary, narrowly avoiding a runoff against former Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough. After all valid votes were counted, the unofficial total number of ballots stood at 2,792 according to City Clerk Lesa Hardin, placing the threshold to win outright at 1,397. In total Spruill received 1,422 (50.93%), Yarbrough received 1,252 (44.84%) and Starkville High School teacher Brenna Betts received 118 (4.23%). Spruill moves on to face Republican Roger Bassett in the June 3 general election. Spruill also said that she'd be reaching out to speak with Yarbrough in the near future to go over what his voters top priorities are and what he's heard from them directly during the campaign. "I want to make sure we're exploring what we can do to make sure those people who voted (for someone else) feel included and impacted by what we're doing," she said. "... I'm going to sit down with Charles. I've heard what he said in the forums but there's a difference between that and having a conversation about what he's hearing about people not feeling included. ... I want to find out where I'm lacking in that piece." Speaking with The Dispatch after the count finished, Yarbrough congratulated Spruill on her victory and thanked his supporters for getting out to vote. |
| Violent storms cut through the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing 3 | |
 | Violent storms and tornadoes tore through cities from Oklahoma to Indiana during what could be a record-setting period of deadly weather and flooding, destroying homes and sending debris nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) into the air in one location. Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Wednesday and early Thursday from Texas to West Virginia as storms hit those and other states. Forecasters attributed the violent weather to daytime heating combining with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation's midsection from the Gulf. The coming days were also forecast to bring the risk of potentially deadly flash flooding to the South and Midwest as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged. The potent storm system will bring "significant, life-threatening flash flooding" each day through Saturday, the National Weather Service said. With more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain possible over the next four days, the prolonged deluge "is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime," the weather service said. "Historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible." |
| Overnight storms bring damage to several Mississippi counties | |
| Storms that began Wednesday and went into Thursday morning brought damage to several Mississippi counties, according to Gov. Tate Reeves. "We have preliminary reports of damage in Tate, Marshall, Benton, and Tippah counties. Also Desoto and Alcorn counties have likely been affected," Reeves wrote on social media. Search and rescue teams from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency are on the ground to help local first responders. Reeves added that more damage information will be released when available. The Marshall County Sheriff's Office is discouraging anyone from traveling, unless it's for essential reasons, to allow emergency crews to work in affected areas. According to TVMO Community News in Holly Springs, a likely tornado touched down around 1:20 a.m. More severe weather is possible Thursday afternoon and evening in northwestern parts of Mississippi. Damaging winds and hail are the main threats, according to the National Weather Service. |
| Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network Emerging as Leader | |
| Mississippi has emerged as a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) workforce development, driving economic growth and attracting high-tech industries. At the forefront of this transformation is the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN) -- the nation's first and only statewide AI initiative. Under the leadership of Kollin Napier, Ph.D., MAIN is not only preparing Mississippi's workforce for the future but also setting a national precedent for how AI education and training can fuel innovation and industry expansion. "Mississippi's rise as a hub for high-tech industries is accelerating, fueled by record-breaking investments from companies like Amazon Web Services and Compass Datacenters," said Napier. "But to sustain this momentum, we must ensure that Mississippi's workforce is prepared for the jobs these investments bring. By showcasing our skilled, AI-ready workforce, we send a clear message: Mississippi is thriving and positioned for expansion." While these investments are gaining global attention, MAIN is also ensuring that AI-driven growth reaches businesses of all sizes. |
| House heads home without state budget agreement | |
| Sine die was scheduled for April 6th. But on Wednesday afternoon, Speaker of the House Jason White (R) gathered his members, thanked them for their service, and adjourned sine die. The decision effectively ends this year's legislative session without an approved state budget, meaning a special session will be required to reach agreement on the over $7 billion in spending prior to the start of the fiscal year on July 1st. The adjournment comes on the heels of a House decision not to participate in the customary "conference weekend" and Senate refusal to extend the session. Speaker White unveiled a resolution Wednesday afternoon that would have extended the 2025 session, suspend deadlines for certain spending bills, and set a new date for sine die (the end of the legislative session). White had explained the decision not to participate in conference weekend as part of a commitment not to rush the budget process and to increase transparency. Senate leaders were angered by the House failing to "show up for work." Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) called the House actions "chaotic" and "senseless" over the weekend. |
| Mississippi Legislature ends 2025 session without setting a budget over GOP infighting | |
| The House on Wednesday voted to end what had become a futile legislative session without passing a budget to fund state government, for the first time in 16 years. The Senate is expected to do the same on Thursday. The decision to leave the Capitol without funding government services means Gov. Tate Reeves would have to call legislators into a special session before government funding runs out on June 30 to avoid a shutdown. The governor could, based on previous legal rulings and opinions, run some agencies at least temporarily but many would be shuttered without a state budget in place. House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, both Republicans, blamed each other for failing to come to the negotiating table on ironing out a final $7 billion state budget. "They have ignored the deadlines, failed to show up repeatedly, taken their marbles home at least twice, and given us conflicting statements every other time," Hosemann said of the House. The 2025 session has been characterized by bitter GOP infighting between White and Hosemann and their leadership teams, with the two chambers killing much of each other's legislative priorities. |
| Mississippi legislative session to end without lawmakers passing budget | |
| The 2025 Mississippi legislative session, riddled with infighting among Republican officials in powerful positions, will come to an end without lawmakers passing a $7 billion budget to fund government operations. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution to suspend the rules and extend the session by a few days to address budget-related bills. However, House Concurrent Resolution 70 had a 5 p.m. deadline -- one the Senate did not meet. Instead of picking up the resolution, the Senate elected to return to the capitol on Thursday to continue its operations. The House, on the other hand, elected to end the regular session. "We had all planned to stay to work. That's what the calendar said. That's what we said we were going to do. This is what you do. You have conference weekend. We've had it for years and years. Everybody knows what conference weekend is. The rules didn't change on that, and the House decided to go home," Sen. Nicole Akins Boyd, R-Oxford, said. "The work was not done. The [House's] conference reports were not sent over signed." "We have Republican supermajorities in both of our chambers. We need to be working together," Boyd said. "I'm not happy with what I'm seeing within my party right now." |
| Mississippi revenue collections rise in March, new state budget up in the air | |
| The Legislative Budget Office released March's revenue report on Wednesday showing that total tax and revenue collections in Mississippi for the month were $21.8 million or 4.14 percent above legislative estimates. This brings the current fiscal year-to-date revenue collections to $8.5 million or 0.16 percent above estimates with three months remaining in the fiscal year. The FY 2025 Sine Die Revenue Estimate was $7.6 billion. According to the March report, general fund collections were down $53 million over the prior year, with sales tax, individual income tax and corporate income tax collections all coming in below the same month in the prior year. In total, revenue collections through March were down $71.7 million from the prior year. The updated revenue numbers come as lawmakers appear set to leave the Capitol without adopting a new state budget during the regular session. Mississippi's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. |
| Federal cuts to Mississippi health agencies surpass $230 million; will impact community health workers, bird flu efforts, substance use programs | |
| Cuts to public health and mental health funding in Mississippi have doubled -- reaching approximately $238 million -- since initial estimates last week, when cancellations to federal grants allocated for COVID-19 pandemic relief were first announced. Slashed funding to the state's health department will impact community health workers, planned improvements to the public health laboratory, the agency's ability to provide COVID-19 vaccinations and preparedness efforts for emerging pathogens, like H5 bird flu. The grant cancellations, which total $230 million, will not be catastrophic for the agency, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told members of the Mississippi House Democratic Caucus at the Capitol April 1. But they will set back the agency, which is still working to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated its workforce and exposed "serious deficiencies" in the agency's data collection and management systems. The cuts will have a more significant impact on the state's economy and agency subgrantees, who carry out public health work on the ground with health department grants, he said. "The agency is okay. But I'm very worried about all of our partners all over the state," Edney told lawmakers. |
| Mayor Lumumba's social media post prompts AG investigation | |
| A decision to post Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's Tuesday night campaign speech on Jackson's official social media page has led to an investigation into whether he, his campaign, or other city officials violated state statute. On Wednesday, Mary Asa Lee, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Lynn Fitch's Office confirmed an active investigation had been launched in the matter, hours after the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office asked the AG to look into it. At the heart of the investigation is whether the city violated state statute by livestreaming the mayor's fiery campaign speech on Tuesday to the "City of Jackson - Government" Facebook page. "Directing, requesting, or permitting an employee to render any aid to a candidate while the employee receives salary or is being paid is a violation of 23-15-871(3)," Secretary Michael Watson's office said in a statement. "Because this video was distributed via the city's official Facebook page, we have sent this to the Attorney General's Office as a potential violation." The city of Jackson removed the post of the mayor's campaign speech hours after this report was published. |
| Senate Republicans get ready to roll on revised budget | |
 | Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the text of a compromise budget blueprint Wednesday that's designed to pave the way for a major reconciliation package offering tax cuts, border security and defense funding and more. The measure would punt, for now, on the overall size of offsetting spending cuts, but the text clearly states a preference for a minimum $2 trillion in cuts over 10 years. Given the difficulty of achieving that hefty figure, however, the document provides a huge amount of wiggle room to go lower than that and still meet the Senate's "Byrd rule" requirements for what can go into a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill. And the draft budget resolution would provide enough fiscal headroom in the Senate to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts that expire after this year, while offering new tax breaks sought by President Donald Trump, such as exempting tips and overtime pay from income tax. The budget appears to carve out room for more than $5.2 trillion in tax cuts overall, including a $1.5 trillion cost ceiling on new provisions that weren't part of the 2017 law. Graham and other Senate Republicans met with Trump earlier on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the budget plan. Senate Republicans later met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Capitol. |
| Trump's Tariffs Aim to Create a New World Economic Order | |
 | The U.S. is moving to blow up the global trading order it built, ushering in an uncertain new era. President Trump's highly anticipated announcement Wednesday represents a high-stakes gamble to transform a global economic relationship that Trump for decades has said ripped off the U.S. -- even as the American economy had emerged from the pandemic as the envy of its rich-world peers. The president's moves raise the specter of a stagflationary shock that increases prices while putting more economies, including the U.S., at risk of recession. Trump stunned markets by announcing a suite of tariff hikes on major trading partners, including 20% for the European Union and 34% on China. The tax on imported goods, which also includes at least a 10% across-the-board increase on all countries, will raise overall weighted-average tariffs to 23% -- the highest in over 100 years -- from 10% before the announcement and 2.5% last year, according to JPMorgan Chase. Economists said Trump's policy shift, if it isn't rolled back, could rival President Richard Nixon's 1971 decision to overturn arrangements created by the U.S. and its wartime allies during World War II, when Washington had agreed to exchange dollars for gold at a rate of $35 an ounce. |
| Tariffs threaten to upend markets American farmers depend on | |
 | U.S. row crop farmers produce enormous quantities of food, and they depend on selling lots of it overseas. They thrive under free trade policies. They're also big spenders, laying out billions on the heavy equipment, seed and fertilizer they use. Which makes them doubly vulnerable to tariffs. "These tariffs are just absolutely bad news," said Vance Ehmke from the western Kansas farm his ancestors homesteaded in 1885. "They cause the prices for everything that we buy to go up, and the price for everything that we sell to go down. I mean, it is being economically drawn and quartered." Lots of farmers say they were stretched to the breaking point before the tariffs took hold. The price of tractors has jumped 50% in five years, according to Successful Farming magazine; fertilizer has more than doubled, but commodity prices are low. Ehmke said the price of wheat started to climb earlier this year but plummeted when Trump began talking about broad tariffs. "More than 20% of farm income comes from exports," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall in a statement responding to the latest round of tariffs. "Tariffs will drive up the cost of critical supplies, and retaliatory tariffs will make American-grown products more expensive globally. The combination not only threatens farmers' competitiveness in the short-term, but it may cause long-term damage by leading to losses in market share," said Duvall. |
| Trump: McConnell and Paul 'unbelievably disloyal' for potentially opposing Canada tariffs | |
 | Both of Kentucky's U.S. Senators are drawing the intrigue of Washington and ire of President Donald Trump for their opposition to his push on tariffs. Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell could join Democrats and a few of their Republican colleagues to scuttle Trump's efforts to place tariffs on goods coming from Canada, a longtime ally of the United States. If the effort were to pass a Senate vote, it would still need to survive the House and Trump's veto pen -- Trump has said it would not pass through either of those steps. Trump lumped McConnell and Paul alongside moderate Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, in a post to his social media platform Truth Social early Wednesday morning. The president also called the four Senate Republicans "unbelievably disloyal" in sowing disunity among Washington Republicans. Paul and McConnell aren't used to aligning on much. McConnell supported Paul's primary opponent in 2010 when the junior senator first won his seat, kicking off an at-times distant relationship between the more traditionalist McConnell and Paul, who rode the Tea Party wave into office. On the matter of keeping markets mostly free from tariffs, however, they agree. |
| Trump's sweeping tariffs could mean a US recession, much higher inflation, economists say | |
 | The sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, combined with his other import levies, likely would plunge the nation and world into a deep recession if he follows through on the plan, economists say. It's likely, however that the White House will provide carveouts, exceptions and subsidies that would allow the U.S. to narrowly avoid a downturn but still bring the economy to a standstill, said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics. The most far-reaching version of Trump's strategy would raise the effective, or average, tariff on U.S. imports to about 20%, comparable to the heavy import duties the nation imposed in the 1930s and that contributed to the Great Depression, Zandi said. Before Trump took office, the average U.S. tariff rate was about 3%. If the 20% average tariff is imposed and kept in place for more than a few months, and U.S. trading partners retaliate in kind, "the U.S. and global economies will not suffer a depression, but they will suffer serious recessions," Zandi said. Zandi said it's more likely U.S. officials will agree to carveouts, exceptions and subsidies to American farmers, and some countries won't retaliate or will do so mildly. In that case, he said, the effective tariff rate would rise to 15% and U.S. economy would stagnate but dodge a recession. |
| Dow drops 1,500 as US stock market leads a worldwide sell-off following Trump's tariff shock | |
| Financial markets around the world are reeling Thursday following President Donald Trump's latest and most severe volley of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market may be taking the worst of it. The S&P 500 was down 4% in morning trading, worse than the drops for other major stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,520 points, or 3.6%, as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.0% lower. Little was spared as fear flared globally about the potentially toxic mix of higher inflation and weakening economic growth that tariffs can create. Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies fell. Even gold, which has hit records recently as investors sought something safer to own, pulled lower. Some of the worst hits walloped smaller U.S. companies, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks dropped more than 5% into what's called a "bear market" after losing more than 20% from its record. Investors worldwide knew Trump was going to announce a sweeping set of tariffs late Wednesday, and fears surrounding it had already pulled the S&P 500 10% below its all-time high last month. But Trump still managed to surprise them with "the worst case scenario for tariffs," according to Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment officer at Sanctuary Wealth. Wall Street had long assumed Trump would use tariffs merely as a tool for negotiations with other countries, rather than as a long-term policy. But Wednesday's announcement may suggest Trump sees tariffs more as helping to solve an ideological goal -- wresting manufacturing jobs back to the United States, for example -- than just an opening bet in a poker game. |
| Trump and DOGE Defund Program That Boosted American Manufacturing for Decades | |
 | At the height of the US trade war with Japan in the 1980s, Congress established a nationwide network of organizations to advise small American manufacturers on how to survive and grow in what was then a particularly difficult environment. Decades later, there is now at least one Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) center in all 50 states, and they continue to provide taxpayer-subsidized consulting to thousands of businesses, including makers of ovens, printers, tortillas, and dog food. But on Tuesday, shortly before the president announced sweeping tariffs on global imports, Trump administration officials informed members of Congress that it was withholding funding for some MEP centers because their work no longer aligns with government priorities. The Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which administers the program to help manufacturers, emailed lawmakers to say that it would not be paying out nearly $12.9 million that had been due overall this week to MEP centers in 10 states, according to Democratic staff of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology who spoke on the condition of anonymity. NIST spends under $200 million annually on the MEP program, with most of the money passed on to states and Puerto Rico in batches of payments. The congressional aides tell WIRED that they expect all remaining centers will lose their funding over the next year or so, as their next checks come due. Depending on the state, centers are operated by universities, government agencies, or independent nonprofits. |
| Musk could be headed for a Washington exit after turbulent times at Trump's DOGE | |
| DOGE's days appear to be numbered. Elon Musk recently suggested that he will be done with his work in the near future. President Donald Trump told reporters this week that "at some point, he's going to be going back" to running his companies. As far as the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said "it will end." All of that talk was before Musk faced a setback Tuesday in Wisconsin, where voters rejected his choice for a state Supreme Court candidate despite more than $21 million in personal donations and his campaign appearance over the weekend. There are more problems for the billionaire entrepreneur at Tesla, his electric automaker, which saw a 13% drop in sales in the first three months of the year. The White House has not disclosed any clear timeline for closing down DOGE, and the government cost-cutting organization was never supposed to become a permanent fixture in Washington. But it could be reaching a conclusion faster than anticipated. DOGE was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026. Now there are signs that it already is winding down. DOGE employees have been shifted to various federal agencies, which are supposed to take the lead on cutting costs. Government-wide layoffs are underway to accomplish some of the goals laid out by Musk and Trump. |
| Layoff announcements surge to the most since the pandemic as Musk's DOGE slices federal labor force | |
| A surge in federal government job cuts contributed to a near record-setting pace for announced layoffs in March, exceeded only by when the country shut down in 2020 for the Covid pandemic, according to a report Thursday from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Furloughs in the federal government totaled 216,215 for the month, part of a total 275,240 reductions overall in the labor force. Some 280,253 layoffs across 27 agencies in the past two months have been linked to the Elon Musk-led so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its efforts to pare down the federal workforce. The monthly total was surpassed only by April and May of 2020 in the early days of the pandemic when employers announced combined reductions of more than 1 million, according to Challenger records going back to 1989. It also was the highest March on record. "Job cut announcements were dominated last month by Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] plans to eliminate positions in the federal government," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert at the firm. "It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs." However, DOGE has continued to cut aggressively across the government. |
| U.S.D.A. Freezes Funding for Maine Amid Battle Over Transgender Athletes | |
 | The Department of Agriculture said on Thursday that it had frozen federal funding for education programs in Maine, the latest in a barrage of actions targeting the state since its Democratic governor, Janet Mills, sparred with President Trump over the issue of transgender athletes at the White House in February. The agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, notified Ms. Mills in a letter that funding would be stopped while the agency reviews grants awarded to Maine by the Biden administration, many of which "appear to be wasteful, redundant, or otherwise against the priorities of the Trump administration," Ms. Rollins wrote in the letter, according to a statement. It was not immediately clear which educational programs would be affected by the funding freeze. The government's statement said its latest action would not alter "federal feeding programs or direct assistance to citizens." The escalating conflict has spurred protests for and against Ms. Mills in the politically divided state, where temporary cuts to grant-funded programs at the University of Maine threatened to curtail coastal research used to manage the state's fisheries and protect its waterfront from rising seas. |
| Maker of a life-saving peanut paste reflects on the impact of USAID international aid cuts | |
| Mark Moore is the co-founder & CEO of Mana Nutrition, an organization that produces nutritional peanut paste distributed to children experiencing malnutrition. Mana now employs roughly 130 people and has a production plant located in Fitzgerald, Georgia. By and large, USAID has been Mana's largest customer. But since the start of the year, it's been "a kind of a yo-yo effect," Moore told Marketpace's Nancy Marshall-Genzer last month. Back in January, Moore was informed that his contracts with USAID were on pause. Then, they were unpaused, then abruptly canceled before finally being restarted. The government currently owes him north of $20 million. Moore spoke extensively with Marketplace's Nancy Marshall-Genzer in late March about Mana, how the organization is faring amid the confusing back-and-forth status of USAID contracts, what the costs and benefits of life-saving peanut paste are, as well as what could happen if supply lines are disrupted this summer. USAID funding for Mana's shippers and distributors has been cut. |
| Mississippi Legislature approves DEI ban after heated debate | |
| Mississippi lawmakers have reached an agreement to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs and a list of "divisive concepts" from public schools across the state education system, following the lead of numerous other Republican-controlled states and President Donald Trump's administration. House and Senate lawmakers approved a compromise bill in votes on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will likely head to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for his signature after it clears a procedural motion. The agreement between the Republican-dominated chambers followed hours of heated debate in which Democrats, almost all of whom are Black, excoriated the legislation as a setback in the long struggle to make Mississippi a fairer place for minorities. They also said the bill could bog universities down with costly legal fights and erode academic freedom. The House and Senate disagreed on how to enforce the measure but ultimately settled on an agreement that would empower students, parents of minor students, faculty members and contractors to sue schools for violating the law. People could only sue after they go through an internal campus review process and a 25-day period when schools could fix the alleged violation. |
| UM adopts three new degree paths | |
 | The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning recently approved three new degree programs at the University of Mississippi. These include a Bachelor of Arts in sport management in the School of Applied Sciences, a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies in the College of Liberal Arts and a Master of Arts in teaching in elementary education in the School of Education. The current Bachelor of Arts in sports and recreation management program in the School of Applied Sciences Department of Health will change to a Bachelor of Arts in sport management. The new Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies builds upon an existing minor at the university due to increased faculty interest and a private donation from Steven B. King, an alumnus from St. Louis. In response to the statewide teacher shortage that followed the COVID-19 pandemic , UM launched a new Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education. This follows the Mississippi Department of Education's expansion of its Alternative Route Pathway to Elementary Education. |
| Madison senior secures summer internship in D.C. | |
| McKaylen Baldridge has been accepted into the Science, Space, and Technology Internship program in Washington, D.C. Baldridge, a senior business marketing major at the University of Mississippi, will head to D.C. this summer for the internship, which runs from May 13 through July 26. The program is with the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, which supports representatives by reviewing bills and conducting investigations on space policy, artificial intelligence, environmental impacts, and more. The committee has several subcommittees, including Energy, Environment, Investigations and Oversight, Research and Technology, and Space and Aeronautics -- the latter being Baldridge's primary area of interest. Last summer, she interned for U.S. Rep. Michael Guest in D.C., preparing extensively beforehand. That experience taught her the value of initiative and networking, skills she believes are crucial not just for internships but for her future career. Her advice to students applying for internships is to make an impression, take initiative, and embrace every responsibility given to them. |
| Honors Week at the U. of Alabama: What to know | |
 | The University of Alabama will highlight the achievements of outstanding students and faculty during Honors Week March 31-April 4. Celebrations will culminate with the annual Tapping on the Mound ceremony on Honors Day. The Tapping on the Mound ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. April 4, on the historic Mound at the west side of the UA Quad. If it rains, the ceremony will move to the UA Student Center Ballroom. The ceremony has been a university tradition since the early 1900s. University honor groups Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, Blue Key National Honor Society and Anderson Society will induct members. Awards for outstanding students and other special awards will also be presented during the ceremony. Spring commencement will be May 2-4 at Coleman Coliseum. About 6,700 students are expected to graduate, with about 6,000 of those participating in these ceremonies. |
| Auburn students and community celebrate Persian New Year | |
| On Saturday, March 29, Auburn University's Iranian Student Association hosted its annual Nowruz Celebration in the Student Activities Center. This year, the ticketed event for all ages had an attendance of over 140 people, comprised mainly of members of the IRSA, their families, friends and Persian community members. Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is an ancient holiday among the oldest in the world, dating back to the Zoroastrian period. It celebrates the ringing in of a new spring season and a chance to clean out negativity and clutter within one's personal life. "Nowruz is a festive and culturally rich occasion that celebrates the arrival of spring and the Persian New Year," said Hossein Jahromi, professor in biosystems engineering at Auburn. Jahromi has served as an IRSA faculty advisor for three and a half years, which he described as "a great privilege." Nowruz is the Iranian Student Association's largest event of the semester and a great opportunity for the community to get involved in celebrating diverse cultures with Auburn students. |
| Tenn. bill targeting affirmative action opens door for universities, colleges to be sued | |
| Tuesday, there was a heated debate in the Tennessee House Education Committee over allowing students negatively impacted by affirmative action the chance to sue colleges and universities. The Supreme Court already banned affirmative action based on race and ethnicity. This bill if passed into law would just take things to the next level. Republicans said these guidelines are needed while Democrats claim the legislation is an anti-diversity crusade. The bill passed 15-4 and is inching its way closer to the House and Senate floor. Parents who are for the bill said it's frustrating equity is used as an excuse to not admit their kids to college. Parents against the bill said it targets marginalized communities. The measure hit the Tennessee General Assembly to stop affirmative action in higher education through admissions, scholarships, and financial aid. Tennessee's legislation would allow someone to sue a university or college if they don't comply. |
| Blackburn, Hagerty praise Trump's 'decisive' TVA firings and plan to confirm new board | |
 | Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty told Knox News the Trump administration's firings of two members of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors will provide space for the Senate to confirm new board members who will bolster Tennessee's effort to lead on nuclear energy. The senators play a large role in recommending members for the Trump administration to nominate to the board, which governs the Knoxville-based federal utility. Blackburn and Hagerty laid out a vision for a new board at TVA in an op-ed published March 20 in POWER Magazine, in which they argued the current board had "fallen victim to paralysis by analysis" on new nuclear technologies and was too focused on diversity of TVA executives. Tennessee has become a hub of new nuclear development, thanks largely to TVA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, which form a powerful trifecta for nuclear research and operations. Gov. Bill Lee set aside millions for a state nuclear fund and formed a nuclear energy advisory council in 2023. |
| U. of South Carolina student killed in hit-and-run crash near campus and a man is arrested, officials say | |
 | One man was killed Wednesday and another was arrested following a hit-and-run crash near the campus of the University of South Carolina, according to the Columbia Police Department. The victim was a USC student, university spokesman Jeffrey Stensland told The State Thursday. Nathanial "Nate" Baker -- a 21-year-old junior, who was a business major from Glen Allen, Virginia -- died in the wreck, Stensland said. At about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said officers with the department's traffic safety unit were investigating a fatal collision that involved a motorcycle and a pickup truck. A male victim riding a motorcycle was hit by a pickup, also driven by a man, police said. The pickup driver is 24-year-old Rosali Fernandez Cruz, police confirmed to The State on Thursday. Fernandez Cruz, along with the other occupants of the pickup, left the scene after the collision, according to police. A traffic officer "captured (and) arrested" Fernandez Cruz, who has been charged with hit-and-run resulting in death, failure to render aid and driving without a license, police said. USC counseling staff is working with those impacted by Baker's death, and services are available to any member of the campus community "affected by this tragedy," Stensland said. |
| U. of Missouri makes strides to increase footprint of research reactor | |
 | The head of a nuclear power trade group made his case Wednesday that despite the notorious cost of constructing new nuclear plants, he thinks it will pay off. American Nuclear Society Craig Piercy was University of Missouri President Mun Choi's guest in Choi's Distinguished Lecture Series ahead of a ribbon cutting of a 47,000 square foot addition to the research reactor on the MU campus. Piercy touted what he sees as nuclear power's capacity to solve the problem of growing energy demand, despite its cost. He told those gathered at Monsanto Auditorium that it's an exciting time for nuclear power as new plants are built, and there are plans to reopen previously shuttered facilities. "If we're building a future that we think is a better future, we need to be investing, we need to be looking forward," Piercy said. "We can't just be thinking about what the price of electricity is on Tuesday." When introducing his guest for the third "President's Distinguished Lecture," Choi called the university a "nuclear powerhouse" due to the work of the University of Missouri Research Reactor, or MURR. |
| Trump and Musk Set Their Sights on Humanities Cuts | |
 | The Department of Government Efficiency has struck higher ed institutions once again -- this time through the National Endowment for the Humanities. Leaders of the agency -- which supports research, innovation and preservation in disciplines related to culture, society and values -- told staff members Tuesday that the Trump administration intends to make substantial reductions in staff, slash the agency's grant programs and rescind grants that have already been awarded. Humanities advocates don't know exactly how large the cuts to NEH's approximately 180-person staff or $78.25 million grant budget will be, but they note that "patterns at other agencies" provide a solid hint. The impact on colleges and universities, they say, would be crushing. Now Trump is turning his focus from educational infrastructure and sciences to history, literature and philosophy. Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association, believes the move is "sending a message." The cut "adds up to a huge net loss for all of higher education" and suggests "it is not worth investing in the study of our culture and the culture of others," Krebs said. "In the larger context of DOGE cuts, the nation is saying that it's not worth investing in the study of anything at all." |
| As Cuts Pile Up, Can Scientists Win Back the Public? | |
 | Meghan Gallo has written thousands of words in grants and publications, often in complex scientific terms. But in a minute-long video recently posted on Instagram, the postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University keeps things short and simple, offering bite-sized wisdom about her research on brain plasticity. It's part of a social-media campaign Gallo helped launch to pull back the veil on the people behind the microscopes, with the goal of translating research for everyday Americans. Support for science -- from the public and politicians on either side of the aisle -- has scarcely wavered in the past few decades. But over the past two months, as federal research grants have been yanked, paused, capped, and canceled by the Trump administration, many scientists fear they've taken those subsidies for granted. "Maybe the public doesn't know as much about what the ongoing cutting-edge research looks like, and how public funding helps it," Gallo said. "As a scientist, I can say I'm a big part of the problem, because I spend most of my days in a lab, in a closet-sized room on a microscope." Gallo is part of a budding movement of researchers who are devoting fresh attention to scientific communication -- not as a separate field, but as essentially integrated with discovery. |
| Trump crackdown casts chill over international student programs | |
 | Colleges are increasingly worried about President Trump scaring away their international students. More than a million foreign-born scholars attend U.S. universities every year, bringing billions of dollars to the economy and a pipeline of high-value workers. But Trump's crackdown on student demonstrators, coming alongside his attacks on higher education more broadly, could have them looking elsewhere. "The Trump administration is purportedly trying to improve the economic and business climate for U.S.-based companies, and to grow American jobs and salaries. But the apprehension now felt by countless prospective international students and their families are undermining those very important goals," said Eddie West, assistant vice president of international affairs at California State University, Fresno. In the 2023-2024 academic year, there were approximately 1.1 million foreign students who contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy, according to data collected by the Association for International Educators, or NAFSA, and JB International. Those numbers represent both a record and the third straight year of growth after the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| College has never felt more uncertain for America's teens | |
| In recent weeks, colleges and universities have found themselves at the center of the Trump administration's efforts to reshape American society and culture. As the administration extracts concessions from universities and seeks to deport students based on their participation in protests, experts are raising questions about the future of the American academy and the country's larger place on the world stage. A lot of rising college freshmen have a different, more basic anxiety, however: They just want to know if they'll be able to pay for school. The Trump administration's highly publicized efforts to dismantle the Education Department have some students questioning if federal student aid even still exists, according to nonprofits that support college access. "Students are wondering if the FAFSA is still available," Marcos Montes, policy director of the Southern California College Attainment Network, told me. Others are concerned that they won't be able to get federal Pell grants or other financial aid they need to attend college, said Karla Robles-Reyes, chief program officer at OneGoal, a nonprofit that helps low-income students with college access. Graduating seniors are concerned about other issues too, like whether they'll be able to exercise their freedom of speech on campus. But a lot of young people's biggest worries are about "the critical resources that they need to pursue their higher education," Robles-Reyes said -- and whether those resources are still available under Trump. |
| A great Mississippi journalist retires | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: Mississippi experienced the retirement of its all-time best editorial writer last week. Tim Kalich, editor and publisher of the Greenwood Commonwealth for more than 35 years, retired. Tim is one of my dearest friends, more like a brother, and we have worked together for decades, toiling in the fields of local professional journalism. ... Just as Tim was meticulous in running a newspaper, he was meticulous in planning his retirement, promising his wife Betty Gail years ago that one day he would turn his attention to her and not work. Like everything Tim has done, he fulfilled his promise. So when Tim called me several months ago and asked if I could have lunch with him at Bravo, I knew what was up. I was filled with a sense of dread, but hoped for the best. When he broke the news as we broke bread, I reacted more strongly than I had planned. A sense of profound sorrow swept over me... I'm not sure what is in store for the future of professional local news. Quite frankly, it is dying and I am doing everything I can do to save it in my beloved state of Mississippi. But I do know this: There was never a better newspaperman than Tim Kalich. The loss of Tim, and others like him, is heartbreaking. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: Ron Polk Ring Of Honor Ceremony Set For Saturday | |
| Mississippi State will induct the seventh class of the Ron Polk Ring of Honor in a ceremony on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in the Adkerson Plaza at Dudy Noble Field. Mitch Moreland (2005-07), Ted Milton (1969-72) and the late Mike Proffitt (1969-72) will be enshrined among other Diamond Dawg legends as members of the 2025 class. The Ring of Honor Ceremony is open to the public and will take place prior to Game 2 of the Diamond Dawgs series with South Carolina, which is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The Ring of Honor is named after legendary head coach Ron Polk, who led the Bulldogs from 1976-97 and again from 2002-08. Affectionately referred to as the Godfather of Southeastern Conference baseball, Polk served 31 years as head coach in the league, including a stint at the University of Georgia (2000-01). A true dual-position athlete, Moreland saved his best season for his last year at Mississippi State as he hit .343 with 26 doubles as a junior. Milton was a standout member of the Diamond Dawgs from 1969-72. During the 1970 season, Milton finished the year with five triples, which following the season, was tied for the program record. For over seven years, Milton held the school record for career triples with 14 over the 151 games he played in. A four-year letter winner for the Maroon and White, Mike Proffitt etched his own name into the Mississippi State record book. Proffitt sits in the top 10 of eight different career and single-season records at MSU. |
| Gamecocks snap losing streak with run-rule win over Presbyterian | |
| After Sunday's loss to No. 1 Tennessee pushed the Gamecocks' losing streak to seven games, South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri declared that Tuesday night's midweek game against Presbyterian would be treated like "it's the seventh game in the World Series. Whatever it takes to win we need to win a baseball game." It wasn't pretty at times, but the losing streak is over after an 11-1 run-rule victory over the Blue Hose at Founders Park. Now it's time for South Carolina to refocus and turn their attention to getting on track in SEC play this coming weekend on the road against Mississippi State. "It's nice to win a game. I guess that's the understatement of the day," Mainieri said. "There were several good things tonight. Several clutch hits and balls hit hard with runners in scoring position. Bottom line, it was just good to win a game and get ready to go to Starkville." "We've had some adversity, but I feel like every good team will eventually deal with some adversity, but the past is in the past," junior Nathan Hall said. "The next most important game is Mississippi State. We know we're a good team and we got better in that stretch in the past." Mainieri is hoping to turn the recent rough stretch into something different over the next several weeks. |
| Oklahoma transfer Brenen Thompson experiencing smooth transition to State's program | |
| Spending the past two seasons at Oklahoma, new Mississippi State receiver and rising senior Brenen Thompson was well-acquainted with Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby. Thompson played for Lebby in the 2023 season when Lebby was Oklahoma's offensive coordinator and totaled 26 catches for 471 yards and four touchdowns the past two seasons. Naturally, Thompson had a good idea of Lebby's system and that played a major role in his college decision once he entered the transfer portal. Recently, Thompson talked of that relationship in his first interview with the media since arriving at Mississippi State: Q: What have the first few spring practices been like for you. Thompson: It's been amazing. The energy has been high, guys have been flying. So it's been good. |
| New MDWFP Huntfish app is one-stop shop | |
 | Having trouble with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks app on your phone? That's because there's a new app in town and it offers more features than the old one. "We have a number of people trying to use the old app," said Jason Thompson, director of administrative services with MDWFP. "Now, we have a new app." Thompson said that in previous years, functions were under different systems. For instance, applications for draw hunts were in one system while checking in and out of wildlife management areas were done in another. Under the new MDWFP Huntfish app, those features and many more are all in one place. "It's an all-in-one, one-stop shop," Thompson said. "Now, draw hunts can be done in the same system that you purchase your hunting and fishing licenses in." Thompson said the new app and its expanded range of features will give hunters and fishers in Mississippi a more user-friendly experience in doing a variety of things. |
| Sources: Chris Beard to stay at Ole Miss after Texas A&M link | |
| Chris Beard has informed Ole Miss that he is staying at the school, sources told ESPN on Wednesday, following discussions he had with Texas A&M over its head coach vacancy. Beard is set to receive a raise, more resources for staff and a stronger NIL package, sources said. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter posted a photo of himself with Beard on Wednesday afternoon. Beard just finished his second season with the Rebels, leading them to a Sweet 16 appearance, where they lost to 2-seed Michigan State. In two years in Oxford, he's 44-24. He has strong ties to the state of Texas, going to the University of Texas as an undergrad and coaching at seven colleges in the state. He led Texas Tech to the national championship game in 2019 and spent a season and a half at Texas before he was fired following an arrest on a felony domestic violence charge that was later dismissed. Texas A&M is looking to replace Buzz Williams, who left Tuesday to take over at Maryland. Williams was in College Station for six seasons, leading the Aggies to each of the past three NCAA tournaments. |
| The Data-Obsessed Coach Who's Challenging College Basketball's Golden Rule | |
| Four years ago, a young basketball coach at the University of San Francisco named Todd Golden sat down in front of a computer to deliver a presentation on data. His 30-minute spiel, entitled "Analytics in Basketball: Winning in the Margins," covered a range of topics that might cause even the biggest basketball nerds to doze off, from formulas for calculating advanced statistics to heat maps showing how shot selection has evolved over time. But one of the ideas he discussed in detail wasn't just a little wonky. It was a revolutionary notion that challenged one of the core tenets of college basketball orthodoxy. "What you see a lot of coaches do, and I don't want to call them old school..." Golden said, before launching into his premise. When a player collects two fouls in the first half, coaches typically send them straight to the bench to avoid a scenario where they pick up a third and are dangerously close to fouling out before halftime. This seemed like a perfectly logical strategy, Golden explained. Except it was a load of bunk. Why, he asked, should coaches keep their best players out of the game and limit their playing time over a fear of something that might never happen? |
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