| Monday, July 6, 2026 |
| MSU honors veterans with campus memorial tour on America's 250th anniversary | |
 | As the United States celebrated its historic 250th anniversary of independence this weekend, Mississippi State University reaffirmed its deep-rooted commitment to its nation's veterans on Friday. MSU President Mark E. Keenum and First Lady Rhonda Keenum marked the Semiquincentennial with a personal tour of the campus's historic landmarks and memorials that honor the generations of veterans and military service members who have defended American democracy over the nation's history. The university's 19th president laid memorial wreaths at two of the sites on behalf of the university's students, faculty, staff and alumni. "This is a special time to honor American exceptionalism and global leadership and certainly Mississippi State's important role in that as a comprehensive land-grant research university," said Keenum. "Our scholars and researchers have significantly contributed to scientific discovery, consistent improvements in the human condition, and the hard and steady work of building a nation and growing an economy. But at this juncture, it is important to pause and remember the sacrifices of the thousands of MSU students who faithfully answered the call of their nation in times of global peril and uncertainty." |
| Marty, Linda Davidson gift aids MSU Riley Center operation, mission | |
 | A new endowment from Marty and Linda Davidson of Meridian will ensure the continued growth of art, education and community engagement at Mississippi State University's Riley Center. MSU's Riley Center is a multifaceted and historic facility, hub of the MSU-Meridian campus and a centerpiece of downtown Meridian. Serving as a cornerstone and cultural anchor of the community's economy, it includes a grand operatic theater with seating for nearly 1,000 and brings more than 80,000 visitors and 100 events per year to the city. MSU showcases a broad range of high-caliber performances through the Riley Center, hosting nationally known artists and entertainers. The facility also hosts educational conferences and events, including middle school- and high school-student events, and engages with a network of restaurant, retail and hotel enterprises. "Their generosity strengthens our ability to create memorable experiences for everyone who walks through our doors," said Morgan Dudley, MSU Riley Center executive director. "They are helping ensure we can continue to be a place where community, education and the arts thrive together, and we are profoundly thankful for their support and their belief in the Riley Center's impact." |
| MSU Senior Nurse Recognized by Mississippi Legislature | |
 | As Mississippi State prepares to seat its largest Master of Science in Nursing cohort yet with 52 incoming students, the Mississippi Legislature has recognized the university's inaugural Senior Nurse Fellow, Kim Welch Hoover, for her more than 40 years of excellence in healthcare. Hoover "has made a lasting impact on her patients, students and colleagues during her decades-long career in the healthcare field," states House Concurrent Resolution No. 46 1 A. The Ridgeland resident, who began her MSU fellowship in fall 2025, said she was surprised and humbled to learn of the commendation, adding that her achievements were not accomplished alone. "I've worked with wonderful mentors, leadership teams, faculty, staff and students during my career," she said. MSU Dean of Nursing Mary Stewart said Hoover is a model of what the nursing profession can and should be. The resolution additionally praised Hoover's work at MSU in helping to identify and develop innovative solutions to nursing workforce challenges through a unique ability to represent a range of stakeholder viewpoints and bring together a broad network of healthcare leaders. |
| Watermelons, blueberries devastated by summer rain | |
| While some areas of Mississippi are still experiencing drought, recent double-digit rainfall in southern portions of the state devastated fruit and vegetable crops. Watermelons and blueberries are primarily grown in the southern half of the state, and growers there have seen high yield losses. "Some watermelon growers say they lost as much as 90% of their crop," said Heath Steede, Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in George County. "Others say their losses fall somewhere between 60% and 90%." Both Steede and Eric Stafne, Extension fruit and nut specialist based in Poplarville at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, said they have received at least 30 inches of rain during mid-May to mid-June. Some areas have gotten even more. Row crops, on the other hand, are faring much better. Steede said in his area, row crops are doing well. Insect and weed management have been the main challenges for cotton producers because of frequent rains, said Brian Pieralisi, Extension cotton specialist. |
| Starkville eyes hotel tax for short-term rentals | |
 | Aldermen are set to consider making short-term rentals in the city subject to the 2% hotel tax. The board's regular meeting on Tuesday will include one of at least two public hearings on proposed changes to the rental housing section of Unified Development Code to include and set requirements for short-term rentals. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the proposed amendment was sparked by legislative changes making all short-term rentals eligible for state and local lodging taxes. "We're just wanting to be able to get the 1%, 2% (tax), make sure the ... accommodations are appropriate and have some measure of understanding of how many we've got," Spruill told The Dispatch on Thursday. "That helps us also understand how it's impacting, for example, our residential neighborhoods." The state of Mississippi collects a 7% sales tax on hotel and motel rooms, and some local governments, including Starkville, impose an additional 2% local tax on the same properties. The city also imposes an additional 1% parks and recreation tax that applies to hotel and motel rooms. During the 2025 session, state lawmakers amended the tax law to explicitly include rentals brokered through third-party entities, like Airbnb and VRBO, so long as the governing authority formally votes to include them. |
| Mayor wants free city flights for airline subsidy | |
| Golden Triangle Regional Airport is looking to shore up a $300,000 subsidy to support the second year of westbound flights to Dallas/Fort Worth. For Columbus' $75,000 share of that subsidy, Mayor Stephen Jones thinks city representatives should fly free for official business. "If it's city business, why couldn't we get any seats?" Jones asked GTRA Executive Director Matt Dowell during a city council work session Thursday at City Hall. "Because we're spending a lot of money. Basically we're paying for those seats anyway." GTRA partnered with American Airlines in May 2025 to offer westbound flights through operator SkyWest Airlines. The airport's stakeholders -- Lowndes County and Columbus (25% each), Oktibbeha County and Starkville (20% each) and Clay County and West Point (5% each) -- approved $500,000 in subsidies in 2014 that the airline used more than a decade later to cover revenue loss during its first year of service. Dowell told the council Thursday the additional $300,000 in subsidies, broken down by the same percentages among the stakeholders, would "de-risk" the service during its second year as it navigates higher operating costs, particularly fuel. The subsidies would be used "as needed," he said. "It's really paying for any kind of loss in revenue, so we aren't actually paying for empty seats," Dowell told Jones in response to his question. |
| Target begins hiring process for Tupelo store | |
 | Three months out from opening its long-awaited store in Tupelo, Target is accepting applications on its website. Starting pay for hourly positions is $15. A media relations representative for the retailer confirmed the company had begun hiring but declined to provide additional information about the store. "Yes, we're currently hiring for this location. As we get closer to the store opening, we'll be able to share more details -- including how the shopping experience will be tailored for local guests, as well as the grand opening date," the representative said. The 148,700-square-foot Tupelo store will join six other stores currently operating in the state. A Target store typically employs 150 to 250 part-time and full time employees. Hiring for some management positions for the store was announced several weeks ago, including executive team leader-service engagement, or assistant manager-front end. |
| COURTNEY TAYLOR: AccelerateMS Director: Commitment to state, economic opportunities | |
| Dr. Courtney Taylor brings drive, determination and a sense of purpose to everything she does, not only in life but in her profession. And her adopted state of Mississippi is all the better for it. As the current Executive Director of AccelerateMS, a position she has held since March, 2024, Taylor leads numerous efforts to enhance Mississippi's workforce development landscape. In her role, she collaborates closely with community colleges, universities, employers, economic developers, and other stakeholders to bolster the state's workforce initiatives. Prior to assuming her current position at the organization, Taylor served as the Deputy Director of Strategy and Programs for the organization, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the organization's strategic direction and overseeing key programs aimed at driving economic growth and workforce development. |
| Why labor force participation has been trending lower for years | |
| Thursday's June jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics painted a less-than-optimal picture. The economy added 57,000 new jobs (which was much lower than expected) and wage growth picked up a little (but it's still not keeping up with inflation). It also demonstrated an ongoing trend in the job market -- namely, that fewer people are participating in it. The labor force participation rate -- which keeps track of how many people are either working or actively looking for work -- has been trending lower for several years now. "So if you're retired, or if you're a stay-at-home parent, or you're a young person who maybe hasn't started looking for a job yet, you just wouldn't be included," said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed. Ullrich said one reason the participation rate has been declining is because of the crackdown on immigration. "And that's because many immigrants come to the US specifically for work," she said. Ullrich also said this tends to affect the participation rate for younger workers, since immigrants typically skew younger. But a bigger issue that's pushing down participation rates is that the population is getting older. |
| Big Tech Has Suddenly Flipped on the AI Jobs Wipeout Scenario | |
 | A year ago, the message from many business leaders was that AI was going to wipe out jobs. For the past month or so, tech CEOs have been striking a more optimistic tone. In late May, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman -- who has long predicted that AI will lead to seismic shifts in the workforce -- said during a conference, "We've been roughly right on technological predictions and pretty wrong on the social and economic implications." Soon after, he told CNBC, "Our industry underestimated how much we're going to be able to keep people at the center of everything." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who warned in May 2025 that artificial intelligence could eliminate half of entry-level jobs, a year later highlighted more-positive scenarios for AI-adopting businesses. Is the sunnier outlook a move to win back customers and the public who are souring on AI's world-upending promise? Or is the role of AI in the workplace now just better understood? Collectively, the narrative has shifted from worker-light doomsday scenarios caused by AI to a future in which workers keep their jobs -- and get a productivity boost. |
| China resumes US soybean purchases under trade deal with Trump, but future for farmers remains 'daunting' | |
| Crops are in the ground, the weather is cooperating, soybean prices are up slightly from 2025, and China --- the biggest buyer of U.S. soybean exports -- is once again placing orders after a trade agreement ended the country's purchasing freeze last fall. But while morale is higher among soybean farmers as the 2026 growing season gets underway, the cost to plant crops remains high, and U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows there is still a long way to go before China's purchases reach pre-trade war levels. Soybeans are a major agricultural product nationwide, covering about 10% of all U.S. farmland. Roughly 40% of U.S. soybeans are exported, and in recent years, around half of exported beans went to China. Soybeans are the second-largest agricultural product in Mississippi behind chickens. Valued at around $1.6 billion a year, almost all of the state's soybeans are destined for international markets. The state ranked 11th in U.S. soybean production in 2025, producing 97 million bushels on 1.7 million acres, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service and USDA. Will Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said some markets have shown modest improvement this winter, including a 27% increase in soybean planting projections. |
| How a fertilizer shortage caused by the Iran war could affect U.S. food prices | |
 | When the war with Iran started, one of the top economic concerns globally was the slowdown of oil shipments. But there was another critical export that got stuck in the region when hostilities began: fertilizer. Before the war, around one-third of the world's fertilizer transported by sea passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to UN Trade and Development. The waterway has become a shipping chokepoint in recent months. With the strait closed, fertilizer shipments from the Persian Gulf slumped and prices rose, affecting countries all around the world that import fertilizer. The war also created a global shortage of natural gas, a key component in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing. It caused a massive headache for U.S. farmers who were hit with higher fertilizer prices and limited availability just as they were deciding what to plant for the upcoming growing season. But the costs borne by farmers don't necessarily get passed on to consumers, and food system experts say they're unlikely to have a major impact on the retail prices of fruit and vegetables. "Consumers are going to see higher food prices come September to January, once harvests start coming in, and the few months thereafter," said Chris Barrett, a professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University. "Very little of that is going to be directly attributable to fertilizer." That's because food inflation is generally driven by larger factors affecting multiple parts of the food supply chain, such as fewer workers and high fuel costs. |
| USDA's finalized rule could boost adoption of regenerative farming practices | |
| Farmers growing corn and soybeans for biofuels can now quantify the carbon intensity of crops grown with certain regenerative agriculture practices, due to a recently finalized federal rule. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Regenerative Feedstock Rule will allow farmers to "capture new value" from agricultural practices like cover crops and reduced tillage, according to a news release from the department. According to the finalized rule, the production of corn accounts for more than 50% of the direct greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing corn ethanol, and nearly 50% of soybean biodiesel emissions are attributable to the feedstock crop production. The greenhouse gas emissions associated with growing corn and soybeans can be reduced with the "low-carbon practices" outlined in the final rule. These tools include reduced tillage, cover crops and nitrification inhibitors. Farmers can also lower the carbon intensity score of a feedstock by following nutrient management guidelines that specify nutrient budgets based on current soil testing and are verified by a third party. According to the final rule, these practices, which in earlier iterations of proposed rules were called "climate-smart agriculture" practices, generally reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase soil-carbon sequestration. The adoption of these practices can lower the greenhouse gas emissions of biofuel production and "provide other environmental benefits" like improved water quality and soil health, according to the final rule. |
| Former Agriculture Officials Say the Trump Administration Missed Screwworm Warnings | |
| Former Agriculture Department officials say the Trump administration was slow to respond to the onset of the New World Screwworm outbreak, despite the administration's eagerness to blame its predecessor for the growing problem. "We were really trying to get the attention of folks," a former senior USDA official who oversaw animal and plant health under President Donald Trump told NOTUS. "That lack of urgency, the lack of understanding about what could happen, was certainly problematic." Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has argued that the parasite's northward march through Central America was the direct result of the Biden administration's "weak foreign policy agenda and failed immigration policies," a line that many Republican lawmakers have repeated since the first domestic case of screwworm in six decades was confirmed in Zavala County, Texas, last month. "I think that it's become a political blame game," the former official said. "A number of things that Secretary Rollins said are factually incorrect." |
| In Congress, a bipartisan annoyance with the Supreme Court | |
 | The most recent Supreme Court term has left Congress grappling with how to respond to a court that experts say has grabbed considerably more power for itself. Conservatives were rankled by a Supreme Court decision quashing President Donald Trump's effort to limit birthright citizenship, for example. Democrats, meanwhile, were outraged by a decision allowing Trump to fire officials at independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission. Despite that, analysts say, Congress isn't likely to take action to respond to either case. With a closely divided Congress more wired to respond to the presidency, Casey Burgat, director of the legislative affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, said Congress is unlikely to pass legislation to respond to this term's Supreme Court decisions. "This is a function of our reality in a very polarized, insecure, small-majority environment where the powers can exist on paper and within the Constitution, but operationalizing those powers is a very different political question," he said. |
| Trump Delivers Address on America's 250th Birthday: 'Nobody Can Be Like Us' | |
| The U.S. rang in its 250th birthday in the nation's capital Saturday with record-setting heat, thunderstorms, an enormous fireworks display and a speech from President Trump that emphasized American exceptionalism. "For 250 years, the United States has been the hope, the promise, the light and the glory among all of the nations in the world; all over the world...nobody can be like us," Trump said Saturday night. Earlier, thousands of attendees were instructed by law enforcement to evacuate the National Mall because of the threat of severe weather. They had waited in line for hours to attend the Great American State Fair and the evening Salute to America, in the midst of the hottest Fourth of July the capital has experienced. Trump began the weekend at Mount Rushmore, with a speech Friday in which he argued that American identity is under renewed attack and decried communism entering America, a nod at recent victories in primary elections by candidates from the Democratic Socialists of America. The president repeated some of those themes on Saturday night. "We don't want communists in our country," he said. "It never worked, and it never will work." |
| Young Castro wants Trump to deal: his exclusive first US interview | |
 | The corded phone near Raúl Castro's desk buzzed inside his wood-paneled office like it was 1984. This time, someone else answered. Raúl Castro -- Cuba's former president, brother to Fidel -- was, instead, waiting at home for news from his lunch date: his favorite grandson, his right-hand man. Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, 42, the man Cubans call "El Cangrejo" -- the Crab -- is now the one in the seat of power in that very office. Tall and thickset, with piercing light-green eyes, a buzz cut, designer clothes and a deep, raspy voice that echoes his great-uncle Fidel's, he was too busy at the moment to speak to his 95-year-old grandfather. "I've never been interested in politics. It's never been a calling of mine," Rodríguez Castro said during an exclusive series of interviews with USA TODAY over the course of two days in June in Havana. "But if at some point the revolution needs me to step up, I will do it." He stressed he would never sacrifice the principles of Cuba's 1959 revolution or the nation's sovereignty. Rodríguez Castro is unknown to many outside Cuba. He holds no formal government office and rarely appears in Cuba's state media. Now the younger Castro is the one in a position to negotiate for the future of his country. The former bodyguard to his grandfather wants to deal directly with President Donald Trump. |
| RFK Jr.'s latest overhaul aims to boost preventive care. It could get expensive. | |
 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s about to remake another government panel with power over Americans' access to health care. This time around, unlike his push to downsize the vaccine schedule, the health secretary is eager to expand the care Americans get. Kennedy's denunciation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for not requiring insurers to cover testing for Alzheimer's disease has sparked lobbying by manufacturers of tests who'd benefit if Kennedy were to also encourage the task force to recommend coverage of more testing for colon cancer. A patient advocacy group whose members include drug companies has also reached out to Kennedy, hoping he can expand testing for kidney disease. More copay-free tests could appeal to patients if it doesn't cause their already burdensome insurance premiums to spike some more. The Reagan administration set up the Preventive Services Task Force in 1984 to help health care providers know what screenings were effective. It's long been comprised of a group of primary care doctors appointed by the health secretary. Kennedy feels the task force has been too slow and too conservative in its recommendations guiding preventive care, "which is well understood to be one of the best investments we can make in the health of the country," the official said. |
| Theodore Roosevelt library opening recalls past, calls for civic engagement | |
| Theodore Roosevelt V said his great-great-grandfather thought U.S. citizenship was not to be treated as an inherited title, but something that required service and responsibility. "Today, we might call it showing up for our communities, for one another, for the places we love, and most importantly, for the future we owe those who come after us," Roosevelt said Saturday at the public opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. As America celebrated its 250th birthday, the flag-waving visitors got their first chance to show up for the library dedicated to Roosevelt, who credited his time in North Dakota's Badlands for helping him reach the White House. Roosevelt became one of America's most revered presidents. The 96,000-square-foot library was built at the Old West-themed tourist town of Medora that is the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Roosevelt's family has been heavily involved with the development of the highly interactive library at Medora. Hilary Hamm, chair of the board of trustees, said the library does not ignore Roosevelt's flaws and complexities, such as his racist views on Indigenous people. The library was built to "confront history honestly," said Hamm, daughter of major benefactor Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources. |
| White House report brands Smithsonian leadership as radical activists who can't be trusted | |
 | A White House report brands the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, indicating that President Donald Trump may be preparing to install his own team. The report released late on Independence Day by the White House Domestic Policy Council comes in the midst of Trump's aggressive campaign to overhaul some of Washington's most sacred cultural and historic institutions. Trump in March revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," as he continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. "The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic," according to the report by the council, which is led by a former top Trump speechwriter. Historian Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian's current secretary, is the first African American to lead the institution. In an unrelated interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Bunch said "the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me." |
| Texas Stock Exchange to launch trading on Monday in test of upstart's challenge to Wall Street | |
| The Texas Stock Exchange will commence trading on Monday, kickstarting the first real test of one of the most well-funded new exchanges to launch in decades. The Texas Stock Exchange, a Dallas-based startup, will initiate a phased rollout to take place over the course of July. On Monday, the exchange will open to TXSE members, including approved broker-dealers, banks and trading firms, to trade test stocks initially, then the symbols for thousands of stocks and other equities will come online over the course of the month, allowing the public to start trading. By the third quarter, exchange officials hope to have Exchange-Traded Products, or ETPs, listed on the exchange and corporate listings available during the fourth quarter of this year, according to a statement from the exchange. Monday's start of trading is critically important to test-run and demonstrate to companies interested in listing on TXSE that it can provide a viable alternative to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, said Sriram Villupuram, a University of Texas at Arlington associate professor of finance. "Basic technical things, hopefully will work well," Villupuram said. |
| Is AI ready to take over your prescriptions? Doctors are wary of Utah's automated refill program | |
| A prescription refill program that quietly launched in Utah earlier this year has kicked off a big medical debate: Is artificial intelligence ready to take over tasks that, until now, could only be performed by doctors? The program allows Utah residents to skip the doctor's office and get their prescriptions refilled online by an AI chatbot called Doctronic. It's a seemingly simple step toward making healthcare more convenient for patients and prescribers. But it's also a precedent-shattering milestone that has set off alarm bells for doctors, lawyers and public health experts. The pilot program has laid bare a host of questions about the role of AI in medicine, including how it should be regulated, whether doctors should be able to veto it, and what kind of safety measures are needed to protect patients. At the center of the debate: state and federal laws limit prescribing to licensed medical professionals. Proponents say those laws, which have underwritten American medicine for over 100 years, should be updated to include AI chatbots and other new technologies. "We have crossed a threshold in terms of giving something that is not human a medical license, whether or not we want to call it that," said Dr. Eric Bressman of the University of Pennsylvania. |
| National shortage of syphilis medication puts strain on Mississippi providers and patients | |
 | Bicillin L-A, a penicillin medication that can prevent congenital syphilis, is running short in the U.S. While supplies have been low for several years, a recall has made that shortage worse. Pfizer issued a recall on the medication last summer after finding particulates in some batches. As an injectable penicillin treatment, it can be used for a variety of issues, but it is the only recommended treatment for syphilis for pregnant patients. Some of those other issues include things like treating strep throat. But with critically low supplies, doses are typically reserved for particular patients, says Dr. Kayla Stover with the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, even with syphilis cases. "If and only if the patient is pregnant and has that particular situation of syphilis and pregnancy, then they are allotted the by so on at my hospital right now," said Stover. "Anybody else gets alternatives." Those alternatives are typically considered effective, but more involved, like taking multiple pills a day for extended periods instead of getting a handful of Bicillin shots. Taking those medications, whether through shots or pills, Stover said, is critically important to prevent passing on syphilis to an unborn child and in keeping pregnant patients healthy as well. |
| MVSU to Continue Prison Ed. Program | |
| Mississippi Valley State University has received approval from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its Prison Education Partnership Program (PEPP) under the revised Pell Grant guidelines for incarcerated students, expanding educational access and workforce preparation opportunities for justice-impacted individuals. MVSU's PEPP was originally approved in June 2022 through the federal Pell for Students Who Are Incarcerated Experiment and launched degree programs in Business Administration, Computer Science and Engineering Technology at Delta Correctional Facility and the Bolivar County Regional Correctional Facility in August 2022. With the federal experimental initiative scheduled to conclude in June 2026, institutions participating in the program were required to either discontinue their prison education offerings or complete an extensive application process to continue under the revised Pell Grant framework for incarcerated students. The university's program also received prior approval from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and the Mississippi Department of Corrections. |
| William Carey's hybrid nursing program repeats 100% licensure pass rate | |
 | William Carey University's second class of LPN to BSN Advanced Placement Hybrid graduates has matched the inaugural cohort's 100 percent, first time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. All nursing graduates in the U.S. must pass the NCLEX exam before receiving a license to practice from their state boards of nursing. Kelly Williamson, WCU dean of nursing, said the achievement reflects more than strong scores. "Our students' success shows the strength of a curriculum that is rigorous and aligned with real-world nursing practice. The faculty prepare our students not just to pass an exam -- but to think critically, practice safely, and lead with confidence," Williamson said. Launched in 2023, the LPN-to-BSN Advanced Placement program helps licensed practical nurses accelerate their path to a bachelor's degree and registered nurse licensure. The hybrid format combines online coursework with in-person clinical training. It offers both full-time and part-time options, allowing students to balance their school, work and home lives. |
| High-Earner Families Are Ditching Traditional Schools for Life Skills and AI | |
| There was nothing wrong with the Madison, N.J., public school Ankur Jain's 11-year-old son attended: Arjan was happy and excelling academically. But Jain was intrigued by Forge Prep, a new school for fifth through eighth-graders in nearby Livingston that promised learning through real-world problem-solving, building businesses and designing products. This appealed to Jain's entrepreneurial side. His son could learn negotiation, sales and public speaking -- tools he didn't fully develop until his 20s. "The future is changing," says Jain, the president of a hedge fund. "If we're still teaching the kids the way we used to 60, 70, 80 years ago, how are we preparing them?" Alternative schooling is having a moment among high-income parents. Families who can afford to send their kids to the best K-8 institutions are seeking new options. They're exploring schools that prioritize life skills and call teachers "guides" or "coaches." Some use AI-based tutors that tailor the curriculum to the child's individual needs. Parents considering less traditional options say AI is poised to have significant effects on the economy, so old ways of learning may no longer make sense. (Forge Prep's marketing materials refer to it as "built for 2040. Not 1940.") They also say AI tutors and hands-on learning in smaller groups offer opportunities for a more individualized curriculum. |
| U. of Alabama quietly shutters two divisions after promising to update UA community | |
| The University of Alabama quietly shut down both its Division of Opportunities, Connections and Success and Division of Community Affairs this year. Both divisions are being replaced with the Office of Community Impact, to be led by former UA director of internal affairs LeNá Powe McDonald. In May, the University announced McDonald would be vice president for community impact but did not announce that she would be leading the new office. UA spokesperson Alex House said that the two divisions were closed to "align operations with UA's strategy for a Future-Ready Flagship," the name of UA President Peter Mohler's signature program. The Future-Ready Flagship consists of Mohler's other major projects, such as Rising Tide 2.0, the UA AI Experience, the School of Data Science and the School of Leadership and Policy. According to House, some programs once housed under the shuttered divisions will be reassigned to where they "best align with institutional goals." The surviving programs will focus on "student engagement and retention, K-12 education outreach and recruiting." |
| LSU eliminates 25 staff positions to prioritize faculty, research as it chases top 50 goal | |
 | LSU eliminated 25 staff positions in administrative offices Thursday to put more money toward faculty and research, LSU System President Wade Rousse said in a statement. "Louisiana deserves transformational change from LSU," Rousse said. "I committed to streamlining operations and finding efficiencies so the university can focus on, and afford, the faculty needed to become a top 50 research institution." The employees affected worked in the communications, student engagement and executive departments, an LSU spokesperson said. Rousse went on to say the cuts would allow the university to restructure and direct savings toward faculty and research. He has stated LSU will need to hire more faculty to reach its goal of being a "top 50" research university, a distinction based on the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey, which tracks how much each university spends on research. |
| International student enrollment down sharply at 3 Arkansas universities | |
| At least three Arkansas universities saw significant declines in international students from 2024 to 2025, including a drop of more than 35% at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. However, international enrollment remained roughly steady at many other schools, including at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, the state's largest university. New international student enrollment declined sharply at American colleges and universities in the 2025-26 school year. A survey by the Institute of International Education found that enrollment for foreign students studying in the U.S. for the first time dropped 17% in fall 2025, after a 7% drop in 2024. New policies from the Trump administration were the main reason, the survey said. The Trump administration revoked the visas of at least 1,800 foreign students in early 2025, including at least five graduate students at UA-Fayetteville. The administration reversed course on most of those revocations in April 2025 but it has continued to restrict some visas and implement stricter screenings for applicants. |
| U. of Tennessee Board of Trustees approves 90-hour undergraduate degrees for high-demand fields | |
| With rising tuition costs and economic challenges, four years can be a lengthy and expensive commitment to pursue a college degree. The University of Tennessee seeks to alleviate some of that strain with the integration of a new academic framework. This week, the UT Board of Trustees approved the introduction of reduced-credit undergraduate degree programs. With the adoption of this new model, institutions within the UT System will have the chance to craft undergraduate degree programs with 90-100 credit hours, as opposed to the current 120 credit hour requirement. The university aims to preserve the academic standards established by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and meet stipulations enforced by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Individual degree programs will require board approval prior to implementation. President of SACSCOC Stephen L. Pruitt said this shift will not discredit the 120-hour program, but rather provide opportunities for students to take courses directly related to their degrees. This decision follows nationwide labor shortages for many vital industries such as healthcare, education and manufacturing. |
| Oklahoma scholarship program sees spike in demand | |
| Applications to an Oklahoma scholarship program from the 2026 graduating class have increased nearly 50% from the previous graduating class. Over 10,200 students from the 2026 graduating class applied to Oklahoma's Promise, said Angela Caddell, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The 2025 graduating class had more than 6,800 applicants, and around 6,100 of them were eligible. Lawmakers this session appropriated $88.2 million to the scholarship program for the upcoming fiscal year, an increase from the $73.1 million allocated for this budget year, Caddell said. On average, Oklahoma's Promise cost $4,892 per student, per year. The State Regents Office is "deeply grateful" for the increase and anticipates the program will be fully funded, she said. The State Regents had previously projected increased enrollment and a jump in costs for Oklahoma's Promise as lawmakers had expanded eligibility through changes to income requirements and by opening it to some public school teachers' kids. Oklahoma's Promise has been lauded as a highly successful program that retains most graduates in the state to work and live. |
| Mizzou course proves clothes can be accessible and fashionable | |
 | For many people, getting dressed in the morning is an afterthought. Buttons, zippers and ties are routine elements of a wardrobe. But for people with disabilities, standard fasteners can get in the way of independence and self expression, often resulting in a choice between functionality and personal style. "There is more clothing for dogs than people with disabilities," said Mackenzie Miller, a doctoral candidate in the University of Missouri's Department of Textile and Apparel Management, or TAM. That's a reality Miller uncovered during her research, and one she wants to change. This semester, she introduced TAM 4001, an application-only course created with the intention to reshape how aspiring professionals approach fashion because according to Miller, clothing can be both accessible and fashionable. The class bridged the gap between creativity and healthcare by pairing students studying TAM with peers in the occupational therapy and health sciences field. |
| Forget Wall Street. Elite Students Are Spending Their Summers on Startup Dreams. | |
| Princeton University student Charles Muehlberger could have accepted summer internship offers from a major tech company or a rocket engineering firm. He decided to come to San Francisco and launch an AI startup instead. Four weeks in, Muehlberger is in Barcelona pitching potential customers. The urgency he feels to build his startup, which aims to bring open-source models offline and onto local devices, made him decide to take a gap year. "Those who are building now get a voice in what the future looks like," he said. For decades, the path for many elite students was clear: secure internships in tech, finance or consulting, graduate with a cushy job and climb the corporate ladder. But more students, including Muehlberger, are turning to a host of new programs -- some affiliated with top universities -- geared toward helping them join the AI race in Silicon Valley. Some provide free housing, mentorship and networking opportunities. Many of the students who find themselves scaling up big ideas at a breakneck pace aren't sure they will go back to college when the summer is over. The rapid advance of artificial intelligence has created a tough job market for recent grads. Fields including software engineering have become far less secure, leading some students to take matters into their own hands. |
| Colleges Serving More Autistic Students Than They Realize, Researchers Say | |
 | As colleges work to improve student success, new research suggests they may be underestimating the size of a much larger student population than previously understood: autistic students. A new study from Michigan State University examined 731 publications, reviewed 16 common survey instruments used at postsecondary institutions and inspected codebooks from six federal datasets to come up with the estimate that over 280,000 autistic students are currently enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities -- three to five times more than previous data suggested. Researchers said many institutions may not realize how many autistic students they serve, making it more difficult to design policies, services and supports that help them succeed. Brad Cox, associate professor of higher, adult and lifelong education at Michigan State, said earlier estimates of autistic college enrollment relied on decades-old data, leaving researchers and policymakers with an incomplete picture of this student group. "It's hard to serve a population you don't know is even there, because autism is an identity that isn't always apparent, isn't always visible," Cox said. "As a result, this population, despite all of the broader public attention that has come to autism over the last decade or two, in a college environment, these students are still underreported and underrecognized." |
| Universities are relying on AI-detection software to catch cheating. How well do the programs work? | |
| Last November, Lauren Jager, a chemistry undergraduate student at Idaho State University in Pocatello, was applying to PhD programmes when she noticed that some application portals warned students about using generative artificial-intelligence tools for their personal statements. They informed students that they would use detectors to sniff out applications that contained AI-generated text. The portals weren't specific about which detectors they were using. But they were clear on one thing: "They said that if they felt that the personal statement had been written with AI, then they would disregard your entire application," Jager says. She didn't think much of it -- she hadn't used AI at all -- but a friend said they'd run their own statements through an AI detector on the Internet, just for safety. Jager decided to do the same with a few detectors she'd found online. "They all came back at almost 100% AI," she says. "I started freaking out." Looking back, Jager wonders why her essays were flagged. She ended up rewriting her statement entirely. And, instead of trying to write to the best of her ability, she says she wrote in a way to make sure it wasn't flagged by the AI detector. "I was making it less perfect," Jager recalls. Jager's situation and cases like it are happening around the world. |
| Decline of Ph.D. Admissions Could Imperil a 'Generation of New Talent' | |
 | The number of students admitted to Ph.D. programs this fall dropped 15 percent from the previous year, according to data from over 50 top research universities, raising fears that the nation's capacity to produce new science could be diminished. The decline is driven, in part, by a chaotic and unpredictable federal funding environment under the Trump administration, as federal cuts are promised and then reversed, and budgets remain unclear. A reduction in doctoral students could mean fewer scholars at universities to teach and mentor undergraduates. Higher education leaders also worry that, if the declines continue, there will be fewer researchers to power a rapidly evolving scientific work force. The data showing the decrease comes from 55 universities, all of them members of the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only organization that includes 69 of the most prestigious research institutions in the United States. The data collection was conducted by a another group, the Association of American Universities Data Exchange. Schools in A.A.U. confer half of the nation's research doctorates, according to the association. "We are at risk of losing a whole generation of new talent because of the reduction in the capacity to support those students," said Toby Smith, vice president for policy of the A.A.U. |
| The Toolbelt Generation Can Now Get Federal Aid for Trade School | |
| More students are pursuing trade school and other job-credential programs instead of a four-year college degree. Now the financial-aid system is catching up with them. Wednesday marked the official launch of Workforce Pell Grants, making the federal financial-aid program long popular with college students available for short-term vocational training. The expansion was approved as part of President Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" last year. The idea behind it is to help more students access high-skill, high-demand jobs and employers reduce labor shortages. As of July 1, they are also available to students earning career credentials. Think of people studying to be paramedics, cybersecurity technicians, court reporters, or HVAC -- heating, ventilation and air conditioning -- specialists. "This is a very strategic investment in vocational training from the federal government and we've never seen it before," said Kenneth Adams, president of New York City's LaGuardia Community College, which offers dozens of job-training programs. "The potential is absolutely huge." Workforce Pell has an additional effect: It recognizes the importance of vocational education to many workers' futures. |
| After the 'Edupocalypse,' What Next? | |
| The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ushered in a raft of policy reforms on July 1 that will change how students pay for college and how degrees are valued. Future graduate students will likely be more reliant on private lenders to fund their education and find themselves tied to standard repayment plans, and institutions with programs that don't pass an earnings test could lose access to federal loans. But a lot is still left to be determined. Sector observers will be watching to see how the Education Department, with half the staff and a mounting number of interagency agreements, implements the new policies. They also expect inevitable legal challenges to the hastily finalized rules. Already, one court ruling has at least temporarily altered the department's plans to put in place graduate loan limits. One such observer is Peter Lake, the director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Policy and Law at Stetson University. Taken together, the policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill, he says, will have a more profound impact on higher ed than any other piece of legislation in the last several decades, because they centralize more power under the federal government. This, combined with what he calls the "edupocalypse" of generative artificial intelligence and declining public trust, could force a new form of university in the future. But the sky isn't falling, he says. |
| State's Overall Economy Depends on Our Workforce | |
| Delta State University President Dan Ennis writes in the Delta Business Journal: Improving Mississippi's economy depends upon improving the skills of Mississippi's workers. A more qualified workforce can attract higher-paying jobs to our state, and the people holding those jobs can expect a better quality of life. In Mississippi, a key factor in workforce development is the Ascent to 55% initiative, spearheaded by the Woodward Hines Foundation, and supported by our state government, educational institutions, and leading employers. The goal of Ascent to 55% is to help Mississippi's working-age adults to improve their employment-related skills and thus make Mississippi more competitive in the national labor marketplace. Across the country, 55% of working-age adults have a post-high school credential -- that is, a college degree, technical certification, or industry qualification. In Mississippi, only 49% of working age adults enjoy such an advantage. When Mississippi ascends to 55%, more of our state's workers have better employment opportunities after high school. Being economically competitive, however, requires that we pay attention to the "mix" of credentials as we drive to that 55% goal. |
SPORTS
| Men's Hoops Announces Staff Additions | |
| The Mississippi State men's basketball program has hired Corey Barker, Alex Barlow and Shunn Buchanan as assistant coaches announced Thursday by Chris Jans. Previously, Barker worked with Coach Jans at Bowling Green in 2014-15 and at New Mexico State during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Prior to State, Barlow spent eight seasons working inside the Boston Celtics organization and three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Butler, on Thad Matta's staff. Most recently, Buchanan was a part of two winning seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico State working with Jason Hooten. He was among 75 NCAA Division I assistant coaches nationwide that attended the Silver Waves Media Rising Stars Power Lunch at the 2026 NCAA Final Four. The Bulldogs are slated to face Tennessee Tech on November 2 for their 2026-27 season opener at Humphrey Coliseum. Mississippi State is now accepting season ticket deposits for the 2026-27 season at www.HailState.com/tickets. |
| Bahama Bulldogs: MSU men's basketball booked for Battle 4 Atlantis | |
| Mississippi men's basketball booked its tickets to paradise on Wednesday. The Bulldogs announced they will head to Paradise Island in the Bahamas as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis as part of their non-conference schedule. State will join Memphis, Penn State and Wake Forest, playing at least two of these opponents. State will play on Nov. 25 and 27. Times and matchups are yet to be announced. The tournament announced that Marquette, Texas A&M, Virginia and Xavier will also be a part of the field. MSU has five other non-conference games on the book for 2026-27. MSU will host Tennessee Tech on Nov. 2, Northwestern State on Nov. 5 and Alabama A&M on Dec. 7. The Bulldogs will travel to Georgia Tech on Dec. 2 and Marquette on Dec. 12. Battle 4 Atlantis began in 2011 and pays approximately $2 million per participating school. Past winners Villanova (2017) and Virginia (2018) parlayed success in Atlantis into national championship runs later that season. |
| Mississippi State baseball will have 3 freshman All-Americans on 2027 roster | |
 | Three Mississippi State baseball players on the Bulldogs 2027 roster were recognized as some of the best freshmen in the country. Outfielder Jacob Parker, transfer two-way player Josiah Overbeek and transfer catcher/outfielder Brady Christman were all honored as freshman All-Americans by Baseball America and D1 Baseball. All three made the first team for Baseball America on June 25. Parker and Overbeek made the first team for D1 Baseball on July 1, while Christman made the second team. Parker made it after starting 44 out of 53 games this season and batting .339 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs for the Bulldogs. Overbeek played at Army in 2026 as a two-way player. Overbeek committed to Mississippi State on June 16. At Georgia Southern, Christman started 40 games and won Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and made the All-Sun Belt first team. Christman committed on June 6. |
| 4 pitchers from Mississippi schools make USA Baseball Collegiate National Team | |
| Four players from Mississippi universities will represent their home country as members of Team USA. Now that a round of exhibition games and the annual Stars vs. Stripes series has wrapped up, with some of the top players competing to be a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, the roster has been solidified. Team USA this year will feature two pitchers from Mississippi State, along with a hurler from both Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Starting with the Bulldogs, left-hander Tomas Valincius (11-2 in 2026) and right-hander Ryan McPherson (4-1) were added to the roster. Valincius was inarguably the most impactful transfer pitcher Brian O'Connor brought for his debut season with the Bulldogs. Valincius had a 3.50 ERA while fanning a whopping 134 batters and only allowing 38 earned runs in 97.2 innings, earning him the Ferriss Trophy. McPherson was a different story. The sophomore was cruising early in the 2026 season as the maroon and white's Friday night starter before suffering an injury to his throwing arm against Vanderbilt on March 20. His recovery took roughly six weeks. He returned to the mound later on and notably pitched in the postseason. McPherson boasted a 3.56 ERA with 51 strikeouts and only 17 earned runs allowed in 43 innings. |
| NCAA president sees path forward for reform legislation | |
| NCAA President Charlie Baker defended Congress' effort to regulate college athletics Sunday, saying that powerful conferences are making a mistake opposing the legislation. The two largest groupings in college sports -- the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences -- have come out in opposition to the bill from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that aims to temper a college sports world in turmoil since student-athletes began earning cash for endorsements. Their bill seeks to limit the ability of student-athletics to transfer, ban coaches from moving schools mid-year and cement certain "name, image and likeness" protections. The NCAA has already taken steps toward reform, adopting a rule that would give most Division I athletes five years to complete five seasons of play. In an interview with Ed O'Keefe on CBS' "Face the Nation," Baker said that the conferences shouldn't try to abandon an earnest effort to address "a number of the most significant challenges" facing college athletics. "What we're really trying to achieve is some sort of national framework so that you can have national championships and national competitions, in which, for all intents and purposes, everybody's playing by the same set of rules," Baker said. |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker floats regional approach to non-football sports | |
| Conference realignment has turned college athletics into a much more national endeavor than it ever was previously. The Big Ten stretches from Southern California to New Jersey. The ACC includes a pair of teams on the Pacific coast. And the Big 12 has members located in both the deserts of the Southwest and the mountains of Appalachia. The end result is something almost entirely unrecognizable from college sports just a decade ago. Most fans would agree that it would behoove college sports to return to some semblance of regionality, where schools in neighboring states play each other more often than schools on opposite coasts. Whether such a return is in the cards isn't exactly clear, but it's something that NCAA president Charlie Baker would welcome. During an appearance on Face The Nation this weekend, Baker outlined that he sensed a willingness among schools to embrace a more regional approach for non-football sports. When asked if he felt conference realignment was nearing its end, Baker first suggested that the expiration of TV contracts ultimately will determine future shifts, but then pivoted to change he sees on the horizon with regard to non-football sports. |
| Ole Miss AD Keith Carter: Roster costs up 20-50 percent year over year | |
| Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter says roster costs across college athletics have increased substantially year over year, a pace he believes is ultimately unsustainable even for the nation's biggest athletic departments. The increase isn't isolated to football. Carter said virtually every sport has seen significant market inflation as schools navigate the second year of the revenue-sharing era alongside an increasingly expensive NIL ecosystem. "I would say generally anywhere from 20 to 50 percent over, year over year," Carter told Rebels247. "It's significant. It's significant." "If you're Texas or Ohio State or (Texas) A&M that's got these huge budgets, you can sustain it for a while," Carter said. "But I don't think forever. Some will last longer than others depending on what your budget is, I guess is what I'm saying. But it's just not sustainable year over year." Carter calls revenue sharing the easy part. Ole Miss budgets the full $20.5 million annual cap, distributes those payments monthly and has funding already built into its budget. It's the additional NIL and approval system that cloud the situation. "The above-cap NIL is where it gets tricky," Carter said. |
| Inside the White House push to get Folarin Balogun back on the field | |
| The campaign to keep Folarin Balogun on the field for the United States' World Cup run began just minutes after the team's leading goal-scorer received a red card that would sideline him for the team's next match. Following Wednesday's victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, White House FIFA World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani alerted President Donald Trump to Balogun's punishment for a rash tackle -- removal from the Bosnia match and a routine one-match suspension that would keep him out of a must-win encounter against Belgium. Trump and Giuliani had been speaking regularly about the World Cup for months. During the planning stages for the tournament, the president received frequent briefings on logistics, security and the U.S. team's prospects. Once the competition began in mid-June, those conversations accelerated to multiple times each week. By Wednesday night, the White House had committed itself to taking action over Balogun's red card, which some soccer analysts believed to be a harsh punishment for the infraction. Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior U.S. Soccer Federation officials -- all of whom had watched the Bosnia match in person at Levi's Stadium near San Francisco -- began activating plans to challenge the referee's on-field decision to issue a red card. |
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