| Tuesday, September 15, 2026 |
| Space Cowboys beat 140 rocketry teams at global contest | |
 | On a hot June day in Midland, Texas, Kaley Lesperance crossed her fingers as the Mississippi State University Space Cowboys launched its rocket during the International Rocket Engineering Competition. It was the second rocket the Space Cowboys built after their first "rapidly disintegrated" during its March test launch. Lesperance, who was the team's structure lead, remembers working around the clock to build the new rocket in just two months. As the team watched the launch, she was not confident this one wouldn't disintegrate. Instead it soared to 29,518 feet. "My favorite memory was watching this rocket at competition launch (successfully), after we lost the first one," Lesperance, who is now the Space Cowboys' chief engineer, told The Dispatch, laughing. The Space Cowboys, MSU's competitive high-power rocketry team, won the overall high score at IREC this year, beating more than 140 teams representing universities from around the world including Australia, Canada and Brazil. Both Lesperance and Space Cowboys project manager Maggie Delaughter, chose to attend MSU so they could be Space Cowboys, which now boasts about 150 members. |
| Fire ants, other pests can move indoors during drought | |
 | If you're suddenly seeing more ants inside or near your home, Mississippi's drought may be part of the reason. Experts say extreme heat and dry conditions can drive some species indoors in search of food and moisture. On top of sweltering heat and high air conditioner bills, you might be dealing with unwanted roommates. Ants can move in looking for food, moisture or a better place to nest when outside conditions get too extreme. Most of Mississippi, 64.2%, is in some level of drought, and the other 35.8% is considered abnormally dry. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows the driest areas are in the Delta region, with another particularly dry patch in the southeastern part of the state. Santos Portugal, an urban entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said heavy rains can drive ants indoors too. Mostly, they're looking for specific needs. "Ants come in for anything from moisture-damaged wood where carpenter ants or acrobat ants can create a nest, all the way to condensation on pipes for ants to drink water from," Portugal told Bonnie Coblentz, writing for the Extension Service. |
| Mississippi farmers markets to host special peanut boil events | |
 | Mississippi's love of local agriculture and Southern food takes center stage this month. The Mississippi Farmers Market and Genuine MS® Farmers Market are hosting special peanut boil events. The Mississippi Farmers Market will host its annual Great Mississippi Peanut Boil on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 929 High Street in Jackson. The Genuine MS® Farmers Market at the Brandon Amphitheater will host its Peanut Boil Jubilee on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon at 8190 Rock Way in Brandon. Both events will feature freshly boiled Mississippi-grown peanuts from Rogers Farms and is free while supplies last. Organizers say the events are designed to highlight Mississippi agriculture and the farmers who grow peanuts across the state. In addition to boiled peanuts, organizers say there will be other locally produced goods featured at the events, including seasonal meat and dairy products, coffee, jams, breads and other handcrafted items. |
| Golding River Overlook officially opens | |
| Amid the stories of the Mighty Mississippi, one more can be told. The Golding River Overlook is now officially open, giving locals and visitors of all ages the opportunity to take in the beauty of Old Man River. The park, built on 5.5 acres of property donated by the Golding family, has been a joint project of the city, county and state of Mississippi. On Monday, Sept. 14, members of the Golding family joined city, county and state officials and others involved in the project for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening and completion of the park's first phase. "This has been a long time coming, and this is a really, really exciting morning for our community and everybody that's worked so hard on this," Austin Golding said before the ribbon cutting. For Golding, Monday's opening was about more than the completion of the park's first phase. "I think it's a great opportunity for Vicksburg to see what can happen when we work together and to have everybody be proud of what our community is all about, working side-by-side and not against each other," Golding said. |
| Mississippi shrimp value above average for the year, MDMR says | |
 | Mississippi's shrimp season, which began in late May, is showing value above the five-year average, according to Jason Saucier, Shrimp and Crab Bureau Director for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. MDMR monitors shrimp catches throughout the year by collecting information from fishermen when they sell their catch. Data through July shows roughly 3 million pounds landed with a dockside value of about $5 million, according to Saucier. "That's slightly above what we saw last year and certainly above the previous year," he said. "And it's probably the highest we've seen since 2019 as far as the value of that fishery." Saucier said shrimp move based on tides and salinity, and brown shrimp typically move offshore when fresher water is present. The report said salinity was 23 parts per thousand. Saucier said the area is probably still behind on rainfall in some communities. He added that rain ends up in watersheds that drain into the Sound, and the salinity has been favorable for brown shrimp to stick around, as well as for white shrimp. |
| Hitachi Energy expansion brings 654 jobs to Copiah County | |
| Hitachi Energy will invest $528 million to expand its transformer manufacturing operations in Copiah County and create 654 jobs, marking the company's largest investment in the United States and adding another major project to Mississippi's growing economic development portfolio, according to the Mississippi Development Authority. The announcement was scheduled to be made by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves at the G20 Summit in Houston. He was scheduled to make the announcement alongside Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin, member of the government of Japan and Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck. The project will expand Hitachi Energy's existing operations in Copiah County, where the company currently employs 475 workers producing small power transformers, according to MDA. The announcement comes as utilities, manufacturers and data centers across North America seek additional electrical capacity, driving increased demand for transformers and other critical grid equipment. |
| Local residents give legislators a piece of their minds | |
 | Lauderdale County residents and those from surrounding communities made their opinions clear during a legislative redistricting meeting held at Meridian Community College's McCain Theater Thursday night. While opinions did vary, the strongest opinions came from those who wanted the Mississippi Legislature to leave the state's current legislative district maps alone and wait until after the 2030 Census to redistrict as is the common practice. The meeting Thursday was held by the legislature's Joint Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting and follows the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which held that Louisiana's race-based redistricting lacked a compelling justification. One of the strongest pleas to the committee was by Meridian-native and voting-rights attorney Amir Badat who told the committee he felt the public hearings were a bit of a "dog-and-pony show." Rep. Cheikh Taylor (D-Starkville) followed Badat and started by saying that the federal courts had to step in and order Mississippi to change its maps following the 2000, 2010 and 2020 districts. "Maps do matter, they matter because power matters," Taylor said. |
| Reeves announces $104M in rural health funding for facility and technology improvements | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday announced 167 awards together worth over $104 million to providers across Mississippi for projects aimed at improving rural health care. The projects are a part of the state's first three grant opportunities for healthcare providers funded by the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. The awards, which represent over half of the state's funding through the program for this year, will be used to help rural hospitals, health clinics, mental health practitioners and other providers make facility improvements, expand service offerings, upgrade technology systems, bolster cybersecurity defenses and increase telehealth capacity. Reeves posted a full list of the awardees to his website Monday. "When you step back and look at these projects together, you really see something bigger than a list of grants," Reeves said at a Monday press conference at his office. "You see a strategy built around Mississippi." |
| State Rep. Mims won't seek 7th term | |
| State Rep. Sam Mims announced Monday that he would not be seeking re-election to the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 2027 election cycle. The six-term Republican served 12 years as House Public Health Chairman and the last four years as House Appropriations D Chairman. "I consider these years representing the great people of District 97 as the professional honor of my life, and I am extremely grateful for this rare opportunity," Mims said in a statement. Mims was first elected to the Legislature in 2003 to represent Southwest Mississippi in portions of Adams, Amite, Franklin, and Pike counties. "As I entered public service in 2004 at the age of 31, my wife and I had two daughters, and today, we have been blessed with not only those two daughters, but also a son, a son in law, and two grandsons," Mims said Monday. Mims went on to express his gratefulness to his wife and children "for their love and understanding of my challenging schedule as I always wanted them to be proud of my public service." |
| Freeman lends voice to Lafayette County congressional candidate | | |
| Lafayette County resident and congressional candidate Cliff Johnson has a new voice helping introduce him to voters across Mississippi's 1st Congressional District --- Academy Award-winning actor and Mississippi native Morgan Freeman. Johnson's first television advertisement for his campaign was released last week and features narration by Freeman, who was born in Memphis and raised in Mississippi. The ad introduces Johnson as a longtime Mississippi attorney, church deacon and former federal prosecutor who lives in the Springdale community of Lafayette County with his wife, Leigh. In the roughly 30-second spot, Freeman describes Johnson as someone who will "fight for everyone from every walk of life, those who agree with him and those who don't." The Freeman ad is not the first time Johnson's campaign has drawn support from well-known Mississippi authors and public figures. Best-selling author John Grisham endorsed Johnson earlier in the campaign, while Oxford-based author Ace Atkins has participated in campaign events and appeared in Johnson's social media. Johnson is the Democratic nominee for Mississippi's 1st Congressional District and will face Republican incumbent Trent Kelly in the November general election. |
| Mississippi rural hospitals receive $3.75 million to address staffing needs | |
| The federal government is sending millions of dollars to Mississippi to help healthcare providers maintain adequate staffing. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced Tuesday that 20 rural hospitals and health providers in Mississippi will receive $3.75 million in federal grants to help sustain workforces. The Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program is awarding the Mississippi facilities grant money to ensure hospitals and clinics can keep paying their workers, allowing patients to receive care as usual. Split among the 20 Mississippi hospitals, the $3.75 million is part of the $24.7 million that Hyde-Smith and the Senate Appropriations Committee secured for the Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program earlier this year. The Health Resources and Services Administration administered the grant money to 132 hospitals nationwide, including Mississippi's 20. |
| Black Caucus launches effort to boost voting among Black, rural and young voters in midterms | |
 | A nonprofit run by Black federal lawmakers launched a multimillion-dollar effort Tuesday to engage lower-propensity voters in key districts in the midterm elections, following years of dissatisfaction over traditional efforts to reach such voters. The Congressional Black Caucus Institute's "SO VOTE" campaign will seek to register and mobilize young voters, as well as voters in majority-Black and rural communities, across the South, Midwest and West. The campaign involves partnerships with dozens of local organizations, the institute said, with in-person and online outreach to voters often sidestepped by major political campaigns. Voter engagement efforts will cover outreach across Georgia and Mississippi, as well as target voters in 16 congressional districts that are likely to determine control of the House. Instead of traditional television advertising, the campaign will convene local civic groups and houses of worship, as well as fraternities and sororities. The effort is also a response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in multiple states, said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. |
| Vance talks midterms, not AI, in House GOP visit | |
 | Vice President JD Vance rallied House Republicans in a pre-midterm Capitol Hill visit Tuesday, encouraging members to support each other on the campaign trail and through fundraising. He did not address the topic that has dominated conversations in Congress in recent days: the risk posed by artificial intelligence and what, if anything, lawmakers ought to do about it. Instead, according to five people in the room granted anonymity to comment on the private meeting, the vice president urged Republicans in safe seats to help their vulnerable colleague and encouraged members to focus on the "choice" voters face with Democrats. "I was kind of hoping there would be some conversation" on AI, one House Republican in the room said. "That did not come up at all." The conference meeting was also an opportunity for GOP members to play up their individual fundraising. |
| Supreme Court halts Trump's proposed limits on mail ballots for this year's elections | |
 | The Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's plan to restrict voting by mail, ruling it is too late to impose new postal service rules for the November election. The justices on Monday turned down an emergency appeal from Trump's lawyers, who argued the government needed a new and untested system of unique bar codes to track all the ballots of the tens of millions of people who vote by mail. Instead, the justices left in place a judge's order that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the new rules for the midterm elections. Concurring, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh agreed it was too late to enforce the new rules for this election. Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas dissented. The decision in USPS vs. California is a victory for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and the attorneys general for 22 other Democratic-led states who sued to block the new rules. Last week, they warned there would be chaos and confusion if Trump's rules were put in effect now. Bonta cheered the decision late Monday, calling it "a victory for our democracy and a powerful affirmation of the rule of law" in a case where the stakes "could not have been higher." |
| Trump slams his own Supreme Court appointees over mail ballot ruling | |
 | President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted the Supreme Court justices he appointed after they ruled against him on mail ballots, tariffs and birthright citizenship, portraying their decisions as a personal betrayal. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves," Trump wrote on social media, reacting to the court's Monday night ruling that blocked his administration's restrictions on mail ballots in the midterms. Although Trump blamed all three of his appointees for ruling against him, the court's ruling did not specify a vote count, leaving some question about precisely how many justices were in the majority. Trump has previously attacked the justices in personal terms for adverse rulings, baselessly accusing them of caving to foreign influence when they struck down his emergency tariff authority. Legal scholars and occasionally Roberts have warned that Trump's attacks undermine judicial independence and the separation of powers. The high court's ruling ends -- at least for this election cycle -- a litigation whirlwind involving Democratic-led states, voting rights groups and the administration that has bounced among conflicting decisions. |
| Warsh's Arrival Ended Trump's War With the Fed. A Rate Hike Would Test the Truce. | |
 | President Trump spent last year demanding rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Investors now expect his handpicked chairman to reverse course and start raising them this week. The case for raising rates is a measure of how much the outlook has shifted since Kevin Warsh took over the central bank in May. The war with Iran has gone on longer than officials and investors expected and has pushed energy prices higher in recent weeks. New tariffs have taken effect. The AI build-out has strained supply chains for electricity and technology equipment, adding to demand faster than it has added to the economy's capacity to meet it. That leaves Warsh facing the fight Trump hoped he would avoid when he selected the new chairman. Trump has said for months that he trusts Warsh to do the right thing, a formulation that has spared the new chairman the treatment faced by his predecessor, Jerome Powell. Raising rates before the midterm elections would test how long that lasts. The Fed's rate decisions are meant to be made independently of the White House, an arrangement that keeps short-term political pressure out of monetary policy. |
| Iran war caused destruction to U.S. bases, military aircraft: report | |
 | Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures at U.S. bases across eight countries in the Middle East, according to a report on the Iran war from the Pentagon's official watchdog. The war has also resulted in a shortfall of strategic munitions and revealed "bottlenecks" in the defense industry as the U.S. military sought to resupply the depleted stock of munitions. The report, produced by the Defense Department's inspector general for Congress, was released on Sept. 14 and covers the start of the war on Feb. 28 through June 30. It offers the most comprehensive official account of the war's cost and impact on U.S. military bases and equipment. The war, which President Donald Trump initially estimated would last four to five weeks, is now in its seventh month and has cost the U.S. at least $33.4 billion as of June 29, according to the report. The figure does not account for repairs to damaged facilities and many experts believe the total cost of the war is significantly higher. More than 50,000 U.S. service members have been deployed in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility to support the Iran war. Since the start of the conflict, 18 have died and more than 800 were wounded. |
| Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after fall that led to an extended medical absence | |
 | Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate on Monday, ending a months-long medical absence. The Kentucky Republican was hospitalized in June after falling and briefly losing consciousness. "Today, I'll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I'm really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues," McConnell said in a statement. He continued: "My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven't made it any easier. I'm still not quite back to 100%, but I've assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me." McConnell last cast a vote on June 14. His latest absence fueled a swirl of conspiracy theories about his health, and prompted repeated calls by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, for McConnell to provide proof of his fitness for office. "Kentuckians are just asking you to be honest," Beshear wrote in July. |
| The EPA may soon deploy AI to regulate toxic chemicals. It's not telling the public | |
 | The Trump administration is moving to deploy custom artificial intelligence products to speed up approvals for new applications of toxic chemicals and pesticides. But it has failed to share details of these AI tools with the public as required by both federal law and the administration's own regulations, a Monitor review has found. The new AI products for chemicals and pesticides are part of a larger push by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who has declared "Make America the AI Capital of the World" to be a core pillar of the agency's mission. However, they are not listed in the EPA's most recent public registry of "current and planned uses" of AI. The online directory is mandated by Congress to ensure the public can provide feedback on proposed AI tools before they are rolled out and assess whether the government is protecting personal privacy, civil rights, and public safety as it deploys powerful new technologies. |
| Southern professors are optimistic on AI, but worry about government overreach in survey | |
 | Artificial intelligence and government overreach are top of mind for university faculty in the South, according to a recent survey by the American Association of University Professors. When it comes to AI, the outlook is actually a lot sunnier than expected, said Matthew Boedy. He's president of the AAUP Georgia chapter and oversees the survey. "Is there going to be a major in your discipline? Are you going to have students?" said Boedy. "I mean, many of these are going away on their own and I wanted to get a sense if they thought AI would accelerate that or not." So, they asked if professors thought their disciplines would survive the AI era -- 85% said yes. But, professors in the South have concerns about government overreach. Over 60 professors from Mississippi responded to the survey, and several said they've had to self-censor or remove content from courses, and worry about funding and job security. "Faculty morale is very low, workloads are increasing, and hesitancy to engage in anything that could be viewed as progressive is discouraged or underfunded," one Mississippi faculty member wrote in response to a question asking for examples of how attacks on higher education were affecting faculty work. Responses were presented anonymously. |
| UMMC recognized for physician-scientist training | |
 | The National Institutes of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) the prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) designation. Officials with the hospital said the national MSTP award by NIGMS, part of the National Institutes of Health, strengthens UMMC's longstanding investment in its MD-PhD students. UMMC currently provides stipend support and tuition scholarships covering four years of medical school and up to three years of graduate research. "MSTP designation is the most prestigious recognition for an MD-PhD program by the National Institutes of Health," said Dr. Joshua Speed, an associate professor and director of UMMC's MSTP. "It provides critical funding to support student stipends and other needs of our physician-scientists in training. Attaining this award signifies a healthy MD-PhD program and strengthens our ability to recruit and train the brightest students from Mississippi and beyond." |
| Ole Miss researchers developing 3D-printed medication guidebook | |
 | University of Mississippi researchers are working to develop an artificial intelligence-powered guide to help pharmacies produce 3D-printed medications through a new agreement. The international company Colorcon partnered with Ole Miss researcher Mo Maniruzzaman to create a learning algorithm that can help pharmacists and drug manufacturers use 3D printing more easily. "Essentially, we're creating a bank of information, a reference book for drug manufacturing," said Maniruzzaman, chair and professor of pharmaceutics and drug delivery. "Creating this AI database will be really useful -- not just for Colorcon -- but for similar companies and even pharma giants. "They could easily adopt this kind of platform for their own discovery pipeline and leverage our findings to solve problems." |
| Jackson State students to honor 9/11 anniversary through art and service | |
| Jackson State University students will use artwork, reflection and storytelling to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks during a Day of Remembrance event Tuesday. The university's Veterans Center and Department of Art will host Art and Service: 9/11 Day of Remembrance from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 15 at Jacob L. Reddix Hall, 3rd Floor, Suite 302. The student-led project is supported by the 2026 9/11 Day Campus Grant and was created in collaboration with JSU Professor Ho Sik Kim. The event will feature student artwork, interactive reflection spaces and service-focused narratives exploring the lasting impact of Sept. 11, 2001. Organizers said the project is particularly intended to help a generation that has no personal memories of the attacks understand their significance and reflect on civic responsibility and service. |
| Microsoft commits to sweeping AI privacy rules for students. Will other tech giants follow? | |
| Millions of students every day turn to AI chatbots for help with schoolwork, emotional support and personal advice -- often unaware of where their conversations and other personal information end up. How that data is used -- and schools' role in protecting it -- is a growing concern for educators, parents and kids as artificial intelligence becomes a ubiquitous part of the school day, embedded in many of the classroom tools students are required to use. As the school year started, the country's two largest school districts, New York City and Los Angeles, announced they were putting the brakes on student use of AI for one year, as they study how to best incorporate the technology into education. In response to a growing AI and screentime backlash, Microsoft announced last week it had agreed to adopt guardrails and privacy standards for its AI in schools, as negotiated with the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. The safety provisions in the agreement are meaningful, but the standards will only be effective if all AI companies, especially the tech giants, sign on, said Josh Golin, executive director of online safety nonprofit Fairplay. He said the agreement sidesteps the question of whether AI products even belong in classrooms, or at what age they should be introduced. |
| Schools Have Had Enough of Energy Drinks and Overcaffeinated Kids | |
| Before the Lampasas School District banned energy drinks this fall, high-school Principal Paul Weinheimer watched students down as many as two or three cans of Ghost or Alani Nu a day -- the equivalent of six cups of coffee. At Kline Whitis Elementary School across town, teachers saw fourth- and fifth-graders with miniature energy-drink cans packed into their lunchboxes. Administrators were surprised to catch Lampasas middle-schoolers tucking caffeine pouches under their lips. Now energy drinks and caffeine pouches are on the school district's list of prohibited items, along with fireworks and firearms. Energy-drink consumption had gotten out of hand in this central Texas school district. In the school year ended in May 2026, the district recorded 1,000 more visits to the nurse's office when compared with the year prior -- driven by panic attacks and heart palpitations, telltale signs of caffeine overconsumption. Cans of popular drinks like Celsius, Ghost and Alani Nu have around 200 milligrams of caffeine, about twice as much as the average cup of coffee. Experts warn that caffeine can disrupt kids' sleep or, worse, increase their risk of high blood pressure or heart attacks. Lampasas is part of a growing roster of school districts struggling with the prevalence of high-caffeine beverages in classrooms. |
| U. of Alabama breaks enrollment record as in-state student numbers climb | |
 | The University of Alabama is poised to break an enrollment record this fall, with a slight increase in students compared to last year. This year's enrollment isn't as dramatic as previous years. While more students are attending Alabama universities, lower birth rates statewide and across the country may affect college enrollment. UA enrolled 42,431 total students this fall, according to a news release from UA's Media Relations. This is an increase of 71 students from the fall of 2025, or about .16%. In-state student enrollment has increased by 3.6%, from 18,007 students to 18,652 students. Final enrollment figures may vary by the end of the semester. The University of Alabama at Huntsville saw an increase in student enrollment for the first time since 2020. The University of Alabama at Birmingham also broke freshmen enrollment records this year. |
| U. Of Alabama Giving Free Flu Shots To Students And Staff | |
| The University of Alabama will offer free flu shots to all students, faculty, and staff at various campus locations through November. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu shots for everyone 6 months and older. The team at UA wants students and employees to know they don't need health insurance to receive a free flu shot. The UA Student Health Center and Pharmacy also offers flu vaccinations to students, and employees receive free flu shots at the Faculty/Staff Clinic at University Medical Center. The shots are also being offered to the immediate families of all staff and faculty. This year's flu vaccine has been updated against the influenza viruses targeted for the 2026/2027 flu season. The program has been offered at UA each year for over a decade. Most medical experts and medical information sites say that it is a myth that the flu shot causes influenza in recipients; however, some experience side effects that can feel similar to flu symptoms. |
| Auburn University approves tuition increases for 2027 | |
| The Auburn University Board of Trustees Friday voted to increase tuition for all students in the university system. Starting in the 2027 fall semester, Auburn University's tuition will go up $271, or 2% for in-state students, and $1,879, or 5%, for out-of-state students. With the increases, yearly tuition at the school will go from $13,572 to $13,843 for Alabama residents and from $37,596 to $39,475 for out-of-state students. Kelli Shomaker, the senior vice president for business and administration and the chief financial officer for Auburn, said during Friday's meeting that the system continues "to incur cost increases due to rising inflation and labor pressures associated with retaining exceptional faculty and staff and providing an exceptional student experience." The University of Alabama's tuition for the 2026-27 academic year is $12,718 for Alabama residents and $36,724 for non-residents. In 2025, the UA Board of Trustees approved system-wide tuition increases by up to 3% and voted to increase tuition costs by up to 4% earlier this year. |
| Auburn Faculty Protest Board's Curricular Overhaul | |
 | With the fall semester now in full swing, Auburn University faculty members are protesting the Board of Trustees' summer overhaul of shared governance and curricular decision-making at the public land-grant university in Alabama. More than 160 faculty and community members gathered outside the board's quarterly meeting on Friday to make their objections visible to trustees and administrators, who faculty say have downplayed their disapproval of the new policies. In early June, Auburn's board abruptly dissolved the faculty senate and gave itself complete control over course offerings, curriculum, degree requirements and academic credentials, mirroring the actions of public university boards in other conservative states. At the time, some accused Auburn of preemptively overcomplying with a state law -- House Bill 580 -- that doesn't apply to the university. "We really care about Auburn University, and I care about my students, and from what I'm seeing from the actions of the board -- especially since June 5th -- I'm worried about the future of the institution," said Tracy Witte, a psychological sciences professor and member of United Campus Workers, the union that coordinated Friday's protest. |
| Democratic Senate hopeful Jamie Davis avoids GOP talk at LSU voter event | |
| LSU students gathered Monday for a standing room-only discussion on the importance of voting with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Davis, ahead of National Voter Registration Day. "If you don't exercise your right to vote, you just muffled your own voice," Davis, a farmer from Waterproof, told students at LSU's Journalism Building. "You cannot complain when you don't exercise your right," Davis, 55, who served on the police jury in remote Tensas Parish, faces Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow of Baton Rouge in an uphill battle on Nov. 3. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy was knocked out of the race in May's GOP primary and must step down in January. The nonpartisan Geaux Vote LSU student organization has also invited Letlow to speak, but her campaign has not committed to an appearance date, said Malachi Mays, the group's vice president. Davis went out of his way to remain "nonpartisan" in his remarks to the students. He never criticized President Donald Trump or brought up Letlow's name, and he rarely talked about Republicans during the event. The candidate spoke extensively about the need to overhaul the federal student loan system. |
| LSU student organizations weigh in on the restructuring of cultural centers | |
| Multiple student organizations met with LSU Vice Chancellor Jim Dalton Monday to discuss the restructuring of the university's cultural centers and then shared their perspectives during a press conference. Over the summer, LSU restructured the Women's Center and African American Cultural Center, but they are still open. Where LSU's Intercultural Center used to be is now LSU Cares, and the LGBTQ+ Center has not been open this semester. The future of the LGBTQ+ Center is unclear, but it has been a subset of the Women's Center since 2023. LSU eliminated and consolidated some jobs in the Women's Center and AACC, but they both remain open to all students, according to Meg Sunstrom, LSU's chief communications officer. Those two centers were previously under the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, and they are now under the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life. Students associated with Students for a Democratic Society, Injustice Reform, Feminists In Action, Young Democratic Socialists, LSU NAACP and Baton Rouge Freedom Road Socialist organization met with Executive Vice President & Chancellor James Dalton. The meeting was intended to be a space where students could voice why these centers were essential for campus life in the hopes of getting them all reinstated. |
| UF/IFAS finds mosquito species never before recorded in U.S. | |
 | While most people may associate mosquitoes with Florida's swamps, Arizona's deserts and mountains are also home to a surprising variety of mosquito species. A University of Florida mosquito scientist has documented one of those species for the first time in the U.S. The mosquito, scientifically known as Aedes amateuri, was previously recorded only in Mexico. Researchers at UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have identified the species in southeastern Arizona's Madrean Sky Islands. The area, a rugged network of isolated mountain ranges, surrounded by a "sea" of desert, is known for its unusual biological diversity, said Lawrence Reeves, lead author and an assistant professor of entomology at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL). The mosquito's identity, confirmed by using both physical characteristics and DNA analysis, serves as the first documented record of the species in the U.S. and the northernmost record known, according to the study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology. |
| Oklahoma researchers test new turf to cut irrigation costs | |
| Keeping athletic fields and lawns green year-round can be a challenge in states similar to Oklahoma, where scorching summers can give way to hard winter freezes. Now, researchers at Oklahoma State University and Mississippi State University are studying whether a turfgrass system known as "bluemuda" can help. Bluemuda turfgrass combines warm-season bermudagrass with cool-season Kentucky bluegrass. The multi-state project is evaluating whether the dual system can provide year-round green turf, reduce irrigation needs and lower maintenance costs in transition-zone climates. The project started in June and is studying bluemuda turf at two research locations in Oklahoma and one in Mississippi. Mingying Xiang, assistant professor in the OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and project leader, said the team is testing a wide range of grass pairings to find the best-performing combinations. |
| AAUP survey reveals growing concerns of political influence in higher education among instructors | |
| An American Association of University Professors survey of faculty in southern states, now including Oklahoma, reveals growing concerns about political influence in university curriculum. Of the survey's 2,763 responses, which was conducted by state AAUP chapters across 13 states, 41 Oklahoma professors submitted input. Respondents were not asked to disclose which university they were affiliated with or academic discipline. A log of responses from Oklahoma professors shows 64% of respondents reported they would not recommend working in Oklahoma to colleagues or graduate students.Nine of 40 reported applying to a teaching job out of state since 2024. Of those nine respondents, some report issues like academic freedom, salary, the state's broad political climate and diversity, equity and inclusion as influential in a potential move. One respondent credited "non-scientific, critical 'woke' ideologies" as a reason for applying out of state. According to Georgia AAUP President Matthew Boedy, overall findings from the survey show about 60% of total respondents would not recommend their state as a "desirable place to work for colleagues or graduate students." |
| U. of Texas students attacked by Bo French call his comments 'disgusting' and too familiar | |
| Students at the University of Texas at Austin said they were dismayed --- but unsurprised --- by the racist attacks lobbed at them online after a Republican candidate for statewide office suggested white Americans were being "displaced." Bo French, the Republican running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, on Sunday posted racist comments on X that included an image of UT students of South Asian descent celebrating the victory. "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this," French wrote in a post featuring a photo of the students. "I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined." On Monday, French defended his comments on a conservative radio talk show. But by then, the posts had reverberated across social media, attracting comments like "Bollywood University" "Are we watching a cricket game," "I didn't know the stadium was in India," and "The America we grew up in no longer exists." Dhairya Gupta, a senior at the University of Texas, is included in the bottom right of the photo, wearing a burnt orange T-shirt with his right arm extended into a "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign. He said he's accustomed to seeing racist comments online, but it was "insane" to see a Republican candidate say derogatory things about him and his friends. "When I look at that picture, I don't see a problem," Gupta said in an interview Monday with The Texas Tribune. |
| Amy Coney Barrett to dicuss memoirs before sold-out crowd at UVa | |
| U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett plans to visit the University of Virginia this Thursday to discuss her 2025 memoirs, "Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution." The 6:30 p.m. conversation has been organized by the Karsh Institute of Democracy and the UVa School of Law Karsh Center for Law and Democracy. Longtime law professor John Jeffries is set to moderate. Tickets have already sold out, which means hundreds plan to attend in the 520-seat Culbreth Theatre on UVa's Arts Grounds. Barrett took her seat on the high court in 2020, replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Appointed by President Donald Trump, Barrett is widely viewed as a conservative jurist. She voted in the majorities to overturn federal protections for abortion access and affirmative action at colleges. But unlike some of her Trump-appointed colleagues, she has voted in support of what many consider liberal causes, including nixing Trump's freeze on $2 billion in foreign aid, protecting mail-in voting and killing Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Barrett received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College in 1994 and a law degree from Notre Dame University in 1997. |
| Cities want college grads to stay. Here's Cleveland's pitch | |
| If you want to pitch Cleveland to a bunch of younger people, you're going to do it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Between displays of fabulous outfits and instruments that belonged to Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, hundreds of recruiters in polos and button-downs peddle entry-level jobs at places like Progressive Insurance, Sherwin-Williams, and The J.M. Smucker Co. "In places like Cleveland, jobs are plentiful. And for our employers, the single greatest challenge for growth right now is talent," said Baiju Shah, CEO of Greater Cleveland Partnership, which is the regional chamber of commerce that puts this whole thing on. Shah said that five years ago, most of greater Cleveland's 190,000 college students left the area after they graduated. Now, just over half stay. "That might not sound like a huge jump, but that's a couple thousand extra students each year that become graduates and become residents of our region," he said. This is College Fest's third year. Nearly 900 students registered to listen to 82 employers pitch them on why they should work in Northeast Ohio. |
| U. of Utah plans to lay off hundreds after seeking advice from national consulting firms | |
| The University of Utah anticipates laying off as many as 855 staff members over the next nine months -- news the flagship school confirmed comes after the university sought guidance from two national consulting firms. The U. announced the changes in a campuswide message last week, though the school said staff in affected units were alerted earlier. Many employees pushed back, calling the reductions unnecessary and traumatic. "Things are very, very difficult for many staff here at the U.," said Leslie Francis, a distinguished professor of law and philosophy, during a recent Academic Senate meeting where the issue was raised. The U.'s chapter of United Campus Workers instead suggested the school cull its top administrators' salaries to save money, listing each in an Instagram post with a call to "CHOP FROM THE TOP!" The staff cuts are the latest cost-saving measure the school has recently rolled out as it works to operate much leaner. That includes major cuts to retirement benefits for new employees and the closure of the U.'s satellite campus in Sandy. Gary McArthur, the U.'s newly appointed chief financial officer, said the cuts are needed as the school navigates an uncertain future with anticipated enrollment declines by 2032. Already, he said, the U.'s expenses are outpacing revenues, and its operating margin has declined in the last few years. |
| An M.I.T. Report Warns A.I. Is Causing 'Cognitive Surrender.' Universities Are in a Bind. | |
 | The worries that artificial intelligence is degrading education have been building for months. Students are using it for everything, including cheating, and a recent report out of M.I.T. said it is triggering "cognitive surrender." Many university leaders are embracing A.I. with enthusiasm anyway. As A.I. leaders warn about the dangers of their own technology, the dissonance between the optimism of university leaders and the fears of many students and professors may increase. Professors and students are often in a bind about what they should do: Use more A.I. to stay relevant, or dial back to preserve learning and thinking? While some politicians and A.I. leaders are warning about possible doomsday scenarios for humanity as A.I. models advance, many campus leaders are focused on the existential threat the technology poses to universities. The committee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying A.I. use released a number of alarming findings, including that the technology has caused "major shifts in campus culture," isolating students who are skipping office hours and ditching communal studying. At the same time, "the potential of these technologies to augment work across campus is immense," the committee wrote. The hodgepodge of policies universities have created to respond to A.I. often reflect the confusion about how to proceed. |
| Judge Blocks Trump Rule Limiting Student Visas to Four Years | |
| A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to impose a four-year limit on student visas, granting a preliminary injunction one day before the new rules were set to start. Judge Dennis Saylor, who was appointed by George W. Bush, called the Department of Homeland Security's rationale for the new rule "exceptionally weak" in a Monday ruling. "The government's contention that the rule is necessary to safeguard national security borders on the absurd," he wrote. "It is based almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes, each of which involved incidents that the new rule would do nothing to prevent or even mitigate." The new federal rule by DHS aims to place a strict four-year limit on standard student visas. Immigration officials were set to begin enforcing the new guidelines on Tuesday. Since 1978, Saylor wrote, the United States has issued student visas to foreign students as long as they followed routine immigration rules and made normal progress toward their education goals. "That system -- which has been in place for nearly half a century -- has permitted tens of millions of foreign students and researchers to come to the United States. It has also resulted in groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits, often on a vast scale," Saylor wrote. |
| For the Love of God, Please Put on Headphones | |
| Columnist Jamie Waters writes in The Wall Street Journal: One recent morning, I was reading the newspaper in a sleepy Manhattan cafe when two young women sat beside me and proceeded to conduct a work call on speakerphone. As they yelled to their colleague about a marketing presentation, a man at a nearby bench checked in with his girlfriend -- also on speakerphone. Into this racket walked an influencer type armed with a selfie stick. He was livestreaming his coffee run to an uptempo backing track. "So excited for my cortado! I wonder how it will taste!" he shrieked at his screen as he spun around the room. No one moves to New York City for peace and quiet. But over the past couple of years, every other person seems to have ditched their headphones and is brandishing their phones like radios set to a nightmare station. In cafes, buses and planes, iPhones assault the air with music, TikTok videos and, most annoyingly, speakerphone calls. Some media outlets call this "loudcasting." I call it an atrocity. ... Of course, this isn't just a New York problem. In a 2025 survey of more than 1,500 Americans by the phone-number provider NumberBarn, 37% of respondents admitted to using speakerphone in public, with nearly half of Gen Zers doing this, making them the chief offenders. |
SPORTS
| How MSU dictated the terms of its win over Minnesota | |
| Mississippi State wanted to play fast. Minnesota wanted to slow things down. On Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs won the coin toss, took the ball first, flew 75 yards and scored a touchdown on just five plays that took less than two minutes off the clock. Minnesota responded with a 16-play drive that took more than 10 minutes. However, State's defense was able to lock down late and ultimately forced a field goal. "I thought that was a huge turning point in the game," coach Jeff Lebby said in MSU's weekly press conference on Monday. "Because it really did dictate how the game was about to get played. Probably one of my favorite back-and-forths for us." The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, creating a 28-3 lead that was ultimately enough for a road win over a Big Ten foe. ... Mississippi State's White Out game with No. 20 Missouri has been set for 6:45 p.m. on the SEC Network. It will be the second home night game for the Bulldogs this season. |
| Jake's takes: 3 takeaways from MSU's blowout win at Minnesota | |
| Fifteen attempts. Thirteen yards. If you want the story of Mississippi State's 38-13 win at Minnesota, look no further than the Golden Gophers' rushing statistics. Minnesota averaged 28 carries and 103 yards on the ground per game last season. The numbers don't pop off the page, but the run game is an important piece to Minnesota's slow, possession-focused approach. MSU saw it on the Gophers' opening drive. They took the ball 58 yards on 16 plays, nine rushing attempts, for a 10:11 drive that ended in a field goal. It's Minnesota's identity, one which the Bulldogs stripped away. They forced Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey to throw 48 passes, a career high, and limited the Golden Gophers to the lowest rushing attempt total since PJ Fleck took the reins in 2017. MSU made Minnesota play MSU football. "I was very impressed with their look," MSU quarterback Kamario Taylor said. "They told me, 'We got your back, and we got your back regardless of the outcome.'" |
| What makes Kamario Taylor similar to LaNorris Sellers in Mississippi State vs South Carolina | |
| Mississippi State football's Week 3 game could feature an electric matchup of quarterbacks. The Bulldogs (2-0) are playing at South Carolina (2-0) on Sept. 19 (3:15 p.m. CT, SEC Network). It will be MSU's Kamario Taylor vs South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers. Sellers is two years older than Taylor, but they have similarities in their playing style. Sellers also has one big difference that Mississippi State will eventually want to avoid. "Two talented quarterbacks, two weapons," South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. "We'll have our hands full on Saturday." Both of them are touted for having big arms. They are also more than capable as runners. "An incredibly dynamic player," Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said on Sept. 14 about Sellers. "I've never met him a day in my life, but I have watched him," Taylor said on "The Paul Finebaum Show." "When I was in high school, I used to watch his highlights all the time. He's 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, every bit of 235-240 (pounds) and he's a wrecking ball. He can throw the ball, he can run the ball and he's a very good athlete." |
| MSU downs Ole Miss, opens SEC play 1-0 | |
| Mississippi State soccer got off to a hot start in SEC play on Friday. The Bulldogs downed rival Ole Miss 4-1 in its conference opener. They scored three goals in the second half to seal the Magnolia Cup Victory. "Well, it was chippy early on, then it managed to stay chippy the entire length of the game," head coach Kevin O'Brien said in a press release from MSU Athletics. "I don't know if every SEC game feels like that, but it was two more-physical, more-direct teams playing against each other, so it was like a heavyweight fight. They slugged us. We slugged them back. I don't think it was the greatest game of soccer we've played this year, but we did what it took to pick up three points and retain the cup. For me, as a head coach, I'm nothing but proud of these girls and the way they dug their heels in and just battled." The Bulldogs will look for a 2-0 start in SEC play when they host Florida on Friday. |
| SEC's Greg Sankey's response to questions about LSU legal saga | |
| After simmering tensions between the SEC and LSU boiled over last week, league commissioner Greg Sankey had no comment on the matter Monday. Meeting with reporters before the Monday Morning Quarterbacks Club in Birmingham, Sankey was asked about any remaining issues to be resolved regarding LSU and the federal lawsuit the league filed against the member institution. "Let's talk about football," Sankey said. Asked if that was a no comment, Sankey stuck to the talking point. "I'm happy to talk about football," he repeated. Sankey agreed the last two weeks had been stressful while noting "that's not the first that's ever happened." It's unclear what comes next with the SEC and LSU after delaying a hearing Wednesday and opting against the vote for expulsion Thursday. Sankey said they plan on enforcing the rule about former pros "just as we have been, through our communication." More than anything, Sankey was happy to see competition on the fields instead of courtrooms. |
| Protect College Sports Act gets renewed push and fresh opposition as college football returns | |
| With college football in full swing, proponents of the Protect College Sports Act have launched an all-out blitz to push the legislation through the Senate before the chamber breaks in the coming weeks. The bill aims to put guardrails around escalating spending in college sports as the industry struggles to adapt to a new model in which schools can pay players. Major conferences, Senate leadership and President Donald Trump have backed the bipartisan bill, yet it still faces pushback that could sink it before the chamber breaks this fall. "This bill protects the billions of dollars that coaches and sports industry executives are making over the suppression of compensation for some of the most highly valued athletes in the world," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said on a call with reporters Monday. "What we're being asked to do is to basically allow colleges and conferences and the NCAA to illegally collude." Murphy's opposition followed a high-profile weekend push by Sen. Ted Cruz, a co-sponsor of the bill, who appeared Saturday on ESPN's "College GameDay" to make the case for its passage. Cruz, a Texas Republican, spent nearly 10 minutes explaining why he thinks the legislation is important as loud boos rang out from the University of Texas crowd behind him. |
| ESPN to give air time to Protect College Sports Act opponent ahead of vote | |
| After receiving backlash for allowing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to promote a college sports senate bill on "College GameDay" on Saturday, ESPN will feature one of the bill's most vocal opponents on its airwaves Tuesday. NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson will appear on the 6 p.m. ET edition of "SportsCenter." The move comes after the NAACP posted in response to Cruz's appearance Saturday, "We'd love to have (Johnson) join you in his home state of (Mississippi) next week to express why the Protect College Sports Act is dangerous to Black Athletes and the Black community." An ESPN source said an appearance on Saturday's "College GameDay" before the LSU-Ole Miss game was discussed, but "the focus shifted to Tuesday's 'SportsCenter' in order to have the conversation take place before the bill is up for vote in the Senate." The 171-page bill includes a section titled "HBCU SPORTS MEDIA AND CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM," which would award grants to improve broadband, technology and media infrastructure. Colorado coach Deion Sanders touts the program in a TV ad for PCSA. |
| College sports bill opposition brews despite Cruz, Cantwell optimism | |
| Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz and ranking member Maria Cantwell on Monday said their chamber was "on the cusp" of passing legislation to broadly regulate college athletics, but the measure's success is still unclear. "To use a football analogy, I think we're on the one-yard line," Cruz (R-Texas) said at a joint press conference with Cantwell (D-Wash.) on the bill. The duo wants to see an initial floor vote as soon as this week, but acknowledged it could get punted to next week. The legislation could be the most significant measure the chamber passes before the midterms, but it faces opposition despite Cruz and Cantwell's latest negotiations to win bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was less confident Monday about the future of the bill. "We'll see if we have 60 -- I don't know the answer for sure on that yet," he told reporters. Concerns from Republicans that the legislation would preempt states' authority to regulate transgender athlete participation on women's sports teams have been addressed with added bill language, Cruz said. |
| Cruz, coaching legends make pitch for NIL bill on cusp of votes | |
 | Senate advocates of a bipartisan college sports overhaul bill were joined by legendary coaches and current athletes Monday to try shoring up support for the legislation, which is expected on the chamber floor this month. "Some have asked why should Congress get in the middle of this? The answer is simple: because Congress screwed it up in the first place. It has been the federal antitrust laws applied in litigation after litigation after litigation that have had the effect of tearing down essentially all the rules," Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz said during a press conference outside the Capitol. "So right now, it is the Wild West," he added. "The 'Protect College Sports Act' is bipartisan legislation designed to bring order to the chaos." The Texas Republican summoned coaches and players to the Capitol grounds Monday, aiming to use some big names from college athletics and student-athletes to convince holdouts to support the standards-creating legislation, which would erect some guardrails in the chaotic name, image and likeness (NIL) era. John Calipari, the head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas who won one national championship while coaching at the University of Kentucky, said of the bill: "I think this clears up about 75 to 80 percent of our issues," adding: "Nothing is perfect. This is a bite out of the apple." |
| US Senate could soon take up bill to set standards for college athlete compensation | |
| With the U.S. Senate set to hold a procedural vote in the coming days on a sweeping bill to overhaul college sports, dueling press conferences Monday underscored the fierce debate over how to tackle the biggest issues plaguing that landscape. Supporters of a bipartisan measure to set national standards for college athletes' compensation, including the bill's lead sponsor, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, argued it would "protect," "save" and "preserve" college sports. However, opponents of the bill, including Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, blasted the measure over concerns that it "essentially ensconces a system of exploitation," and would provide "an unprecedented antitrust exemption to an industry that is violating the law every single day." The latest version of the bill would create a national NIL standard that preempts the patchwork of state laws, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, establish a five-year eligibility timeline for athletes and bar professional athletes from competing in college athletics. The measure is notably neutral on the classification of athletes as employees. |
| GOP lawmakers introduce bill capping international student athletes | |
 | Two Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would put a cap on the number of international students college sports teams can add to their rosters. The "Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics Act" would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require colleges and universities participating in Title IV federal student aid programs to limit international student participation to no more than 20 percent of each varsity team's roster. Schools would also be required to report international student participation on each team annually to the Department of Education and the applicable athletic association under the bill. The goal of the measure is to "protect opportunities for American student-athletes," Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) say, arguing for every scholarship that goes to an international student, an American student-athlete "must find another way to finance higher education." In multiple sports, international students account for more than a third of participants, with some exceeding 60 percent, they say. |
| John Talty's 'Lane Being Lane' unravels the mystery and chaos of Lane Kiffin | |
 | National college sports reporter John Talty's biography of current LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin, titled "Lane Being Lane," hits bookshelves today. Talty will participate in an interview and host a book signing for the new release at Square Books on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The book details Kiffin's life from childhood to his current position at LSU. The author alleges that Kiffin's interest in coaching for another program began in his second season at Ole Miss when the Auburn job became available. With this history in mind, Talty seems to present the idea that Kiffin leaving the University of Mississippi was not a matter of "if," but "when." Talty also describes Kiffin's relationship with the larger Oxford community. Specifically, the writer details Kiffin's complicated personal relationship with John Currence, the owner of City Grocery, Big Bad Breakfast, Snackbar and Bouré. "Currence never hesitated to keep it real with Lane. He was successful enough that he didn't need the Ole Miss head coach to like him," Talty wrote. "When Lane demanded a reservation for eight people one busy night only to no-show, the restaurateur had no problem letting him have it." Indeed, Talty does not shy away from writing about the complicated and often negative feelings that Kiffin brought about in other people. |
| Landry pleas for 'Southern hospitality' in Kiffin's return | |
| While LSU coach Lane Kiffin is trying to downplay the emotions surrounding his return to Ole Miss on Saturday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry knows what kind of atmosphere will be waiting for the No. 7 Tigers in their SEC opener. "I'm thinking about having to send him in on an F-16 and maybe the team on a C-130," Landry told ESPN. "Security is going to be really tight. You know, we might need the National Guard out there to protect our team. I think it's going to be an interesting weekend." Landry was joking, of course, but Kiffin's return to Oxford, Mississippi, will likely stir up plenty of vitriol from the No. 8 Rebels and their fans. Landry told ESPN that his office has had discussions with Ole Miss officials to ensure that Kiffin and LSU's players will be safe. "I know that we've been talking with Mississippi and making sure that we have adequate security for the team and coach," Landry said. "But I'm hoping that we can go there and play in complete Southern hospitality and have a great, great game." Much of the Rebels' hard feelings toward Kiffin surround how he left and what he tried to do once he was gone. |
| Pro sports leagues, players' unions ask regulators to ban bettors who harass athletes | |
| The NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL and their players' unions formally asked state regulators Tuesday to address the "escalating threat" of harassment and violent threats directed at athletes and staff. "Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in-person interactions," the groups wrote in a letter signed by each of the sports leagues. Athletes across sports have increasingly spoken out about harassment and threats received by bettors who lost money, as sports betting has surged since the Supreme Court paved the way for widespread legalization in 2018. In February, the Big Ten athletes commission asked the NCAA to advocate limiting prop bets because of athlete harassment. The leagues and unions ask gaming commissions and regulators to require sportsbooks to implement a lifetime ban on bettors found to have "abusively harassed or issued threats of violence" toward athletes, coaches or other athletic staff and their families. |
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