| Tuesday, July 14, 2026 |
| Sid Salter briefs Starkville community leaders about the events of this year's Fair | |
 | It has its roots as an agricultural fair and exposition, but in the past 130-plus years, the Neshoba County Fair has grown into "Mississippi's Giant Houseparty." Neshoba County native, noted journalist, and longtime fairgoer, Sid Salter briefed Starkville business and community leaders about the events of this year's Fair today. The Neshoba County Fair still has some of its traditional agricultural aspects, along with harness racing, entertainment, and a carnival midway, but for many, political stump speeches in Founders' Square are the main attraction. Salter says it comes down to "porches, pies, and politics". The politics give you something to talk about after you've eaten the pie, and you're relaxing on the cabin porch. But really, it comes down to the fact that there is something for almost everyone at The Fair. "Everybody can find some facet of the Fair that will appeal to them. Maybe, not all of them, but I like to tell people there are a lot of different 'fairs' going on there when people visit. It depends on what your interests are and where your heart is. People find their 'fair' when they get down there," said Salter. |
| Falling gas prices likely cut inflation last month but renewal of Iran war could undo progress | |
 | Inflation likely cooled last month as gas prices declined, providing consumers with some welcome relief even as renewed combat with Iran has sent oil prices climbing again. The government's latest inflation report, to be released Tuesday, is forecast to show that consumer prices dropped 0.2% in June, according to a survey of economists by data provider FactSet. It would be the first monthly decline in nearly four years. Compared with a year ago, prices probably rose 3.9%, down from a 4.2% annual rate in May. Gas prices have fallen a bit more in July, suggesting inflation could dip again in next month's report. Still, the better numbers aren't likely to unwind concerns about affordability that have become a political liability for the Trump administration as the midterm elections near. Inflation is still higher than before the Iran war, when it was just 2.4%. And the situation in the Middle East continues to change hour to hour. Gas price spikes have also raised air fares. And by pushing up diesel prices, they have lifted shipping costs for groceries and other goods. |
| Flags at half-staff to honor Graham | |
 | Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said Monday that the state will join in President Trump's request to honor South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. "At the request of President Donald J. Trump, I've ordered flags to be flown at half-staff through July 18 in honor of the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham," Reeves wrote on social media Monday. "Mississippi is praying for the entire Graham family and for all of the people of South Carolina." Graham died suddenly over the weekend. |
| South Carolina governor picks Graham's sister to serve out his term | |
 | Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, will fill his Senate seat through the end of his term in January, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster announced Monday. "Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed," McMaster said at a news conference in Columbia, referring to Graham becoming his then teenage sister's legal guardian after their parents died within 15 months of each other. "It's my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now." The late senator, a close ally of President Donald Trump, died Saturday evening from a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner report shared by his office. "As I think everyone would agree, Lindsey worked harder than anyone. He worked nonstop to make our state, country and world better.," Nordone said at Monday's news conference. "I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States." A mother of two, Nordone has worked with people with disabilities and helped them to find jobs. She has not previously held elected office. |
| Cruz eyes July 29 as possible date for markup of AI bills | |
 | Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is eyeing July 29 to hold a highly anticipated markup of kids' online safety and artificial intelligence bills, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of private scheduling discussions. The Texas Republican has said he intends to convene a meeting in late July to consider multiple bills that could garner bipartisan support, though exactly which measures land on the agenda remains to be seen. His office would not confirm whether July 29 was the target date. "This markup is designed to move legislation that has a real chance of passing into law," Cruz said in an interview last month, adding that he was vetting bills depending on "what bipartisan agreement and consensus can be reached." Cruz personally has authored a bill on chatbots -- or online apps that mimic human conversation and can pose harm for children. According to his aides, Cruz is also drawn to legislation that reflects his belief that the government should have a role in enacting rules around the threats of catastrophic risk posed by AI. |
| Can Democrats Win Rural Voters Turning Away From Trump? It's a Tough Sell. | |
 | Beth Macy built her career writing about the plagues inflicted on rural America, most famously the opioid epidemic in "Dopesick," but also the job losses from trade agreements that devastated communities across Appalachia. Now running as a Democrat in the kind of House district she says she is uniquely qualified to reach, she recited the 4-H pledge from memory -- "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service" -- before about 25 farmers and three goats in a barn in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. A giant fan tried in vain to blow off the 100-degree heat. "Wouldn't it be nice if we had some of that pledge coming out of Washington?" Ms. Macy asked as some in the crowd nodded. Ms. Macy is among a small number of candidates trying to prove that Democrats can win back the House not just by contesting swing districts in the nation's suburbs and industrial cities but by talking and listening to the rural voters who have bolted the party over the last 25 years. But Democrats are not exactly pushing on an open door. Rural voters complain, too, about a party that has abandoned them for decades. |
| LSU School of Veterinary Medicine dean steps down | |
 | LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Dean Oliver Garden has stepped down, with Colin Mitchell announced as interim dean. Garden will stay on with the veterinary school as the Kenneth F. Burns Endowed Chair and Professor of Comparative Medicine in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, the school's website states. "After five wonderful years, I am taking a temporary break from administrative leadership to re-invigorate my scholarship and contribute to the success of the school from the ranks of its talented faculty," Garden's LinkedIn profile says. A release from LSU Vet Med said the school will launch a national search for its next permanent dean. Britta Leise will serve as interim head of the Veterinary Clinical Sciences department while Mitchell fulfills the responsibilities of dean, the release said. Garden was named dean in August 2021. His dean biography said he led the transition to a new Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum, renovations to the campus and a class size increase to 200 students. |
| U. of Arkansas Countersues Professor, Alleging He Spent Research Dollars on Wedding | |
 | The University of Arkansas system board is countersuing a professor who filed a civil rights lawsuit against the university this past spring, claiming the professor defrauded the institution by using research funding to pay for his wedding reception and honeymoon, The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported. In the counterclaim, university officials argue that Najja K. Baptist, a tenured associate professor of political science, lied about how he spent the university's money. The filing states that Baptist sent an invitation to political science chair William Schreckhise for a June 7 wedding reception in Columbia, S.C., at the Gala Event Center. An internal audit -- which flagged $48,000 of "questionable" spending by Baptist -- found that, in paperwork filed to the university, Baptist reported that he rented the Gala Event Center for a 75-person focus group on June 7. Baptist denies the fraud allegations. |
| U. of Tennessee research uncovers tick protein that could prevent disease transmission | |
| A tiny, vampiric bug crawls onto the shoe of an unsuspecting hiker. It climbs up to deliver a painless bite – one with serious consequences. Tick-borne illnesses have reached some of the highest rates in a decade, prompting a strong demand for solutions. In a new study published in the European Molecular Biology Organization Journal, scientists at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine have discovered a protein found in ticks that could prevent disease transmission. The research was conducted by professor Hameeda Sultana, alumni postdoctoral fellow Waqas Ahmed, and various former and current graduate students. "When ticks bite, we get a highly inflammative bump," Sultana said. "It is not just a nuisance, but if they're infected, they can transmit the viruses and bacteria to us." The lab focuses on arthropod-derived exosomes, small, bubble-like structures that are important for cell communication. Sultana and her team discovered a protein carried by these exosomes in tick saliva that assists in disease transferral. After this discovery, the lab conducted many transmission experiments to observe the effects of manipulating the protein. |
| U. of Tennessee plans 3 new dorms through private partnership | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville received state approval to add three new dorms to a public-private partnership on the state's flagship campus after the completion of Torchbearer Hall. The university will continue working with Provident Resources Group and developer RISE Real Estate to construct the new residence halls and a classroom space to replace Reese, North Carrick and South Carrick halls. All of these dorms opened in the 1960s and no longer are used for student housing. Once complete, the dorms replacing them will house around 1,569 students. Torchbearer Hall, set to open for the fall 2026 semester, is the newest of three dorms built on campus through a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership to fast-track construction. UT and RISE broke ground on the project in March 2024, with Beacon and Poplar Halls opening for the fall 2025 semester. UT will need to consult with the Tennessee Historical Commission about what to with the old dorms. |
| Texas A&M employees report sharp drop in trust after year of leadership upheaval | |
| Faculty and staff reported sharp declines in trust in senior leadership at Texas A&M University after a year marked by presidential turnover and concerns about academic freedom, according to an annual employee survey obtained by the Houston Chronicle. Out of more than 5,600 employees who responded, only 19% of faculty and 38% of staff said they trusted and had confidence in the senior leadership team. The change from last year -- down 23 percentage points among faculty and 14 points among staff -- was "the most significant concern" from the survey, one administrator said in an April email to employees. "Employees generally are satisfied with their local work teams and supervisors, as well as their working conditions and benefits," Joseph P. Pettibon II, A&M's senior vice president of strategy and business services, wrote in the email. "While these gains are encouraging, the trust gap limits our ability to fully realize them." About 38% of A&M's 14,699 employees responded to the 2026 survey, which was conducted in February by the consulting firm Korn Ferry. The reported levels of trust in A&M leadership were significantly lower than what the consulting group typically sees in higher education, at nearly 60%. |
| UC abruptly suspends plan to reconsider SAT in admissions | |
 | The University of California admissions board has voted to rescind -- for now -- its plan to study whether to resume SAT or ACT requirements in admissions, a move that leaves one of the university's most closely watched debates unclear a day before the Board of Regents meets in San Francisco. UC's Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, known as BOARS, announced last month that it would convene two work groups through next year: one to weigh the role of standardized tests in admissions, the other to reexamine high school course requirements for acceptance to UC. At a Friday meeting, the board voted to pull back on the plan, and the links that explained it -- which appeared on the UC website late last week -- have been removed. The decision shelves, possibly for months, a process UC said would be a careful, evidence-driven review that was praised by UC President James B. Milliken as "comprehensive." It is unclear why the plan was suspended. Faculty outcry that first-year STEM students were severely deficient in math skills built up over months before the admissions board in June said it would study reinstating the UC test policy. |
| To AI-Proof Lawyers, Some Law Schools Restrict Technology | |
| Even as the legal profession embraces generative artificial intelligence, some of the nation's top law schools are restricting its use. In May, the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, announced that effective this summer, students are by default prohibited from using AI in "conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising, translating, or editing any work submitted for credit" to ensure "the best legal education possible for our students by equipping them to perform activities constitutive of excellent lawyering." Last month, the dean of the law school at the University of Texas at Austin called on faculty to "make extensive use of classroom time to engage students in sustained and rigorous dialogue" by making sure students are "not distracted by (let alone relying upon) whatever might be taking place on their screen at that time." And late last week, the University of Chicago Law School announced that it will ban laptops, tablets and phones in the classroom for first-year law students beginning this fall as part of its broader strategy of adapting legal education for the AI era. The ban is intended to prevent generative AI from undermining the Socratic method, which has long been a hallmark of legal education; instead of spending class time lecturing, law professors probe students with questions about legal theories and principles. |
| Now Democrats Are Losing Confidence in Higher Ed, Too | |
 | Democrats have suddenly lost confidence in higher ed, according to polling released Tuesday by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation. Democrats' faith plunged 11 points since last year, leaving just half confident in colleges, as shown in the chart below. And college graduates are pessimistic. Only 43 percent said they had "a great deal " or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher ed. That weak number is buoyed somewhat by those with postgraduate degrees, 49 percent of whom were confident. Bachelor's holders were no more bullish than high-school graduates: Fewer than 40 percent of both groups expressed confidence in the sector. Confidence among bachelor's holders has now tracked with non-college graduates for three straight years, as the chart below shows. This means higher ed risks losing its core constituencies. Democrats were a reservoir of political support over the last decade as views of higher ed soured more broadly. And colleges must ask who will support them if not their own graduates. Just 38 percent of all American adults were confident in higher ed. That's down from 42 percent last year, when overall confidence posted a rare six-point uptick. |
SPORTS
| Group of 11 athletes challenge new NCAA eligibility rules in suit | |
| The NCAA is facing a federal class action lawsuit against its new eligibility rules. Eleven Division I athletes, including Division I basketball standouts Cade Tyson and Brock Wisne, have filed a federal class action lawsuit in Colorado that alleges the NCAA's new eligibility rules have adversely affected their ability to extend their college careers and the NIL benefits attached to that opportunity. The NCAA recently announced an eligibility rule change that grants all athletes five years to compete, but it did not grant athletes who exhausted their eligibility in the 2025-26 campaign an additional season. If successful, the federal lawsuit could essentially nullify the NCAA's new eligibility rules for a massive pool of athletes across all sports who would then be allowed to enter the transfer portal and extend their careers. With football season set to begin in a month, a ruling in favor of these athletes could alter the college landscape for the upcoming season. If it's defeated, it could also signal a significant ruling in favor of the NCAA, which has faced numerous state lawsuits already regarding its new eligibility rules. |
| A major bracket shake-up: NCAA women's tournament to seed the top 16 by true ranking next year | |
| Beginning with next year's NCAA women's basketball tournament, the top 16 teams will be placed in the bracket in their true ranking regardless of conference affiliation. In the past, the top four teams in a conference would be placed in different regions to protect them from playing each other until the Final Four. For example, the tournament this past season had four SEC teams in the top eight overall seeds. Texas was third, South Carolina fourth, LSU fifth and Vanderbilt seventh. LSU was dropped down to seventh and Vanderbilt eighth in the bracketing to avoid having them be in the same regions. Now if that happened going forward, the teams would remain where their seeds should have them. "We put a lot of time into establishing those top 16 teams in the order they go in," NCAA women's basketball committee chair Amanda Braun said in a phone interview. "You're splitting hairs to decide who has the edge and some of that is undone by those principles. To all of us, the work we did and the work those teams did justifies keeping them where they are in that group of 16." The men's selection committee will still separate out the top four seeds in each conference and put them in different regions. |
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