| Friday, October 2, 2026 |
| Hegseth: Hillsdale, Liberty, LSU, Miss. State, Tuskegee Will Develop Cadet Corps | |
 | ive additional colleges and universities will develop cadet corps---a broader form of military-aligned education than Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs---Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday. While unveiling the new institutions his department is partnering with, Hegseth again criticized a wide swath of colleges as anti-American. In a memo and speech, Hegseth announced that Hillsdale College and Liberty, Louisiana State, Mississippi State and Tuskegee Universities will be dubbed distinguished military colleges, a label the military once used but abandoned. Hillsdale and Liberty are conservative Christian institutions, while Tuskegee is a historically Black university. The program is another example of Hegseth overhauling the military's relationship with higher ed institutions, putting some highly selective institutions out of favor while elevating others. Through a program called America's Corps of Cadets, he said the department is partnering with these five new "premier higher ed institutions" to establish their cadet corps and will give their students "priority in officer commissioning." "There are a number more that we plan to announce soon," Hegseth said. |
| Land Bank offers free Genuine MS memberships for Agritourism Month | |
 | Mississippi Land Bank, a member of the Farm Credit System and a financing partner for agriculture and rural communities across 32 counties in northern Mississippi, has announced it will cover the cost of a one-year membership for the first 25 agritourism operations that join the Genuine MS program, helping more Mississippi agritourism operations promote their business. The initiative is a celebration of October as Agritourism Month. Agriculture is Mississippi's largest industry, and agritourism is one of the state's fastest-growing tourism markets. Mississippi is home to 107 agritourism operations. The initiative is designed to remove financial barriers and encourage more Mississippi-based businesses to participate in the statewide branding and marketing program. With fall marking the peak season for many agritourism operations, October provides an opportunity for Mississippians and visitors to explore the state's farms and experience agriculture firsthand. |
| PEDRO CHERRY: CEO & President of Mississippi Power | |
| The descriptive "selfless" is often used to positively describe a business leader, meaning that the individual thinks of no one but others in the course of his or her duties. Pedro Cherry is certainly a leader who puts the needs of his customers and employees first in everything he does. As Chairman, President and CEO of Gulfport-based Mississippi Power, and with around 1,100 employees that celebrated its 100th year of service in 2025, however it is that sense of self that has shaped Cherry's leadership philosophy throughout his career and throughout his life. In March 2025 he was named president of Mississippi Power as part of the company's succession plan to take the reins from Anthony Wilson, who Cherry called a "dear friend and mentor." An affable man, whose good nature belies his leadership style, Cherry credits his success in life to his small town background and the way he was raised in Windsor, North Carolina, a town of 2,000 residents. While at Auburn, Cherry entered the industry he's still in today as an intern with Georgia Power. "That's how I got into this sector and learned so much when I was at Georgia Power. I saw how power companies worked, and I knew that's what I wanted to do in my life." |
| Senators give cold shoulder to Hegseth plan to cut admirals, generals | |
 | Defense-focused senators are giving a cool reception to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's proposal to cut 20 percent of the nation's admirals and generals. Several lawmakers said they had not seen the rationale for Hegseth's argument, while others clearly wanted to talk about other things. "No, I certainly want to see his rationale in detail, and I don't have that yet," Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) said when asked if this was a good move for the U.S. military. "We are focused [on] what we are doing today," Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) told reporters when asked about the cuts. When reporters approached Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for comment Wednesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee chair began singing lyrics from Alfred Tennyson's "Ulysses," which is based on Homer's "Odyssey." "There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail; there gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners, souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me," Wicker sang. Some Republicans offered measured support for the proposal. |
| Shad White Asks Mississippi Supreme Court to Toss U. of Mississippi Professor's Defamation Lawsuit | |
| University of Mississippi Sociology Professor James 'J.T.' Thomas was at his Oxford, Mississippi, home in the late afternoon of Sept. 11, 2020. One of his kids was bathing, while the other sat in her bedroom. Preparing for dinner, Thomas heard a hard knock at his front door from where he stood in the kitchen. Afton, Thomas' wife, was already home -- and she had no reason to knock anyway. There was no peephole. Thomas opened the door blind. Two men with guns on their hips -- no uniforms, just polo shirts and pants -- stood before him. Their badges -- and orders -- came from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White. It had been just a few days since nonprofit Thomas' participation in the nationwide Scholar Strike. The officers asked Thomas if they could talk to him and if they could ask him a few questions, Thomas recalled in an interview with the Mississippi Free Press. "No, I'm not going to answer any of your questions," Thomas said. "You can contact the general counsel at the University of Mississippi if you have questions." Years later, Thomas and White are embroiled in a defamation lawsuit the Mississippi Center for Justice brought forward on Thomas' behalf, alleging White defamed Thomas by falsely accusing Thomas of breaking the law and calling on UM to terminate Thomas' employment. Notably, White is being sued in his personal capacity, with the lawsuit arguing White's alleged defamation occurred outside his duties as state auditor. |
| Itawamba Community College choir selected to perform at the White House | |
| One Mississippi community college choir has been selected from more than 1,000 entries to perform during official White House Christmas tours in Washington D.C. this holiday season. The 68-member Itawamba Community College Chamber Choir and ICC Choir under the direction of Kyle Davis will share their musical talents in the nation's capital this Christmas while representing their college, communities and Mississippi. Itawamba's performance is scheduled for the evening of December 14. ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said the invitation is an extraordinary honor for their students and college. "A performance at the White House is an experience they will carry with them long after their time at ICC," Allen said. Allen is calling on the community to help send the students to this "remarkable opportunity." Community members, alumni and friends of the college are invited to support the student performers through contributions to the ICC Foundation. |
| Co-Lin student is 'Baking for a Cause': Literacy | |
 | As a member of Phi Theta Kappa at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Anna McKenzie has combined several of her passions into a one-day project -- "Baking for a Cause." At Co-Lin, McKenzie is Vice President of Scholarship for PTK, as well as president of the Student Government Association. As a PTK officer, McKenzie has the opportunity to work on a "Passion Project." The sophomore chose to combine several of her passions and interests -- baking, event planning, photography, business, and literacy -- "into something meaningful that could make a difference beyond just our campus," she said. "Baking for a Cause" will be a bake sale on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Co-Lin Homecoming Tailgate prior to the game against East Central Community College. All proceeds from the sale will go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides free, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5. Since its founding in 1995, the program has provided more than 300 million books to children worldwide. |
| Feds provide guidance on new federal K-12 scholarship tax credit program | |
| The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new guidance Thursday for participating states, scholarship-granting organizations and taxpayers as the federal scholarship tax credit program prepares to take effect in January. Created through President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending law in 2025, the Education Freedom Tax Credit program allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to certain scholarship-granting organizations (known as SGOs) and taxpayers can contribute to an eligible organization regardless of where that taxpayer lives. The $1,700 limit applies to the donor credit, not the scholarship amount, and married couples filing jointly can claim a combined $3,400 credit. These contributions are meant to fund K-12 scholarships, primarily at private schools, though the scholarships can cover tutoring, books, supplies, extended-day programs and disability services for students who remain in public schools, and tutoring can take place during or after school. |
| One-stop shop for college applications opens to Arkansas students | |
| Arkansas' statewide college application portal has opened to students, the Arkansas Department of Education announced Thursday. The ACCESS portal enables the state's high school seniors to use a single form to apply to any number of the state's participating colleges and universities. The first five applications are free. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' ACCESS Act of 2025 required the creation of a single college application and a web portal for high school seniors starting with the 2026-27 graduating class. The portal can be accessed at araccessportal.adhe.edu. A list of participating higher education institutions is available at araccessportal.adhe.edu/colleges. The state Education Department on Thursday also launched the Arkansas Applied Campaign, a collaboration between the department's Division of Career and Technical Education and its Division of Higher Education. |
| Why Are Name-Brand Colleges Heading to Florida? | |
 | When Carnegie Mellon University opens its new campus in Miami, it will neighbor the art galleries and bars of the city's up-and-coming Wynwood neighborhood -- and, just blocks away, the Miami outpost of Northeastern University. Those two campuses, plus Vanderbilt's forthcoming West Palm Beach graduate school, are part of a trend of moves into South Florida by national name-brand universities. Carnegie Mellon's is the splashiest: It announced this week that Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of the hedge fund Citadel, is giving $2 billion to the Pittsburgh-based university to stand up the Miami venture, which is slated to enroll its first students in 2028. What's sending these colleges south? In Florida, they find a growing population, a booming tech economy, and a crop of local donors willing to put millions -- or billions -- of dollars toward the expansion efforts. In a sector preoccupied with financial precarity, the expansions serve as a reminder that resource-rich universities are looking to pounce on opportunity wherever they can find it. |
| Upgraded Vols Study tab lands on Canvas | |
| The University of Tennessee's Student Government Association revamped the Vols Study Tab, a tutoring and studying page in Canvas, giving students more resources amidst midterm season. Initiated by Student Government Association's First Year Council before being passed by the Undergraduate Student Senate, the Vols Study Tab contains the hours of each specific study center and offers live tutoring for students who have busier schedules. "It's always been a part, at least as long as I've been a student, of the Canvas options whenever you log into your Canvas. However, not all of the study resources were listed on there," Cade Simmons, speaker of the undergraduate senate, said. "What we actually asked for to be implemented is all the study resources that the university has to offer." The additions to the Vols Study Tab include all of the hours for study locations, options to reserve a room in Hodges library and peer mentor resources the university has to offer. |
| Texas Keeps Reinventing College | |
| When Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican of Texas, directed the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board last month to build a statewide framework for 90-credit degrees in high-demand fields, it became the latest in a long line of higher-education innovations in the state. While Texas' more partisan efforts to reshape higher education -- like banning DEI offices, diminishing faculty power, and creating an ombudsman with subpoena power to police "political agendas" in faculty hiring -- have generated significant attention, the past three years have also seen several attempts to increase degree access, affordability, and value. The state has frozen undergraduate tuition and fees through 2027, pushed for the adoption of competency-based education, and revised the state's "Academic Fresh Start" law to allow students to exclude poor grades as recent as five years old from college applications. And now the governor is pushing for three-year degrees. In Texas, which has had a Republican trifecta since 2003, higher education is increasingly conceived of as a vehicle for work-force development. |
| U. of Texas Approves List of 50 Authors for Gen Ed Course | |
| When the task force charged with creating the University of Texas at Austin's new core curriculum unveiled its plan in August, the report noted that professors teaching two of the new courses -- Great Questions of Human Life and Masterworks of Literature -- will be required to assign texts from a curated list of preapproved authors. This week the university shared with faculty the list of authors for one of those courses. In designing their syllabi for Great Questions of Human Life, professors must select readings from among 50 preapproved names -- up from the 40 the task force estimated in August. Among them are playwright William Shakespeare, theologians Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas, and philosophers Karl Marx, Confucius and Plato, some of whose writings were banned at Texas A&M University during a recent course review. For each Great Questions of Human Life course, half of the assigned texts must come from the list of 50 approved authors -- another tweak from the original proposal, which stated two-thirds of the texts must come from approved names. |
| MUPD safety report shows shifting data in burglaries, violent crimes and hazing | |
 | Burglaries have increased on the University of Missouri campus, according to recently released data from the University of Missouri Police Department's 2026 Security and Fire Safety Report. MUPD releases annual reports with data reported from multiple police departments and organizations, including the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff's Department, Office of Institutional Equity, MU Housing, Office of Accountability and Support, and campus security. According to data obtained in the report, only two instances of burglary were recorded on campus in 2024. However, in the 2025 school year, 14 recorded burglaries on campus were tracked by MUPD. MUPD spokesperson Alexandrea Morrow Cronin confirmed that in 2025, the same individuals committed a series of burglaries over several days at Memorial Stadium. "Each incident was recorded and reported individually, which contributed to the higher annual total. In general, most property crimes on campus involve devices such as computers, phones, wearable tech and bicycles," Morrow Cronin said. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State and Kamario Taylor aim to end Alabama's 16-game series winning streak | |
 | When Alabama visits Mississippi State, it's usually a bad day for the Bulldogs. Quarterback Kamario Taylor's dynamism and recent effectiveness in the clutch has provided Mississippi State's cowbell-ringing fans hope that perhaps Saturday will be different from every other time these teams have met since 2007. Taylor is "playing really good football for us," Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said. "I'm proud of his toughness and how he's going about his business." Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC), which will invade Starkville ranked at No. 7 in the AP Top 25, has won 16 straight in the series and the past six engagements haven't been close, with victory margins ranging from a high of 41 points in 2020 to a low of 23 points the last time they met in 2023. The Crimson Tide tide also has been dominant against its first four opponents this season, beating each by two or more touchdowns and scoring at least 45 points in each game. No. 16 Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0) has had to weather a little more adversity so far, winning its two SEC games by a single touchdown and having to come back from a one-TD, fourth-quarter deficit against Missouri last weekend. But the Bulldogs will be at home, where last week the Davis-Wade Stadium crowd entered the Guinness Book of World records by ringing 41,819 cow bells at once. |
| Soccer: Bulldogs Open Three-Match Homestand With No. 11 South Carolina | |
| Mississippi State will host No. 11 South Carolina on Friday night in a nationally-televised match on ESPNU at 6 p.m. CT. It is international night as the Bulldogs celebrate a roster that includes representation from five nations and includes six players with national team experience. The Bulldogs (7-1-3, 1-0-3 SEC) are beginning a three-match homestand that will see them host a pair of ranked squads. Last week, MSU held then-No. 9 Tennessee to a scoreless draw, and the Bulldogs have now won or tied five of their last six top-10 matches. Friday night will be a display of two of the SEC's top defensive units. The Gamecocks' 3.2 expected goals against is the second-lowest in the league through four conference matches, and they are tied for the SEC lead with only one goal allowed. Meanwhile, MSU's expected goals against of 5.4 ranks fifth in the league, and the Bulldogs have allowed just three goals. |
| Ted Cruz's Bid to Pass His College Sports Bill Soon Is Falling Short | |
| It turns out the U.S. House of Representatives will not jump through hoops to vote on Sen. Ted Cruz's college sports bill during the campaign season. After the midterms, the House might even try to call some audibles with the legislation. The Texas Republican has been adamant the House could come back before the elections and quickly pass the Protect College Sports Act (or PCSA). But House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told The Washington Sun in an interview on Wednesday the House has a different plan that could include changes to Cruz's proposal, which passed the Senate Monday with a large bipartisan majority. "There's some good elements in the bill, but you saw there were some other problems that a number of our chairmen of the committees of jurisdiction in the House have with that bill, that would need to be fixed," Scalise said. "Look, we've got our own process. We want to make sure we get this right, because it's really important that we allow the schools to govern themselves." Without delving into specifics, the Louisiana lawmaker said that while there are "differences between the House and the Senate" versions of the legislation, "there's a path to get a final bill to the president's desk, which is what we ultimately want." |
| Colleges paid athletes over $1.77 billion in first year of revenue sharing, CSC reports | |
 | College athletes received more than $1.77 billion in revenue-sharing payments from schools during the first year of a system implemented as part of the House lawsuit settlement, the NCAA and College Sports Commission announced Thursday. Additionally, schools reported paying out a little over $42 million in Alston academic benefits and another $163 million in "new and incremental scholarship spending" through the College Athletes Payment System, which schools use for required reporting. Altogether, college athletes received more than $1.975 billion in direct payments for the 2025-26 school year, a majority of which came via revenue sharing, according to the CSC. The CSC said 307 Division I schools, out of 319 that opted into revenue sharing, in 33 conferences reported payments to 34,915 athletes across 45 sports. Those figures do not count third-party compensation to athletes for name, image and likeness deals. The CSC reported last month that it has cleared 46,478 third-party NIL deals worth more than $582 million since June 2025. Under the settlement terms, college athletes must report NIL deals with outside entities worth more than $600 to CSC through an online platform called NIL Go. |
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