| Tuesday, February 18, 2025 |
| Rotary Club learns Presidents Day history at a meeting in Starkville | |
 | It was a lesson on the history of Presidents' Day at the Presidents' Day meeting of the Starkville Rotary Club. Starkville has good resources for studying two American Presidents, The Ulysses Grant Presidential Library and the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, both housed at Mississippi State University. Susannah Ural, the Williams Chair for Abraham Lincoln and Civil War Studies at MSU, spoke to Rotarians about those resources, Lincoln's legacy, and the evolution of Presidents' Day commemorations. The holiday began as a celebration of George Washington's Birthday. As early as the 1880's some states were also celebrating Lincoln, and that grew into the early 20th Century. By the late 20th Century, both men were equally celebrated. Ural said you don't need to wait until Presidents' Day to take advantage of MSU's unique resources. "I would just love to invite people to come see the collection." |
| Local student celebrates acceptance into MSU's ACCESS Program | |
| Now in its 15th year, Mississippi State University's ACCESS Program is the first program in the state for students with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities. Students experience academics, career development, independent living, and socialization, and take part in activities at MSU. A video of a student being accepted is going viral. For Mylan Williams, being accepted into Mississippi State University's ACCESS Program was a dream come true. His mother, Tashanda White, held a celebration as Mylan opened his acceptance letter. Director of the Disability Resource Center and ACCESS Program Chris Dallager explained what it means for students to be accepted into the program. "It's huge," Dallager said. "Every family that applies wants something better for their child. They want their child to be as independent as they possibly can. And we wish we could accept even more students. We've grown our capacity. It's hard when we can't accept students, but for those who get accepted, it's a world of difference. The change nationally for students with intellectual disabilities is they are employed at less than 20%. However, the students that go through programs like ACCESS are employed at over 75%. So the chance to have a different future is made here." |
| Community Profile: Longtime student, Hail State Rewards record holder, finds post-graduate home in athletic dept | |
 | Daniel Montgomery is confident that his 213,345 Hail State Rewards points for attending Mississippi State sporting events is an unbreakable record. Given that Montgomery spent eight years as an MSU student and earned two degrees in kinesiology while going to as many games as possible, he is probably right. He may no longer be a student, but Montgomery is still a regular presence at all athletic venues on campus. After receiving his master's degree in 2023, he joined the athletic facilities team full time and is currently in his first year as MSU's coordinator for athletic facilities and quality assurance. "I never really needed the prizes as much as I just wanted to see how high I could get my numbers," Montgomery said. "But most of it was (that) I just wanted to go support those teams, because some of the smaller sports don't get the support that basketball and baseball and football do. Especially once I got in athletics and I started to know some of the coaches and the staff and was taking classes with some of these players, I wanted to go support them." Montgomery graduated from Starkville High School in 2014 with highest honors, and while his personal athletic exploits were confined to the Yellow Jackets' bowling team, he had always been a big Bulldogs fan and never considered going to college anywhere else but MSU. "I didn't apply to any other schools," Montgomery said. "Any correspondence I got from other schools, I just threw away." |
| Starkville updates ADA plan for first time in 14 years | |
| Starkville is seeing the benefits of a renewed push for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, employing new technologies to identify where city sidewalks have fallen into disrepair. Assistant City Planner Lyle MeCaskey presented an update to the city's Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan to the board of aldermen at a Friday work session, including a variety of completed or planned advances in public infrastructure, online systems and experiments in new mapping technology. "We consider this a living document. As we go into the future you'll probably see this before the board annually to make updates on what has been or will be fixed," MeCaskey said. "This has taken a year just because we went out identified all the sidewalks in town, basically assigning them as assets to track in the future. We want to make sure as we're identifying those assets, we're actually going in and creating documentation as to what is wrong." Starkville's ADA transition plan hasn't been updated since 2011. The current push started with efforts from the street, engineering and planning departments. The physical changes have been a hybrid effort, both ensuring large projects like the Main Street redesign are compliant and having crews go out to do spot fixes in areas that aren't likely to see a full resurfacing any time soon. |
| Active tornado season expected in Mississippi this spring | |
 | Spring is almost here and while it's always welcome after the colder months of winter, it brings violent weather and this spring Mississippi could experience more tornadoes than most springs. "The springtime is the most active season for tornadoes," said Michael Hill, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Jackson. "Right now, we're in a slight La Niña pattern, which means we have a little more active jet stream and more active spring. Generally, on the whole, it's a more active jet stream so we have a chance for deeper troughs, stronger storms and more storms." Hill said the months of March, April and May are the peak months for tornado activity in Mississippi. It's the same time of year that Mississippi experienced a deadly tornado outbreak in 2023. On March 24 a violent weather system entered Mississippi and 21 people were killed in the state. The small town of Rolling Fork in the Mississippi Delta was nearly destroyed by an EF4 tornado packing winds up to 170 miles per hour. Although spring is the most active time for tornadoes in Mississippi, Hill stressed that tornadoes can strike all through the year. "We live in the most active area for tornadoes in the country," Hill said. "The most active place for tornadoes over the last 50 years is Central Mississippi." |
| Tennessee Valley Authority bringing natural gas power plant to Lowndes County | |
 | The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), America's largest public power supplier, has selected the option to construct a natural gas plant in Lowndes County. The TVA-owned New Caledonia Site, located around 10 miles northeast of Columbus, has been vacant since 2007 but will soon be put to use. The power provider will build a simple cycle combustion turbine plant on the land that will bring new power generation to the area. It will be paired with existing natural gas and transmission infrastructure on the 145-acre site and an adjacent substation. "TVA is taking a holistic approach to our generation portfolio to ensure that we are doing our part to drive economic development and to make Mississippi the best place to live, work, and raise a family," Mississippi TVA regional executive Amy Tate said. "We are adding the New Caledonia site to our portfolio to enable ongoing and future growth, focusing on more efficient energy generation while maintaining low rates and reliable power for people we are privileged to serve." |
| MEC WorkFuture Tour: Childcare an important aspect of workforce development | |
 | Building a future that works for all Mississippians is the latest statewide effort by the Mississippi Economic Chamber, focusing on issues related to workforce development including education, talent retention and job opportunities for young professionals, infrastructure, growing the economy and a healthy workforce. The All-America City was the sixth of 20 stops for the MEC WorkFuture Tour, the purpose of which is to both inform the business community about what's going on, but also gauge their hopes and concerns. "There's still a positive feel for what the economy over the next few years," said MEC president and CEO Scott Waller. "But there are pressures on businesses, primarily on worker availability and rising costs and inflation." Worker availability is the key to improving the quality and quantity of the workforce, Waller said. "Then it's figuring out how to make the adjustments. We don't much control over that, but if you drive the economy, that's going to help you be more successful," Waller said. Waller cited Toyota Mississippi's Childcare Center as a model for others. The automaker's multimillion-dollar facility, which will open later this year, will accommodate more than 100 children for both of its shifts at the Blue Springs plant. |
| Absentee voting now open ahead of Mississippi's municipal primary elections | |
| Exactly six weeks remain until municipal primary elections occur across Mississippi with the secretary of state's office announcing Tuesday that absentee ballots are available for both mail-in and in-person voting. According to Secretary Michael Watson's office, those wishing to vote through the absentee process can verify eligibility using the Y'all Vote website or contacting their local municipal clerk. Eligible reasons for absentee voting include but are not limited to, being out of town on Election Day, living with a disability, or being 65 years or older. If eligible, municipal clerks will provide ballots upon request through the postal service or in person for Republican or Democratic primaries. For those absentee voting by mail, ballots must be postmarked on or before the primary election date of April 1. For those absentee voting in person, the final day to do so is Saturday, March 29. Municipal clerk's offices are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are now accepting walk-in voters. Those who cannot visit their local municipal clerk's office during the work week will be able to utilize Saturday in-person voting on March 22 and March 29 from 8 a.m. to noon. The deadline to register to vote in the municipal primary election is March 3. |
| Alcohol sales, youth court, retirement systems bills alive in Legislature | |
| Bills to allow for the sale of booze on Sunday, the expansion of charter schools in Mississippi and major youth court reforms were just a few of hundreds of bills to pass out of the Mississippi House and Senate by Thursday's legislative deadline. In the Mississippi Legislature, lawmakers have until specific dates throughout the 90-day session to advance bills through the legislative process. Thursday was the deadline for the House and Senate to pass bills through their originating chamber. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill proposed by the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi board of trustees. The bill, Senate Bill 2439, would create a new tier of retirement benefits for new state employees and PERS members. Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, told the Clarion Ledger the board proposed the new tier of benefits to help address a $25 billion liability within the state retirement system. That liability is due to a variety of factors, but notably there are fewer and fewer active PERS members paying into the state retirement system with more and more beneficiaries coming into retirement. As of the end of 2023, there were 146,664 active members are paying into the system, a 10% fall from 2014 when it sat at 162,044. There are 118,301 retirees receiving benefits. |
| Ag Commissioner, state Rep. at odds over bill to build new cell tower at Fairgrounds | |
| A bill that would allow the state to acquire the city of Jackson's cell tower at the former Eudora Welty Library has sparked debate among state leaders via social media. Last week, the House approved H.B. 994, which would allow the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) to acquire the city-owned tower to help make way for a new green space for the Two Mississippi Museums. Meanwhile, the measure would authorize it to construct a new tower at the State Fairgrounds, which would then be leased to the city for the next 50 years for a $1. The measure passed out of the House on a 112-2 vote on February 11. It has since been transferred to the Senate and placed in the Public Property Committee. A day after its passage, Agricultural Commissioner Andy Gipson took to social media to blast the measure, saying the new tower would go up using taxpayer dollars. Gipson, a longtime critic of the capital city, also took issue with the fact that the bill would allow Jackson to keep all the revenues generated from the new tower, despite it being located on state property. Rep. Missy McGee, the bill's author, fired back, saying in a February 13 post that the measure "does not require the taxpayers to fund the project" and that Gipson has "never been one to let the truth stand in the way of a good story." "You would think Andy, being a corporate attorney, could more accurately read a bill," she wrote. |
| House passes new nursing regulation aimed at expanding access to care in Mississippi | |
| With access to medical services limited across the state, especially in rural areas, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that allows advanced practice nurses (APRNs) to treat patients outside of a collaboration agreement with a physician after accruing 8,000 hours of experience. State Rep. Samuel Creekmore (R), chair of the House Public Health Committee, described the bill as a way to address the limited access to critical healthcare. The National Institute for Health says Mississippi has the worst physician shortage in the nation, a problem projected to get worse as one-third of the state's doctors near retirement age. "Most of the healthcare being done in the state of Mississippi is at that mid-level healthcare area, and that's what this bill addresses," Creekmore described. Advanced practice nurses include nurse practitioners, certified nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and certified nurse anesthetists. Under current Mississippi law, these advanced practice nurses can provide care consistent with their training without the supervision of physicians. However, they are required to maintain "collaborative agreements" with physicians that require the collaborating doctor to review 10 percent of APRNs' treatment charts once a month. Before the bill came up for a vote, a total of six amendments were submitted by various representatives. While the first five failed, the sixth, submitted by Rep. Bryant Clark (D), was adopted. His amendment was to ask the Legislature to expand the rural physician scholarship program in the state from a total of 62 scholarships to 100 before the bill could take effect. |
| Pending legislation seeks to remove collaborative agreements for some nurse practitioners | |
| Nurse practitioners can practice on their own in Mississippi as long as they have a formal collaboration with a doctor. The question before lawmakers with House Bill 849 now is whether that could be eliminated if the nurse practitioner has a certain amount of experience. The Mississippi Association of Nurse Practitioners says collaborative agreements are restrictive. However, President of the State Medical Association Dr. Jennifer Bryan says the restrictions are there for a reason. "The model of education is vastly different, "explained Bryan. "Not only is it about hours but there's no standardization nationwide with nurse practitioner education." Bryan says each year it's come up at the legislature, doctors have been part of the conversation as the rules have changed from having direct supervision to a certain radius to now as long as the collaborator is in the state. "I hesitate to use compromise because, honestly, physicians have mostly ceded," said Bryan. "We gave until our ethics kicked in, and we said this is not safe." "This is not a turf war," added Bryan. "It's plain and simple about patient safety and working together as a cohesive team." |
| With deadline looming, lawmakers try again to pass an updated judicial redistricting plan | |
| State Senator Brice Wiggins (R), chairman of Senate Judiciary A Committee, sought to be ahead of the deadline on judicial redistricting during the 2024 session but as he told his colleagues last week, the House did not take up the legislation that passed in the Senate last year. "Under Mississippi law, under the constitution and the statute, we, meaning the Legislature, has to redistrict by the fifth year [following the Census], Wiggins said. Now with SB 2768, Wiggins is back in that fifth year with the same proposal filed a year ago. If legislators do not act, the responsibility of redistricting will shift to the Mississippi Supreme Court. "If we do not pass a bill [to redistrict], then it falls to the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice to redistrict," Wiggins told the Senate. His proposal adjusts the Circuit and Chancery Court Districts based on factors such as population shifts, caseload, and geographic boundaries. Over in the House, HB 1544 passed the chamber by a vote of 83 to 35. Their proposal was presented by State Rep. Kevin Horan (R), chair of the House Judiciary B Committee. The two chambers have now swapped the proposals and the judiciary committees in each chamber will be considering the measures. It is expected that both chambers will invite conference and seek to hash out their differences before the end of the session. |
| Senate passes bill to create more uniform Mississippi youth court system | |
| The Mississippi Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would place a permanent, full-time youth court judge in every area of the state, potentially creating a more consistent system of justice for vulnerable children. "This is about protection and looking out for our state's most vulnerable citizens, which are the children," Senate Judiciary A Chairman Brice Wiggins said. "And there is inconsistent justice throughout the state, and that's just a function of the system we've had for all these decades." Mississippi has a disjointed youth court system that differs from county to county. Youth court deals with most instances where children commit crimes and where adults are accused of abusing and neglecting minors. A full-time county court judge presides over youth court matters in counties with a county court. But despite its name, not every Mississippi county has a county court. Senate Bill 2769 creates a "hybrid" system that allows counties with a county court to retain jurisdiction of youth court matters. In the remaining counties, the legislation places a full-time chancellor solely dedicated to youth court matters within the chancery districts. "It's imperative that we do something about youth court around the state," Republican Sen. Nicole Boyd of Oxford told reporters. "This gives families the help they need." |
| Investors Haven't Been This Pessimistic About Stocks Since 2023 | |
 | Bearishness among individual investors -- measured by the percentage who expect stock prices to fall over the next six months -- reached 47.3% for the week ended Feb. 12, according to the latest survey from the American Association of Individual Investors. That is the highest level since November 2023. The unabashed bullishness that marked much of the past two years has been muddied by trade-war threats, regulatory upheaval, stubborn inflation and the dwindling expectations for additional interest-rate cuts. The S&P 500 climbed 23% in 2024, led by a handful of stocks that touched sky-high valuations as the year progressed. And while investors haven't totally soured on the market, the constant flurry of headlines has left some less confident in where stocks head from here. Rising pessimism isn't always a bad sign. Indeed, some investors use the survey as a contrarian indicator, selling when bullish sentiment touches highs and buying when bearishness jumps. "The mood is confused. They don't know which policies are going to stick and which ones aren't," said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research. "It isn't necessarily bearish, it is just not bullish." Tariffs have been one particular Trump policy that investors are watching, as President Trump whipsaws on when the duties will be implemented and which countries will be targeted. Economists have said that tariffs could make inflation worse, raise costs for American businesses and weigh on growth and therefore markets. |
| Why Alabama's thriving car industry will feel a big impact from Trump's auto tariffs | |
 | Alabama has found success in the automotive industry by becoming the No. 1 auto-exporting state, as of 2023, after producing more than 1.1 million vehicles. With President Donald Trump announcing last week that he would be imposing a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports that come into the United States from Canada, Mexico and China that will go into effect on March 12, Alabama is sure to feel the effects. President Trump hopes that with this tariff, America will be rich again and it will decrease the amount of the drugs, like fentanyl, into the country as well as decrease the number of migrants who come into the country. While crude oil was the largest import for Alabama in 2023, automobile and automobile parts followed right behind. Motor vehicles accounted for $1.43 billion in imports while motor vehicle body parts were totaled at $2.26 billion combined. The automobile industry in Alabama supports 88,947 employees. Another industry in Alabama that can potentially be impacted due to President Trump's tariffs is the aerospace industry. Alabama is home to companies such as NASA, Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin where they accounted for $6.4 billion in exports from 2020-2023. With Alabama having a strong military presence as well, Huntsville International Airport just expanded its facility with a new aviation hangar that will house 30 foreign military partners. |
| White House Changes Federal Contracting Rules to Eliminate DEI Considerations | |
| The Trump administration is directing federal agencies to no longer consider a company's diversity, equity and inclusion practices when deciding whether to procure its goods or services, according to an announcement from the General Services Administration. The new policy reverses a Biden administration initiative that asked the government to weigh a company's internal DEI practices as one of many factors when considering whether to purchase that company's products or services. The GSA is also ending a federal effort to replace plastic straws with paper straws in federal operations, bringing procurement policy in line with an executive order President Trump signed last week. Last year, the Biden administration adopted a goal of phasing out federal procurement of single-use plastics from all federal operations by 2035. The moves are the first in what the GSA says will be an overhaul of federal procurement practices. The set of acquisition regulations "has grown to more than 2,000 pages. It's burdensome, outdated, and doesn't allow agencies to buy at the speed of need," said Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service. For decades, the government has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike for rules governing federal contracting that many found to be cumbersome. It isn't clear what sorts of reforms the government can make without the permission of Congress, however. Many preferences given to certain types of companies, such as those owned by people with disabilities or Native American tribes, are set by Congress. |
| U.S., Russia hold talks in 'first step' to Ukraine peace, better relations | |
 | The Trump administration concluded initial talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine and improving relations on Tuesday, a turning point in Washington's handling of Europe's most destructive conflict in decades and a sign of the U.S. president's willingness to sideline allies in his determination to impose a swift peace. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's discussions with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the first such high-level U.S.-Russian encounter since Moscow's 2022 invasion, yielded an agreement to form negotiating teams and held out the possibility of "historic economic and investment opportunities" for Russia if the conflict is brought to a successful conclusion. A State Department readout of the talks did not mention the role that the Ukrainian government, which did not take part in the four-and-a-half hours of meetings at a cavernous royal palace in the Saudi capital, would play in those negotiations. But Rubio, who was joined by national security adviser Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, said President Donald Trump's goal was to achieve a deal that was "fair, enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved." "Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey but an important one," Rubio told reporters after the talks. The Riyadh talks have deeply unsettled Ukraine, where fears are mounting that U.S. officials are overly comfortable discussing the country's future without Kyiv at the table. |
| 'No kings on Presidents Day' rings out from protests against Trump and Musk | |
 | Protesters against President Donald Trump and his policies braved frigid temperatures in parts of the U.S. Monday, shouting "No kings on Presidents Day" in East Coast cities and attempting to enter the Arizona Statehouse to oppose a bill that would bolster fast-changing federal immigration enforcement. In Florida and California, local media outlets reported on hundreds of protesters carrying out "Not my Presidents Day" protests. The "No Kings" theme was orchestrated by the 50501 Movement, and marked the second set of protests criss-crossing the nation in less than two weeks. A similar nationwide event on Feb. 5 drew participants in dozens of cities. Both sets of rallies denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the leader of Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, a government organization designed to slash federal spending. Nearly 1,000 people marched in the snow from the Statehouse in Boston to City Hall, chanting "Elon Musk has got to go" and other slogans. The temperature was below freezing, with wind chills in the teens. Boston protesters, some dressed in Revolutionary War-style clothing, carried signs saying such things as "This is a Coup" and "Cowards Bow to Trump, Patriots Stand Up." One sign had a depiction of Uncle Sam saying "I Want You to Resist." The rallies followed a series of Trump executive orders and came just days after layoffs across federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the government workforce. |
| Some of the country's most coveted voters are fed up with American democracy | |
 | President Donald Trump declared upon taking office that the U.S. had entered a "new golden age," but it doesn't feel that way to a select group of voters from a state that helped deliver his victory. The voters -- men and women, young and old -- were part of a 15-person focus group that came together on a frigid mid-January night in the battleground town of Nazareth, to dissect the state of the country's democracy following one of the most divisive elections in American history. Their outlook would prove to be a far cry from Trump's triumphalism. Members of the focus group instead spelled out their anxieties about the fragile nature of the country's increasingly polarized, anger-riddled and online experiment in self-governance. "There's too much hate in politics right now, and it just makes you scared to vote honestly," said Joe, a college student in his early 20s who was one of the younger participants in the group. "You're just like, 'What side do I pick?'" Republicans and Democrats spent billions on campaign ads in 2024 to woo voters like these to their side. But many participants in the focus group felt the country's lawmakers, cable TV pundits and social media giants were waging a toxic fight for voters' loyalty -- one that was pushing Americans towards more extreme positions, and then vilifying those who disagreed with them. "Most of us sitting at this table are really a lot closer together than the political parties would have us believe," said Frank, one of the oldest voters in the room. |
| 'What leverage do we have?' Democrats face pressure to fight the Trump agenda | |
 | Congressional Democrats have been front and center at recent rallies, blasting the Trump administration's slash-and-burn remake of the federal government. But at a protest in response to the furlough of nearly all employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, lawmakers were at times drowned out by an agitated crowd chanting, "Do your job" and "What are you going to do about it?" It highlights the tension that congressional Democrats face with a base pushing them to be more aggressive in combating the Trump administration -- but with very limited power as the party in the minority. "I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a press briefing this month. "What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America -- they control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It's their government." It's a reality that has driven a disconnect between Democratic lawmakers and many of their constituents. House Democrats say the phones in their offices have been ringing off the hook with constituents and grassroots supporters demanding action. |
| Mississippi could face health research funding cuts under Trump administration policy | |
| Mississippi universities and nonprofits could lose tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for health research if a Trump administration policy withstands legal challenges. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the National Institutes of Health's Feb. 7 plan to slash "indirect cost" rates -- the portion of grant funding used for facilities and administration -- to 15% after 22 attorneys general sued the Trump administration. Mississippi did not join the lawsuit. Mississippi universities and other institutions have active grants worth over $97 million, according to publicly available data from National Institutes of Health. Grant funding from the agency directly supported over 1,200 jobs and $220 million in economic activity in Mississippi during the 2024 fiscal year, according to United for Medical Research, a group that advocates for National Institutes of Health funding. University of Mississippi Medical Center, the state's only academic medical institution and the recipient of half of Mississippi's National Institutes of Health grant funding, has a negotiated indirect cost rate of 55%, meaning the institution receives an additional 55 cents for overhead for each dollar granted for research funding. Slashing this rate to 15% overnight would have drastic implications for the institution. A spokesperson for the University of Mississippi Medical Center said the institution is monitoring the situation but declined to comment further. |
| Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders | |
 | The notices came all weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health professionals: Your work is no longer needed. At the National Institutes of Health, the nation's premier biomedical research agency, an estimated 1,200 employees -- including promising young investigators slated for larger roles -- have been dismissed. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two prestigious training programs were gutted. President Trump's plan to shrink the size of the federal work force dealt blows to thousands of civil servants in the past few days. But the cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services -- coming on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic, the worst public health crisis in a century -- have been especially jarring. "It seems like a very destructive strategy to fire the new talent at an agency, and the talent that's being promoted," said Dr. David Fleming, the chairman of an advisory committee to the C.D.C. director. He added, "A lot of energy and time has been spent in recruiting those folks, and that's now tossed out the window." The dismissals have also rattled graduate students eyeing careers in public health and the biomedical sciences. "I just lectured to 42 graduate students this morning whose whole future at this point is not clear," said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "Will they have jobs? Will there be public health employment in the future?" |
| Mississippi House, Senate pass bills to end diversity programs in education | |
 | Both houses of the Mississippi Legislature recently passed legislation aimed at eliminating a certain program at Mississippi public schools, colleges and universities. Back in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending the scope and goals tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. The administration asserted that it promoted discrimination and authoritarianism. A focus on these programs from Washington likely influenced state lawmakers to pass a bill in each chamber during the 2025 session. Many Mississippi legislators see issues with DEI programs, especially in the classroom. House Bill 1193 and Senate Bill 2515 are based on the theory that eliminating such programs will ensure employment, academic opportunities and student engagement are based solely on individual merit, qualifications and academic performance. HB 1193 and SB 2515 have many similarities. For instance, both aim to prohibit the creation, promotion and implementation of the program in educational institutions. The bills also ban the use of diversity statements and diversity training in most contexts. Both bills require annual reports on compliance to be submitted to the state. However, there are some significant differences between both proposals. The Senate's 16-page bill mainly focuses on higher education, while the House's eight-page bill also targets diversity programs on the K-12 level. |
| Attorneys General discuss federal overreach | |
 | Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin discussed federal overreach and the role of attorneys general in an address hosted by the University of Mississippi's Declaration of Independence Center on Thursday, Feb. 13. Fitch, elected to her second term as Mississippi attorney general in 2023, made history in 2020 as the first woman to serve as attorney general and the state's first Republican attorney general in 150 years. Fitch talked about her work on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, which started in Mississippi and led to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. "We had an entire strategic plan," Fitch said. "We were going to ask the question to overturn Roe v. Wade. We were going to say empower women and promote life, as they are not exclusive." Fitch also described her team's filing of more than 200 lawsuits against the Biden administration, including suits about Title IX and partisan voter registration. Fitch said the Declaration of Independence Center event hit close to home. "It is always good to be back at Ole Miss," Fitch, who earned both her bachelor's degree and Juris Doctorate from the university, said. |
| Reports of restaurant's death are greatly exaggerated. Fondren eatery still going strong | |
 | Nathan Glenn has heard all of the rumors that his Fondren location of the popular Rooster's restaurant is falling by the way side and will be closing when his lease runs out later this year. However, he said nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Glenn said business has been so good at the iconic corner location in Jackson that he has started opening at night, instead of just for lunch. "Yeah, we were closed for about four weeks due to some equipment problems a while back, and then while we were down, we decided to rework a couple of other problems, which took longer than expected," Glenn said. "And we closed at night after that. A lot of people might have thought we were closed at lunch, too." But that has changed and Rooster's is now open again at night. He said the University of Mississippi Medical Center is a big reason the Fondren business-model works. "That foundation of medical students and people going back and forth to the hospital, there is a built-in stream of business," Glenn said. "And with online ordering and DoorDash and things like that, our business in Fondren is doing very well. It's just so easy for people to jump online and order from the hospital." |
| MCC sees 12.2% enrollment growth for Spring Semester 2025 | |
 | Meridian Community College continues strong enrollment growth, with a 12.2% increase in student headcount and an 8.8% rise in student credit hours this semester compared to last spring, according to official 10th-day enrollment numbers provided by the Mississippi Community College Board. These gains place MCC among Mississippi's top three community colleges for enrollment growth. The latest statistics demonstrate MCC's growth is outpacing the state average, which stands at 6.4% for headcount and 5.8% for credit hours. MCC President Tom Huebner noted that the upward count is encouraging. "Our fall enrollment increase was a record, and this percentage growth is even higher. We still have room to grow, but I'm pleased with our momentum," he said. Huebner attributes MCC's success to its dedicated faculty, staff and students who help create a welcoming and dynamic learning environment. |
| What is the best Alabama college in 2025?: Niche ranks Auburn, Alabama, UAB and more | |
 | Summertime is just around the corner. Most high school students spend time with their friends preparing for the upcoming school year. For those entering their senior year of high school, summer is the time to start filling out college applications, but how do you pick the right one? Niche has listed the top colleges in Alabama for 2025 based on academics, athletics, diversity, the social scene and other vital categories when choosing your future college campus. Auburn University ranked No. 1 on Niche's list, scoring an A on Niche's report card. Auburn's tuition rate of $25,271 a year is just a little higher than the national average of $15,523. Forbes has called Auburn a "Best Value College." With a 44% acceptance rate, there are currently 24,135 students enrolled at Auburn, which makes for a diverse university that hosts a highly rated athletics program and a highly rated performance arts facility. Professors are interactive, and the workload is manageable. Students also say it is easy to get into the classes they want to take each semester. Even the campus food received an A on Niche's report card. |
| What happens to flowers after Valentine's Day? UGA wants you to eat them | |
 | Many of the flowers that lined store shelves for Valentine's Day have been gifted at romantic dinners. But what happens to the flowers that went unsold? A new study from the University of Georgia explores how flowers can be repurposed as food ingredients, offering a more sustainable way to use blooms that might otherwise be discarded. "Rose flowers are still going to be rose flowers on Valentine's Day. But we are looking at what happens the day after Valentine's Day to those flowers," said Anand Mohan, associate professor in UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "We don't have to throw away all the flowers that we use for decorative purposes." Ultrasound technology has long been used for food processing. It helps improve quality and extend the shelf life of foods such as proteins sourced from plants and other food ingredients. Not only could these technologies be used for processing edible flowers, but also for extracting vitamins, proteins and other bioactive compounds that can affect our bodies. Because of these uses, researchers said, decorative flowers don't have to be thrown away. |
| How an innovative U. of Tennessee-Knox County Schools program gets teachers into classrooms | |
 | As children were in the final days of their summer break in 2023, Knox County Schools was figuring out how it would welcome back students with around 150 open teaching positions and even more vacancies across various levels of the school system. How that figure dropped to dozens in one year's time was not by chance. It happened, in part, through a concerted effort by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to address teacher vacancies across the state. With both the university and Knox County Schools based in town, the initiative has paid dividends on a very local level. The dramatic drop in teacher vacancies is impressive, but KCS is aiming for zero. Alex Moseman, the executive director of human resources talent acquisition at KCS, is "firmly rooted" in that mission. "Zero is always the goal," he told Knox News. Over the past three years, UT has graduated 228 teachers who are now working at KCS. But the Grow Your Own program isn't the only way UT grads can end up teaching in Knox County. |
| U. of Missouri students rally against Trump's immigration policies | |
 | A snowy rally against federal immigration policies was held at the University of Missouri's Speakers Circle on Monday. MU students organized the event. The Unity Rally speakers addressed local racial profiling, mass deportations and harmful federal immigration policies. The rally comes in the first month of Donald Trump's presidency. Trump pledged to deport millions of immigrants lacking permanent legal status and strengthen the southern border during his campaign, and he made good on those promises with a slew of executive orders. The event began at Speakers Circle and concluded with a march to Peace Park, as students voiced their disapproval of recent executive orders from the Trump administration. Piper Molins, the event organizer and co-president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists at MU, spoke about the emotional toll these policies have taken on her mental health and the importance of fostering community. "I am here today because after so many hours of executive orders being released and the first days of this presidency, I found myself doom scrolling social media every night with a sick feeling in my stomach," Molins said. |
| Kyle Rittenhouse talking at U. of Memphis, again. Here's why the school must let him | |
| Kyle Rittenhouse, who gained infamy for killing two Black Lives Matter protesters and injuring a third in 2020 and ultimately being found not guilty of homicide and other charges on the grounds of self-defense, will be speaking on the University of Memphis campus on Feb. 26. Rittenhouse was invited to speak at the university by the Turning Point USA chapter on U of M's campus. TPUSA is a conservative non-profit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses. This will not be Rittenhouse's first time on campus. In March 2024, he spoke to a small gathering of students in Rose Theater Hall. The event in 2024 was ticketed, but the day of the event the university voided all tickets and had students reapply for the event. Rittenhouse's visits to the U of M come amid ongoing national conversations about free speech on college campuses. Efforts by students to have their college or universities disinvite speakers to their campuses have been going on for years. Some have been successful, like conservative pundit Ann Coulter who had an event canceled at Fordham University in 2012. Per First Amendment rights for student organizations, the university cannot deny the chapter from hosting Rittenhouse. The state of Tennessee also has First Amendment rights for students on college campuses enshrined in state law. State law also specifically gives rights for invited speakers to not be disinvited, even if their speech is anticipated to cause controversy. |
| Trump Administration Slashes $600M in Teacher Training Grants | |
 | The Department of Education announced yet another round of funding cuts Monday as part of the Trump administration's attempt to ax what it calls "divisive ideologies" in public education. In this round, the department canceled more than $600 million in grants for training teachers and education agencies that touched on several topics, including "critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion, social justice activism, 'anti-racism,' and instruction on white privilege and white supremacy," according to a news release. "Many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race," the release stated, though the specific grants weren't listed. Trump administration officials described the grant-funded training programs as "inappropriate and unnecessary." The department didn't offer many details what was included in this $600 million cut, aside from noting in the release that the grants were "awarded to teacher preparation programs that train future classroom teachers." According to the department, the affected grants involved "acknowledging systemic forms of oppression and inequity" as well as professional development workshops and equity training about cultural competency and equity in the classroom, among other examples. |
| Judge refuses to block DOGE's access to student borrower data | |
 | A federal judge Monday evening declined to block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to Education Department data on student borrowers. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the University of California Student Association (UCSA), which brought the lawsuit, had not shown sufficient irreparable harm to receive such immediate relief. "Because the Court concludes that UCSA has failed to clear that essential hurdle, the Court's analysis also ends there," wrote Moss, who was appointed by former President Obama. "The Court leaves for another day consideration of whether UCSA's has standing to sue and has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted. Those questions are less clear cut and are better answered on a more complete record," Moss continued. Moss's decision comes days after another judge declined to immediately block DOGE from accessing systems at the Labor Department, Department of Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But under yet another judge's ruling, DOGE personnel are blocked from accessing critical Treasury Department payment systems that are used to dole out trillions of dollars per year. |
| Education Dept. Gives Schools Two Weeks to Eliminate Race-Based Programs | |
| The Education Department warned schools in a letter on Friday that they risked losing federal funding if they continued to take race into account when making scholarship or hiring decisions, or so much as nodded to race in "all other aspects of student, academic and campus life." The announcement gave institutions 14 days to comply. The letter was the latest step in the Trump administration's push to recast programs intended to level the playing field for historically underserved populations as a form of racial discrimination. The sweeping guidance caused alarm in academic circles and raised pressing questions about how much it would disrupt campuses. Many colleges offer scholarships and grants specifically for students of certain ethnic backgrounds or maintain program houses, professional societies and fraternities and sororities on campus tailored to students of specific ethnic heritages or races. In some cases, the decision to fund those programs is not necessarily made by the university, but by student governments or outside organizations. But the guidance appeared to touch all of those areas and more, barring schools from "using race in decisions pertaining to admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life." |
| After Sweeping Anti-DEI Guidance, What Should Colleges Do? | |
| Late Friday night, long after most people had settled in for a long Presidents' Day weekend, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights declared in a four-page letter that any race-based policies or programming in K-12 schools and colleges were unlawful. The letter targeted "every facet of academia," from scholarships and academic prizes to campus cultural centers and even graduation ceremonies. If institutions fail to comply in 14 days, they risk losing federal funding. By the following morning, the letter had spread fear and indignation throughout the American education system. If the OCR's threats are carried out -- which would be unprecedented for the office -- higher ed institutions could lose out on billions in funding for research grants, student financial aid and institutional support, undermining decades of work to improve success and access for marginalized students. At the same time, it's unclear if all or even most of the letter's dictates will hold up in court. College presidents now face a fraught task: deciding what to do next. "A Dear Colleague letter -- even one written in very technical, well-settled legal parlance -- cannot change the law, cannot alter constitutional standards, cannot change the contours of what federal courts have said," said Art Coleman, founding partner at EdCounsel LLC, a firm specializing in higher education law. "The practical reality on the ground right now is, institutions around the country are looking at a body of law that has not changed ... What has changed is the threat of overreach and aggressive enforcement grounded in policy preferences, not legal standards." |
| Legislative recap: State politicians acting like third graders, retirement changes, Sunday liquor sales | |
| Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender writes: A Mississippian watching state leaders' social media posts these days might wonder whether they've mistakenly logged into a chat between some petulant third graders as they call each other names and bicker. Their high-brow discourse over policy has recently included state politicians calling people: "a fraud, a loser, swamp creatures, dorks, a chubby Teletubby, a charlatan and pathetic" as well as more personal plays on their names, such as "Lying Lynn." In today's hyper-divided partisan political landscape, one might figure this name calling is mostly between Republicans and Democrats. But in Mississippi right now, most of the vitriol is Republican-on-Republican. This is perhaps because Mississippi Republicans have such control of state government, they don't have any powerful Democrats to harangue. They've run out of targets. They've long forgotten Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment. They're starting to eat their young. |
SPORTS
| Men's Basketball: Five Things To Know: No. 21 State-No. 7 Texas A&M | |
| No. 21 Mississippi State will meet its ninth ranked opponent over its last 11 games and build on its single-season program record facing off with its 11th overall ranked opponent of the season when No. 7 Texas A&M travels to Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday evening. Everyone talks about their SEC schedule being a gauntlet, but the Bulldogs (18-7, 6-6 SEC) have had to face off with the league's elite this season. State is one of eight teams in the country to already play at least 10 games against AP Top 25 opponents. The Bulldogs joined by Georgia and Vanderbilt as the only teams nationally to already play at least five conference games against AP Top 10 opponents. The Maroon and White are one of seven SEC squads (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M) and are one of 24 teams nationally to produce at least 10 combined NCAA NET Quad 1 and 2 victories on the season. State has posted an 18-2 mark versus teams outside the Associated Press Top 10. Overall, 12 of the 18 wins for the Bulldogs are against KenPom Top 100 teams fueled by six wins inside the top 50. Earlier this week, State checked in at No. 21 in this week's Associated Press Top 25. The Bulldogs are ranked inside the AP poll for the ninth straight week. State has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two programs since 2016-17. However, the Aggies hold a 10-9 overall series edge. The Bulldogs last win in the series was a 69-62 triumph over then No. 25 Texas A&M during Coach Jans' first season. |
| Buzz Williams defines Chris Jans as the most unheralded head coach in basketball | |
| Texas A&M's Buzz Williams is one of the more experienced head coaches in the SEC, dating back to his time before arriving in College Station. He has gone up against plenty of coaches in the conference since being hired in 2019. And ahead of Tuesday's game against Mississippi State, Williams was singing the praises of Chris Jans. "He is the most unheralded head coach in the country," Williams said. "Period. On both sides of the ball. I know a lot has been said about how he plays defensively. But I tell him this every time I see him. 'You're the most unheralded, undervalued coach in the country.' Not in the SEC, not when he was at New Mexico State, not when he was at Bowling Green, not when he was at Chipola. He can really coach on both sides." Jans got his start at the JUCO level, with Williams even mentioning one of his stops. Bowling Green was the first Division I school to hire him, eventually leading to New Mexico State and then Mississippi State. Of the possible seven postseasons Jans' teams have been eligible for, there have been five NCAA Tournaments and one CIT with Bowling Green. Mississippi State is on track to once again be in the field of 68 this year, being a six-seed in the latest Bracketology projections from On3's James Fletcher. Williams respects a whole lot more than what Jans has accomplished on the court, though. He was complimentary of nearly every facet of the program Jans runs in Starkville. From his coaching staff to inside the locker room and even with the media. |
| Baseball: Dawgs Travel to Southern Miss For Midweek Action | |
| After a perfect 3-0 Opening Weekend, the Mississippi State baseball team hits the road to face the University of Southern Miss for a midweek contest on Tuesday in Hattiesburg, Miss. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Pete Taylor Park on the campus of Southern Miss. The contest can be seen on ESPN+ and will also be carried on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by Learfield, along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/OnDemand. After the first weekend of play, the Diamond Dawgs are ranked in the Baseball America (No. 16), D1 Baseball (No. 18) and the NCBWA (No. 17). The USA Today Coaches Top 25 will be updated next Monday. Senior Aaron Downs shined on opening weekend against Manhattan. He ended the 2024 season on a five-game hitting streak and he extended it to eight games by hitting safely in the first three games of the season. In the first game of the season, Downs collected his first career home run, a three-run blast to left field. He led the team with a .571 batting average and drove in a team best seven RBIs. Southern Miss enters the midweek tilt with the Diamond Dawgs coming off a four-game sweep of Lafayette. During the four games, the Golden Eagles only allowed 12 runs. Junior Colby Allen draws the start for Southern Miss on Tuesday night. The Starkville Academy product has appeared in one game this season and holds a 6.00 ERA. Last season, he pitched two and a third innings against the Diamond Dawgs and had three strikeouts. |
| What we learned from Mississippi State baseball's dominant series sweep vs. Manhattan | |
| Mississippi State baseball never trailed for more than one inning in its 2025 season-opening series. The No. 19 Bulldogs (3-0) pounded Manhattan (0-3) for a three-game sweep at Dudy Noble Field over the weekend. The first two wins on Friday were by run-rule in a doubleheader: Game 1 was a 17-3 decision, while Game 2 was by a 13-1 score. They won Sunday's finale 5-1. It's Mississippi State's first 3-0 start to a season since 2020. "Really pleased," coach Chris Lemonis said. "Lot of work left to do, obviously, and a long road ahead of us, but we played good defense all weekend. We threw a ton of strikes." Lemonis said before the season that there was still plenty he wouldn't learn about Mississippi State until the games were played. On Sunday, the defense made an impression. The Bulldogs committed just one error in the three games. It came in Game 2 when Ross Highfill, who's more experienced as a catcher, mishandled a ball in right field. Lemonis singled out a strong play by shortstop Dylan Cupp that ended Sunday's game. "The play to end the game, that's a special, special play," he said. "A lot of guys don't make that play." |
| Softball: Battle Of The Bulldogs Set For Tuesday Afternoon In Nusz Park | |
| Mississippi State's softball team has climbed as high as No. 17 in the Softball America poll released today. With additional polls to be released on Tuesday, the No. 19/19 Bulldogs will host a different breed of Bulldog on Tuesday. State welcomes a hot Samford team to Nusz Park at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The visiting Bulldogs have won five straight under first-year head coach Megan Curry. MSU is just as hot though after torching The Snowman field this past weekend. The Bulldogs had a home run and a stolen base in every game and won three by run-rule. Lexi Sosa has been on a tear lately, with four homers in the last four games and 14 RBIs last weekend. Alongside her, Kiarra Sells has had a breakout start to the season with a hit in every game, and Raelin Chaffin continues to hold things down in the circle with victories in six straight appearances. Mississippi State will travel to Huntsville, Alabama, this weekend for the Rocket City Softball Showcase hosted by the Rocket City Trash Pandas, a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Cold temperatures in the forecast have already altered the event's schedule. MSU will now open the tournament on Friday at Toyota Field against Jacksonville State at 7 p.m. |
| Bulldogs sweep first home tournament with three run-rule wins | |
| Lexi Sosa, a two-way player in her sixth season of college softball, entered Friday with just one career home run. That came in 2020, when Sosa was a true freshman at UCLA. After capping her stellar weekend with two blasts to lead No. 19 Mississippi State past Georgia Tech on Sunday, Sosa now has five collegiate homers. She drove in 13 runs over the last four games at The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial tournament as the Bulldogs improved their record to 9-1. "It's been super awesome," Sosa said. "It's a lot of extra time, a lot of behind the scenes work with all of the girls. Being able to have those moments and embracing it all and just having fun is the most important thing." MSU hosts Samford today in its first midweek game of the season, then travels to Madison, Alabama, this weekend for the Rocket City Softball Showcase at the home of Minor League Baseball's Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Bulldogs will play North Alabama, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech and Miami-Ohio over four days at Toyota Field. "(Sosa) was ready for her opportunity and took it and ran with it," Ricketts said. "She provides big power off the bench and something we desperately needed to replace Madisyn Kennedy and her production last year. It's just really great to see her get her chance to shine, and if you talk to Lexi about it, she loves softball again and is just finding the joy of being around her teammates and being out there with everyone every day." |
| As sports betting has soared, more people search online for help with gambling addiction | |
| More and more people are looking for help managing gambling addiction. That's a finding from a new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday. The study looks at the impact of a Supreme Court decision in 2018 that loosened restrictions around online sports betting. Before 2018's Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association, only Nevada allowed betting on sports. In 2024, 38 states allowed it. Sports wagers went from $4.9 billion in 2017 to more than $121 billion in 2023, according to the study. John Ayers, a professor of data and behavioral sciences at the University of California San Diego, says the idea for this study came to him after a conversation he had while he was golfing. "One of the cart boys comes up to me and asked me to borrow money," Ayers says. When Ayers pressed him about why he needed cash, Ayers says the young man said, "I've had a bunch of bad breaks lately on my bets." To get at the effect of the significant expansion of online betting platforms since 2018, Ayers and his colleagues looked at internet search terms that indicated people are struggling with gambling addiction. People are Googling phrases like "Am I addicted to gambling?" and "Help me find help with gambling addiction," Ayers says. "And we see that those searches nationally increased about 23 percent since the Supreme Court case legalized sportsbooks," Ayers says. Researchers could see that these kinds of search terms increased in states immediately after they opened sports betting, and they found that the impact was significantly greater than the opening of brick-and-mortar gambling establishments. Ayers says gambling addiction is a significant public health and mental health issue. |
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