| Monday, March 3, 2025 |
| MSU celebrates its 147th birthday on the Drill Field | |
 | 147 years and still going strong, that's cause for a celebration. And, that's just what they had at Mississippi State University. The Student Association sponsored MSU's 147th Birthday Party on the Drill Field. Party-goers were treated to cupcakes and t-shirts. They also had a chance to sign birthday cards from various campus organizations. MSU President Dr. Mark Keenum was also on hand to join in the festivities. Keenum is not only the president, but he's also an alum, and he said the MSU experience was a stepping stone to his successes, and that's something he wants to see for all of his students. "I was prepared by this university, and the people here who helped me as a young student to prepare me for my life and my future. And I want that for every single student who steps foot on this campus -- to have an opportunity to thrive and to do well, and to get an unbelievable quality education that will equip them to be leaders of tomorrow," said Keenum. |
| MSU Cyber Assessment Program enhances school district security | |
| The MSU Center for Cyber Education has been assessing cyber security for school districts around Mississippi. The MSU Cyber Assessment Program is free of charge, and is run mostly by students using a cyber security evaluation tool from the Department of Homeland Security. They say schools are high value targets for hackers as their IT is often understaffed, and the information in their systems is highly sensitive. Paul Luckett, the West Point School District IT director said everything in his district is run by technology. "Every aspect of the experience in our district is driven by technology," Luckett said. From heating and cooling, to security cameras, and even grading systems, they are all connected to the internet. And they can all be vulnerable to cyber attacks. As important as defending against those attacks is having a plan once an attack has taken place said Shelly Hollis, the MSU Center for Cyber Education director. "Just like any other plan that you have in place, whether it's a tornado drill or a fire drill," Hollis said. "You need to practice those regularly and go back through them and make sure nothing has changed that would get in the way of executing a plan if something happened. And the same is true for cybersecurity." |
| 'Cultural diversity' no longer in name of MSU's Holmes Center | |
 | Mississippi State University is changing the name of the Holmes Center, pending approval by the state board of trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning. Holmes Cultural Diversity Center will now be known as the Holmes Center for Student Success, focusing on "comprehensively supporting all students," the university announced in a Friday press release. The change comes as the university aligns with a Dear Colleague letter sent to the university from the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month. "Mississippi State has long been a practitioner of student success as a model of how we operate," MSU President Mark E. Keenum said in the release. "Our goal has been and will remain to equip our students -- all of our students -- with a high-quality education that will afford them a better and more productive life. This structure reflects who we are and who we've been at this university." If policies and practices do not comply with the department's directive, universities like Mississippi State and Mississippi University for Women could lose federal funding. |
| Mississippi woman, wife and mother of 2, loses dream job amid federal cuts | |
 | A reduction in the federal workforce has dominated headlines in recent weeks as 75,000 employees were reported to have taken buyouts and thousands more were terminated shortly after. For some, those may seem like little more than numbers as they go about their days without noticing any effects, but for at least one Mississippi woman, the road to government efficiency has all but turned her life upside down. "I was at my kids' friend's birthday party," said Jessi Katzenmeyer of Brandon. "I was at a 4-year-old's birthday party when I got the news. "I got a call on Sunday saying I was terminated and I needed to turn my stuff in by Tuesday because Monday was a holiday. My heart sank." Katzenmeyer is a wife and mother of two girls ages 6 and 4. She was a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service working with threatened and endangered species. She attended Northwest Rankin High School and received her master's degree in wildlife science from Mississippi State University. She previously worked for USDA Wildlife Services in Florida and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality before finding what she described as her dream job with the USFS. |
| Get moving! Starkville Stride step challenge returns for fourth year | |
| Walkers are on the move once again, competing to reach the highest number of steps during the fourth Starkville Stride walking challenge. Hunter Harrington, Director of Membership for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, said the event kicked off Saturday, and registration will remain open through the end of the challenge April 12. The challenge encourages community camaraderie and healthy lifestyle choices, she said. "It's a team based step challenge, so you can corral your people together and encourage them to start a team," Harrington said. "... You're essentially competing against people in your team-size category. And you see how many steps your team can average in a six-week time period." Harrington helped to develop Starkville Stride as a fun community activity that also met social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge is a partnership between Mississippi State University, OCH Regional Medical Center, Starkville Parks and Recreation Department and GSDP. |
| Starkville firm invests $2.5M into AI model training | |
| Defense and automation firm Camgian is expanding operations in its Starkville facilities to the tune of millions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company announced the move publicly Tuesday, outlining $2.5 million in new high-performing computing capacity for its Starkville office to help with training and testing large AI models. "It's really to support our growing business in the AI machine learning world, specifically for the U.S. military," Camgian founder and CEO Gary Butler told The Dispatch on Friday. "We have a lot of efforts there now driving the growth of the company, and this will enable us to more effectively support our military sponsors, supporters and warfighters with advanced machine learning technologies." Camgian is a software firm specializing in artificial intelligence and process automation. Started by Butler in 2006, today the company is headquartered in Starkville's Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park. The expansion comes with 15 new jobs. Butler told The Dispatch on Friday the majority of the new hires would be tech workers. |
| Starkville candidates clash over housing, government authority | |
| Some of Starkville's most established politicians defended their record Saturday against challengers who accused them of being out of touch with their constituents. Organized by the Starkvegas Juneteenth Committee for Unity and the Starkville Community Leadership Coalition, the candidate forum and voter registration drive drew almost all candidates in the upcoming municipal election to the Needmore Community Center, including 9 of the 11 candidates in contested races. The forum also drew about 20 audience members who came to hear from the candidates and ask questions. Mayoral candidates opened the forum, with incumbent Democratic Mayor Lynn Spruill promising to finish construction projects like the renovations to Highway 182 and Main Street and the redesign of McKee Park, if elected to a third term. Of her opponents, Democrat and former Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough got the largest cheers from the crowd, promising to run a campaign that prioritizes citizens. Starkville High School teacher and Democrat Brenna Betts said she is running to give Starkville's kids more opportunities. Retired police officer and Republican Roger Bassett said his top priority would be bringing business into Starkville by attracting shopping and entertainment traffic back from other cities. |
| Two teens arrested for shooting at Chandler Parks apartments | |
| Two teens were arrested Friday for allegedly shooting into an apartment complex on Reed Road, and a woman was arrested for hindering prosecution after the fact. Jadon Stevenson and Christopher Hall, both 18, of Starkville, were arrested Friday, according to a Sunday Starkville Police Department press release. Stevenson is charged with aggravated assault with two counts of shooting into a dwelling, and Hall is charged with aggravated assault as an accessory. Police were called Thursday afternoon to Chandler Park apartments on Reed Road, with reports of gunshots. SPD officers swept the area and found that the shooters had fled, leaving two vehicles and two apartments damaged. Victoria Roby, 43, of Starkville, was also arrested Friday and charged with felony hindering prosecution. SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady confirmed Sunday that all three knew each other but declined to say more about the shooting's target or motive. No injuries were reported, the release said. The investigation is ongoing. |
| Change those clocks: Daylight saving time begins Sunday | |
 | Daylight saving time returns to most of the U.S. this weekend, which means it's time to "spring forward" and welcome a later sunset for the next six months. For the 48 U.S. states that observe daylight saving time, including Mississippi, clocks will need to be set forward one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 9. It's best to set your clocks before going to sleep on Saturday night to avoid a time-blind frenzy upon waking up Sunday morning. Speaking of sleep, you will lose an hour of time on Saturday night, but isn't it worth it for an extra hour of sunlight? Clocks will "fall back" on Sunday, Nov. 2. Each year, daylight saving time begins on the first Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. Many elected officials on both the state and federal levels have voiced their disdain for the twice-annual time change, but at this point, it's up to Congress to make the final decision. On the federal level, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has co-sponsored legislation on multiple occasions that would put a stop to the clock-changing. Hyde-Smith and others in favor of making daylight saving time permanent argue it would result in more productivity for Americans as more sunlight would be made available during waking hours. |
| Bloomberg: Amazon to spend as much as $16 billion on Mississippi data centers | |
| According to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon.com Inc. is expected to spend 60% more than previously announced on a massive data center project in Mississippi, underscoring the escalating costs for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Amazon Web Services made waves in January of 2024 when it announced it will occupy two Madison County locations for the historic buildout of hyperscale development centers. Everyone knew it was a big deal when Mississippi lawmakers completed the $259 million incentive package for the announced Amazon Web Services' $10 billion project in Canton and Madison County. Now, Bloomberg is reporting AWS will spend $16 billion to construct two data center campuses north of the state capital of Jackson, according to state planning documents it has reviewed. AWS isn't the only company building data centers in Mississippi. Compass Data Center of Dallas, Texas announced last month it will have a similar project to the AWS one as it has said it will invest $10 billion into a data center complex in Lauderdale County near Meridian. |
| ABB doubling size of its Senatobia facility with $40 million investment | |
| ABB announced Monday morning that the company is making a $40 million investment to double the size of its existing manufacturing site in Senatobia, creating 200 new jobs. The facility in Senatobia has been in operation since 2016. The expansion of the production capacity of ABB's low voltage electrification products will enable the company to meet increasing demand from customers in a wide range of key growth industries, including data centers, buildings and utilities. The Senatobia expansion is also accompanied by an investment of $80 million in a new advanced manufacturing facility in Selmer, Tennessee that looks to create 50 jobs. "Demand is increasing steadily for advanced electrification technologies, driven by growth in key sectors including data centers and utilities. Today's announcement will support our future growth in the US, ABB's largest global market," said Morten Wierod, ABB's Chief Executive Officer, in a statement provided to Magnolia Tribune. ABB said that expanding production in Senatobia will also support growing demand from customers across North America who are upgrading their aging power infrastructure and expanding their operations. |
| Mississippi gets more federal funds than it pays in taxes. Here's what that money gets you | |
 | Ever wonder how much Mississippi gets back from the federal government vs. taxes paid? Several studies look at how much states contribute to and take from the U.S. Here's what we know about how the Magnolia State ranks, where the money goes. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a budget that would extend President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts and plans for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade. Trump reportedly said he doesn't want cuts to Medicare, which insures people 65 and older and those with disabilities. Experts have expressed concern cuts could be coming to programs like Medicaid, which insures about one in five Americans. According to KFF, about 24% of the Mississippi population is covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). For every $1 paid in income tax in Mississippi, the state takes in $2.53 in federal funding," according to a SmartAsset review of state budgets published in 2022. The state pulled more than 47% of state revenues from federal sources. It was the seventh-highest in the nation, and the state had the 11th-largest percentage of federal workers. Looking at the breakdown per capita, the average Mississippi resident gets $9,077 back from the federal government compared to the taxes they pay. It was the sixth-largest return in the nation. |
| Mississippi heavy hitters back insurance company over Coast policyholders in bad-faith Katrina case | |
 | The Mississippi Supreme Court should reverse its decision ordering United States Automobile Association to pay $15 million for acting in bad faith in adjusting the Hurricane Katrina claim of policyholders who owned a historic home on the waterfront in Ocean Springs, the insurance company argues. Policyholders Paul and Sylvia Minor initially filed their lawsuit against USAA in August 2008, almost two years after the hurricane. Paul Minor, a former trial attorney with a nationally recognized practice, has since moved to Louisiana, where his wife Sylvia died of breast cancer in 2009. Her estate, represented by their two children, has carried on the case. Both sides have appealed decisions made at the trial court level in Jackson County, making the lawsuit the longest-running among hundreds policyholders filed against their insurance companies after Katrina. The Category 3 hurricane devastated the Coast almost 20 years ago, packing damaging winds and a record storm surge. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, former Gov. Haley Barbour and a host of business and insurance interests have lined up in USAA's corner. They filed friend of the court briefs that support the insurer's position. The Mississippi Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast Business Council, Mississippi Bankers Association and other influential groups signed onto the brief. |
| Republican governors tried to slash state budgets. They have advice for Elon Musk. | |
 | Before Elon Musk and his chainsaw, there was Mitch Daniels "the Blade." The former Indiana governor and Office of Management and Budget director under President George W. Bush, Daniels established a reputation in the early 2000s as a knife to government. As governor, he shrunk the size of his state's workforce by 18 percent and turned a $700 million deficit into a $2 billion surplus. Daniels even doled out refund checks to Hoosier taxpayers on the backs of the cuts. Now, he and a crop of like-minded former GOP governors are looking at Musk and President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency with a bit of nostalgia, uncertainty and -- in Daniels' case -- caution. "I certainly would have cautioned against throwing out a number that's just preposterous," Daniels told POLITICO of the $2 trillion Musk has set as a benchmark for DOGE savings. "There's a real value in an effort like this because they illuminate the fact that the government does a lot of very silly or unnecessary or even counterproductive things, but I would have urged that they go achieve some real success first and then talk. Talk less, do more." It's not just Daniels. Former governors of Illinois and New Jersey attempted similar, albeit less aggressive, moves to cut government, sometimes stymied by the same bureaucracy they tried to eliminate. |
| Trump Has Glossed Over High Prices. Republicans Worry It Will Cost Them. | |
 | President Trump promised during the campaign to lower prices on day one of his presidency. But with costs still high, Republicans are worried the same economic factors that helped Trump win the election could come back to bite him if inflation remains stubborn. In his frequent public appearances and social-media posts, Trump is more likely to talk about federal workers, diversity programs and foreign policy than the price of eggs. That is a contrast from last year's presidential campaign, when Trump, urged by his advisers, made high costs a centerpiece of his bid to retake the White House. Republicans, who still pin the blame on Trump's predecessor, say voters have been willing to give Trump some leeway to enact his agenda -- but they warn that goodwill might not last. "I'm nervous about it," said Stephen Moore, a veteran outside adviser to Trump on economic issues. "The Trump administration needs to keep its eye on what's happening with prices. It should be a top priority. The trend is a little bit troubling." Further compounding the political risks: Trump's far-reaching plans to impose tariffs on foreign imports could drive up prices further, according to economists. |
| Trump to decide US tariff levels on Mexico, Canada as Tuesday deadline looms | |
| U.S. President Donald Trump will decide on Monday what levels of tariffs he will impose early on Tuesday on Canada and Mexico amid last-minute negotiations over border security and efforts to halt the inflow of fentanyl opioids, his commerce secretary said. Trump has vowed to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, with 10% for Canadian energy. CEOs and economists say the action, covering more than $900 billion worth of annual U.S. imports from its southern and northern neighbors would deal a serious setback to the highly integrated North American economy. The tariffs are scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday signaled that Trump may not impose the full amount of tariffs, saying that the president would determine their exact levels and the tariffs were a "fluid situation." On Monday, Lutnick told CNN that Trump and his advisers would be discussing progress made by Canada and Mexico in closing their borders to illegal immigration. "The Mexicans and the Canadians have done a nice job on the border," he said, adding that the two countries need to do more to curb fentanyl flows into the U.S. to reduce deaths from the opioid drug. |
| GOP chairmen urge leader to battle House on budget, spending strategy | |
 | Senate Republican committee chairs delivered a blunt message to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) last week that they want the Senate to assert itself and not let the White House and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dictate to them. They said the Senate should stand firm, not just on the budget bill that will be used to move President Trump's agenda, but also on preventing a shutdown and not accepting a year-long government funding resolution that would trigger cuts to defense spending. "It's the desire of the Senate to legislate," said one Senate Republican source who said Thune and the GOP committee chairs discussed their desire to make major changes to the House-passed budget plan, which would not make the Trump tax cuts permanent, as well as to avoid a year-long continuing resolution. "The conversation on reconciliation was that the Senate still has a role to play here and we can't be dominated," the source added. "As much as anything, it's frustration" over how the House budget was crafted. |
| Government shutdown looms as Trump tries to assert new spending powers | |
 | Congress has less than two weeks to extend federal spending laws and keep the government open, but now a clash over President Donald Trump's attempt to seize powers the Constitution delegates to lawmakers threatens to stall talks and force a shutdown. Republican negotiators walked away from talks over the weekend to reach a deal on a top-line number on how much the federal government should spend for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year, which runs through Sept. 30. Democrats had said that number is irrelevant if Trump refuses to spend the money in accordance with the law -- or if he empowers billionaire Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service to terminate federal contracts and lay off tens of thousands of federal workers without regard to Congress's wishes. Trump and advisers including budget chief Russell Vought have argued that the president has the power to withhold money that Congress orders spent, arguing that a post-Watergate law that limits that power is unconstitutional. Musk's DOGE team has been unilaterally terminating contracts and pushing to shed federal staff. Now Democrats say they want assurances from congressional Republican and the White House that the administration will actually spend the money included in any new law preventing a shutdown. The current funding law expires after March 14. |
| Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia | |
 | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia, according to a current official and two former officials briefed on the secret instructions. The move is apparently part of a broader effort to draw President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia into talks on Ukraine and a new relationship with the United States. Mr. Hegseth's instructions, part of a larger re-evaluation of all operations against Russia, have not been publicly explained. But they were issued before President Trump's public blowup in the Oval Office with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday. The precise scope and duration of the Defense Department order is not clear, as the line between offensive and defensive cyberoperations is often a blurry one. Still, retaining access to major Russian networks for espionage purposes is critical to understanding Mr. Putin's intentions as he enters negotiations, and to tracking the arguments within Russia about what conditions to insist upon and what could be given up. Former officials said it was common for civilian leaders to order pauses in military operations during sensitive diplomatic negotiations, to avoid derailing them. Still, for President Trump and Mr. Hegseth, the retreat from offensive cyberoperations against Russian targets represents a huge gamble. |
| Trump's Embrace of Russia Rocks NATO Alliance | |
| The argument between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart at the White House sent relations between the two countries into a tailspin. It also caused serious damage to an alliance at the heart of the post-World War II order: NATO. Trump staked out a position that many European allies saw as siding with Russia's autocratic leader, Vladimir Putin, by dismissing the security concerns of a friendly country in need of Western help. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was losing the war and had "no cards." The American president's embrace of Russia, an adversary that has worked for years to undermine U.S. global leadership, runs counter to decades of Western policy. The U.S. and its allies founded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 75 years ago as protection against Soviet Russia. NATO is based on the idea that the U.S. would use its military might, including its arsenal of nuclear weapons, to come to the defense of any ally that is attacked. That bedrock assumption has now been called into question. "I worry that we may be in the last days of NATO," said retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, who served as NATO's supreme allied commander. He said the trans-Atlantic alliance "may not be about to collapse, but I can sure hear it creaking louder than at any time in my long career in the military." |
| Millsaps legislative internship program hopes to increase women's roles in Mississippi politics | |
| When it comes to women's involvement in the legislative process in Mississippi, most would agree that historically there haven't been many seats at or around that political table. After all, relatively few women have been elected to seats in the Mississippi House and Senate, and other roles in the process for passing laws such as lobbying, legislative staffing, legislative news reporting and advocacy work also in the past have put women in the minority. As for elected officials, Mississippi women make up only 18 seats in the 122-member House and nine seats in the state Senate, which has 52 members. Only one woman holds a statewide office, Lynn Fitch, who serves as the state's attorney general. One program at Millsaps College, a Jackson-based private college, has been attempting to help reverse that position by placing women students with state lawmakers during session. The program has been in place for seven years. While this isn't necessarily going to result in elections, Millsaps College politics professor and program director Eric Schmidt said, it will expose them to the legislative process and could possibly inspire some to pursue one of the many careers that participate in the Legislature. |
| The Schools Reviving Shop Class Offer a Hedge Against the AI Future | |
| In America's most surprising cutting-edge classes, students pursue hands-on work with wood, metals and machinery, getting a jump on lucrative old-school careers. School districts around the U.S. are spending tens of millions of dollars to expand and revamp high-school shop classes for the 21st century. They are betting on the future of manual skills overlooked in the digital age, offering vocational-education classes that school officials say give students a broader view of career prospects with or without college. With higher-education costs soaring and white-collar workers under threat by generative AI, the timing couldn't be better. Renewed interest among local governments, school districts, businesses and voters has triggered the investment in shop classes, which for decades have lost enrollment, pushed aside by demand for college-prep courses. For decades, shop programs were dogged by allegations that schools shunted students from low-income families into blue-collar careers, while well-off students headed to college. As white-collar hiring slows, more younger workers are finding blue-collar careers. The share of workers ages 20 to 24 in blue-collar jobs was 18% last May, two points higher than it was at the start of 2019, according to an analysis by payroll provider ADP. Enrollment in vocation-focused, two-year community colleges jumped 14% in fall 2024 compared with a year earlier. Enrollment at public four-year colleges rose 3% during that period. |
| 'Major calamity': LSU, Pennington leaders warn of research cuts, job losses if NIH grants adjusted | |
 | A group of Louisiana hospitals providing cancer patients access to advanced drug trials got $2.5 million last year in federal grants supporting the biomedical research. Gulf South Clinical Trial Network used the money to double the number of locations to more than 50 developing the vital medicines. Since 2018, the hospital network secured more than $14 million from the National Institutes of Health toward the potentially breakthrough cancer research. This important biomedical research supported by money from NIH represents a prime example how the startling change pushed by President Donald Trump to cut NIH funding would hinder or outright cut critical experimentation and analysis underway in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and statewide. This project is one of hundreds in Louisiana potentially at risk by President Trump's attempt soon after taking office in January to alter the funding method used by NIH, which awarded grants of more than $206 million to universities and research centers across the state in 2024. Louisiana institutions are watching closely as an ongoing lawsuit to stop Trump from changing the NIH grant funding formula winds through federal court. LSU President William F. Tate IV recently wrote in an article published in the university newspaper that the university would lose $12 million in NIH grants and Louisiana could lose hundreds of employees. |
| U. of Tennessee's shift from Google to Microsoft is underway | |
| Last week, the Office of Innovative Technologies at the University of Tennessee announced that they will be moving their technology platforms from Google to Microsoft and have given students and faculty a deadline to transfer their records and files from Google Drive to the new Microsoft platforms by December 2025. Financial concerns were one of the factors behind the shift that drove this decision. As UT switches platforms, the university will expect significant software savings. "The savings from Google will go directly back into the technology software spend for UT," Dan Harder, OIT's chief academic technology officer and deputy CIO, said. "We continue to grow as a campus, software costs like Zoom, Qualtrics, Adobe and others continue to rise. The Google Savings will offset those costs." Another element contributing to this shift is to ensure an increase in data security, as one of Harder's main focuses is technology for UT students and the institution's academic and research missions. "We will see a much-improved risk profile from an enterprise IT perspective as we move Gmail and Google Drive to the Microsoft ecosystem," Harder said. |
| U. of Tennessee adds parking garages -- one with 4,000 spaces -- to upcoming budget | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has taken a big step toward alleviating parking stress as it prepares to build two new parking garages ‒- one with 4,000 parking spaces ‒- with a whopping $304 million estimated cost. Starting this fall, UT will tear down and start to rebuild part of the G10 parking garage between Neyland Stadium and Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The new section will have 1,200 parking spaces. The project is estimated to cost more than $79 million. The site is the future home of the Neyland Entertainment District, which will convert the top of the garage into an entertainment plaza with a connected hotel. The second garage for up to 4,000 cars doesn't have a timeline. The garage will be "at the southeastern side of campus," according to agenda documents for the UT System Board of Trustees winter meeting. That garage is estimated to cost $225 million, which is $26 million more than the chemistry building UT will build over the next few years in the heart of campus. UT System Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President David Miller said the new projects are in the UT Knoxville master plan. It doesn't provide details on exactly where the second garage will be built. |
| Paralympic medalist Jarryd Wallace to deliver UGA commencement address | |
 | Jarryd Wallace, four-time Paralympian and winner of two bronze medals, will deliver the spring undergraduate commencement address at the University of Georgia on May 9 in Sanford Stadium. Paige Carmichael, professor of veterinary pathology in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, will deliver the address at the graduate ceremonies on May 8 in Stegeman Coliseum. Wallace's athletic career shifted at 20 years old when his right leg was amputated from the knee down. Born and raised in Athens, he was a state champion cross country runner and was attending UGA on a track scholarship when complications from compartment syndrome changed his plans. After 10 surgeries in two years, he made the decision to have his leg amputated. The surgery gave him a second chance, and less than a year and a half later, he set a world record in the 100-meter sprint at the Parapan American Games. Now he is a three-time gold medalist in the World Para Athletics Championships and has competed in the past four Paralympic Games. Graduate speaker Carmichael is a renowned leader in veterinary medicine and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor. She is known particularly for her research on inherited neurological diseases in dog breeds including Bernese Mountain dogs, Jack Russell terriers and Irish Setters. |
| Amazon's Delivery Drones Are Grounded. The Birds and Dogs of This Texas Town Are Grateful | |
 | As the spring planting season arrives in College Station, Texas, certified master gardener Mark Smith is thrilled that peace is in the air. This time last year, a loud buzzing noise began disrupting Smith's morning routine of checking on the peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and shrubs growing in his backyard. Several times an hour, an Amazon Prime Air delivery drone would noisily emerge about 800 feet away, just past a line of trees behind Smith's home. His neighbors began calling the fleet flying chainsaws. Smith, a retired civil engineer, preferred a different comparison: "It was like your neighbor runs their leaf blower all day long," he says. "It was just incessant." Amid technical and regulatory challenges, Amazon's decade-plus quest to fly small items such as toothpaste and batteries to people's yards in under an hour has yielded just thousands of deliveries. The experience in College Station has highlighted another challenge: NIMBYs -- or people who push for developments to be "not in my backyard" -- potentially curtailing where Amazon operates. In College Station, a university town of about 125,000 people, hundreds of ordinary residents along with the mayor and other officials banded together last year to oppose Amazon's proposal to more than double the number of daily local drone flights. |
| Republican senators threaten not to boost Texas public universities' funding over DEI ban | |
| Republican state senators are threatening not to increase state funding for public universities over accusations they have failed to fully comply with a law that required them to shutter their diversity, equity and inclusion offices. State Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt wrote in a letter to the governing boards of every public university in the state on Wednesday that they have found several schools in violation of the law. "This includes renaming, relaunching or reauthorizing a DEI unit under the guise of a different name," the letter said. "We have found this to be the case in numerous instances, particularly at our health-related institutions." "Therefore, due to these valid findings of noncompliance, requests for increases in state funds for all public institutions of higher education this legislative session are now frozen at levels from the previous biennium," the senators wrote, adding they expect the universities to "provide clear and indisputable evidence that DEI programming has been fully eliminated from the operations of all your member institutions." The letter did not name the institutions that allegedly violated the law. Bettencourt also did not say which universities allegedly violated the law during a brief phone interview with The Texas Tribune on Friday, only noting that Creighton "has some reports." Neither Creighton, R-Conroe, nor Bettencourt, R-Houston, have unilateral authority to withhold state funds, but they serve on committees that are drafting higher education policy and the state's budget. |
| U. of Missouri study finds link between microplastics and commercial fertilizer | |
 | An increasingly popular industry fertilizer creates microplastics that leach into soil, according to a study from the University of Missouri College of Engineering published in January. Researchers Maryam Salehi, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering for the university, and Farhad Jazaei at the University of Memphis found that polymer-coated controlled-release fertilizers, or PC-CRFs, are environmentally engineered to gradually release nutrients into the soil. "When they are releasing nutrients, it's possible that they release some microplastic into the soil," Salehi said. "Later, these micro-capsules can get exposed to the mechanical forces when someone is working on them, or a tractor passing them, or if they get ablated with the soil particles, they can get fragmented into smaller particles." By administering nutrients over time, this slow-release mechanism is engineered to reduce nutrient waste from runoff during storms. The fertilizer works by holding nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen in micro-capsules that diffuse the nutrients over time. For farmers hoping to reap the benefits of controlled-release fertilizer, Salehi recommends opting for a fertilizer that uses biodegradable materials. |
| Renowned geneticist Francis Collins retires from NIH, urging 'respect' for embattled workers | |
 | Dr. Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist and former longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, announced Saturday that he has retired, leaving an agency being upended by budget cuts and layoffs. Collins -- a guitar-playing researcher and evangelical Christian known for finding common ground between religion and science -- gave no reason for his abrupt departure. He issued a statement that he'd been honored with a long career at an agency "rightfully called the crown jewel of the federal government for decades." He came to the NIH in 1993 to lead the Human Genome Project, which in 2003 completed mapping the human DNA instruction book -- two years ahead of schedule and $400 million under budget, Collins noted in his statement Saturday. Collins, 74, was the NIH's director for 12 years and under three presidents -- Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Collins stepped down from that position in October 2021 to return to his research laboratory, overseeing scientists studying diabetes and a genetic aging disorder. He also advised Biden on how to combat hepatitis C. The $48 billion NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research and has long had strong bipartisan support. |
| More Universities Slow Spending, Admissions Over Federal Funding Chaos | |
| The toll from the chaos surrounding the Trump administration's reduction or suspension of financial support for university research, particularly through the National Institutes of Health, continues to mount. An increasing number of research universities have recently announced they would be trimming their budgets, freezing new hiring, or pulling back on PhD admissions because of concerns over federal funding constraints. They join other major institutions -- such as Northwestern University, MIT, Washington State University, North Carolina State University, and Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons -- that have previously indicated they would pause some spending or hiring due to the federal cutbacks. On February 24, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi sent an email to MU faculty and staff informing them that the university would reduce its spending and cancel some federal projects as a result of the funding cuts made by the Trump administration. Choi did not specify the size of the budget reductions, but indicated he would be providing additional guidance about those impacts. Other universities announced they were pausing or reducing admissions to their PhD programs. In some cases, the pauses have since been lifted, but prospective graduate students across the nation remain frustrated and confused about their admission status and whether they will receive financial support. |
| Researchers in 'Limbo' as Trump Battles Courts | |
 | Although federal judges have temporarily blocked many of President Donald Trump's plans to overhaul the government through executive action, academic researchers who rely on federal grants say business is still far from usual. Eager to keep working uninterrupted on time-sensitive projects -- including medical research on cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease -- university scientists are instead caught in a crossfire of conflicting guidance, with some still waiting on funding. And as Trump's second term takes shape, many are uncertain if their life's work will continue as planned or get derailed as part of the president's crusade against alleged "waste, fraud and abuse" of taxpayer money and so-called woke ideology. "I definitely WOULDN'T say things are operating normally right now," Ben Stone, a postdoctoral fellow in the biology department at the University of South Carolina, said in an email. That's in part because he's paid directly through a National Science Foundation grant that Republican senator Ted Cruz recently flagged as one of thousands of examples of NSF-funded "neo-Marxist" propaganda. Stone said his guess is that "we are a long way from clarity (if we ever get it), and that the worst days are yet to come." |
| Hiring freezes, fewer grad students: Funding uncertainty hits colleges | |
| Some universities are freezing hiring, admitting fewer graduate students and warning that recent federal changes and proposals pose an existential threat to higher education. A U.S. judge last month put a temporary block on Trump administration orders for deep cuts to federal funding rates that the National Institutes of Health provides to support overhead costs for research at academic institutions. But the uncertainty around that and other potential federal actions has already prompted some university officials to scramble contingency plans and incise budgets where they can, in ways that could have a lasting impact on scientific research in this country. "We talk a lot about being in this intense competition with China for technology and science," said L. Rafael Reif, president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Is this a way in which we can compete? This is a very difficult time to create such a mess." On Wednesday, Stanford University's president and provost announced a freeze in staff hiring -- a decision that does not apply to faculty and student workers -- citing uncertainties over federal policy proposals. MIT instituted a hiring freeze on most nonfaculty positions last month, a spokeswoman said, driven by the uncertain outlook for federal funding and policy. |
| New Ed. Dept. Guidance on Race and DEI Tells Colleges Which Programs It Might Consider Illegal | |
 | Colleges got another signal over the weekend of how President Trump might crack down on identity-based programs and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights on Saturday issued a guidance document of "frequently asked questions about racial preferences and stereotypes" -- describing the Trump administration's interpretation of Title VI, the federal law barring discrimination in education based on race, color, and national origin. Are DEI programs illegal under the Trump administration's interpretation of civil-rights law? It depends, the new guidance says. Programs focused on particular cultures and regions "would not in and of themselves" be illegal as long as they are open to all students, the Q&A states. Nor would activities related to Black History Month or International Holocaust Remembrance Day, "as long as they do not engage in racial exclusion or discrimination." Colleges must consider whether such campus programs discourage "members of all races from attending," which could be illegal, the document says. But graduation ceremonies, housing, scholarships, and student-support programs that operate based on identity likely do run afoul of the Trump administration's interpretation of Title VI. Both public colleges and private colleges receiving federal funding will be held to the same standards, per the document. |
| Supreme Court won't join debate over free speech on college campuses | |
 | The Supreme Court on Monday declined an opportunity to weigh in on controversial university programs that a conservative advocacy group says make students afraid to express unpopular or controversial views. Under Indiana University's attempt to address "bias incidents" on campus, complaints have been made about a student expressing dislike of China in front of a Chinese student, posting "hate speech" on social media and commenting on a trans feminine student wearing lipstick to class, according to Speech First. Hundreds of schools have similar programs, according to the group, which has been trying to shut them down and is eager for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the tension between the First Amendment and efforts to foster inclusivity at American colleges. The court rejected Speech First's challenge on behalf of anonymous students the group said wanted to be able to freely express opinions on such controversial topics as unauthorized immigration and whether sex is determined by biology. Two justices -- Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito -- wanted to take the case. |
| Judge's ruling gives Legislature permission to meet behind closed doors | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas recently affirmed the ruling of the Mississippi Ethics Commission that the state Legislature is not covered by the open meetings law and thus can meet behind closed doors. The Mississippi Open Meetings Act says specifically that all "policy making bodies" are subject to the law. But Thomas and the Ethics Commission majority said the law is referring to executive bodies, not the Legislature, when referencing policy making bodies. Taking that ruling to the extreme begs the question of whether city councils and city boards of aldermen meetings are covered since they also are legislative bodies. To exclude the Mississippi Legislature from the requirement of meeting in public seems questionable considering that the Legislature appropriates more public money than any entity in the state. And the Legislature is the state's primary policy making body with immense power. ... This perplexing issue came to the forefront because of the House leadership's ongoing practice of holding closed-door Republican caucus meetings where policy is discussed and unofficial votes are taken. It was argued that the meetings were illegal since Republicans comprise a super majority giving them many more members than needed to constitute a quorum. |
| Musk and House spending cuts need higher debt ceiling? | |
 | Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Are they auditioning in Washington for a Saturday Night Live skit? The sketch could start with President Donald Trump's promise to wipe out the $36 trillion national debt. "We're going to pay it off," he said on the campaign trail. "We're going to get it done fast too." Enter efficiency expert, billionaire Elon Musk, Trump's choice to guide his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with a chainsaw. "Waste is pretty much everywhere," he proclaims, slashing federal jobs and government contracts. His goal is to cut annual spending by $2 trillion, or about one-third of the total annual budget. The parody. Musk proposes sending $5,000 checks out to 79 million taxpaying families to share the DOGE "savings" with them. "I love it," exclaims Trump who loved having his signature on all those COVID checks. He said 20% of the DOGE savings would go to fund the $5,000 checks. The punch line. "And 20% goes to paying down debt," Trump says. Huh? That's just $400 billion of the $2 trillion in Doge cuts going to reduce the $36 trillion national debt. ... Intriguingly, most of the proposed cuts are just clatter. Musk keeps announcing new "savings" from his cuts then his DOGE staff posts substantially lower numbers on the DOGE "wall of receipts." |
SPORTS
| Hubbard, Bulldogs bounce back in second half, take down LSU 81-69 | |
| It was more of the same from Mississippi State in the first half against LSU as the No. 24 Bulldogs had sloppy moments. State fell behind by as much as eight points and were trailing at the half. In the second half, the switch flipped and Josh Hubbard came alive. Hubbard scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and the Bulldogs got the lead and kept it in a 81-69 victory over the Tigers. "We saw a few clips in the film room where we were making our most mistakes," Hubbard said. "We adjusted to them and executed. Playing Bulldog basketball, getting stops and pushing it." The sophomore guard finished the game with 30 points for the second time this season as he made 9-of-18 shots from the field. Hubbard was incredibly efficient inside the arc, making seven of his nine shots there but was just 2-of-9 from three. He made 10-of-11 foul shots. The victory was the 20th of the season for the Bulldogs and gave Jans his third 20-win season in as many tries. Now, State looks to grab one more win at home to get closer to clinching a really good seed in the NCAA Tournament. With Texas coming on Tuesday night (7 p.m. SEC Network), the Bulldogs can build momentum. |
| Men's Basketball: Hubbard's 30 points leads No. 24 Mississippi State to win over LSU | |
| Once the calendar turns to March, it doesn't matter how pretty it looks. Coming off back-to-back road losses in which Mississippi State could not overcome poor defense, the No. 24 Bulldogs trailed LSU by eight points early on Saturday against the worst opponent they have faced in more than a month. But MSU settled down and made it a close game by halftime, then controlled the game in the second half and earned an 81-69 victory at Humphrey Coliseum. The Tigers have to be sick of Josh Hubbard by now -- in three games against LSU, the star sophomore guard has averaged nearly 29 points. The Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) needed their best player to carry them Saturday, and he delivered with a huge second half, finishing with 30 points despite just two made 3-pointers. "Just being a complete player, that's what I worked on in the offseason," Hubbard said. "Getting downhill, being aggressive, putting some pressure on the defense." MSU plays its final home game of the season Tuesday night against Texas. "It was as big a game as we've had all year long," head coach Chris Jans said. "I put some added pressure on them because I wanted them to feel that way. I wanted them to feel like it was a must-win, because I felt like it was. For a number of different reasons, NET (rankings) being one. I wanted to see how they'd act in that pressurized situation, hoping that we're in those types of games here shortly." |
| Mississippi State's SEC Tournament draw is set | |
| As the regular season has officially come to an end in SEC women's basketball, the tournament in Greenville, S.C. is all set for next week. Mississippi State wrapped up the regular season on Sunday by knocking off Auburn 73-66 on the road. That locked in the No. 10 seed for the Bulldogs in the tournament as State finished a spot higher than the preseason projection by the SEC media. The Bulldogs are set to have a rematch with No. 15 seeded Missouri on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. Missouri finished the regular season 3-13 in SEC play and earned its first win of the SEC season against State back on January 27 with a 78-77 buzzer-beating win. After starting the SEC slate 0-6, the Tigers finished 3-7 but also had single digit losses to top 25 teams Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky as well as teams just on the outside like Tennessee and Ole Miss. Missouri announced earlier this week that coach Robin Pingeton wouldn't return for another year and that was followed up by a 100-59 loss to Vanderbilt to close the regular season. If the Bulldogs can get revenge on the Tigers, it could lock in an NCAA Tournament berth for the second time in Sam Purcell's three seasons. State was listed as being one of the Last Four Byes in ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Crème's update before its win at Auburn. |
| Where is Mississippi State women's basketball in SEC tournament bracket? Bulldogs seed, schedule | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball has drawn the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament and will have to play a team that gave it a heartbreaking loss earlier this season. The Bulldogs (20-10, 7-9 SEC) will play No. 15 Missouri (14-17, 3-13) in the first round on Wednesday (5 p.m., SEC Network). The Tigers beat the Bulldogs in January on a Grace Slaughter buzzer-beater despite 40 points from Jerkaila Jordan. MSU ended its regular season with a 73-66 win at Auburn on Sunday. "I don't care who we play at this point," coach Sam Purcell said in his postgame radio interview. "We just got 20 wins. We're battling in the toughest league. I just got Eniya Russell cooking again, and we were able to win in the last five minutes." All games will be played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. |
| How Denim DeShields all-star family helped pave path to Mississippi State women's basketball | |
| Denim DeShields' family has been brought up in conversations her whole life. And for good reason. A glance at her last name combined with some knowledge of women's basketball, baseball or track can make the connection. She comes from a lineage full of star athletes. Tisha, Denim's mother, was an All-American track star at Tennessee. Delino, Denim's father, was a first-round MLB draft pick in 1987 and played 13 seasons in the majors. Delino Jr., Denim's oldest brother, was the No. 8 pick in the 2010 MLB draft and played in the majors from 2015-21. Diamond, Denim's older sister, has won a WNBA championship, was a No. 3 draft pick in 2018 out of Tennessee and is preparing for the 2025 season with the Connecticut Sun. "I feel like it used to be annoying to me because they were always bringing up other people, like, I'm my own person type of situation," Denim told the Clarion Ledger. "But I feel like now, I embrace it now, because they're all excellent athletes. They're all great at what they've done or are doing now. So it's kind of an honor to be able to say, like, 'Yeah, I'm related to them,' or, 'That's my sister, brother or dad.' " |
| NCAA Tournament expansion not a done deal, decision unlikely in the 'near-term' amid myriad concerns | |
| A decision on future NCAA Tournament expansion for men's and women's basketball isn't expected to happen before the end of this season, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports on Thursday. Beyond that, Gavitt told CBS Sports there remains a possibility that the tournament doesn't expand at all, at least not in the "near-term." "The most important thing to get across," Gavitt said on the Eye on College Basketball podcast, "this is definitely not a fait accompli. The recommendation to not expand the tournaments is absolutely a potential outcome here in the short-term." The reasons for potentially deferring a decision on expansion are tied to myriad cumbersome financial issues, in addition to differing opinions within the NCAA on the competitive viability of expanding both the men's and women's tournaments. Many in the NCAA are proud of the tradition, distinct marketability and symmetrical appeal of the March Madness bracket that's been built out over the past 40 years, with a formula that is unmatched in American sports. "The committees are continuing their ongoing analysis of whether or not to expand the championships, and if so, how to go about doing that," Gavitt said. |
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