| Wednesday, March 5, 2025 |
| MSU Career Center hosts career fair at The Mill in Starkville | |
 | Mississippi State University's Career Center hosted its education career fair at The Mill in Starkville. School districts from all across the state were there to speak with students as well as districts from Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. They were also able to interview student teachers for potential positions available. Career Advisor with the Career Center at MSU Daniel Morgan said these events allow students to make connections with a wide range of employers. "The biggest hope is that they make great connections with the school districts and the administration, make great impressions on them for potential openings that they have. We've even had students leave the event with contracts that they can consider signing for positions. So the big hope is just to give them a great experience meeting with the administration from different school districts and hopefully get some positions open to them," said Morgan. |
| How NASA Employee Jason Hopper Went from Rock Climbing to Rocket Propulsion | |
 | Jason Hopper's journey to NASA started with assessing the risk of stepping into the unknown. One day, while taking a break from his hobby of rock climbing at Mississippi State University, a fellow student noticed Hopper reading a rocket propulsion textbook with a photo of a space shuttle launch on the cover. Rocket propulsion -- the technology that propels vehicles into space, usually through liquid rocket engines or solid rocket motors -- is a highly complex field. Engineers rigorously test the propulsion systems and components to understand their capabilities and limitations, ensuring rockets can safely reach space. "A guy just walked up and randomly said, 'Hey, my dad works testing rocket engines,'" Hopper recalled. Hopper, an aerospace engineering student at the time, did not know about NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He soon would learn more. The fellow student provided him with contact information, and the rest is history. A Meridian, Mississippi, native, Hopper graduated from Mississippi State in 2007 and made his way to America's largest rocket propulsion test site in south Mississippi. |
| Unmanned Aircraft Systems Help Responders in Urban Environments | |
| The Science and Technology Directorate's (S&T) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) recently brought together emergency responders from across the nation to test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) from the Blue UAS Cleared List. By providing an aerial vantage point, and creating standoff distance between responders and potential threats, UAS can significantly mitigate safety risks to responders by allowing them to assess and monitor incidents remotely. In November 2024, NUSTL teamed up with Mississippi State University's (MSU) Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, and DAGER Technology LLC, to conduct an assessment on selected models of cybersecure "Blue UAS." The drones, including models from Ascent AeroSystems, Freefly Systems, Parrot Drones, Skydio, and Teal Drones, are cybersecure and commercially available to assist emergency responders with their public safety operations. These evaluations were a continuation of previous tests held in rural Texas last June. The overall goal was to assess various capabilities (e.g., camera visual acuity, latency, and command and control link quality) in different geographic settings and terrain. |
| MUW and MSU wait to hear what's next for MSMS | |
| Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University are both waiting to hear what is next for the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. WCBI spoke with officials in Columbus and Lowndes County, who have expressed they would like MSMS to stay where it is. Today, we spoke to Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill about what this could mean for the city. Mayor Spruill said she believes this would be a wonderful addition to Starkville, and that education is one of the main focuses for the city. She said she welcomes the idea of having more students in the community and is excited about an opportunity for the program to expand so even more students can attend. "I think that's one of the things that you have to look at is what the long-term opportunities would be on that MSU campus. And as I understand it, those the kids at MSMS come over to the campus on a regular basis. And so why put them in a vehicle and bus them over here only to then bus them back? So I think this offers us an opportunity to have an extraordinarily robust program over here," said Spruill. Spruill said she believes the campus and community are a safe place. |
| Smart Girls Summit aims to empower young female leaders | |
 | If a young girl wants to step up and become a leader in her community, where can she learn the skills she needs? That's a question the Boys and Girls Club of Starkville hopes to answer Saturday with its third annual Smart Girls Summit. Young women between the ages of 8 and 18 will gather at the group's clubhouse on Lynn Lane from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., where they will hear from community leaders about empowerment and leadership. Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland, one of the event's two keynote speakers, explained one key point she hopes to emphasize. "When it comes to girls, just because something is a 'man's job,' have confidence in yourself," Moreland said. "It doesn't matter if you're male or female, have confidence. Speak up. Insert yourself. Don't be scared." Moreland said her keynote speech, which will close the event, will also center on teaching young women what leadership means and how it ties in to their character. "Character and doing what's right regardless, and how it's not always easy, but you stand up for what you believe in," Moreland said. |
| Driver's license offices recovering from computer outage | |
| Robert Nye, an information technology specialist with Mississippi State University, expected his Feb. 24 trip to the East Lee Boulevard DPS office to be relatively quick. Stopping by with an appointment on his way to campus, he figured he'd be in and out without disrupting his schedule. "I hadn't been before since I'm a new resident, but my fiancée went in the fall last year," he said Friday. "She was like, 'Yeah I was in and out in 15 minutes!' and so I was expecting to be able to get work in no time. That was definitely not the case." Instead, he found a line of people out the door. DPS Commissioner Sean Tindell told The Dispatch Thursday that Nye's experience was hardly uncommon last week. A software update from international tech firm Idemia crippled the department's servers, shutting down operations statewide Feb. 20 and 21. Tindell said DPS is still working to identify what exactly went wrong. He was circumspect about whether incidents like this were avoidable going forward. He said engineers are focused on just getting the system operational again right now, with a postmortem debrief with Idemia coming but not yet scheduled. "They're a multinational company who's been on contract with us for nearly 10 years now," he said. "We've had some issues in the past but nothing quite like this. Everybody's had to do updates on their personal devices, sometimes you have issues. This time we had an issue that just happened to be statewide in a very critical agency that does a lot of credentials and licenses for folks." |
| Fabricators Supply expanding in West Point, adding 15 jobs | |
| The Mississippi Development Authority announced Tuesday that Fabricators Supply, a custom machining and metal fabrication company, is expanding its operations in West Point and adding 15 jobs. The company is making a corporate investment of $2.675 million with the expansion that adds enhanced laser fabrication to the current operations. Fabricators Supply was started in the fall of 2001 with five employees and the simple goal of taking care of customers' steel needs, the company says. Governor Tate Reeves said Mississippi is a strong manufacturing state "because we never gave up on manufacturing." "Fabricators Supply's expansion is a testament to the fact that 'Made in Mississippi' is a stamp of excellence. It's something that our manufacturers can be proud of every single day," Reeves said in a statement. "I thank the Fabricators Supply team for its commitment to our state and for creating more than a dozen new employment opportunities for the people of Clay County." |
| Anthony Wilson at Mississippi Power has announced his retirement | |
 | Mississippi Power Chairman, President and CEO Anthony Wilson has announced that he will be retiring this summer after a career with Mississippi Power and Southern Company that spanned more than four decades."I have been very blessed to work in the region where I grew up and love tremendously," Wilson said in a statement. "Our employees work tirelessly to deliver safe, reliable energy to our customers and communities in southeast Mississippi, and it's been an honor to be a part of this team. Our company is well-positioned for the future thanks to their commitment to excellence and leading by example." Mississippi Power, which provides electricity to most of the 23 southeast Mississippi counties, is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company. The territory stretches from Leake County in Central Mississippi to Jackson County in Southeast Mississippi. During Wilson's tenure, Mississippi Power has had several big wins. In recent months, the company has signed contracts with two customers totaling approximately 600 MW that will result in more than $10 billion of investment in southeast Mississippi. |
| PERS overhaul sputters: Securing the future, or giving new state employees 'worst of both worlds'? | |
| The House on Tuesday night killed Senate legislation that aimed to shore up the state's underfunded public employee retirement system by offering less benefits to future hires. The measures died after the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee failed to take them up by a Tuesday night deadline. Earlier in the day, it appeared the measures would survive, after the House State Affairs Committee passed them after some debate, and on voice votes that sounded clearly like a majority of the committee voted no despite the chairman's ruling they passed. It's unclear whether the retirement system overhaul, one of Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann's top priorities, can be revived this late in the legislative session. Last year, a bill to alter the PERS board and limit its authority died with a similar deadline, but was revived late in the legislative session and a compromise version passed. PERS currently covers about 350,000 current public employees or retirees -- about 10% of the state's population. Changes to the system can have substantial economic impact on the state in the future. |
| Mississippi lawmakers keep mobile sports betting alive, but it faces roadblock in the Senate | |
| A panel of House lawmakers kept alive the effort to legalize mobile sports betting in Mississippi, but the bill does not appear to have enough support in the Senate to pass. Hours before a Tuesday evening legislative deadline, the House Gaming Committee inserted into two Senate bills the language from a measure the full House passed last month to permit online betting. The legislation would put Mississippi on track to join a growing number of states that allow online sports wagering. But the House Gaming Committee had to resort to the procedural move after its Senate counterpart declined to take up its bill. Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson, said he does not support the measure, prompting frustration from House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure, a Republican from Saucier. Eure said he implemented suggested changes from the Senate after lawmakers couldn't agree on a final proposal in 2024. "This shows how serious we are about mobile sports betting," Eure said. "I've done everything he's asked for ... I've done everything they've asked for plus some." |
| Senate kills slate of House education reforms, drawing rebuke from Speaker White | |
| The Mississippi House of Representatives passed three modest measures to increase education options for families in the Magnolia State earlier this session. All three died without a vote in the Senate Tuesday, as a deadline for the Senate Education Committee came and went without considering the bills. In the wake of Senate leadership's decision to allow the bills to die, House Speaker Jason White (R) told Magnolia Tribune, "Mississippi parents are demanding more choices. We are in a ruby red state that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump. These policies align with the direction he is leading our country. We should be able to be a part of that." Since taking office, President Donald Trump (R) formally declared as a policy of his administration the expansion of school choice programs. The President has directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to design federal funding programs to aid in that objective. None of the bills passed by the House went nearly as far as the universal school choice plans passed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee in recent years. Speaker White said there was a divide between what Senate leadership said they supported and their actions. |
| Senate says 'school choice' transfer bill is dead as House tries last ditch effort to save it | |
| A bill that would make it easier for K-12 students to transfer to other public schools outside their home districts will die in the Mississippi Senate, the chamber's leaders said as a Tuesday night deadline loomed. But the House responded by inserting language from the legislation into an unrelated bill, a Hail Mary attempt to keep the measure alive this session. The last-minute procedural move was aimed at saving legislation that would allow students to request a transfer to another school district outside their home area, and introduce legal requirements to ensure districts comply. Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, said the policy, known as "open enrollment" or "portability," would not advance this year. DeBar's statement confirmed the bill didn't have the votes to pass in its current form, which was later affirmed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who leads the Senate. |
| Key lawmaker reverses course, passes bill to give poor women earlier prenatal care | |
| A bill to help poor women access prenatal care passed a committee deadline at the eleventh hour after a committee chairman said he wouldn't bring it up for a vote. The policy was signed into law last year, but never went into effect because of administrative hiccups. Last week, Senate Medicaid Chair Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, told Mississippi Today that he would not be taking up the House's bill to fix the issues in the program, calling it "his prerogative as chairman." However, on deadline day, Blackwell called the bill up in his committee. It passed unanimously and without discussion. It will now move on to the floor vote in the Senate, where it passed with overwhelming support last year. Blackwell declined to comment on why he changed course. Blackwell had previously added the policy to another Medicaid bill, but was criticized by House Medicaid Chair Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, for attaching her legislation to what she called a "$7 million laundry list of unrelated lobbyist requests." |
| Barrier-breaking former lawmaker Robert Clark dies at 96 | |
| State Senator Bradford Blackmon (D) announced to the Mississippi Senate Tuesday morning that former Speaker Pro Tempore Robert Clark had died. Clark became the first African American elected to serve in the Mississippi Legislature since Reconstruction in 1967. Until 1976, he was the only black state representatives serving in the Mississippi House. Clark ran for and won the Speaker Pro Tempore's position in 1992. He held that position for three terms, retiring from serving in the House in 2003 after 35 years. He later became the first black lawmaker to have a state government building named after him. Senators held a moment of silence for Clark on Tuesday morning. "Robert Clark was a neighbor of mine. He broke so many barriers in the State of Mississippi with class, resolve and intellect. He's going to be sorely missed," Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) said after the moment of silence. "Our condolences go out to him, his son and his family." Clark was a graduate of Jackson State University and Michigan State University. Michigan State awarded Clark an honorary doctorate of laws degree in 2014. In 2018, Mississippi State University awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. |
| Robert Clark, Mississippi's first Black lawmaker after Civil Rights era, dies at 96 | |
 | Robert G. Clark, who was elected in 1967 as Mississippi's first Black lawmaker of the 20th century and rose to the second-highest leadership role in the state House of Representatives, died Tuesday at age 96, his son said. Rep. Bryant Clark, who succeeded Robert Clark, said his father died of natural causes at home in Holmes County, north of Jackson. A teacher and descendant of slaves, Clark was ostracized during his first years at the state Capitol, relegated to sitting solo at a two-person desk in the House chamber and ignored by white colleagues at social events. By the time he left office 36 years later, he had served as chairman of both the House Ethics Committee and the powerful Education Committee. In a state where nearly 40% of residents are Black, he saw more Black candidates win seats as voting rights were enforced and more majority-Black districts were drawn, sometimes under court order. Clark also won the respect and support of colleagues, Black and white, who elected him in January 1992 to House speaker pro tempore, a position he retained until he retired in 2004. |
| Trailblazing Mississippi lawmaker Robert Clark dies | |
| Robert Clark, the first Black person elected to the Mississippi Legislature in the modern era, has died at age 96. Clark, a Holmes County native, was elected to the House in 1967 and served until his retirement in 2004. Clark was the highest-ranking Black person elected to a state government office in Mississippi since Reconstruction in the 1800s. Clark was elected speaker pro tempore by the House membership in 1993 and held that second-highest House position until his retirement. On Tuesday it was the state Senate -- not the House -- where Clark's death was first announced in the Mississippi Capitol. The House, where Clark broke so many barriers, was not scheduled to convene until Tuesday afternoon. When the House did convene Tuesday afternoon, Clark was recognized for his tenure. "He was a trailblazer and icon for sure," said House Speaker Jason White, who like Clark hails from tiny Holmes County. "He was always mighty good to me when I was elected to office." Still, White joked that when he was elected speaker pro tem Clark was quick to point out he was the second pro tem from Holmes County. |
| Secretary of State urges high voter turnout in Municipal Primary Election | |
 | Secretary of State Michael Watson (R-Miss.) urged voters to show up at the polls on April 1 for the Municipal Primary Election. "People tend to get a little bit drained from the election space. And what we like to remind them of is, look, these are the elections are going to impact your lives much more quickly than something at the federal level and or at the state level," said Watson. Municipal leaders make daily, local decisions for their residents. Those decisions include services like utilities and schools. "The rules or regulations, the ordinances that they can pass so quickly at that local level are the ones that impact your lives the most. Because, again, this is day-to-day life. These are our public utilities. These are, you know, your trash services. These are your local level things that impact you, your children," Watson stated. Municipal government also plays a large role in maintaining and improving public infrastructure, which can affect your pocket books. That's why Watson said it's best to be informed on who you are voting for. The Secretary of State said he's disappointed by recent voter turnout numbers. He's encouraging more voters to cast their ballots during the Municipal Primary Election. |
| DeSoto County planning to contest Senate's redistricting plan | |
| The Mississippi Senate approved a new legislative district map last week to appease a federal order asserting the state is diluting Black voting power with the way its current districts are drawn. However, one of the counties set to be impacted announced that legal counsel has been retained for plans to contest the proposed redistricting plan. "In light of the potential adverse impact upon our county and its citizens created by the Mississippi Senate's proposed redistricting plan, the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors has retained outside legal counsel to explore all legal remedies made available to contest the Senate plan on behalf of the voters of DeSoto County," reads a statement from the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors that did not expound on what the potentially negative impacts would be. DeSoto County, which sits in north Mississippi and is one of the areas a federal panel of judges ordered lawmakers to create a majority-Black district within, would be required to hold special elections in November if the plan is put in place. Two current officeholders, Sens. Reginald Jackson and Michael McLendon, would be pitted against each other as portions of District 11 and District 1 would be combined under the new map to allow for a new majority-Black district with no incumbent. |
| Groceries around the country remain expensive. That's why more states want to stop taxing them | |
| The number of states imposing sales taxes on groceries has shrunk over the years, and the number may decrease further in the coming months as lawmakers hear complaints about high prices for eggs and other household staples. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday unveiled the details of her proposal to eradicate the remaining 1/8th of a cent sales tax the state levies on groceries. Lawmakers in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama and are also calling for grocery-tax reductions. The efforts come as states face uncertainty about their budgets because of cuts in Medicaid and other federal programs being eyed by Republicans in Washington. But supporters of the tax cuts are citing headlines about soaring egg prices as the reason they are needed now. State sales taxes are levied on groceries in nine states: Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah. A tax cut package moving its way through the Mississippi legislature would cut that state's 7% sales tax on groceries. |
| Trump celebrates disruption and defies backlash | |
 | President Donald Trump declared the far-reaching, disruptive actions of his first 40 days in office as the first wave of a "common sense revolution," blaming Democrats during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday for lingering problems and claiming credit for a wrecking ball approach that is roiling Washington and the world. "America's momentum is back," Trump said in a stemwinder that lasted an hour and 40 minutes. "Our spirit is back. Our pride is back." While most presidents use such addresses to tout new programs, unveil ambitious initiatives or whip legislation, Trump offered a laundry list of all that he had obliterated -- pacts with foreign governments, regulations, diversity initiatives. "The people elected me to do the job, and I'm doing it," he continued, declaring it a "a time for big dreams and bold action." While declaring that lowering costs for families was his top priority, Trump devoted only a few lines to the subject. Claiming he was "working hard" to get the price of eggs back down, he implied that the job was in the hands of his secretary of Agriculture, who he addressed directly like he might have done in a boardroom scene from 'The Apprentice.' "Secretary, do a good job on that one," he said, pointing at Brooke Rollins. |
| 'Nothing I can say to make them happy': Trump and Democrats face off during raucous speech | |
 | President Donald Trump drew peals of laughter and applause from Republicans at his joint address to Congress Tuesday as he repeated unfounded claims of Social Security fraud. "We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby," he said, giving a shoutout to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he falsely claimed that millions of improbably old people are still receiving payments. Speaking for around an hour and 40 minutes, Trump delivered an address full of bombast and personal attacks, calling Joe Biden the worst president ever and decrying "radical left lunatics." "We've been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer," Trump said, in the same room where Dwight D. Eisenhower counseled that a just peace for the United States could be earned "only through the strengthening of the spiritual, intellectual, economic and defensive resources of the free world," and where John F. Kennedy touted how much the U.S. spent on foreign aid, "for we seek not the worldwide victory of one nation or system but a worldwide victory of man." While Trump's delivery, voice hoarse, was subdued compared to his speeches on the campaign trail, the crowd was anything but. Republican members leapt to their feet repeatedly to cheer Trump, while Democrats mostly sat, seething but not silent. |
| Democrats target Elon Musk, Trump's 'reckless way' in rebuttal | |
 | The Democratic rebuttal to President Trump's joint address to Congress focused on kitchen-table issues while taking aim at Elon Musk's efforts to dramatically reshape the federal government. The response was given by Elissa Slotkin, a Democratic senator from Michigan who on Tuesday night became the face of a party still licking its wounds from crushing down-ballot defeats last November. Historically, rebuttals to presidential addresses can be politically significant because they signal how different parties plan to pitch their visions of the country to voters. Slotkin denounced Trump's proposed tax cuts and trade wars, saying he hoped to ultimately accomplish an "unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends." She also scoffed at his alignment with Musk, the tech billionaire whose Department of Government Efficiency has been slashing government agencies and functions for weeks, prompting lawsuits and condemnation from much of the federal workforce. "Is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information and your bank accounts?" she said. |
| 'Are we great yet?': Protesters rally against Trump, Musk at Mississippi Capitol | |
| Yet another protest against President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk occurred Tuesday outside of the Mississippi State Capitol Building, with more than 50 demonstrators voicing their concerns on the Trump administration's slashing in services, jobs and programs, along with broader concerns about the country's direction. Ahead of Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, people held a demonstration from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, before severe weather and tornadoes were expected to roll into the area, as part of the 50501 (Fifty-Fifty-One) Movement. Protester Roy Duhe, a 66-year-old retired college professor, mentioned that Tuesday marked the first occasion he and his wife felt compelled to protest publicly, driven by their belief that the Trump administration is actively working to suppress dissent and opposition. "I hate to see our nation being destroyed from within," Duhe said, adding the administration is using a variety of tactics to do so. "First, they are undermining the Constitution which every other president has sworn to defend. Second, they are alienating our allies and siding with our adversaries. And third, they are personally benefiting by funneling taxpayer money into their pockets, both directly and indirectly." |
| 'We're losing our democracy:' Mississippi protesters rally against the Trump administration | |
 | A few dozen protesters gathered at the state capitol in Jackson. They held signs in support of Ukraine and to denounce potential cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicaid. As participants chanted "Trump and Musk have got to go," a few curious onlookers walked out of the capitol to look. This was the third rally held in Jackson since the beginning of President Trump's second term. Army veteran Bill Gray, who lives in Jackson, says he wanted to speak out against cuts occurring across the federal workforce. "As a veteran, I've got a lot of friends whose second careers were working for the government," he said. "It's not uncommon. It's not just at the VA. They work in all sectors of government. I think 3,000 plus have already lost their jobs. So it's not a good thing for the country." Gray believes the changes in the federal government are happening too fast. "You can't go in with a fire hose and an ax and reduce these agencies that have been built over time," he said. "Are they perfect? No. Is there some waste? Are there efficiencies to be found? Yes, but this is not the way to do it." |
| Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Pause on Foreign-Aid Payouts | |
 | A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration's emergency request to pause foreign-aid funding, refusing to suspend a lower court order that required the government to pay contractors nearly $2 billion for work they already have performed. Last week, Chief Justice John Roberts briefly paused a deadline for the government to make the payments. The order Wednesday, which came on a 5-4 vote, removed that hold. The court's majority, however, instructed the federal trial judge overseeing the case to consider "the feasibility of any compliance timelines," apparently in response to the government's argument that an earlier deadline was too difficult to meet. The court's unsigned order was one of its first actions over Trump's aggressive effort to remake the federal government. More than 100 lawsuits have been filed by states, individuals and private organizations claiming that the administration is breaking the law and harming their rights. It also suggested deep divisions within the court over Trump's unilateral actions, with the four most conservative justices saying the administration's request should have been granted. |
| NIH director nominee Jay Bhattacharya faces Senate confirmation hearing | |
 | Jay Bhattacharya, the controversial Stanford University doctor and economist who emerged as an early critic of covid-19 stay-at-home orders, is expected to appear before a Senate panel for a confirmation hearing Wednesday morning as President Donald Trump's nominee to direct the National Institutes of Health. If confirmed later by vote of the full Senate, Bhattacharya would helm a $48 billion arm of Health and Human Services that serves as the world's largest public funder of biomedical research. He would oversee an entity of 27 institutes and centers that employs about 20,000 people -- including renowned scientists driving research and discovery. He would also step in to lead at a time when scientists in and out of NIH are scrambling to understand how recently announced Trump administration policies -- many aimed at streamlining government, loosening or eliminating gender protections and cutting budgets -- would impact their work and America's standing as a leader in scientific and medical innovation. |
| Pope's health remains stable as millions of Catholics mark Ash Wednesday | |
| Catholics across the U.S and around the globe prayed for Pope Francis at services marking Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence for many Catholics and other Christian denominations. The pope had a restful night in Rome's Gemelli Hospital and was in stable condition Wednesday, the Vatican said in its morning update. The pope, being treated for pneumonia in both lungs, slept with mechanical ventilation at night but switched to a simple, high-flow oxygen tube in his nose Wednesday, the morning update said. The pope has been alternating between prayer and rest but did release a prepared text Wednesday for his General Audience, the Vatican said. He normally conducts the audiences in person on Wednesdays in St. Peter's Square. Ash Wednesday routinely draws a large crowd. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent that ends on Holy Thursday, three days before Easter Sunday. The pope appeared to have a good day Tuesday, remaining stable during the day and suffering no episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm that have slowed his recovery in recent days, an earlier Vatican update said. Francis did not run a fever and remained alert, cooperative with therapies and oriented. |
| Spring break travel gets off to uncertain start | |
| It's the start of the busy spring break travel season, and it's happening as consumer sentiment has been iffy, at best. "The booking windows are decreasing -- so the amount of time between when people book and when they actually do the vacation, that has shrunk considerably," said Jan Freitag, who analyzes hotel data for CoStar. These last-minute travel decisions speak to the unease consumers are feeling, she said. "They're saying, 'OK, we're still going to go, but maybe we're not going to go for four days. Maybe we're just going to go for three.' Or, 'maybe we're not going to fly somewhere. Maybe we're going to drive somewhere,'" Freitag said. Or maybe they'll opt to hop on a cruise, instead. Pete Larkworthy is the executive vice president of sales at Infinity Research, which analyzes cruise industry data. He said that bookings are strong during this spring of uncertainty. "There's a pretty nice cost advantage that the cruise industry enjoys versus, you know, a trip in Vegas or Disney," he said. The cruise industry also benefits from recent investment in splashy new ships, Larkworthy said. "There's always some kind of halo effect surrounding new hardware." |
| U. of Florida student, 21, dies Sunday following scooter crash on campus | |
 | A 21-year-old University of Florida student died Sunday following a scooter crash near the Southwest Recreation Center on campus. According to a Gainesville Police Department news release, at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, a gray Mustang was headed east on Hull Road when its driver attempted to make a left turn into a parking lot. At the same time the scooter was headed west on Hull Road. Both vehicles collided, causing the scooter rider to be ejected. The driver of the scooter, identified by UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldan as Nyla Holland, was transported to a local hospital where she died from her injuries. GPD's investigation is ongoing. Kati Migliaccio, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, shared the news in an email to the department and recommended those who knew Holland seek out the university's counseling services through Counseling Wellness Center or U Matter, We Care. Migliaccio said Holland was actively involved in the Army ROTC program at UF while volunteering in sporting, recruiting and tabling events. |
| Bill to ban DEI efforts at Kentucky public colleges advances after tense committee meeting | |
 | Championing it as a measure promoting "equal opportunity" on Kentucky's higher education campuses rather than the "subjective equity" contrived by diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a Republican-backed bill to dismantle DEI advanced in a party-line committee vote Tuesday. House Bill 4 is "a bill that would ensure our post-secondary system in Kentucky is held accountable to dismantle the failed and misguided DEI bureaucracies that have made our colleges more divided, more expensive and less tolerant," Waddy Republican Rep. Jennifer Decker, lead sponsor of the bill, told the House Post-secondary Education Committee Tuesday morning. "Historically, America has strived for equal opportunity, not subjective equity, which DEI now pursues through discriminatory admissions, hiring and scholarships," Decker added. Her bill proposes defunding all DEI initiatives, including offices, policies, and practices "designed to implemented to promote or provide preferential treatment or benefits to individuals on the basis of religion, sex, color, or national origin." It wouldn't apply to the operations of an institution's Equal Protection offices. |
| Texas A&M launches AI initiative as part of consortium | |
 | Texas A&M University became one of 15 research institutions in the United States to join a consortium using AI to accelerate research and transform education. OpenAI announced the creation of the consortium in a news release Tuesday. The plan for Texas A&M is to use the AI resources to fuel a generative AI literacy initiative that would provide hands-on training to both faculty and students to enhance the responsible use of AI in academic settings. Spearheading the effort is the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science (TAMIDS). Director Nick Duffield and Krishna Narayanan, associate director for education initiatives, visited with The Eagle on Tuesday to give more details on the plan as well as what TAMIDS does. "We support faculty research, increasingly in AI," Duffield said. "Half the activities we sponsored last calendar year had a specific AI component to them. We also support training and education. We coordinate the Master of Data Science program here with the college of engineering and the college of arts and sciences. We also provide informal training in advanced topics such as generative AI and workforce programs as well." |
| Meet the U. of Missouri researcher bridging divides between music and engineering | |
 | Prasad Calyam's greatest strength is bridging disciplines. It was the University of Missouri professor's childhood love of flute, drums and music composition that brought him to a professional passion for technology and the internet. At a high school electronics camp, as Calyam built an electric piano, digging into integrated chips, resistors and capacitors, he first thought to himself, "I want to do more of that." Now, as a Curators' Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MU, he's still melding together his work as an engineer and musician. "(It's) my ability to use creativity and technology to solve problems, real problems," Calyam said. Calyam is currently researching how to help neurodivergent learners pursue careers in cybersecurity through a virtual reality training environment. He's also one of many MU faculty assisting the development of an Energy Innovation Center, a new building on campus dedicated to energy research. |
| Transfer Enrollments Continue to Rise | |
 | The number of college students transferring to a new institution increased by 4.4 percent this year, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The boost builds on last year's 5.3 percent transfer increase and marks a total 8 percent increase since 2020, when the pandemic kicked off a precipitous 14 percent decline in transfer enrollment. Meanwhile, nontransfer postsecondary enrollment is still 3.5 percent behind 2020 levels. There were nearly 1.2 million transferring students in 2024, making up 13 percent of nonfreshman undergraduates, slightly more than in 2020. Clearinghouse research director Doug Shapiro said that's "good news." "The growth in transfers this fall is a further indication that students are adjusting their postsecondary goals in response to changing education and labor market conditions," he said in a press call Tuesday, adding that it means students are finding institutions that "better meet their needs." As changing demographics and a move toward shorter-term degrees reshape the postsecondary landscape, transfer pathways may be one area of reliable future enrollment growth for both two- and four-year institutions. |
| Trump administration gave schools a DEI ultimatum -- then walked it back | |
| In mid-February, the Trump administration told tens of thousands of K-12 schools and colleges they had until Feb. 28 to comply with a sweeping and vague order to root out diversity, equity and inclusion on their campuses. Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidance softening that mandate and reversing course on some of its broadest requests. In a "frequently asked questions" document posted Saturday morning after the deadline, the department's Office for Civil Rights walked back its directive, saying not all DEI initiatives actually violate the initial instructions. A program or policy isn't unlawful just because it uses the terms "diversity," "equity" or "inclusion," the new federal guidance says. Cultural and historical observances -- including Black History Month and International Holocaust Remembrance Day -- won't be discouraged either. Perhaps most notably, the Education Department acknowledged the federal government doesn't have the power to dictate school curriculum. In a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said the "frequently asked questions" document issued over the weekend and the initial directions provide guidance on the law. He denied the implication that the Education Department had altered its policies. "There has been no walk back," he said. |
| Trump Administration Says Columbia University's Federal Funding at Risk Over Protest Response | |
 | The Trump administration has sent its first notice to a college that it may take away federal funding. A new federal task force on antisemitism will review more than $5 billion that Columbia University receives from the government, and will immediately consider imposing stop-work orders on $51.4 million in federal contracts that Columbia holds. The funding review -- announced by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the General Services Administration -- comes as the Ivy League institution is facing federal scrutiny for alleged violations of civil-rights law. Both the Biden and Trump administrations opened investigations into Columbia over complaints that it had failed to take antisemitism seriously amid a surge in antiwar protests. President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that his administration would cut federal funding from any institution that allowed "illegal protests" to persist. Columbia officials said in a statement that the university is reviewing the federal government's memo and looks forward to working alongside the administration to combat antisemitism. |
| Trump Stresses Transparency but Releases Little Accurate Data | |
| As part of his administration's broad push for government transparency, on Feb. 18 President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to publicize "to the maximum extent permitted by law" the complete details of every program, contract or grant they terminated. "The American people have seen their tax dollars used to fund the passion projects of unelected bureaucrats rather than to advance the national interest," Trump wrote in the memo, tilted "Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending." "[They] have a right to see how the Federal Government has wasted their hard-earned wages." Immediately after receiving a copy of the order, Inside Higher Ed reached out to the Department of Education and requested a comprehensive list of any and all such cuts, as well as explanations for why each contract was terminated. But two weeks later, the Education Department has yet to respond, and neither the department nor the staff it has partnered with from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have publicly released any more information about the terminated contracts and grants. Education scholars are worried that the cuts will leave state officials and college administrators with little evidence on which to base their strategies for student success and academic return on investment. One professor went as far as to say that the cuts are "an assault on the U.S.'s education data infrastructure." |
| Bird flu a dire concern to Mississippi's almost $4 billion top agricultural commodity | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Empty coolers on grocery store egg product shelves, dramatically higher prices when you can find eggs, and angst and dread among those who make their livings in Mississippi's robust poultry and egg industry -- that's the new reality. How robust is Mississippi's poultry industry? We rank fifth or sixth in the nation. For 30 years, Mississippi's leading agricultural commodity has been poultry and eggs. In 2024, Mississippi produced 731 million broiler chickens worth $3.3 billion and $484 million worth of eggs for a total of $3.8 billion in farm gate value -- a number that had been expected to rise past $4 billion in the next five years. Yet anyone strolling down the egg section of the grocery store knows that retail prices of eggs are soaring. The average price of a dozen eggs in 1980 as 84 cents. In 2000, the price of a dozen eggs was $1.66. Last week, the national average price was $6.70 a dozen. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service has projected egg prices to rise 41% in 2025. While there are several factors impacting the increase in prices since 1980, the overarching culprit in the current chaos in the egg market is the threat of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also refers to the so-called "bird flu" as H5N1 Bird Flu. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: State Readies For Rematch With No. 20 Southern Miss | |
| Mississippi State is set to welcome No. 20 Southern Miss to Dudy Noble Field for the first time since Chris Lemonis' initial season in 2019. Inclement weather pushed the game back a day, so the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles will renew their instate rivalry on the diamond on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The game will be steamed on SEC Network+ and heard on the Bulldog Sports Network powered by Learfield. Jacob Pruitt (0-0, 7.20 ERA) is set to start his second-straight midweek game on the mound for State. The junior right-hander struck out nine, walked none and only allowed one hit in a four-inning start against Troy last Tuesday. USM counters with freshman righty Camden Sunstrom (0-0, 3.86 ERA), who will be making his first-career start following three appearances out of the bullpen. MSU enters the contest at 7-4 and coming off a 1-2 showing at the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston over the weekend. The Diamond Dawgs are hitting .302 on the year are averaging 7.6 runs per game and are a perfect 17 of 17 on stolen base attempts. State leads the all-time series 86-44 and have been on top in three of the last five meetings. |
| Men's Basketball: Bulldogs battle back to force overtime but drop home finale to Texas | |
| Mississippi State looked finished several times Tuesday night, not the least of which came when the Bulldogs trailed Texas by four points with 15 seconds left in regulation. On each occasion, MSU pulled itself up off the mat and managed to force overtime in a game they were behind by double digits in the second half. But through a combination of poor outside shooting, a dearth of defensive stops or questionable officiating, the No. 25 Bulldogs just could not pull ahead of the Longhorns and fell 87-82 in their last game of the season at Humphrey Coliseum. "They care. They care about each other, they care about their craft, they care about this team, they want to win," MSU head coach Chris Jans said. "When it doesn't work out the way you want it to, it hurts. Our locker room was very somber, to say the least. We've lost plenty of games this year, but that was a hard one to swallow for all of us." MSU closes out the regular season Saturday at Arkansas. |
| Bulldogs suffer heartbreaking overtime loss to Texas in home finale | |
| Mississippi State has been quite inconsistent at home this season when it comes to league play. Unfortunately, that trend continued throughout the season and finished that way in Tuesday's final regular-season home game. Tramon Mark had 24 points and Tre Johnson added 23 to lead Texas to an 87-82 upset in overtime over No. 25 Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum. Mark and Arthur Kuluma both hit two free throws in the final 21 seconds of overtime to secure the road win for the Longhorns. Mark and Johnson were a combined 10 of 15 from 3 point territory for the Longhorns (17-13 overall, 6-11 in the SEC. Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick each had 10 points for Texas. Josh Hubbard had 16 points to lead Mississippi State (20-10, 8-9). RJ Melendez had 15 points for the Bulldogs while KeShawn Murphy finished with 13. Riley Kugel and Cameron Matthews each had 12 for the Bulldogs and Shawn Jones had 10. Texas held Hubbard scoreless in the first half and limited the Bulldog sophomore guard to just one shot attempt. "They obviously had a really good gameplan against Josh in terms of limiting his touches when he had the ball," said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. "They were trapping and staying with the ball screen until he threw out of it and were actually doing that to a quite bit of our guys in the first half." |
| Women's Basketball: Bulldogs Open SEC Tournament Against Missouri Tigers | |
| The Mississippi State Bulldogs travel to Greenville, South Carolina for the SEC Tournament as the 10 seed and will take on the 15-seeded Missouri Tigers. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. Mississippi State closed out the regular season in the win column, earning a 73-66 victory over Auburn. Missouri and Mississippi State will be matching up for 18th time in history and the third time in SEC Tournament history. State leads the all-time series 11-6 and has won the two SEC Tournament contests between the two. The Tigers and the Bulldogs met up on January 27, where Missouri earned the victory at the buzzer. In that contest, Jerkaila Jordan became the first SEC player to score 40 or more points in conference play, as she finished with 40 points, eight rebounds and two steals. The Bulldogs were without their second point guard, Destiney McPhaul, in the contest due to illness. Denim DeShields manned the one and scored 12 points along with four assists. |
| SEC Tournament brings more opportunity for Mississippi State starting with Missouri | |
| Sam Purcell hasn't had many monkeys on his back since arriving in Starkville but the SEC Tournament has been one. As much as the coach loves going to Greenville, SC, he hasn't been able to see enough of the sights in the city because his Mississippi State team has made quick exits. In his first two years, Purcell's squad got regular season wins over Texas A&M only to lose to the Aggies in the tournament. The first of those losses put MSU squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and had them among the Last Four In for the tournament. Last year, the loss against A&M would cost them a spot in the field altogether. This year, it's No. 15 seeded Missouri that State will try to beat. "It's one of those things that you've got to bring it night in and night out. Texas A&M got us the last two years and now we're playing a Missouri team that loses to Ole Miss at the buzzer and played to seven points against Texas. Even though statistics and standings make it look like it's going to be easy, it's going to be anything but that," Purcell said. "Obviously they got us at their place and they've got nothing to lose. They can throw everything that they want out and we've got to play with that same mentality." |
| Softball: No. 21 Bulldogs Host Louisiana For Final Game Before Conference Play | |
| In its final game before the opening of SEC play the No. 21 Mississippi State softball team will host Louisiana on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. The Bulldogs will look to get back to their recent success at home after they hit an impressive 17 home runs at the Bulldog Invitational over the weekend. State is 11-1 at home and has driven in 73 percent of its season total of RBIs inside of Nusz Park. Sierra Sacco has been pacing the Bulldog offense. The Marrero, Louisiana, native leads the team in batting average (.458), slugging percentage (.831), on-base percentage (.595), hits (27), walks (20), runs scored (26), doubles (8), RBIs (22) and total bases (49). Her on-base percentage is currently on pace to match the school record, and her 1.426 OPS right now would rank second in single-season history. In their meeting last spring, the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 23 Louisiana for the first time since 1986. The Ragin' Cajuns are in the midst of a 15-game road trip that includes a 10-day stretch away from campus that began last weekend in Auburn, Alabama. Fourteen of Louisiana's 24 players are newcomers. Mississippi State remains in Starkville this weekend to host the No. 18/17 Auburn Tigers in its SEC opener. |
| SEC to utilize 'Hawk-Eye' technology for baseball, softball video review in 2025 | |
 | The SEC will utilize "Hawk-Eye" technology as the basis for its video review system in baseball and softball beginning with the 2025 conference seasons, the league office announced Tuesday. Hawk-Eye's "Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology" system will be utilized for "video capture, replay, clipping and distribution," with six cameras in each SEC stadium to supplement the regular broadcast cameras. The Hawk-Eye cameras will be used to assist replay officials on force and tag plays, as well as "timing" plays (i.e., a foot hitting the bag before a ball hits a glove and vice versa). The SEC will continue its centralized replay system for the sixth straight year in baseball and fourth straight year in softball. The Hawk-Eye system was used in the fall 2024 SEC soccer season and is in use in the ongoing men's and women's basketball seasons. |
| Baylor AD Mack Rhoades Named Chair of College Football Playoff Selection Committee; Dantonio, Evans, Maisel, Massaro and Walls Named New Members; Wieberg Returning | |
| The College Football Playoff (CFP) Management Committee has appointed Baylor University Athletics Director Mack Rhoades as selection committee chair for the 2025 football season, announced today by Rich Clark, executive director of the CFP. Rhoades replaces Warde Manuel, the athletics director at the University of Michigan, who served as chair last season. Clark also announced that the Management Committee has appointed Mark Dantonio, former head coach at the University of Cincinnati and Michigan State University; Damon Evans, athletics director at the University of Maryland; Ivan Maisel, former sportswriter for The Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, the Dallas Morning News, Newsday, ESPN and On3; Chris Massaro, athletics director at Middle Tennessee State University; and Wesley Walls, former All-American tight end from Ole Miss, to the CFP Selection Committee. Clark also announced that the management committee has asked Steve Wieberg, former CFP Selection Committee member (2014-17) and longtime writer for USA TODAY, to return for a one-year term. Rhoades previously served as athletics director at Missouri (2015-16), vice president for athletics at Houston (2009-15) and athletics director at Akron (2006-09). He began his career at Yale before spending time at Marquette and UTEP. Rhoades graduated from the University of Arizona and earned a master's degree from Indiana University. |
| ACC, Florida State, Clemson reach revenue distribution settlement | |
| The ACC, Florida State and Clemson ended their ongoing litigation Tuesday after agreeing to a settlement that changes the league's revenue distribution model and significantly reduces exit penalties for members wanting to leave the conference before 2036. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips thanked all parties for their "patience and dedication" in getting a deal done, solidifying the conference for the near future. "Today's resolution begins the next chapter of this storied league and further solidifies the ACC as a premier conference," Phillips said in a statement. Both schools filed lawsuits against the ACC in their home states challenging the grant of rights agreement, that, according to Florida State's attorneys, could have meant paying as much as $700 million to leave the conference. The ACC sued both schools to preserve the grant of rights agreement through 2036. As a result of the settlement, the penalty to leave the conference has been significantly reduced. The new revenue distribution model, or "brand initiative," will be based on a five-year rolling average. Sixty percent of total ACC television revenue will go toward this initiative. More weight will be given to more recent viewership. |
| Republicans' First NIL Hearing Leads Democrats to Talk About NIH | |
| Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) opened Tuesday's House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee hearing on college sports NIL with an upbeat tone, expressing his eagerness to tackle an issue that has so far evaded Congressional action. "I believe we can reach some consensus this year," Bilirakis, the subcommittee's chairman, remarked during the first college sports-related hearing held since Republicans gained full control of Congress in January. The session came just weeks before the House v. NCAA settlement is set for final judicial approval in a hearing next month. Although the GOP controls the gavels, Bilirakis, mindful of his conference's thin majority, emphasized that any successful bill would require bipartisan support. From the start, Democratic subcommittee members quickly seized on the opportunity to draw parallels between the debate over Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and President Trump's recent efforts to limit National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to universities. "Today, If we truly want to address the real crisis affecting our colleges and universities, we should focus on the financial disaster they face, exacerbated by President Trump and his complicit Republican Congress," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Other Democrats sought to link NIH cuts directly to college sports reform, arguing that reduced funding was weakening universities' ability to address various challenges, including those related to their sports programs. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
