| Tuesday, March 25, 2025 |
| Autonomy and AI to drive agricultural innovation and production | |
 | Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum writes at MagnoliaTribune.com: "No farms. No farmers. No food." You may have seen this bumper sticker or a variation of it, especially if you've visited our campus. It's a message that resonates at Mississippi State University and across rural communities in our state and nation. Like so many Mississippians, agriculture has always been a part of my life. Family, friends and neighbors had many connections to farming when I was growing up, and I developed an early interest in agriculture and then a passion for it. I've spent most of my life working to advance agriculture and rural development and have seen many changes. I have never seen anything like the changes we are seeing and will see because of autonomy and artificial intelligence. It's breathtaking to think what the future holds -- if we get it right. That's what we're trying to do at Mississippi State. ... These topics and more will be in focus during the 4th annual AI in Agriculture conference that MSU is hosting March 31-April 2 at The Mill Conference Center. It's a showcase of AI-in-agriculture research and development. |
| Economist says decline in placements expected to continue | |
| The USDA's latest Cattle on Feed numbers had placements down 18 percent in its latest report. Mississippi State University livestock economist Josh Maples says the February 2024 placement number contributed to the decline. "We had winter storms that really shifted cattle movements," he says. "So we're comparing to a bigger number last year. Which makes the drop this year maybe a little bigger than it would have if we were comparing to a more normal February." But he tells Brownfield that for the rest of 2025, "we're expecting fewer cattle to go into feedlots." He says if heifer retention begins in earnest, supplies could get even tighter. "Then that means that the heifers that have been bolstering this feedlot supply, if some of those heifers start getting held back to be productive members of the herd, then that is kind of an extra decline in cattle that are available for placements," he says. Maples says that could lead to a further decline in beef production and push both market prices and retail prices for consumers even higher. |
| Can't go to DC for the festival? Where to see cherry blossoms in Mississippi, the South | |
 | Peak cherry blossom season in the U.S. is almost here, and thousands of people will flock to Washington, D.C. for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. If you can't make the trip but still want to see these iconic pink and white spring blooms, there are places in Mississippi and across the South where you can spot them. Did you know Mississippi has its own cherry blossom festival? Here's what you need to know to go and where you, your family, can see the iconic flowers. Can cherry trees grow in Mississippi? Yes. According the Mississippi State University Extension Service, they'll only grow in the northern part of the state. And its only the tarts varieties. Want to skip the travel and have cherry blossoms at home? They recommend the Montmorency. It's a red tart cherry that's good for pies and canning. The Northeast Mississippi Cherry Blossom Festival will be 2-5 p.m. Saturday, March 29 in Tupelo. The event at Ballard Park, 2629 W. Main St., will feature Japanese fashion, origami, rice pounding, brush writing. |
| Foot chase ensues after patrol car escape | |
 | A Macon man led police on a foot chase through downtown Sunday after running from a traffic stop, a Starkville Police Department press release said. Kendrick Smith, 19, was arrested and faces nine charges, including possession of a machine gun conversion device, two counts of escape, disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle, possession of alcoholic beverages by a minor, disregard for traffic device, no driver's license and no insurance. Officers made a traffic stop at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday on South Montgomery Street near University Drive. As officers were conducting a roadside investigation of a modified firearm, Smith, who was being held in a patrol vehicle, escaped and attempted to free another detainee from a separate vehicle before fleeing. Officers pursued Smith on foot and apprehended him in the area a little more than a minute later, SPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Brandon Lovelady told The Dispatch. He was taken to Oktibbeha County Jail, where he remains. His bond has not been set. |
| Exclusive: Gov. Reeves weighs in on how Downtown Jackson affects success of state | |
| Soon after New Jersey developer Kumar Bhavanasi bought The Pinnacle Building and the Old Deposit Guaranty Building in Downtown Jackson, he told the Clarion Ledger that one of the reasons he felt so good about the purchases in the area was because of Gov. Tate Reeves. "When I was able to talk with him, he was such an advocate for the downtown. He said that he would always be available to answer any questions or help in any way," Bhavanasi said. "He has a plan for safety downtown. He wants to see everyone succeed. He believes in downtown." Since then, Bhavanasi won the auction to purchase downtown's Regions Plaza just across from the Pinnacle and when that transaction closes, he will own a large section of the main area of the city's central business district. For Reeves, he sees the Bhavanasi acquisition as a positive move and views the revitalization of the area as key to the entire Jackson Metro area. "It is my view that the success of Jackson is extremely important to the long-term success of the state, and there are a number of reasons for that," Reeves told the Clarion Ledger in an exclusive interview last week. "We are having huge success in every region of our state right now in terms of economic development." |
| Speaker says House willing to renegotiate typo tax bill | |
| House Speaker Jason White acknowledged for the first time on Monday that House leaders knowingly passed a typo-riddled plan to overhaul Mississippi's tax system that Senate leaders have since admitted was a mistake. White also said his Republican caucus is willing to use a still-alive Senate bill to restart negotiations on some elements of the tax overhaul that could override the bill headed to Gov. Tate Reeves' desk. The speaker appeared to underscore that last week's typo tax snafu gave his House caucus the upper hand, and that they would extract further concessions from the Senate in exchange for restarting negotiations in a conference committee. Senate leaders are hoping they can convince the House to correct the mistake, but it appears that might not be an easy sell with the House. "We are willing to talk about a reasonable trigger, but not a cumbersome trigger that nobody can ever hit," White said. "Of course, if we're going to revisit that, there are other features of the tax reform package that we would certainly like to address as well." Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann told Mississippi Today he would not talk about the bill and deferred comments to Harkins, the chamber's lead tax-cut architect. Hosemann last week feigned ignorance about the typo and tried to claim victory over the final product. |
| New talks over wording errors in historic tax cut will happen, Speaker said | |
| The Mississippi Senate and House are back at the table negotiating a few lingering details, some would call errors, within an income tax elimination bill that passed the Legislature on Friday. Both Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, and House Speaker Jason White, R-West, told reporters Monday they will soon negotiate again on a tax cut package that was passed out of the Legislature with blatant errors. The bill currently awaiting consideration by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves would at completion eliminate the state income tax, cut the grocery sales tax to 5%, raise the gas tax by 9 cents and establish new hybrid public-private retirement benefit for public employees. Reeves, who received HB 1 at the onset of this week, has until Monday to sign the bill. Senate and House lawmakers have until Saturday evening to come up with a finalized and publicly available compromise on the tax cut trigger and any other loose ends needing addressed in SB 3095. They will have until Monday to pass that final compromise out of both chambers. |
| PBM legislation under the microscope as session winds down | |
| There's a battle brewing at the State Capitol and it could impact you and where you get your prescriptions filled. Independent pharmacists say they need the legislature to pass House Bill 1123 or risk closure. "We're not after words to check a box and say we've had PBM reform," explained Saver Express Pharmacist Dr. Gaston Box. "You know, that may be the political thing to do, but we're after saving our independent pharmacies in our communities and our right to choose." We spoke with two pharmacists and both cited recent stories of customers receiving letters from insurance saying their prescription will need to be filled by mail order or big box pharmacy like CVS. With the options available, pharmacists are pushing for the House to concur, meaning agree to the Senate's changes "We know that if it goes to conference, then they're going to strip out the most important thing, and that is the steering aspect of the bill," described Northtown Pharmacy owner and pharmacist Dr. Andrew Clark. "And then just the simple reimbursement aspect of it saying that do not reimburse pharmacists less than the cost of the medication." Meanwhile, the Mississippi Economic Council is among those advocating to move the bill to conference. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signs 'Safe Solicitation Act' restricting panhandling into law | |
| A bill that will create a permit system for public panhandlers in Mississippi has passed both chambers of the Legislature has now gotten Governor Tate Reeves' stamp of approval. House Bill 1197, the "Safe Solicitation Act," was authored by Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, and passed its originating chamber in February by a vote of 81-30. It was overwhelmingly approved in the Senate 39-12 more than a month later before heading to the governor's mansion. As the bill was discussed in both legislative chambers, proponents of the bill said the new measure will enhance public safety and give law enforcement recourse when solicitation disturbs the peace. Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee and one of the bill's champions in his chamber, said giving law enforcement teeth when it comes to addressing unsafe or aggressive solicitation will be beneficial for everyone involved. "We're getting tons of complaints, especially from mayors but also from constituents all across the state, about the fact that over the years we've really done away with a lot of the penalty side of issues dealing with homeless, vagrancy, and panhandling," Fillingane said. "Law enforcement really has very little that they can hold over the person's head in terms of penalties or fines. That's our fault, that's not law enforcement's fault." |
| Uncertainty grows around the potential closure of Social Security offices in rural Mississippi | |
 | Social Security offices located in Grenada, Greenwood and Meridian were previously slated to close as early as May, according to reporting by the Associated Press. The offices were included on a list of real estate terminations on the Department of Government Efficiency's website. However, representatives of DOGE later emphasized on Twitter that "field sites remain open, and Social Security has no plans to close any public-facing sites nationwide." Instead, they wrote that five permanent remote hearing sites have been marked for closure. Yet, 23 Social Security Administration offices still remain on DOGE's list of lease terminations. Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson represents the Second District, which holds two of the offices that were formerly slated to be closed. He said the SSA previously informed him that the office in Grenada would be locking its doors. "It's been a constant back and forth," Thompson said. "The latest information is there will be no office closures at this date in the Second District." Thompson believes these changes have been chaotic for some of his constituents. "That's not how the government is supposed to do business," he said. "Because of that, we're constantly in a state of misinformation, and I've never seen it this bad since I've been in Congress." Nearly 700,000 people receive Social Security benefits in Mississippi, including retirees, widowers and children. |
| Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down | |
 | The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts because the servers were overloaded. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones at the front desk as receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. But the agency no longer has a system to monitor customers' experience with these services, because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk. And the phones keep ringing. And ringing. The federal agency that delivers $1.5 trillion a year in earned benefits to 73 million retired workers, their survivors and poor and disabled Americans is engulfed in crisis -- further undermining its ability to provide reliable and quick service to vulnerable customers, according to internal documents and more than two dozen current and former agency employees and officials, customers and others who interact with Social Security. Financial services executive Frank Bisignano is scheduled to face lawmakers Tuesday during a Senate confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump's pick to become the permanent commissioner. "What's going on is the destruction of the agency from the inside out, and it's accelerating," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said in an interview. "I have people approaching me all the time in their 70s and 80s, and they're beside themselves. They don't know what's coming." |
| Dealing With Social Security Is Heading From Bad to Worse | |
 | The federal agency that administers Social Security benefits is facing a customer-service mess. The Social Security Administration is cutting staff, restricting what recipients can do over the phone and closing some local field offices that help people in person. The number of retirees claiming benefits has risen in recent years as baby boomers age. Few federal agencies reach as far into Americans' lives as the Social Security Administration, which delivers a monthly check to some 70 million people. Many fear that the changes, part of President Trump's push to overhaul the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, are eroding confidence in the nearly 90-year-old program. Agency officials have acknowledged that because of a planned reduction in services over the phone, there will be longer wait and processing times. An estimated 75,000 to 85,000 additional visitors a week could show up at local field offices, according to an internal memo sent by Doris Diaz, the acting deputy commissioner for operations. That is likely to tax the agency's 800 number, where people typically make appointments for office visits. Already, Social Security recipients have long complained about customer service. Many are already nervous about shortfalls in the program's finances. Unless Congress acts to shore up the retirement program, it is projected to deplete its reserves in 2033, triggering a 21% reduction in benefits. |
| Trump officials text Yemen war plans to Signal group chat with journalist | |
 | Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain "appears to be authentic." Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach. The material in the text chain "contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing," editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported. "If true, this story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen," said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement. Some Republicans also expressed concerns. Sen. Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Monday, "We're very concerned about it and we'll be looking into it on a bipartisan basis." |
| GOP airs concerns -- but treads lightly -- over war plans Signal chat: 'It's just wrong' | |
 | Congressional Republicans on Monday aired concerns about the Trump administration's handling of classified material after a report showed top officials used an unauthorized messaging platform to discuss planned attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen, calling the episode "embarrassing" and "inconceivable." But even as some called for investigations into the incident, leaders stopped short of demanding any action to be taken against the officials involved. Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported Monday that national security adviser Mike Waltz had seemingly inadvertently added him to a Signal group that that included several other top-level national security officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "We're very concerned about and we'll be looking into it on a bipartisan basis," Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said, adding that the panel "definitely" plans to investigate the situation. "It's definitely a concern," Wicker added. "It appears that mistakes were made." |
| Johnson sets expectations on judicial impeachments | |
 | Speaker Mike Johnson at a Tuesday morning GOP Conference meeting tempered expectations on impeaching judges, said three people with direct knowledge of his remarks, granted anonymity to share details of private conversations. Johnson noted that Congress has only voted to impeach judges 15 times throughout history. He also said the House Judiciary Committee is taking lead with hearings -- the first scheduled for next week -- and the full legislative body will vote soon on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to rein in nationwide injunctions. It remains to be seen whether Johnson has a winning strategy of giving members other ways to work out their frustrations with perceived judicial overreach, with so many conservatives clamoring to pursue impeachments --- a route also favored by President Donald Trump. Johnson will also meet with Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee later this afternoon. |
| Vanished earmarks in stopgap law pose challenge to local projects' return | |
 | House Republican leaders say earmarks are coming back in the fiscal 2026 spending bills they plan to write starting this spring, after nixing billions of dollars in home-state projects in the final spending package for the current fiscal year that President Donald Trump signed last weekend. But after giving anti-earmark GOP conservatives a taste of austerity in the continuing resolution, it'll be hard to go back to the flush times, some stakeholders fear. Not only would thousands of line-item projects with often funny-sounding names be restored, the move would pump up nondefense discretionary spending by billions of dollars above a baseline that was reset lower by the final CR running through Sept. 30. Stopgap bills never fund the prior year's earmarks as a general rule. As House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., put it at a Rules Committee hearing on the yearlong stopgap measure: "You know, if you put it in the '24 bill, in the '25 bill if you don't take it out, you'd build like two bridges in the same place. That's it." What's less commonplace is completely axing all of the funds that went to earmarks in their specific agency accounts. In this case, GOP leaders cut nearly $11 billion in funding that went to earmarks in the fiscal 2024 spending bills, instead of leaving that money with the agencies to distribute in other ways. |
| Homeownership rates stagnate for young people | |
| Rates of homeownership stalled out for Generation Z and millennials in 2024. A Redfin report released Monday showed that ownership hovered around 26% for older Gen Zers and 55% for millennials, instead of increasing like they did for Generation X members and baby boomers last year. While the younger half of the population made gains in homeownership during the pandemic, that momentum has flatlined. "These high interest rates, the low amount of inventory, it's creating this barrier where it's harder for young people to advance in terms of homeownership," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist of Redfin. Fairweather said those elevated interest rates are making it even harder for first-time buyers. "They are borrowing most of the money to purchase the home," she said. Younger people are waiting and seeing as they continue to trail their parents' generation in terms of homeownership, which can be an important financial milestone. But Mauricio Soto, a real estate agent in Oregon, is optimistic that young people will figure it out -- they have well-paying jobs and time on their side. "If millennials, Gen Z, they understand and they know how important it is to save money for the future, definitely they will be in a really, really good position." |
| Education: Exploring cybersecurity | |
| Photo: Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science seniors Lucas Griffith and Jennifer Bui work on Friday inside of the Mississippi State University Center for Cyber Education's Mobile Cybersecurity Awareness Trailer on the Mississippi University for Women campus. Visiting campus ahead of the 2025 C Spire Foundation Mississippi Spelling Bee, the trailer gave spellers and MSMS students an opportunity to explore cybersecurity while trying to beat an escape room challenge by deciphering code and programming robots. |
| Southern Miss finishes Friendship Oak beautification project | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) celebrated the completion of the historic Friendship Oak Beautification Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 21 at the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach. "The Friendship Oak has long been a symbol of strength, resilience and unity for our university and the Gulf Coast community," said USM President Dr. Joe Paul. "Through this project, we have not only enhanced the area's natural beauty but also ensured that this historic landmark remains accessible and cherished by future generations." The Beautification Project replaced existing sidewalks adjacent to Lloyd and Hardy halls and improved the road in front of the Friendship Oak. Enhancements also included new landscaped beds that create a natural boundary around the oak, new seating areas and upgraded campus lighting to improve pedestrian safety and visibility. |
| Fifth student receives full ride to college on writers scholarship | |
| The grin on best-selling author Angie Thomas's face could not have been bigger. The Zoom call, surprising Owen Jarvis with news he had won the full-ride scholarship to Belhaven University named in Thomas' honor, was a giddy secret that was hers to share. "Sometimes when it happens, I feel like Oprah when she gave out the cars," a gleeful Thomas said of informing the winner. For the Young Adult author and Jackson native, now living in Atlanta, the activity falls right in line with her stories' focus on young people as they find their own voice and the power it can hold. Thomas, a 2011 Belhaven grad, is the author of New York Times bestselling novels "The Hate U Give" and "On the Come Up" (both made into major motion pictures), "Concrete Rose" and "Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy." She attended Belhaven on partial scholarship, but still had to take out student loans because of family financial struggles. "My mom was a full-time caregiver to my grandmother, and so money was tight at the time. There were plenty of times where I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for gas ... much less books and all of those things. So, by the grace of God, I was able to get my education and now to know that that's a burden that these future creative writing graduates won't have -- that's incredible to me, and to know that it was done in my honor is even more incredible. |
| 'Breathtakingly Irresponsible': Former Workers Decry Decimation of Education Dept.'s Data Warehouse | |
 | For the people who worked there, the weeks before the purge of the Education Department's statistics and research arm were a blur of apprehension and confusion. More than 160 contracts measuring educational progress across the nation's schools and colleges were suddenly halted. Probationary workers were fired, employees were blocked from accessing information on their computers, and a national center that dates to the time of Abraham Lincoln was effectively decommissioned overnight. Employees worked late into the evenings downloading data that had taken decades to compile, according to interviews with more than a dozen people fired from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), an independent and nonpartisan agency within the U.S. Department of Education, and its National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Since 1969, the statistics center has issued the National Assessment of Educational Progress, widely known as the "Nation's Report Card," which informs the public about what American students know in various subject areas across all 50 states. Data from the Nation's Report Card, for instance, informed new teaching methods that significantly increased reading scores in Mississippi. "These cuts that come close to zeroing out NCES are just insanely destructive," Jordan Matsudaira, a professor of public policy at American University, said in an interview. He was a deputy undersecretary of education in the Biden administration and served as the Education Department's first chief economist. |
| GOP-led states push for unfettered school aid as Trump promises a smaller federal role in education | |
| Governors in several Republican-led states are pressing the Trump administration to cut strings attached to their federal education aid, a goal conservatives have long dreamed of that now appears within reach as President Donald Trump moves to dismantle the Education Department. Iowa put itself forward as a test case this month, asking the Education Department to consolidate its federal aid into a single grant with few spending requirements. The idea has failed to gain support in Congress in the past, but Iowa is suggesting the Trump administration has the power to act alone. Other Republican leaders are eager to follow. Oklahoma's education office said it's "actively investigating a comprehensive block grant solution." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote an opinion piece last week pushing for block grants. Conservatives are calling it the natural next step in Trump's promise to shut down the Education Department and give more power to states. "All states would like more flexibility and freedom," said Jim Blew, a former Education Department official from Trump's first term who has called for consolidating education aid. "This would be a full block grant, no strings attached." For years, Republicans have pushed block grants as a way to scale back federal involvement in education. They say it would save schools from onerous reporting requirements and allow them to steer federal money toward areas that need it most. |
| Louisiana Expands Corequisite Integration to English Courses | |
 | During the 2020–21 academic year, only 12 percent of students attending a public institution in Louisiana who attempted to complete a credit-bearing English class passed. This past fall, success rates among learners jumped to 60 percent. The change reflects an overhaul of remedial education courses at the state level, led by the Louisiana Board of Regents, to improve completion rates across the system's 28 colleges and universities. The initial numbers, coupled with high passing rates among mathematics courses, are a step in the right direction to support credential attainment for adults in Louisiana, said Tristan Denley, deputy commissioner of academic affairs and innovation for the Board of Regents. The overhaul of remedial education is tied to the state's strategic initiative, Louisiana Prospers, which sets a goal for 60 percent of the state's adult population to have at least a credential of value. At present, the state is at 51 percent attainment, up six percentage points from 2021. "One of the fundamental changes that had to be made to be able to increase that attainment in that way is really the barrier of early math and English success," Denley explained. |
| Tennessee works to encourage more people to earn degrees, credentials | |
| Tennessee is working to get more people into college and career training programs, which the state says will be needed for good jobs in the future. And there's a lot more work to be done. Tennessee ranks 46th among states for the percentage of working-age adults who have degrees or post-high-school career credentials. Lumina Foundation, which tracks states' progress on higher ed, thinks 75% of adults will need degrees or credentials by 2040. Steven Gentile, Ed.D, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, said the state must improve to strengthen its workforce and drive economic growth. He points to several initiatives to help put college completion within reach. "We have Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, providing tuition-free education," said Gentile. "The governor announced the Tennessee Works scholarship, which will provide tuition-free education for our students at technical colleges." Gentile said Tennessee leads the nation in per student funding for financial aid. The commission also has advisors out in the field helping adult learners navigate their way back to college. |
| Interim UT-Austin president seeks to walk fine line between faculty and lawmakers' concerns | |
| In his first meeting with faculty leadership since being named interim president of the University of Texas at Austin, Jim Davis said he'd share their concerns and good work with state lawmakers considering legislation to increase oversight on universities' curricula and hiring -- but stopped short of saying he'd challenge efforts to limit faculty's influence on campuses. "You will always hear me say on any topic that I do not want to cause harm to this university," Davis said. "I always want to help it, protect it, preserve it and grow it. And so where that balance is, I need to figure that out." Davis was named interim president of the UT System's flagship last month at a critical time for higher education in Texas and nationwide. At the state level, faculty senates have become the latest target. These bodies are made up of professors from each college and make recommendations on academic policies, curriculum design and faculty hiring and evaluation. They can also be an outlet for faculty to express disapproval with university leadership. Several bills have been filed this legislative session that would require half of a faculty senate's members to be appointed by university administrators rather than elected by faculty. |
| The Drag Show Goes On After Texas District Court Blocks A&M's Ban | |
| The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Monday blocked Texas A&M University system officials from enforcing a ban on on-campus drag performances. The decision comes after a coalition of LGBTQ+ student organizations challenged the ban, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment advocacy group, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Queer Empowerment Council. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal described colleges and universities as testing grounds for new ideas and therefore a place where the First Amendment right to free expression must be protected. "Today is a resounding victory for the First Amendment at public universities in Texas," FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh said in a news release. "The court reaffirmed that state university officials cannot block student expression they claim is offensive. State officials should stop trying to score political points at the expense of students' First Amendment rights." |
| Pandemic leaves mark on academic and health technology five years later | |
 | On March 11, 2020, the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, campuses across the U.S. suspended classes. The following week, University of Missouri System campuses launched remote courses. This marked the beginning of a new era in online learning at all four UM System campuses. While MU moved classes online, MU Health Care had to provide a safe health care experience for both COVID-19 patients and non-COVID-19 related cases. "We set up telemed in record speed," said MU Health Care Chief Medical Officer Stevan Whitt, who oversaw the health system's COVID-19 response. "I think within a week, we had the ability to see every outpatient via telemed in our system." Danna Wren, who supports the universities' digital learning services through her role as senior director for academic technology, recruitment and student support at Missouri Online, started her current role in March 2020. Her team accelerated the rollout of Zoom, originally planned for May 2020, and provided consulting to instructors navigating the switch to online classes. "As terrible and as chaotic a time during the pandemic as it was, I think it also helped faculty members sometimes try out different tools that maybe they wouldn't have tried otherwise, and I think it helped their comfort level," Wren said |
| Inside the $3 billion independent college counseling industry | |
| College admissions rates fell with the widespread adoption of the online Common App in the early 2000s. Add more recent changes to admissions -- like universities no longer requiring standardized test scores and then changing their tune, a Supreme Court ban on affirmative action -- and high schoolers and parents have been left with whiplash and confusion. That's where independent college counselors come in. As Nicole LaPorte wrote in Town & Country, the field has grown into a $3 billion industry. LaPorte is also the author of the book "Guilty Admissions," which chronicles the Varsity Blues scandal. "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal spoke with LaPorte about the world of independent college counselors. |
| As Crises Grip Colleges, More Students Than Ever Are Set to Enroll | |
 | Colleges are expecting what could be the largest freshman class ever this fall at a moment of extraordinary turmoil, as campuses face financial pressures from the federal government and political conflict over diversity and other cultural issues. Admissions processes, upended by the Supreme Court decision to ban affirmative action, have been revamped. Budget pressures and worries about financial aid and tuition loom for colleges and families alike. Campuses have been grappling with protests and the sanctity of academic freedom. And that was before President Trump's return to power. After he took office in January, his administration almost immediately began a campaign to close the Education Department and stop billions of dollars from flowing to colleges. On campuses, universities are shutting down laboratories and confronting civil rights investigations over antisemitism. As about 3.9 million students earn their high school diplomas and many of them head to college, the changes could affect their experiences in big and small ways. Here's how the commotion might touch students, their parents and anyone else around college campuses this year. |
| How the Ph.D. Project, and 45 colleges, became a target of the Trump administration | |
 | When Leyland Lucas was a Ph.D. student at Rutgers University, there weren't a lot of professors in the business department who looked like him. He's Black and originally from Guyana, in South America. He says a small nonprofit, called the Ph.D. Project, helped him successfully navigate and complete his Ph.D. "I am incredibly grateful to the program, which was fulfilling a very critical role," says Lucas, who is now a dean at the University of Guyana. For about 30 years, the Ph.D. Project has provided support, mentorship and guidance to students from underrepresented groups who are earning doctoral degrees in business. Before returning to Guyana, Lucas was a professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore, where he helped mentor other students through the Ph.D. Project. "If you see people like you who understand some of the challenges you are facing, and you can see them and see how they have overcome those challenges, that serves as an incentive for you," Lucas says. But with its goal of diversifying academia, this small nonprofit has now drawn the attention of the Trump administration. The U.S. Education Department announced it was investigating 45 universities with graduate schools that partner with the program. |
| New Trump demand to colleges: Name protesters -- and their nationalities | |
| When federal civil rights attorneys launched investigations in February into whether universities properly responded to antisemitism on campuses, they noticed something unusual about the marching orders from their bosses at the Education Department. An early step in civil rights investigations is always a letter to the university demanding certain information. Typically, the department asks how many discrimination complaints were received, and what school officials did in response. But the Trump administration told the attorneys working on the cases to also collect the names and nationalities of students who might have harassed Jewish students or faculty, according to documents and three attorneys with the Office for Civil Rights who have direct knowledge of the situation and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the cases publicly. The attorneys said they immediately wondered whether the list was meant as a tip sheet that the administration might use to target or deport foreign students who participated in protests. "My first thought was, 'This is a witch hunt,'" one attorney said. Asked why the department was asking for the data and whether it related to immigration, Craig Trainor, the Education Department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, replied that the information was necessary to assess how the universities handled the antisemitism cases. His statement did not directly address the question of deportations. |
| International students weigh new risks of pursuing higher education in the US under Trump | |
| Since plunging during the COVID-19 pandemic, international student enrollment in the U.S. has been rebounding -- a relief to American universities that count on their tuition payments. Two months into the new Trump administration, educators fear that could soon change. Unnerved by efforts to deport students over political views, students from other countries already in the U.S. have felt new pressure to watch what they say. A Ph.D. student at the University of Rochester from South Asia said it feels too risky to speak about LGBTQ+ causes she once openly championed or even be seen near a political demonstration. With reports of travel bans circulating, she likely won't fly home for the summer out of fear she would not be allowed back into the U.S. "You're here for an education so you've got to keep moving forward on that end," said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by authorities. "But also it's very hard to, say, 'OK, I'm at work. I've got to zone out. I can't be thinking about the news.'" Educators worry it's a balancing act that will turn off foreign students. As the U.S. government takes a harder line on immigration, cuts federal research funding and begins policing campus activism, students are left to wonder if they'll be able to get visas, travel freely, pursue research or even express an opinion. |
| Trump Policies Could Send International Talent Elsewhere, Hobbling U.S. Science | |
| For decades, the United States has been a magnet for talent, attracting some of the world's best scientific minds to its universities and laboratories. But deep cuts to research funding and the cancellation of grants that the Trump administration finds objectionable could weaken American higher education's standing, dealing a blow to its ability to attract and retain top graduate students. Already, a number of colleges have reduced or paused admission to doctoral programs because of the uncertainty. Because academe and science in this country are substantially dependent on a steady influx of bright young scholars from around the globe, President Trump's policies could have a disproportionate impact on overseas recruitment of Ph.D. students. Forty-three percent of full-time doctoral students in STEM fields are on student visas. The reduction in foreign Ph.D. students could have a cascading effect: About 6 in 10 postdoctoral fellows are from abroad. And the vast majority of international graduates of American science and engineering doctoral programs stay in this country, building careers in higher education and in the private sector. |
| As Trump's Policies Worry Scientists, France and Others Put Out a Welcome Mat | |
| Just hours after opening its new program for American researchers called Safe Place For Science in reaction to Trump administration policies, Aix Marseille University received its first application. Since then, the university in the south of France known for its science programs, has received about a dozen applications per day from what the school considers "scientific asylum" seekers. Other universities in France and elsewhere in Europe have also rushed to save American researchers fleeing drastic cuts to jobs and programs by the Trump administration, as well as perceived attacks on whole fields of research. At stake are not just individual jobs, but the concept of free scientific inquiry, university presidents say. They are also rushing to fill huge holes in collective research caused by the cuts, particularly in areas targeted by the Trump administration, including studies of climate change, public health, environmental science, gender and diversity. If the movement becomes a trend, it could mean the reversal of the long-term brain drain that has seen generations of scientists move to the United States. |
| 'Borrowers have zero power:' Trump moving student loans to SBA sparks concern, confusion | |
| President Trump moving student loans from the Education Department to the Small Business Administration (SBA) is rattling those affected, who say it is prime evidence that the White House has no real plan for its efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to wind down the Education Department, and he said student loans would move to the SBA the next day -- the same day that agency announced it was cutting 40 percent of its workforce. While advocates have been displeased with the student loan system for a long time, they worry more problems would be created than solved by taking the biggest program the Education Department controls and giving it to an agency that is seeing a sweeping reduction in force. "Borrowers right now are already having to experience an unprecedented level of chaos and uncertainty," said Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director for Student Borrower Protection Center. Moving student loans, she added, to the SBA, which "has no background of familiarity with the student loan program, with the rights afforded to student loan borrowers under the Higher Education Act -- it will only make things worse for borrowers." |
| Education Department Reeling After Layoffs | |
| Two weeks ago, the Education Department laid off half its staff in a historic reduction in force, the first step in the Trump administration's plans to close down the department. Inside Higher Ed spoke to more than a dozen former and current department staffers over the past week about the RIF and what followed. All of them describe a chaotic process that was "disorganized and unstrategic," as one source put it, and say the cuts have led to technical mishaps, gaps in oversight and a large-scale loss of institutional knowledge. Most asked to remain anonymous to speak freely about their experience. Multiple former and current staff say the department is struggling to fulfill its statutorily mandated responsibilities, from administering federal student aid to enforcing antidiscrimination laws. Administration officials themselves seemed to realize that at least some of the positions they eliminated were, in fact, essential. Last week dozens of employees who had been laid off received emails from the department's chief human capital officer reinstating their employment. Multiple sources at the Office of Federal Student Aid confirmed that 50 employees at the agency who were originally laid off had their RIF notices rescinded; all of them worked in the agency's tech office. A week earlier, the website for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid -- the main software responsibility of the agency -- had experienced nationwide service outages, preventing students and families from applying for aid. |
| Trump Is Dismantling the Education Department -- With or Without Congress | |
| President Trump isn't waiting for Congress to dismantle the Education Department. Even before his executive order last week directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon "to facilitate the closure" of the agency, the Trump administration had begun picking it apart. Like with several other federal agencies, the moves face court challenges, including two suits announced Monday by labor unions and other progressive groups. With over 4,000 employees as of last year, the Education Department was the smallest cabinet-level agency -- and Trump has since reduced its head count by nearly half. The administration also has canceled some small contracts and grants that were designed to fulfill congressional mandates or spend appropriations. A 60-vote supermajority in the Senate -- which currently borders on politically impossible -- would be needed to fully abolish the Education Department. "They want to hollow it out so there's not much left, even if they can't officially get rid of it without congressional action," said Joshua Dunn, executive director of the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee. Last week, Trump said that the administration would move "special needs" programs to the Department of Health and Human Services and the student-loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration. The administration hasn't released details on moving these programs or specific plans to work with Congress to do so. |
| A Former Education Department Official Will Now Lead NASFAA | |
| Melanie Storey has left the U.S. Department of Education, but she will not be stepping away from the political fray in Washington. Storey, who served as director for policy implementation and oversight at the department's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office for the last five years, will become the next president and chief executive of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the organization announced on Tuesday. The former federal official will take the helm of the prominent association during a tumultuous time for the financial-aid profession, which is still reeling from the recent federal-aid crisis and bracing for further disruption amid President Trump's attempt to dismantle the Education Department. A first-generation college student, Storey first came to Washington after graduating from college. She landed a job for a federal contractor that helped keep the Pell Grant program running. "My entire career has been focused on higher education, college access, and providing opportunity and success for students," she says. "It's what motivates me and what drives me." In an interview with The Chronicle last week, Storey discussed the recent upheaval in Washington, its potential impact on the federal-aid system, and what financial-aid officers need to thrive in their jobs. |
| Has the Decline of Knowledge Work Begun? | |
| When Starbucks announced last month that it was laying off more than 1,000 corporate employees, it highlighted a disturbing trend for white-collar workers: Over the past few years, they have seen a steeper rise in unemployment than other groups, and slower wage growth. It also added fuel to a debate that has preoccupied economists for much of that time: Are the recent job losses merely a temporary development? Or do they signal something more ominous and irreversible? After sitting below 4 percent for more than two years, the overall unemployment rate has topped that threshold since May. Economists say that the job market remains strong by historical standards and that much of the recent weakening appears connected to the economic impact of the pandemic. Companies hired aggressively amid surging demand, then shifted to layoffs once the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates. Many of these companies have sought to make their operations leaner under pressure from investors. But amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence and President Trump's targeting of federal agencies, which disproportionately support white-collar jobs, some wonder if a permanent decline for knowledge work has begun. "We're seeing a meaningful transition in the way work is done in the white-collar world," said Carl Tannenbaum, the chief economist of Northern Trust. "I tell people a wave is coming." |
| Bulk of taxes collected in Mississippi come from high earners | |
| The Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: Following the passage of HB 1 to phase out the tax on work, progressive activists have predictably argued that the reform will shift the tax burden onto the poorest among us. It's populist bunk. Not only do higher income earners pay the overwhelming majority of taxes collected at all levels of government, but low-income earners receive the overwhelming benefit of those taxes in government transfer payments. People arguing otherwise nearly always: (1) focus on rare exceptions instead of the norm; (2) highlight one type of tax at one level of government instead of accounting for the broader tax system; and (3) ignore entirely the flow of taxpayer-funded government benefits to low-income individuals. Federal and local income taxes comprise, by far, the largest pool of taxes collected in the U.S. They are also extremely progressive in design -- meaning that higher income earners pay far higher rates. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: State Returns Home To Face Samford | |
| Mississippi State returns home for a quick midweek tilt against Samford sandwiched between two Southeastern Conference weekends on the road. The battle of the Bulldogs is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Dudy Noble Field on Tuesday and will be televised on SEC Network+. For the third-straight midweek matchup, MSU will send out Noah Sullivan to start the game on the mound. State has won both of Sullivan's previous starts although the junior right-hander has not factored into either decision. He has struck out six and not issued a walk in six innings of work and maintains a flawless earned run average. Samford counters on the bump with Magnolia State native Brooks Rice. The senior righty is making his sixth start of the spring and sports an 0-1 record and a 10.03 ERA. He has struck out nine and walked eight in 11 2/3 innings with opponents hitting .320 against him. State knocked off then 10th-ranked Oklahoma 2-1 last Friday night but dropped the road series against the Sooners and enter Tuesday's contest at 15-9 overall. Mississippi State has won the last two meetings against Samford and leads the all-time series, 40-11. MSU edged Samford on the road 9-5 in 10-innings last season with Bryce Chance's solo homer putting State out in front in the top of the 10th. |
| Kohn Earns SEC Pitcher Of The Week Honor | |
| Mississippi State's Pico Kohn was selected as the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week following his dominant outing at No. 10 Oklahoma this past Friday. Kohn started and limited the Sooners to just two hits while logging six shutout innings in a 2-1 win. He also struck out 10 -- one shy of his career-high -- and only surrendered four base runners while improving to 4-0 on the mound. It was the third double-digit strikeout performance the junior southpaw has had in his six starts this season. On the year, Kohn sports a 2.52 earned run average along with a team-best 53 strikeouts and only seven walks through 35 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder from Verbena, Alabama leads the SEC with a WHIP of 0.70, ranks second with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.57 and has limited opponents to a .148 batting average against him. Kohn is the 41st Diamond Dawg hurler to be tabbed as SEC Pitcher of the Week and first since Parker Stinnett in 2022. |
| No. 20 Bulldog men's tennis defeats No. 18 South Carolina | |
| Following a full week off, No. 20 Mississippi State bounced back from a loss at Georgia with a key 4-3 win at home Sunday over No. 18 South Carolina. The Bulldogs have won the doubles point in every Southeastern Conference match this year, and that continued against the Gamecocks. Juniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, ranked fourth nationally, won their match 6-1 at No. 1 doubles over the 15th-ranked pairing from South Carolina. Freshman Niccolo Baroni and junior Mario Martinez Serrano clinched the doubles point at No. 2 with a 6-4 win. In singles, sophomore Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes extended MSU's lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 6, then Jovanovic won 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2. The Gamecocks won the next two completed matches against senior Dusan Milanovic at No. 5 and Baroni at No. 3, but Sanchez Martinez wrapped things up for the Bulldogs at the No. 1 position in three sets. MSU (15-4, 5-3 SEC) is back in action Thursday at home against Arkansas. |
| Why Sam Purcell won't let Mississippi State's blowout loss in March Madness be seen as failure | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball won the opening tipoff and crossed over half-court for an offensive possession. Just seconds later, center Madina Okot was whistled for an illegal screen that turned the ball over. That was the start of an avalanche the Bulldogs could never stop Monday night against top-seeded Southern Cal in the NCAA tournament second-round game. They conceded the first 11 points, trailed by 20 after the first quarter and by as many as 46 in the second half. The No. 9 seed Bulldogs (22-12) were ousted 96-59 by the Trojans (30-3) in Los Angeles. The loss goes down as the most lopsided of third-year coach Sam Purcell's tenure. "We got to keep it real," he said. "We got our butt kicked by a really good team." But despite the one-sided game that also saw USC star JuJu Watkins suffer a season-ending injury in the first quarter, Purcell believes the arrow is still pointing up for MSU. "Tonight was not our night," he said. "USC deserves all the flowers. They were unbelievable, and they were the better team. But we can't let one night like tonight derail, to your point, what a great year that we had to get this program back." |
| USC star JuJu Watkins suffers season-ending knee injury in March Madness win over Mississippi State | |
| JuJu Watkins was carried off the floor with a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of top-seeded Southern California's game against Mississippi State in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. Watkins, one of the biggest stars in women's basketball, was streaking to the basket chased by two defenders when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right leg, the non-contact injury causing her to crumple to the floor. She grabbed her knee and writhed in pain as her teammates surrounded her. Later on, a team spokesperson said Watkins will undergo surgery and then begin rehabilitation. "My prayers and thoughts are with JuJu," MSU coach Sam Purcell said. "Obviously, we're competitors and you never want to see that, especially what she means for women's basketball." After Watkins was hurt, the crowd loudly booed Mississippi State every time it had the ball. The school's cheerleaders were booed during their halftime routine and the crowd got on the team again as it warmed up for the second half. "They're gonna stand behind their home team. They're gonna go hard for JuJu," said MSU guard Jerkaila Jordan, who scored 17 points. "I couldn't do nothing but respect them." |
| Mississippi State condemns backlash at team after JuJu Watkins' season-ending injury | |
 | After Mississippi State's season ended against Southern California on Monday night, the Bulldogs were trying to protect one of their players. Early in the second round contest of the women's NCAA Tournament, USC star JuJu Watkins went down with a knee injury that turned out to be season-ending. There were Mississippi State players surrounding Watkins when she went down and let out a painful scream, but it looked like a non-contact injury. But that's not how everyone saw it. After a hush fell over the Galen Center as Watkins was tended to, play resumed and the Bulldogs were met with heavy boos from the crowd anytime they touched the ball, particularly toward guard Chandler Prater. When Mississippi State's locker room opened for postgame interviews, Prater was not available. A team representative told USA TODAY Sports she was "not doing well." Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell offered prayers and an apology in his opening statement, but said he wasn't aware of any backlash any of his players were receiving online when asked by a USA TODAY Sports reporter. He condemned any harmful comments or threats and reiterated his players wouldn't try to injure a player. "We're a program of class," Purcell said. "We don't play to hurt; we play to compete. That's just an unfortunate situation. There was no harm. And I hope us as a society, because social media can be ugly, that you understand the other lady on my team that was involved is a woman of class. She comes from a family, too, of loving parents. And I'm sure she is remorseful and obviously didn't want to have that happen." |
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