| Friday, March 28, 2025 |
| Chairmen Guest, Strong Announce Joint Subcommittee Hearing on Drone Use in the Homeland Security Mission | |
 | House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) and Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology Chairman Dale Strong (R-AL) announced a hearing for next Tuesday, April 1, to examine the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, across the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) mission. "From increasing domain awareness for Border Patrol agents in the field to surveying damage after disaster strikes, drones play a vital role in the emergency management, public safety, and border security missions," Chairmen Guest and Strong said. "We look forward to hearing from our private sector and academic witnesses on how this emerging technology can continue to enhance our homeland security." Witnesses include Bryan Farrell, Interim Director, Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, Mississippi State University. The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube and will be open to the public and press. |
| Small Fruit Crops Have Good Potential in State | |
| Fruit production requires considerable effort, and some fruits require much more care than others facts specialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service keep in mind as they provide research and information support to the industry. MSU has ongoing blueberry research at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville and the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, and muscadine research at Beaumont and the McNeill Research Unit. MSU also has trials and research on blackberries, wine grapes, elderberries, passion fruit and strawberries. While the exact number of fruit crop acreage is hard to accurately quantify, Mississippi has an estimated 800 acres of blueberries, 300 acres of blackberries, 300 acres of muscadines and 100 acres of strawberries. Eric Stafne, Extension fruit and nut specialist stationed at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, said the state's climate is well-suited for fruit production, thanks in part to the long growing season. "With proper site selection and choice of fruit varieties, Mississippi growers can have fresh fruit available throughout the growing season," Stafne said. |
| MSU supports fruit production with research and site guidance | |
| Fruit production requires considerable care and effort, and some crops are more demanding than others -- something specialists at Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service consider in their research and outreach. Jeff Wilson, an Extension horticulture specialist, said MSU supports the fruit industry statewide. While the southeastern region is the primary production area and is served by Dr. Eric Stafne, Extension fruit and nut specialist based in Poplarville, other specialists, including Dr. Rebecca Melanson in Raymond, provide support in plant pathology and other fruit-related issues. Extension agents across Mississippi are available to assist growers with research-based advice. Proper planning is key for new growers. MSU's commitment to research and outreach helps ensure Mississippi growers have the tools and information they need to succeed. |
| Even small amounts of Palmer amaranth threaten furrow-irrigated rice yields, research confirms | |
| A recently published article in the journal Weed Science demonstrates just how devastating Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) can be for furrow-irrigated rice production, even in small amounts. The findings show that successful, in-furrow rice production greatly hinges on Palmer amaranth-free fields -- before, during, and after the growing season. "Palmer amaranth that emerged one week before the crop caused the greatest yield reduction in the study, with grain yield loss of 50% where rice was within 40 centimeters, or about 15 inches, of the weed," says Tanner King, weed science Ph.D. student at Mississippi State University, Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) member scientist, and corresponding author for the study. "Yet, even a single Palmer amaranth plant emerging within three to four weeks after rice emergence still has the potential to negatively impact rice growing within 1.2 square meters, or almost 13 square feet." |
| Federal funding questions leaves future of farming group in limbo | |
 | When Elmarie Brooks retired from the Starkville-Oktibbeha County Consolidated School District in 2017, it didn't mean she was done helping her community. She wanted to help feed people and keep them healthy, she told The Dispatch on Thursday, but despite growing up around a farm didn't know enough of the trade to start herself. That's where the Unlimited Community Agricultural Cooperative came in. A local civic group that helps connect farmers new and old with the training they need to thrive, UCAC has grown since its 2013 inception from a small, self-funded cooperative into an organization with four employees, weekly meetings, regular events and more than $80,000 each year in training for local farmers. That growth, however, is now in jeopardy. Oktibbeha County District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, who also serves as UCAC's president, said its reimbursement requests through its conservation of technical assistance contract with the United States Department of Agriculture haven't gotten any response since January. UCAC's outreach focuses on underserved communities, but anybody that wants to learn is welcome. Unless funding resumes, those activities could be forced to scale back, and UCAC could be forced to resume collecting its original membership fees of $150 up front and $10 each month to keep operating. |
| NASA Employee Meets Success at NASA Stennis | |
| A career path can unfold in unexpected ways. Ask NASA's Rebecca Mataya. The journey to NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was not planned but "meant to be," she said. While working for a local business, the Picayune, Mississippi, native frequently delivered items to NASA Stennis. While making a delivery, Mataya noticed a construction worker who needed directions while waiting to receive a NASA Stennis visitor's badge. "I stepped in by offering a map and highlighting the way," Mataya said. This small moment of initiative caught the attention of the receptionist, who mentioned an opening at NASA Stennis. She noted that Mataya's approach to the situation displayed the NASA Stennis culture of hospitality and a can-do attitude. "The rest is history," she said. "Looking back, it was not just about finding a job -- it was about NASA Stennis finding me, and me discovering a place where I would build a fulfilling career." Mataya will complete a master's degree in Business Administration from Mississippi State University in May. She previously earned her bachelor's degree from Mississippi State and an associate degree from Pearl River Community College. |
| Breaking ground: ERDC holds ceremony for new simulation facility | |
| The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Watercraft and Ship Simulation Facility located next to its Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) in Vicksburg. Developed by ERDC-CHL, the Watercraft and Ship Simulator precisely simulates ports, harbors, inland waterways and other maritime environments and accurately portrays currents, wind and wave conditions, shallow water effects, bank forces, ship handling, ship-to-ship interaction, fender forces, anchor forces and tug assistance. "ERDC's Ship Simulator has, for decades, been an important resource for studying navigation channels, harbors and ports around the country to provide solutions for dredging depths, navigation alleys and port and harbor enhancements," ERDC Director Dr. Beth Fleming said. The technology can be applied in both civil and military maritime operations and played a crucial role in emergency response and recovery efforts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse response in Baltimore, Maryland in 2024. ERDC-CHL has a long history of supporting the warfighter in coastal and riverine environments dating back to World War II, including planning for the D-Day invasion at Normandy. |
| With Governor Reeves' signature, Mississippi now on track to end the tax on work | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed the most significant tax reform legislation in state history into law Thursday evening at the Governor's Mansion, setting Mississippi firmly on a path towards ending its tax on work. "House Bill 1 is now law," declared Reeves after signing the bill. Flanked by House and Senate Republicans, Governor Reeves said the law will impact all Mississippians, adding that no work, earnings, or labor will be taxed when the bill takes full effect. "This is generational change," Reeves said, noting it was a long time coming, adding, "The legislation I'm signing today puts us in a rare class of elite, competitive states. There are only a handful of states in the country that do not tax income. Today, Mississippi joins their ranks -- and in doing so, we plant our flag." The version of the bill that landed on the Governor's desk is not without detractors. Some question whether the state can afford the proposed cuts, while others point out the bill passed included errors related to the growth triggers. As passed, the triggers for additional cuts starting in 2031 would be near automatic with even a slight surplus. Speaker Jason White (R) said Tuesday that additional discussions are ongoing to address the triggers contained in HB 1. The two chambers are holding conference meetings related to SB 3095, a measure that now includes House's most recent tax reform language. Contained in the House proposal is $100 million in additional annual funding for PERS, but also a sales tax of one cent intended to accelerate the elimination of the income tax. |
| Gov. Reeves signs typo tax overhaul bill into law to phase out income tax, trim grocery tax and raise gasoline tax | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill to overhaul Mississippi's tax system -- one that many lawmakers inadvertently voted for because of typos -- into law on Thursday. This sets Mississippi on a path to become the first state to eliminate an existing income tax, when the tax is phased out in about 14 years. Reeves said the law marks a turning point in the state's history and that it would make Mississippi a magnet for corporate investment and workers from other states. Reeves said the tax overhaul will lead to economic dynamism and attract new residents to Mississippi, but local officials and experts remain divided on whether eliminating the tax will actually benefit the state's economy and whether citizens will reap many of the benefits that politicians claim they will. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said she had been assured by the area's state legislators that city budgets would be kept afloat. "The proof will be in the numbers we receive when it goes into effect," Spruill said. "I'm relying on our legislators being accurate." The gas tax increase could cause some financial hardship, Spruill said. But Starkville, home to Mississippi State University, has better public transportation than most cities in the state. |
| Gov. Reeves signs bill phasing out Mississippi's income tax into law | |
| Following a contentious process that involved contrasting pieces of legislation, fundamental differences by top leaders in both chambers of the Mississippi legislature, and an errant decimal point that was promptly taken advantage of, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves officially signed a bill on Thursday to eliminate the state's income tax, lower the grocery tax, and provide recurring funding for infrastructure projects. A bevy of lawmakers gathered at the Governor's Mansion in downtown Jackson to watch Reeves sign House Bill 1 into law. The legislation, authored by Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, serves to reduce the personal income tax from 4% to 3% by 2030 with plans for full elimination by 2037 , drop the sales tax on groceries from 7% to 5% this summer, add a fifth benefits tier to the state's public employees' retirement system, and create a stream of annual dollars flowing into capacity projects. Not all lawmakers are on board with the concept of income tax elimination, though. Specifically, Sens. Hob Bryan and David Blount, both Democrats, recently gave impassioned speeches on the Senate floor outlining how they believe wiping out a large sum of revenue from entering the state's general fund will yield harsh ramifications on Mississippi's economy. |
| Consumers' Mood Sours in March With Gloomier Economic Outlook | |
 | Consumers took a gloomier view of the economy in March, according to the University of Michigan's monthly survey, a slide that economists fear might depress spending and investment. The survey's headline index came in at 57 this month, the lowest level since 2022. That marked a decline from 64.7 in February and 79.4 a year ago. Data published earlier this month had shown a preliminary reading of 57.9. Two-thirds of consumers said they expect higher unemployment in the year ahead, the highest reading since 2009. Most of the concern in the survey centered on a darkening outlook for the economy's path ahead. The survey's index of consumer expectations fell by 18% from February. On the other hand, families' assessments of the current state of the economy slipped by just 2.9% from last month. Those results reflect a puzzle facing economists and policymakers trying to assess the state of play. There is plenty of evidence that households and businesses alike are anxious that tariffs, federal layoffs and a gradual weakening in the labor market could chill the economy. But so far, there is no definitive evidence that the economy is on the cusp of recession. |
| Was classified information shared? Senators overseeing military request probe into Signal leak | |
 | The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee requested an investigation Thursday into how Trump national security officials used the Signal app to discuss military strikes and a federal judge said he would order the preservation of the messages, ensuring at least some scrutiny on an episode President Donald Trump has dismissed as frivolous. Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the committee, and Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat, signed onto a letter to the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense for an inquiry into the potential "use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know." The senators' assertion that classified information was potentially shared was notable, especially as Trump's Republican administration has contended there was no classified information on the Signal chain that had included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine. Wicker, whose support was crucial to Hegseth's Senate confirmation, is one of the most ardent defense hawks in Congress and has said the committee will request a classified hearing to follow up on the inspector general's report, as well as for the administration to verify the contents of the Signal chat. |
| GOP lawmakers warn against federal records destruction in Signal chats | |
 | Republican senators are warning that any conversation taking place between senior Trump administration officials over the commercial app, Signal, needs to be preserved to determine whether classified information was compromised and to comply with the Federal Records Act. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) says he's working on a letter with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, instructing the Trump administration to preserve all the records related to a Signal chat among senior officials about a military strike on Houthi rebels. "We're working on a different letter on preservation of documents," Wicker said. A person familiar with the matter said that letter regarding document preservation was sent to the Trump administration Thursday. The request by the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Trump administration to preserve all documents related to the chat could lay the groundwork for further congressional investigation. Wicker says his panel will hold a "classified briefing" on the matter but hasn't said yet whether he would agree to a public hearing -- something that some Democrats on his panel are already demanding. |
| Trump allies are starting to notice Hegseth's growing pile of mistakes | |
 | The White House is publicly defending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he texted sensitive military information in a Signal chat. But behind the scenes, administration insiders are starting to express doubts about the Pentagon chief's judgment. Officials agree national security adviser Mike Waltz, who accidentally invited a journalist to a group chat with senior leaders, could more easily take the fall for a scandal that has embarrassed the administration -- which may end up sparing Hegseth his job. But Republican hawks, Pentagon officials and even some inside the White House now believe Hegseth also messed up by sending likely classified details from his phone. And that has the potential to undermine his credibility in the administration. Because Trump clearly likes and has publicly exonerated Hegseth, "you're not going to hear a huge public outcry," said a senior GOP official on Capitol Hill who is close to the White House. "But, privately, there is a lot of concern about his judgment, more than with Waltz." Even for a Pentagon chief who has copied Trump's pugilistic style -- down to his Sharpie signature and campaign-style videos -- Hegseth's growing pile of mistakes are getting noticed, according to four officials and two people in touch with the administration. |
| Hyde-Smith casts doubt on validity of Signal chat snafu as Wicker calls for investigation | |
| Washington was thrown into a tizzy on Monday after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published an article claiming he had been added to a supposedly secure group chat on the messenger app Signal in which top-secret military plans were discussed. A blustery discourse has followed in which some officials are confirming the mistake, while others, like Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, are wondering aloud whether Goldberg obtained the information through nefarious methods. As the fallout continues in Washington, Sen. Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has called into question whether Goldberg found his way into the chat via "creative" information-gathering tactics that she says journalists often use on political leaders. "A lot of times, reporters will get information illegally or will have a bribe on someone that's in the room to them, but they can't tell you their source because that gets them in trouble," Hyde-Smith said during an appearance on Mornings with Richard Cross. "I think that's where Jeff Golberg is right now. You know, 'I got it, but can't really tell them how I got it because I'll get myself in trouble. A lot of times they say they have hot juicy news, but I have to tell a story to justify how I got.'" Others on Capitol Hill have not been as dismissive, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). On Wednesday, Wicker called for an expedited investigation into the incident along with Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee. |
| Trump pulls Stefanik nomination to be UN ambassador | |
 | President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he would withdraw the nomination of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, citing a need for Republicans to keep her seat amid narrow margins in the House. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations." The move represented a stunning admission from the typically headstrong president that House Republicans, who hold only a threadbare majority in the chamber, are facing increased vulnerability just two months into his second term as they try to get a budget reconciliation bill through to enact Trump's agenda. Despite those lopsided margins, Trump's announcement amounted to "an admission of vulnerability" in a deep-red seat, according to Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor of Inside Elections. |
| Forgoing Oversight, Republicans Resort to Personal Appeals to Head Off DOGE Cuts | |
 | Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, learned that his district might lose a Social Security Administration field office and the National Weather Center's primary storm prediction hub the same way many other Americans did: through a public webpage the Department of Government Efficiency calls its "wall of receipts." Mr. Cole, the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee that controls federal spending, quickly swung into action to try to head off the cuts. He and his aides started dialing their staff contacts at DOGE, the White House and the federal agencies in charge of the facilities on the chopping block, which also included a field office for the Indian Health Service. Within days, a DOGE staff member had reassured Mr. Cole that the three buildings had been removed from the lease cancellation list. Republicans who control Congress have made little official effort to challenge or scrutinize the actions of President Trump and Elon Musk as they move forward with a swift and aggressive bid to slash government, trampling on the legislative branch's spending authority in the process. But when it comes to cuts that affect their districts and states, some have stepped up their attempts to push back privately, even as they publicly cheer the broader drive to overhaul what they call a "bloated" bureaucracy. |
| 'This is a revolution': Musk shrugs off DOGE criticism, defends department | |
 | Elon Musk defended his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency Thursday, pushing back on mounting criticism of the massive disruption caused by DOGE in an unusual joint interview with other top leaders of the group. Musk minimized the number of people who have been fired by DOGE amid a wave of federal layoffs. His team lambasted the government's records, payment and other systems and promised to implement a tech savvy, user-friendly approach. And they shrugged off concerns about how DOGE has operated. "This is a revolution and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution," said Musk, a billionaire tech entrepreneur who has become a leading figure in President Donald Trump's second administration. DOGE is blitzing through federal agencies, generating criticism from Democrats and unions that it's sowing turmoil and harming important government functions. There have been mass layoffs and entire agencies effectively shuttered. Many of the DOGE initiatives have been challenged as illegal and are tied up in court. Musk acknowledge that there would be "a lot of complaints along the way" but shrugged them off. He said his experience is that those who complain "the loudest and with the most amount of fake righteous indignation" are "fraudsters." |
| DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase In Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse | |
 | The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration's (SSA) computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the system -- and the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans rely -- at risk. The project is being organized by Elon Musk lieutenant Steve Davis, multiple sources who were not given permission to talk to the media tell WIRED, and aims to migrate all SSA systems off COBOL, one of the first common business-oriented programming languages, and onto a more modern replacement like Java within a scheduled tight timeframe of a few months. Under any circumstances, a migration of this size and scale would be a massive undertaking, experts tell WIRED, but the expedited deadline runs the risk of obstructing payments to the more than 65 million people in the US currently receiving Social Security benefits. "Of course one of the big risks is not underpayment or overpayment per se but [it's also] not paying someone at all and not knowing about it. The invisible errors and omissions," an SSA technologist tells WIRED. This proposed migration isn't the first time SSA has tried to move away from COBOL: In 2017, SSA announced a plan to receive hundreds of millions in funding to replace its core systems. The agency predicted that it would take around five years to modernize these systems. Because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the agency pivoted away from this work to focus on more public-facing projects. |
| Mississippi faces potential loss of over $100 million in federal cuts to health agencies | |
| Mississippi could lose over $100 million in public health and mental health funding as a result of sweeping cuts of federal grants allocated for COVID-19 pandemic relief. The cancellation of grants awarded to the Mississippi State Department of Health totals $117,848,189, according to the Department of Government Efficiency's "wall of receipts." However, the site is known to include errors and does not specify which grants the cuts apply to. The sudden cuts have provoked uncertainty in the agency charged with wide-reaching tasks such as combatting disease and sexually transmitted infection outbreaks, regulating health care facilities and ensuring food and water safety across the state. Officials could not say Thursday how large the cuts are or what impact they will have on public health efforts in Mississippi. Greg Flynn, a spokesperson for the Mississippi State Department of Health, said he could not verify the amount of the cuts, but that the slashed grants were being used for vaccinations and infectious disease testing. "Right now, we're still working to see the potential impacts it will have on the agency," said Flynn Wednesday. "(State Health Officer) Dr. Edney is working to make sure the mission still goes forward as they figure out how much money has to go back. Then, that will determine decisions that have to be made." |
| State and local health departments reel from federal budget cuts | |
| Food programs in poor neighborhoods. People to track surges of Covid, measles, or other diseases. Programs to help people with addiction. The cascade of budget cuts from Washington has hundreds of state and local health officials around the country struggling to assess the impact on their communities and departments. "I have food programs in some of the poorest ZIP codes that I can't give food to children today. I have rec centers that are not going to be able to do certain community outreach," said Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, who leads the City of St. Louis Department of Public Health. Davis was already reeling from Monday's news that $11 billion had been sheared from Covid-19 programs paid for by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants. Then on Thursday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an enormous restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services, intended to be completed within months. Many of the affected agencies share data, resources, and expertise with local health departments. "It's chaotic," Davis said. "If you're thinking about efficiency, this causes inefficiency." Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, was equally withering about the HHS changes. "This reorganization that the secretary has done is nonsensical," he told STAT. "This looks like somebody took a bunch of organizations, put them in a jar, shook them out, and then, like dice, rolled them out on the table and then moved them around based on what their whim was at the moment." |
| Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with 'improper ideology' | |
| President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Trump claimed there has been a "concerted and widespread" effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing "objective facts" with a "distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth," adding that it casts the "founding principles" of the United States in a "negative light." The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to "remove improper ideology" from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo. It marks the Republican president's latest salvo against cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. The executive order also hints at the return of statues and monuments of Confederate figures. |
| World Languages Day at the U. of Tennessee: Knox County teachers, UT staff encourage language learning opportunities | |
| Knox County language teachers began building a bridge for their students to UT during the first World Languages Day for Teachers on Wednesday, March 26. Professors from the Department of World Languages and Cultures took their high school counterparts to classes across campus and exchanged ideas on how to introduce students to all of their options and set them up for success. Associate department head Maria Stehle emphasized that learning a language made students look at the world differently. "We teach language through culture, we teach culture through language," Stehle said. "We also offer quite a few classes in English that are cultural content courses, film courses, literature, pop culture and we keep building these programs ... when global political environments are changing, things are shifting, it just seems that that kind of competence that we're teaching our students is really just a key component of an education." Drew Paul, an associate professor and undergraduate studies director of the Arabic department, said he and the other organizers looked at this year's event as a pilot -- teachers were asked to look at the day through the eyes of their students and give feedback on what they wanted to see in order to bring in students next year. |
| U. of Florida trustees discuss housing overhaul, Miami plans and major construction projects | |
 | During the University of Florida board of trustees meeting at Emerson Alumni Hall on Thursday, topics on the various committee agendas included construction updates, housing facility renovations and strategic expansion efforts. The full board is scheduled to meet Friday and will hear updates on the Hamilton Center as well as remarks from interim President Kent Fuchs. UF Housing and Residence Life outlined its 10-year capital plan, focusing on redeveloping Trusler, Simpson, and Graham halls into modern first-year residential communities. This transformation will increase capacity from 622 beds to approximately 2,200 beds. The project also may include renovations to Beaty Towers, with expected completion between fall 2028 and fall 2029. "We had an excellent response with developers who have done this in the past," said Colt Little, UF's general counsel. The university has received proposals from 11 developers, with final interviews scheduled for April 22. The evaluation committee will select a preferred partner on April 24, with approval anticipated at the June 2025 board meeting. |
| After Backlash and Trump Edicts, U. of Michigan Shutters DEI Office, Lays Off Staff | |
 | The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, whose efforts to promote diversity have long been considered among the nation's most ambitious, is closing its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as its Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, university leaders announced Thursday. For months, university regents have talked about scaling back the university's DEI efforts, after some faculty, staff, and alumni complained that the program was discriminatory, divisive, and ineffective, and not worth the nearly $250 million that has been spent on it since 2016. But the scope of Thursday's cuts still came as a shock to many. Nationally, colleges have been shuttering DEI offices and abandoning diversity efforts to escape the ire of President Trump and in response to state lawmakers who've passed dozens of laws banning such programs and policies. The changes happening at Michigan's flagship are all the more striking given that there has been no state legislation requiring universities to scale back or cut their diversity efforts. In fact, this month, the Democrat-controlled Michigan Senate approved a resolution supporting policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to the plans announced Thursday by President Santa J. Ono and other top administrators, "student-facing" services will shift to other offices focused on student access and opportunity. It's not clear how many people will be laid off, but Rebekah Modrak, chair of the Faculty Senate, said she believed that those involved in evaluation and assessment of DEI efforts are among those being cut. |
| A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump's War on Higher Education | |
| Schools like Southern Illinois University, located in a region that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump, may not be the primary targets of his threatened funding cuts, but they -- along with the communities they serve -- stand to lose the most. There are nearly 500 regional public universities across the U.S., serving around 5 million students --- about half of all undergraduates enrolled in public universities, according to the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges at Appalachian State University. These institutions of higher learning span nearly every state, with many rooted in rural areas and communities facing high unemployment, childhood poverty and limited access to medical care. They play a vital role in lifting up struggling individuals -- and in some cases, entire communities that could very easily die out without them. "This is definitely one of those baby-in-the-bathwater moments," said Cecilia Orphan, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Denver, who is a lead researcher with the regional colleges alliance. While the administration has "a bone to pick with a particular type of institution," she said, "there are all these other institutions that serve your community, your constituents." At SIU, as at other regional universities, many research projects focus on overlooked issues in their own backyards. Here that means studying ways to help farmers yield stronger crops, to deal with invasive species in the waterways, and to deliver mental health care to remote schools. |
| Pay the student loan debt, the credit card debt or the rent? | |
| In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the federal government paused student debt payments. When they restarted more than three years later, the government told delinquent borrowers that missed payments wouldn't impact credit scores until fall of 2024. Now the reckoning has arrived. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has a new report out this week estimating that more than 9 million delinquent borrowers could soon see a hit to their credit scores. Dustin Gibson has received letters from his student loan servicer over the past year, but he hasn't really looked at them too hard. "I'm an avoider by nature," said Gibson, who is a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University. He'd been dutifully making payments toward his $185,000 in student debt, then stopped during the pandemic-era pause. And he hasn't started making payments again. Gibson also said it's unclear to him what's happening at the federal level with the public service loan forgiveness program he's enrolled in. And he doesn't mind if his credit gets dinged. But Constantine Yannelis, a professor of financial economics at the University of Cambridge, is concerned about all delinquent borrowers. "This could lead to lifetime consequences, right? Because if people have damaged credit scores, it'll be harder to do things like buy a home," he said. |
| Colleges rely on federal research funding. Under Trump, its future is in doubt | |
| After decades of partnership with the U.S. government, colleges are facing new doubts about the future of their federal funding. President Donald Trump's administration has been using the funding spigot to seek compliance with his agenda, cutting off money to schools including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. All the while, universities across the country are navigating cuts to grants for research institutions. The squeeze on higher education underscores how much American colleges depend on the federal government -- a provider of grants and contracts that have amounted to close to half the total revenue of some research universities, according to an Associated Press analysis. It adds up to a crisis for universities, and a problem for the country as a whole, say school administrators and advocates for academic freedom. America's scientific and medical research capabilities are tightly entwined with its universities as part of a compact that started after World War II to develop national expertise and knowledge. "It feels like any day, any university could step out of line in some way and then have all of their funding pulled," said Jonathan Friedman, managing director of free expression programs at PEN America. |
| Trump promised scientific breakthroughs. Researchers say he's breaking science. | |
 | In his presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump vowed to supercharge U.S. scientific research efforts, pledging to "unleash the power of American innovation" to combat cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases. But Trump has instead unleashed cuts and chaos that are paralyzing ongoing research, prompting layoffs and threatening America's perch as a global scientific leader, researchers and scientists warn. The brunt of the pain stems from changes at the National Institutes of Health, which provides the bulk of biomedical research funding in the United States and supports more than 300,000 researchers across the country. Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, NIH funding has dropped by more than $3 billion compared with grants issued during the same period last year, according to a review of publicly available grant data. The slowdown represents a nearly 60 percent decline in NIH funding, touching all corners of the American science establishment -- and going far beyond areas that the White House has targeted for cuts, such as transgender health. In interviews, more than a dozen scientists in fields ranging from cancer research to mental health described canceling planned studies, furloughing staff and rescinding job offers. All said that the U.S. research community has been hit with a bigger shock than the Great Recession in 2008 or the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020, and that the resulting damage could linger for years. |
| Faced With Frozen NIH Funding, These Universities Are Trying to Fill the Gap | |
| Going into February, Andrew P. Capaldi was confident that the National Institutes of Health would fund his lab at the University of Arizona for the 15th year in a row. Instead, the agency unexpectedly shut down its review process and threw thousands of grant applications, including his, into limbo. The cancer biologist said he's had to stop doing his most expensive, crucial experiments, cut his lab manager's hours, and stop paying his undergraduate students. When a $20,000 sub-zero freezer for sensitive supplies broke down, he couldn't afford to replace it. At this rate, his half dozen Ph.D. students will run out of funding before they graduate. It is an "escalating crisis," said Capaldi, a professor of molecular and cellular biology. "Each week that goes by, it's getting worse." But the University of Arizona has extended a lifeline: an internal fund to help keep researchers and research afloat through the delays. It is one of a handful of universities doing so during the Trump administration, which in just a few weeks has thrust America's staid research enterprise into unprecedented disarray. Scientists have been screaming for a life raft in the face of billions in lost federal funding. |
| NIH Grant Terminations Have 'Frightening Implications' for Science | |
 | After months of uncertainty about the future of federally funded research, the National Institutes of Health this month started canceling grants it deemed "unscientific." So far, that includes research into preventing HIV/AIDS; managing depressive symptoms in transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse patients; intimate partner violence during pregnancy; and how cancer affects impoverished Americans. In letters canceling the grants, the NIH said those and other research projects "no longer [effectuate] agency priorities." But the world's largest funder of biomedical research didn't stop there. The agency went on to tell researchers that "research programs based primarily on artificial and nonscientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness," according to a March 18 letter sent to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Katie Bogen, a Ph.D. student in the clinical psychology program at UNL, found out via the letter that NIH was canceling the $171,000 grant supporting her dissertation research. |
| Trump officials will screen NIH funding opportunities | |
| After a 2-month hiatus, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to resume posting notices of new solicitations for grant proposals. But there's a catch: NIH's parent federal agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and a more recent White House creation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will review each draft notice to ensure the research that will be funded aligns with the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration, Science has learned from multiple sources within NIH. A senior NIH official told Science that staff were informed yesterday that each notice will be approved by one person at DOGE and one at HHS. The requirement is "chilling," the official said because it represents a new level of political interference with NIH's process for setting scientific priorities. Grants staff were digesting the news today as Stanford University health economist Jay Bhattacharya, who was confirmed as NIH director by the Senate yesterday, awaits his swearing in. Science has also heard from several NIH employees that DOGE was on NIH's main campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and nearby sites today checking to see whether employees away from their computers had locked them and had their access cards; some of those who had not were fired. |
| Trump's college funding threats can't be offset by their endowments | |
| The top universities President Trump is targeting for federal funding cuts are sitting on billions in endowments, but schools often can't tap that cash to fill the gaps. Endowments, also under a federal microscope, largely help offset students' tuition costs. "Endowments are not a savings account," said Steven M. Bloom, assistant vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education. "There's a common misperception generally and among policymakers in particular." Most funding held in endowments is restricted by the original donors for specific uses, like student financial aid, student activities or research. Schools can be sued and have been sued in the past if they don't spend the money the way the donor intended," Bloom said. Schools typically spend no more than 4% to 5% of their endowment income per year, said Tim Yates, president and CEO of asset management fund Commonfund OCIO. In fiscal year 2024, 48% of endowment spending funded student financial aid, and 18% was distributed to academic programs, according to a February survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. |
| Trump administration advances immigration crackdown on foreign student protesters | |
 | The Trump administration is ramping up penalties against students who engaged in protests against the war in Gaza, revoking the visas of hundreds of alleged demonstrators. "We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Thursday press conference, estimating that more than 300 student visas have been revoked so far. "If we've given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we're going to take it away." Rubio's comments come as several headlines have emerged regarding the detainment of foreign students in the United States due to their participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations. This week, surveillance video emerged showing Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Öztürk being arrested near her off-campus apartment in Somerville, Mass., by federal agents. Öztürk, who was heading to meet friends for an Iftar dinner to break her Ramadan fast, was quickly surrounded by masked, plainclothes officers and taken into custody. The visibly frightened Turkish-born PhD student raised her hands and let out a scream as the agents closed in on her and took her phone. "I know this seems scary," one agent said. "We're the police." A bystander replied, "Well, you don't look like it. Why are you hiding your faces?" |
| House passes bill to lower foreign reporting threshold to $50K | |
| The House passed a bill Thursday that would require colleges to report all foreign gifts and contracts from "countries of concern" and bar them from working with those countries without annual approval from the U.S. secretary of education. For all other countries, the legislation would lower the foreign gift reporting requirement from the current $250,000 threshold to $50,000. If enacted, colleges that didn't comply with the reporting rules would face fines and the loss of their Title IV federal student aid funding. The Republican-backed legislation, known as the Deterrent Act, passed the House with bipartisan support. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Washington and author of the act, argued Thursday that the stricter reporting rules are necessary to guard higher education from foreign interference. "This bill reflects a growing consensus that transparency and accountability are essential in safeguarding American universities from the influence of foreign adversaries, particularly the Chinese Communist Party," he said in a statement. The "countries of concern" index is set by the U.S. Department of State and currently lists a dozen countries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. |
| Senate Republicans Put Colleges 'On Notice' Over Campus Antisemitism | |
| Nearly a year after pro-Palestinian encampments sprang up on college campuses across the country -- and with them, increased reports of antisemitism -- Senate Republicans are saying university leaders need to crack down on campus conduct or be placed "on notice." Although the House Republicans have spent more than a year investigating campus antisemitism, the hearing, held Thursday on Capitol Hill, was the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's first strike at the issue since it became a top priority after Oct. 7, 2023. Last Congress, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held multiple hearings, blaming diversity, equity and inclusion for what they saw as "the scourge of antisemitism on campus." But up until this year, Republicans had limited options to enact legislation that they say would address campus antisemitism. Up until the start of the year, Democrats controlled the Senate and the White House. That meant that no matter what acts of alleged discrimination the committee tried to highlight or what bills it tried to pass, their efforts were almost always dead in the water. But now, with Donald Trump as president and Republicans controlling the House and Senate, the HELP Committee chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and his fellow Republicans hold the power. And they were sure to make it known. |
SPORTS
| Softball: No. 18 Bulldogs Prepare To Host No. 1 Texas | |
| No. 18 Mississippi State returns to Nusz Park after an impressive 9-1 victory over Southern Miss to face the nation's consensus No. 1 team -- Texas. The Bulldogs and the Longhorns are now scheduled to open the three-game series on Friday at 4 p.m. CT. The adjusted schedule will allow for flexibility to move Saturday's scheduled start time earlier in the day if necessary due to weather. A decision on Saturday's game time has not been made at this time and will be determined on Friday. This weekend marks Texas's first trip to Nusz Park, and it is also the first time the teams will meet as SEC opponents. The Longhorns are 8-2 against ranked opponents this season, while the Bulldogs are 7-2. Both teams are currently 5-1 in SEC play and tied second in the league standings. Friday night is State's annual Bark in the Park game where fans may bring their dogs with them. All dog owners must have a ticket and sign a waiver prior to bringing their pet inside the park. Saturday is the SEC's fifth annual All For Alex day, when all teams across the conference will wear teal in honor of the late Alex Wilcox. Finally, kids can run the bases following the series finale on Sunday. |
| 11 Mississippi State NFL prospects work out in front of scouts on Pro Day | |
| After Mississippi State's 2024 season ended with a loss at Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, Ethan Miner took a few days to visit his wife's parents' house and go fishing. Then, it was right back to work. Miner's college career, which included four seasons at Arkansas State, one year at North Texas and one as the starting center for the Bulldogs, was over. But the NFL Draft was fast approaching, and Miner -- listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 302 pounds last fall -- needed to be in the best shape of his life. "I said, 'I gotta get on a diet,'" Miner said. "I had my wife take a picture of me for a progress (check). She hands me back my phone; I said, 'That's what I look like right now?' It's was a lot of chicken and rice. Strict diet, training, reading my Bible, spending time with my wife. That was all we did. She finally made me put some seasoning on it, too." Miner and 10 other MSU players went through drills Thursday in front of NFL scouts as part of the Bulldogs' annual pre-draft Pro Day. MSU has had at least one player selected in the last 15 NFL Drafts, although that streak is in jeopardy after a 2-10 season in 2024 with no Bulldogs invited to last month's NFL Scouting Combine. The three-day, seven-round draft begins April 24. |
| Men's Tennis: No. 17 Bulldogs Shutout No. 38 Razorbacks | |
| The Mississippi State men's tennis team put on a dominating performance on Thursday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, defeating No. 38 Arkansas 7-0. State has won every doubles point since SEC play started and that did not change today with wins by Bulldogs pairs Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano, and Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky. Every Razorback was defeated in straight sets in singles play, which just alludes to how well Mississippi State played against Arkansas. This victory moves MSU to 14-1 at home and 6-3 in the SEC. Mississippi State is now 14-1 at home, which is the best home record in the SEC. The Bulldogs are also undefeated in SEC play when they are in Starkville with a 4-0 record. No. 17 MSU will go up against No. 29 Florida at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. |
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