| Wednesday, May 21, 2025 |
| Five new degree programs approved for Mississippi State University | |
 | Three bachelor and two master level degree programs are being added to the course offerings at Mississippi State University. On Thursday, the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning approved MSU to begin offering the Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Technology, Bachelor of Applied Science in Weather and Environmental Science, the Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship, the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence, and the Master of Science in Construction Management. Dr. Casey Prestwood, Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs for the IHL, said the Construction Technology degree will provide students with skills in managing construction projects. Prestwood said no other public institutions in Mississippi offer the degree path. "Community college partners were surveyed and it was determined there was significant interest in offering the major to meet the needs of those seeking paths to management in the construction sector," Prestwood said. Another first-of-its-kind program for the state, the Master’s in Artificial Intelligence will provide graduates with the tools they need to innovate in the field. The 31-hour program will provide students with skills in machine learning, natural language processing, robotics and computer vision, Prestwood described. |
| Education: Local students inducted into Mississippi State's Epsilon Pi Tau chapter | |
 | Ten students in Mississippi State's College of Education recently were inducted into MSU's chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau, the premier international honor society for students and professionals in technology fields. Only 10% of MSU students are invited to join, and inductees must maintain a 3.25 GPA while completing 30 hours of coursework in their field. The 2025 inductees are industrial technology or information technology services majors in MSU's Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design, and Community College Leadership. MSU's chapter, Delta Psi, focuses on the tenets of excellence in technical standards, research and service in the technology field that have been embedded in the organization since its inception. Recipients include: Deangelo Bush, a junior studying industrial technology from Columbus; Kaylin Vollenweider, a senior studying information technology services from Metairie, Louisiana; Isaiah Wren, a senior studying industrial technology from Shannon, Mississippi; Alexander "A.J." Jones, a senior studying industrial technology from West Point. |
| Memorial Day events planned for Golden Triangle | |
| From 5K races to flag ceremonies and tributes, Memorial Day weekend will be busy across the Golden Triangle as cities pay homage to fallen service members. Flag placements will be held at Starkville's Odd Fellows Cemetery and Memorial Garden Park at 8 a.m. Friday and will be led by the local American Legion and VFW posts. The Greater Starkville Development Partnership's Military Affairs Committee will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday outside the Oktibbeha County Courthouse. Speakers will include Mayor Lynn Spruill, Board of Supervisors President Marvell Howard, Mississippi State University Executive Vice Provost Peter Ryan and keynote speaker Willie Earl Thomas of the American Legion. Boy Scout Troop 14 and Girl Scout Troop 142 will assist with presenting the colors, bearing wreaths and raising the flag. The Starkville High School choir will perform the national anthem, and Sasha Harvey of Girl Scout Troop 142 will perform "Taps." The event will also include the reading of Oktibbeha County veteran names, which are inscribed on the monument. |
| SPD officer runs into fire, pulls woman away from flames | |
| When Starkville Police Department Cpl. Cameron Bell heard a woman screaming for help from her back patio as fire engulfed her home, the only thing he could do was act. "My initial thought was, whatever it took to save a life," Bell told media outlets on Tuesday. "When I heard her scream for help, I knew it was not time to wait." Bell spoke about saving the woman from the fire on Tuesday night, after receiving a lifesaver award during the city's board of aldermen meeting. Bell has served with the department for six years, though he had never faced a situation like the one he faced at 2:49 a.m. May 3, as flames grew at the home on the corner of Plum Road and Dogwood Drive. SPD Chief Mark Ballard commended Bell for his performance under the pressure, calling it a "rarity" that the officer was willing to put the life of another before his own. While SPD often works alongside Starkville Fire Department on scenes such as the one Bell ran onto, his split-second decision was the difference between life and death, as Ballard said there were only seconds to react, not minutes. |
| Community Counseling triples patients in county evaluated for commitment | |
| A recent change in the law has Community Counseling Service anticipating triple the number of patients going through the pre-affidavit process to be committed to a mental health facility than it has previously seen in the county. During an Oktibbeha County board of supervisors meeting on Monday, Oktibbeha County Community Counseling Administrator Whitney Cox presented an update on the work the nonprofit completed during Fiscal Year 2024. Cox said Community Counseling has also seen 30 patients going through the pre-affidavit commitment process in the county since July 2024 -- almost double the number the service used to typically see in a year, due to a recent change in the law. Cox said the goal of the law is to prevent patients from sitting in jail or the state hospital that do not need to be there, and who could instead benefit from other mental health services. On that front, Cox said, the process is working. "We've been able to divert a lot of people away from the state hospital, get them out of the jail cells for the jail administrators and into mental health treatment," Cox said. "But it has been busy." |
| Starkville restaurant Taste announces date to open in Ridgeland | |
 | It has been known for some time that the Starkville restaurant Taste is opening a second location in Ridgeland's Renaissance at Colony Park in the space that was previously occupied by Enzo Osteria. Noted restaurateur and Emmy-award winner Robert St. John could not make Enzo work and closed the restaurant on Sept. 21, 2024. St. John came along and saved that location in 2022 when Biaggi's announced it was leaving that location in the Renaissance shopping area. Now, Taste is in line to open, but opening has proved to be somewhat of a challenge. While it was expected the new restaurant would open soon after the first of the year, the Taste team ran into issues with renovations. However, those have been rectified and Taste is now set to open. The team announced Tuesday, May 20, that it will open the new Ridgeland location on July 18 with limited reservations. The grand opening with full seating capacity will occur on August 5. The new Taste location, like the one in Starkville, will have a menu filled with Italian dishes. |
| CFEM announces new endowment to support Mississippi Children's Museum | |
 | The Community Foundation of East Mississippi on Monday announced the establishment of the Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian Endowment, generously created by Marty and Linda Davidson. This designated endowment is established to provide annual grant funding to the Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian ensuring sustained support for the museum's mission and programming for future generations. The endowment will help fund hands-on, engaging exhibits and programs that focus on literacy, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), and health and nutrition to help Mississippi's children grow into healthy, productive adult learners. "The Davidsons' commitment to our community's youngest learners is a shining example of philanthropy that makes a lasting difference," said Christin Waters, executive director of the Community Foundation of East Mississippi. "This endowment not only reflects their generosity but also their belief in the power of education and engagement." |
| Governor Reeves: Mississippi set employment records in April | |
| Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves is lauding two employment records set in the month of April. According to the Republican governor, the Magnolia State saw a record 1,243,807 people employed. On top of that figure, the total non-farm employment reached a record high with 1,202,000 jobs. "More Mississippians are working than ever before, and there are a record number of jobs," said Governor Tate Reeves. "Mississippi isn't making news – we're making history," Reeves stated. "Yesterday, we announced a $38 million economic development project that's creating 450 jobs, and today we've set records in employment. There's never been a better time to be a Mississippian. I'm incredibly proud of what our state is accomplishing." In his quote, the governor was referencing an expansion of thermal management company Modine in Grenada County. The company plans to use a major capital investment to expand operations at an existing facility to manufacture data center cooling equipment. This is expected to create 450 new jobs in the region. Reeves also touted Mississippi as having the second-fastest-growing economy and the fourth-fastest-growing per capita income in America in 2024. |
| Shad White running for governor as pro-Trump candidate. But does MAGA have a problem with him? | |
| Key figures in President Donald Trump's political operation have reportedly soured on Shad White, the Republican state auditor who intends to campaign for governor in 2027 and has attempted to replicate the political personas of the president and Vice President J.D. Vance. A high-ranking person on Trump's political team told Mississippi Today that several major advisors within the president's sphere of influence don't hold White "in high regard" because of the auditor's ongoing feud with former NFL athlete Brett Favre, who has been caught up in the state's massive welfare scandal. The political official, who Mississippi Today agreed to quote anonymously so they could candidly discuss the sensitive political situation, compared White's feud with Favre to Trump's feud with New York Attorney General Letitia James over her civil prosecution of his business operations, which were found to have committed financial fraud. "(White's) fight with Brett Favre has not set right with us," the political official said. The recent comments follow remarks from other Trump operatives and conservative influencers and come at a time when White casts himself as Mississippi's version of a Make America Great Again candidate as he prepares to launch a gubernatorial bid. |
| Labor union reports teacher pay lags in Mississippi as lawmakers weigh obligations | |
| A new report from the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the U.S. representing teachers, shows Mississippi has dropped from 48th in the nation in average teacher pay to 51st. The 2025 report, which quantifies teacher salary, education support professional pay, and student spending in every state and D.C., lists Mississippi as 51st in average teacher salary at $53,704 and 40th in average teacher starting salary at $42,492. This salary is for a minimum of 187 days of work annually in a state that has a low student/teacher ratio of 13.0, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That places Mississippi 15th for student/teacher ratio in U.S., meaning the state has more teaching jobs available than most other states. In addition, as noted by Mississippi First, local school districts often provide teachers with a salary supplement -- additional pay -- above what is required by state law. House Education Chairman State Rep. Rob Roberson (R) told Magnolia Tribune on Tuesday that while teachers and their pay are always a concern, keeping all state employee pay at fair and reasonable levels must be considered. "The NEA report shows salaries for teachers to be lower than the [national] average," Roberson said. "I would also consider the fact that few salaries in Mississippi are equivalent to the national average." |
| More tornadoes and fewer meteorologists make for a dangerous mix that's worrying US officials | |
 | As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode. The agency's office in Jackson, Kentucky, had begun closing nightly as deep cuts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency began hitting. But the weather service kept staffers on overtime Friday night to stay on top of the deadly storms, which killed nearly 20 people in the Jackson office's forecast area. It's a scenario likely to be repeated as the U.S. is on track to see more tornadoes this year than in 2024, which was the second-busiest tornado year on record. Forecasters said there was at least a 10% risk of tornadoes Tuesday for 10.6 million people in parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Weather service veterans expressed concern about the agency's ability to keep up in the face of the cuts. Rich Thompson, lead operations forecaster at the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said the job is getting done. But he acknowledged that staffing cuts have "made it harder on us." Many former weather service employees, especially those fired by the Trump administration, remain connected to the agency's inner workings. They describe an agency that's somehow getting forecasts and warnings out in time, but is also near the breaking point. |
| Kennedy's War on Pesticides Riles Farmers and a G.O.P. Senator | |
 | Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-running crusade against agricultural chemicals ran into pushback on Tuesday from the agriculture industry and a Republican senator, who pointedly instructed Mr. Kennedy not to interfere with the livelihood of American farmers by suggesting certain pesticides are unsafe. The admonition from the senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, came as President Trump was preparing to release a report on Thursday from a commission, led by Mr. Kennedy and named for his movement, to examine the causes of childhood chronic disease. As Mr. Kennedy was testifying Tuesday before members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Ms. Hyde-Smith asserted that "1,500 studies and 50-plus years of review" of glyphosate by the Environmental Protection Agency and "other global health authorities have affirmed its safety when used as directed." She also suggested in no uncertain terms that the commission had better get its facts straight. "Mr. Secretary, we have to get this right; you have to be 100 percent certain," Ms. Hyde-Smith said, adding, "Before you start suggesting an initial assessment that the methods in which the farmers provide our food is unsafe, I trust your report will be described as an initial assessment of things to be considered but yet to be determined." The exchange with Ms. Hyde-Smith reflects divisions between Mr. Trump's "Make America Great Again" wing of the Republican Party and Mr. Kennedy's MAHA movement. |
| A third-generation farmer was barely getting by. Then Trump's cuts hit. | |
 | In the dawn light at his first farmers market of the year, vegetable grower Jacob Thomas set out lush Bibb lettuce he'd cut just hours before, plump stalks of green and purple asparagus and coolers with 60 dozen blue and brown-speckled eggs. Soon the downtown market would fill with customers he hadn't seen since fall, when he and his wife, Jennifer, were making ambitious plans for the future. So much now depended on these customers. The young couple had taken a 10 percent hit when the Trump administration abruptly cut $1 billion from two programs that supplied local produce and meat to schools and food banks across the country. Robust sales here would help offset that $8,000 loss. There have been other blows, too, which collectively have put the Thomases' small farm operation -- always just barely making it -- on even shakier financial footing. A third-generation farmer, Jacob and his family are mainstays in this close-knit community near the Fort Leavenworth Army installation where they grow vegetables on 15 acres, as well as other crops -- mostly hay to feed their cattle and sheep -- on more than 500 acres. Though the Thomases and many of their neighbors voted for Donald Trump last November, the consequences of his administration's wide-ranging cuts and chaos over tariffs have already had a profound impact on this hilly corner of northeast Kansas -- one of the hardest-hit states for agriculture during Trump's last trade war. For many, the pride they felt when the president spoke of his love for farmers in his March 6 address to Congress has given way to a growing sense of helplessness, frustration and anger. |
| Senate appropriators grill Kennedy on biomedical research | |
 | Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a hearing Tuesday faced tough questions from Senate appropriators, including some from his own party, over proposed cuts to biomedical research, the agency's reorganization efforts and changes to local health grants. Kennedy, testifying before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, sometimes deflected and other times fought back as he outlined his vision for reducing and preventing chronic disease through his department's $94 billion budget request for fiscal 2026. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in her first hearing as subcommittee chair, told Kennedy that "HHS has always worked with Congress when considering and designing reorganizations, and I encourage you and your staff to work closely with us as you move forward." The hearing follows Kennedy's back-to-back appearances before the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last week. Senators asked Kennedy about proposed funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health, lower utilization of funds appropriated for biomedical research this year and policy changes limiting indirect costs. Capito noted that she has heard from schools in her state and nationwide about the impact of NIH capping indirect costs for universities conducting federally funded research. "I am concerned that our country is falling behind in biomedical research," she said. |
| GOP tries to push Trump's big beautiful bill to floor as key hearing drags into daylight | |
 | A key committee meeting on the GOP's "big, beautiful bill" is dragging into the daylight on Wednesday, as Democrats needle Republicans on the contents of the sprawling package and GOP lawmakers wait to review leadership's changes to the measure. The House Rules Committee's hearing -- which began at 1 a.m. on Wednesday -- was still running as of 8 a.m., with committee chairs and ranking members taking turns testifying about the 1,000-plus page bill. The legislation includes an extension of the tax cuts President Trump enacted in 2017, energy policy, changes to Medicaid and a debt limit increase, among other provisions. It remains unclear when the committee will hold a vote on adopting a rule -- which governs debate on legislation and is the final step before the bill hits the floor -- and wrap up its work on the legislation. Republicans are still waiting for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to disclose what changes leadership plans to make to the bill, which the Rules Committee will have to consider and vote on. |
| Trump's Economic Agenda Hinges on Tax Bill That Divides His Own Party | |
 | President Trump's multitrillion-dollar economic agenda hinges on fractious GOP lawmakers who are at odds over the details of a tax package that could determine their fate in next year's midterm elections. Trump is betting that the legislation will win over voters who are skeptical of his stiff tariffs, which threaten to raise prices for American consumers. The bill contains versions of his campaign-trail pledge to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits, and boosts the child tax credit. The economic and political stakes are enormous. If Trump is able to secure passage of his "big, beautiful bill," he could take credit for delivering tax cuts ahead of the midterms. If the legislation falters, millions of voters could instead be focused on the economic fallout from his trade agenda. On top of that, many tax cuts put in place during Trump's first term would expire, triggering tax increases for many U.S. households. Democrats' opposition to the bill centers on proposed cuts to Medicaid and to programs that provide food aid to low-income households, and they are readying a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign aimed at souring the public on the legislation. They charge that Republicans are cutting the social safety net to help fund tax cuts for the wealthy. |
| Trump drafts America's business titans to burnish his image at home and abroad | |
| President Donald Trump isn't the only one who wrapped up a Middle East tour in recent days. A private jet carrying Nvidia's CEO trailed Air Force One across the region. Oil executives and bankers followed, too, as American executives dropped everything -- canceling longstanding obligations and zooming into board meetings back home -- to cozy up to Trump and bolster the image he tried to sell on his first major foreign trip. With Trump back in the White House, a jaunt with the president or a stop in the Oval Office is now as routine for America's business leaders as a speech to an industry conference. Corporate titans are spending more time than ever working to curry favor with the administration as part of their effort to score relief from regulations -- and tariffs -- from the transactional president. He, in turn, is happy to use them as supporting cast members as he tries to project the economy as booming at a time when growth is slowing. But putting in time with the U.S. president has not fully insulated companies such as Apple, Amazon, Walmart and others from Trump's anger. It's a sign that the public commitments they make to create U.S. jobs may be doing more to burnish the president's image than to protect their own profitability. |
| Walmart responds to Trump telling the company to 'eat the tariffs' | |
 | President Donald Trump and American retail giant Walmart are trading stern words this week over the impact of the administration's tariffs, after the company's announcement of impending price hikes drew ire from the Republican leader. Trump blasted the company on social media last weekend, accusing Walmart of unfairly blaming his tariffs for their expected price increases and ordering the world's largest retailer to "eat the tariffs" and not pass the import costs on to consumers. "I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!" Trump said on May 17 in a Truth Social post. The company responded to the president's words in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday, May 20. "We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won't stop," Walmart spokesperson Joe Pennington said. "We'll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins." Despite exceeding sales expectations in the first quarter, Walmart may soon have to increase prices for shoppers due to higher tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, according to earnings calls. Trump's tariffs have upended global trade since early April. |
| Musk to step back from political spending: 'I think I've done enough' | |
 | Elon Musk said he plans to cut back on political spending, saying he has "done enough," a move that coincides with the billionaire entrepreneur taking a step back from President Donald Trump's Washington. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, the Tesla CEO said he would "do a lot less" political spending "in the future," adding: "I think I've done enough." Musk brushed aside a question about whether his move was a response to pushback he has received for his prominent role in reshaping the federal government, marked by his leadership of the agency-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. "If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don't currently see a reason," he said. Musk, who poured over $290 million of his own money into the 2024 election to support Trump and Republicans, had established himself as a major political force, both domestically and abroad. As Musk has faded into the background, so too have his DOGE efforts. While the aggressive federal slashing project dominated airwaves at the outset of Trump's presidency, it has more recently taken a backseat to other controversial issues under the administration, including Trump's mass deportation policy and tariff scheme. |
| 'A hard-working man in pursuit of the American Dream': Danish man living in Mississippi detained by ICE at naturalization meeting | |
| A Danish man living in Mississippi for a dozen years has been imprisoned in Louisiana for more than a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took him into custody because of a "paperwork miscommunication" during his effort to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, his wife says. Kasper Juul Eriksen, now 32, left his home in Aalborg, Denmark, as a teenager in 2009 and spent a year in the U.S. as a high school exchange student in Starkville, Mississippi. He and a local teenager, Savannah Hobart, fell in love. After he returned to Denmark's fourth-largest city, he and Savannah maintained their relationship for four years, across an ocean and seven time zones. Kasper immigrated to the U.S. in 2013 and got work as a welder – a job he has held steadily since then. He and Savannah married in 2014 and settled outside Starkville in the tiny town of Sturgis, soon starting a family. Kasper is among an unknown number of immigrants who have been detained since President Donald Trump began his second term in January. Some of the detainees had entered the U.S. without authorization, while others entered with temporary visas or, like Kasper Eriksen, were in the process of becoming naturalized citizens. |
| Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions? | |
 | Over the past four years, the University of Mississippi has experienced steady growth and record-breaking enrollment that has put pressure on the housing market and university infrastructure. While the university has announced construction projects aimed at addressing those concerns -- a new student housing project is set to add 3,500 on-campus beds by 2029 and a new parking garage is set to add 1,300 parking spaces by fall 2026 -- many members of the Lafayette-Oxford-University community continue to ask the question, "Why hasn't the university capped admissions?" In light of application booms and high enrollment numbers, universities across the country have limited admissions and introduced enrollment caps as growth management strategies. Despite UM also showing upward trends in enrollment and applications, University Marketing and Communications said in a February 2024 article from The Daily Mississippian that conversations about restricting admissions were off the table. However, somewhere in the past year, a cap became an option. Chancellor Glenn Boyce first announced the university's consideration of a limit in undergraduate admissions in a meeting with the Associated Student Body on March 6. |
| Southern Miss recognized as one of top military friendly schools in U.S. | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi is one of the best universities to attend in America for military-affiliated students, according to a recent report. The school recently received designation as a 2025-26 Military Friendly School by Viqtory, recognition earned via a rules-based algorithm that incorporates data from public sources, proprietary surveys, and individual feedback. Southern Miss was ranked the No. 3 U.S. school among Tier 1 Military Friendly Research Institutions and landed the No. 1 spot as a Tier 1 Military Spouse Friendly School. "The USM Center for Military Veterans team is a family of families who work long and hard to enroll, retain, nurture, and mentor our many students who come from all walks of the military service-oriented lifestyle," retired Major General Jeff Hammond, director of USM's Center of Military Veterans, said. "Our overall goal through the years is to be the most military-caring university program in the nation. In this regard, our staff and students strive daily to be extraordinary, rather than average or simply good enough." |
| U. of Arkansas System campuses plan increases for tuition and mandatory fees | |
| Most leaders of University of Arkansas System campuses plan to seek tuition-and-fee increases for 2025-26 later this week. The UA System board of trustees will have the chance to approve the requests during their meeting Wednesday and Thursday at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas. "Our campuses spend a great deal of time considering their tuition and fee requests each year, including seeking feedback and input from their campus and community constituencies," said Nate Hinkel, the UA System's director of communications. "As has been the case in recent years, our institutions are facing rising costs -- reflected by a 3.4% increase in the national Higher Education Price Index last year -- while state funding has remained flat, increasing just 0.23% systemwide this year." The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville -- the state's largest school and flagship of the UA System -- plans a total increase of 3.89%, according to the UA System. Tuition would increase 2.5%, from $7,895.40 in 2024-25 to $8,092.50 for 2025-26, with mandatory fees increasing 8.88%, from $2,208.50 to $2,404.80. Certain degrees and colleges have additional fees, however. |
| He told Tennessee stories without saying a word: What it's like to suit up as Smokey | |
 | You have seen recent University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduate Connor Solsbee -- if not wandering the halls of the engineering college or guiding new students during orientation -- on the field at Neyland Stadium, inside a mascot suit, leading rowdy football fans through cheers as Smokey. You just didn't know it was Solsbee behind the floppy ears and cartoon eyes of the beloved bluetick coonhound until recently, when UT unveiled one of Smokey's multiple identities for the first time ever. Solsbee grew up in Etowah with "3,500 of my best friends" who all "bled orange," he told Knox News. While the thought of becoming a Volunteer was always on his mind, filling Smokey's paw prints was part of a long, difficult journey for Solsbee. Solsbee was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma at age 16. After beating the cancer with help from the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Solsbee enrolled at UT in 2021 with a new outlook on life. "I would have not expected a turnaround of just a few short years between being frail and sickly in a hospital bed and then being able-bodied and strong to run around, dance around and have the sweatiest four years of my life," Solsbee said. |
| Tuition is going up for the U. of Missouri System | |
 | Tuition is going up for all students starting in the fall for the University of Missouri System. The UM board of curators approved the increases during a meeting Monday in Excelsior Springs as part of the board's annual retreat. Undergraduate students will see a 5% increase, while graduate and professional degree students will see anywhere from an about 3%-5% increase. Other student activity, facility, service and other required fees also are going up anywhere from 3% to approximately 6%. For undergraduate student taking 15 credit hours of classes at the lowest tiered tuition rate, the percentage increase means an increase ranging from $19.55 at University of Missouri-Kansas City to $25 at University of Missouri-St. Louis per credit hour. It is roughly halfway between these two dollar amounts at the University of Missouri in Columbia ($22.75) and Missouri S&T ($22.60). The per semester increase is roughly $293 to $375 based on the 15 hours, lowest tuition rate tier. Even with the increase, tuition rates still are below the national average, and university leaders highlighted that the total cost for public education is typically less than at private universities. A significant portion of students receive scholarships and grants, as well, they noted. |
| NSF Cuts Off Colleges That Push 'Illegal DEI,' Boycott Israel | |
 | The National Science Foundation won't award grants to universities that promote "diversity, equity and inclusion ... in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws"---or that academically boycott Israel or boycott companies doing business with Israel. The NSF implemented these restrictions Monday for any new grants or any funding amendments to current grants. They appear in a new Grant General Conditions document, which has a paragraph specifying which Israel-related boycotts are prohibited but doesn't define what DEI is. In an email, an NSF spokesperson said the changes were to implement the Trump administration's "goals for federal agencies for administering financial assistance." The spokesperson declined to answer further questions. Jennifer Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the changes "just another attempt by Trump to control Americans and to control science. And the best science we can produce happens when it's independent of political interference." "It's really worrisome because university research that's dependent on NSF monies produces lifesaving medical advances for all of us, produces the science that gives us clean air, clean water," Jones said. "National Science Foundation grants help create the next generation of scientists." |
| Universities struggle to keep cancer research afloat amid Trump funding cuts | |
| The pause of billions of dollars in research funding to universities has had devastating effects on cancer research as lab work is put on hold and schools are halting the acceptance of new Ph.D. students. The Trump administration's war with higher education, combined with efforts to reduce government spending by the Department of Government Efficiency, has left significant casualties in cancer research, which in the U.S. is largely done at colleges and universities. Experts fear four years of these sorts of attacks will take decades to recover from and stall the progress of treatments even as cancer rates rise. "I see a large number of people who should be at the great universities over the next 10-15 years trying to figure out how to bail out right now, and I'm afraid we're going to lose a generation of America's best researchers, and that's going to be a huge setback for us," said Otis Brawley, an expert in cancer prevention and control at Johns Hopkins University. "It may take us 20-30 years to overcome three or four years of the scientific system being ignored, devalued and even harmed by some of the stuff that's going on now," Brawley added. |
| As Trump cuts science budgets, some researchers look abroad | |
| Kartik Sheth, 53, is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: "I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. ... Therefore, you will be separated from NASA at the close of business on April 10, 2025." One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job -- anywhere. On Friday, he arrived in Paris to attend a conference and check out the environment for scientific research. "I don't know if I'll find a job in America given the cuts to science," he said. "I think we could have a pretty major brain drain in the country. ... I think people are going to start to wonder if this is the place for me to continue to do science.'" With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America in a broad array of fields face an uncertain future and the possibility of layoffs. An untold number like Sheth are looking abroad, thinking of continuing their careers far from the turmoil here. While it's unclear how many will actually make the move, American scientists are being actively recruited by countries including France, Spain, Germany and China that are hoping to reverse the flow of expertise into the United States that has been the norm for decades. |
| Some Students Weigh Leaving the U.S. for College | |
| Heidi Gilman, 17, a high school senior in Northern Virginia, had long dreamed of attending the University of California San Diego. She envisioned herself studying politics on the coastal campus, enjoying sunny weather and visiting nearby family. But after President Trump was re-elected last fall, and as she became disillusioned with American politics, she began to ask herself, "Is this how I want to spend the next four years of my life?" The question prompted her to look elsewhere and apply to Trinity College Dublin -- a place where she said she could learn about politics and social policy from another country's perspective. Since Mr. Trump's inauguration in January, universities across the United States have become targets of a new White House agenda to change higher education in the country. Federal funds supporting research have been cut and programs that encourage diversity on campuses have been upended. While international students face an urgent need to find universities that will sponsor their visas and allow them to continue their studies, some U.S. citizens are leaving for what they believe are better opportunities. It's not clear whether enrollment will be affected for the coming academic year, but The New York Times asked U.S. students in a callout who were considering schools abroad next year what had motivated them to leave. Most of them said they sought a less tumultuous backdrop to their college experiences and were motivated by various federal policies and actions in recent months. |
| Another 'Breakdown' in Federal Student Aid? | |
| Financial aid professionals at colleges across the country say that this spring's cuts at the Department of Education caused "breakdowns" in the federal student aid system that could affect student aid processing this cycle, according to a new survey from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Fifty-nine percent of the 909 financial aid offices surveyed reported "noticeable changes in [Office of Federal Student Aid] responsiveness or delays in processing timelines" since the Trump administration laid off half of the department's employees in March, including hundreds of staff at FSA. One-third of respondents reported disruptions to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and Institutional Student Information Records processing systems for the current cycle -- issues that exacerbated the FAFSA debacle last year and led to months-long delays of student aid packages. It could also have more pronounced downstream effects for next year's cycle. |
| Most Colleges Aren't a Target of Trump (Yet). Here's How Their Presidents Are Leading. | |
 | Early in the spring semester, Lori White had lunch with some DePauw University students and asked how they were doing. The students didn't raise concerns or complaints about the economic and political uncertainty plaguing the country, said White, who's been president of DePauw since 2020. Instead, their answers were about their college experience. "Most of the things they talked about are, I'm really excited about my athletic team, I'm excited about my research project, you know, I'm excited about my club and organization," White said. Since President Trump was inaugurated, hardly a day has passed without news of the administration's latest plans for higher education, including cutting research grants, punishing alleged violations of federal antidiscrimination law, and apprehending foreign students accused of antisemitism. At institutions like DePauw, presidents are closely monitoring the administration's higher-education agenda, though those actions may have less-direct impact, for now. DePauw has little in common with the members of the Ivy League, except that it is a private university that emphasizes the liberal arts. Still, campus leaders at community colleges and four-year public regional and private institutions -- representing the vast majority of higher ed -- say they do see impacts of Trump's policies. Fear, particularly about the future of financial aid and immigration crackdowns, is pervasive. |
| Partisan health care spending divide centers on Medicaid policies that target enrollment | |
 | Columnist Sid Salter writes: Since the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that calls for a $2.3 trillion cut to mandatory spending over the next decade. Republican lawmakers are working to make $880 billion of those cuts in the Medicaid program. The Congressional Budget Office has established that cuts of that size would necessitate Medicaid program cuts, despite repeated promises from President Trump that he and his cabinet would not cut the program. Trump did say he intends to cut "fraud" and waste from the program. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that covers medical costs for the poor, the blind, people with disabilities, the elderly, and children. House Republicans say their counterparts across the aisle are engaging fear fear-mongering and political grandstanding when they say much of the $2.3 trillion in cuts will come from the Medicaid program, as the word "Medicaid" is not mentioned in the budget resolution. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: MSU's Opening Game Of SEC Tournament Postponed | |
| Due to projected severe weather on Tuesday evening and in the interest of the safety of fans and participants, the Southeastern Conference postponed Mississippi State's game against Texas A&M in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs and Aggies will now play Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Ticket holders with tickets for Session 2 and Session 3 will be admitted to Games 4 and 5 on Wednesday. Ticket holders with tickets for Session 3 and Session 4 will be admitted to Games 6 and 7 on Wednesday. |
| Texas A&M-Mississippi State SEC tournament game moved to Wednesday morning | |
 | The Texas A&M baseball team's Southeastern Conference tournament game has been moved to Wednesday morning due to inclement weather expected in the Hoover, Ala. area on Tuesday night. The Aggies and Bulldogs are slated for a 9:30 a.m. first pitch. The winner will play 6-seed Auburn in the second round. That game, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, has been pushed back to 11 a.m. Thursday. A&M sophomore outfielder Caden Sorrell was listed as a game time decision on Tuesday's game day availability report. Sorrell's status had been upgraded from "doubtful" on Monday's initial report. Tuesday's probable pitching matchup was A&M sophomore right-hander Weston Moss (6-3, 3.35 ERA) against Mississippi State freshman right-hander Ryan McPherson (4-0, 3.03 ERA). It is uncertain if either team will switch its starting pitcher. However, A&M could turn to ace Ryan Prager. Prager would be pitching on one less day of rest, but threw just 67 pitches in 2 2/3 innings at Georgia last Thursday, his shortest outing of the season. |
| Dak Prescott injury update: Cowboys QB gets on field at OTAs, 'feels good' | |
| Dak Prescott is returning from a hamstring injury that limited him to just eight games during the 2024 NFL season. The veteran quarterback took a step toward his return Tuesday, as he was on the field for seven-on-seven drills during the Dallas Cowboys' second day of OTAs. Prescott, who turns 32 in July, acknowledged it felt good to get back on the field. He also explained he has just one, longer-term obstacle to clear as he looks to fully return to action. "Pretty much can do it all. Feel good," Prescott said, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "Yeah, I think I'm just not cleared for contact, which we've got a while for that anyways. Yeah, I'm out there in the team activities, feel good. Just trying to stay that way." Prescott injured his hamstring during the Cowboys' Week 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons. He tore part of the muscle off the bone, which resulted in him needing season-ending surgery. The longtime Dallas starter spent the offseason aggressively rehabbing the injury. That's why he believes he's in a good spot with his recovery. |
| Nick Saban weighs in on further College Football Playoff expansion | |
 | The College Football Playoff already expanded to 12 teams this past season, but more change appears to be on the horizon. A new format starting in 2026 could have as many as 16 teams. No matter the exact number of teams involved in the expansion, Nick Saban was asked at the Nick's Kids golf tournament Tuesday whether he agrees the playoff should be expanded again. "Back in the years I was never for expanding the playoff because I thought bowl games were really important to the history and tradition of college football," Saban said. "Now that we have expanded the playoff, now the bowl games have taken a less significant role. I think expanding the playoff and having as many teams involved as we can -- without playing too many games for the players. I think that's a little bit of a concern -- is probably a good thing." Saban is heading into his second season as an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay. The former Alabama football coach won the sports Emmy for outstanding personality/emerging on-air talent this week. "Must have been not a good year for people in the Emmys," Saban joked at his charity's golf tournament. |
| Charlie Baker: Power Conferences Will Enforce House Settlement, Not the NCAA | |
| If the House v. NCAA settlement passes, the NCAA will give up power to enforce its concept of amateurism once and for all. The power conferences, not the NCAA, will be in charge of enforcing the rules created by the House v. NCAA settlement over athlete compensation, NCAA President Charlie Baker confirmed Tuesday. The rules to be governed by power conferences include the revenue-sharing cap and scrutiny of NIL (name, image, and likeness) collective deals. Baker's comments, made during an event run by the Knight Commission in Indianapolis, signify a potential major shift in the governing body's power. The NCAA will essentially cede the enforcement of amateurism rules (i.e., player compensation restrictions) to power conferences, and retain enforcement of other concepts like academic eligibility, in-game sports rules, and sports betting. The governing body will also continue to run championships, and will pay for a significant amount of the House settlement damages. "The power conferences' response to [the lawsuit] is to create an entity, the College Sports Commission," Baker explained. "The point behind that was to have an entity that would see the cap management system and the third party NIL system. Have rules associated with both. Create enforcement parameters for violating those rules under the rubric that would be the theoretical injunction." |
| Power Conferences Binding Member Schools Could Spark Legal Challenges | |
| The proposed settlement to resolve federal antitrust claims in the House, Carter and Hubbard litigations wouldn't resolve potential claims under state laws and other areas of federal law. That is an animating force in power conferences seeking to convince member schools to sign away potential claims they could otherwise possess should the House settlement take effect. Among other features, the settlement would allow participating colleges to directly pay athletes a share of up to 22% of the average power conference athletic media, ticket and sponsorship revenue with their athletes. But that share is not without limits; the settlement would apply a $20.5 million initial annual cap on how much schools can pay, even if a school could pay more and wants to pay more. This is a de facto salary cap that hasn't been bargained with a union and, some argue, is itself a violation of federal antitrust law. The settlement also contains a provision that allows for independent review of NIL deals with third parties that exceed $600 to ensure those deals aren't cloaking pay-for-play arrangements. One potential problem with these and other settlement restrictions is that statutes and executive orders in states including Georgia, Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee appear to pose conflicts. Some state laws restrain enforcement of rules, such as a cap or independent review, that interfere with a freer market. |
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