| Thursday, May 29, 2025 |
| Eight MSU students honored with Gilman International Scholarship | |
 | Eight Mississippi State students are heading abroad this year with the help of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. Seven of these students are Mississippi natives. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Gilman Scholarship provides financial support for undergraduates to study abroad, with the goal of broadening access to global education. Since its inception in 2001, the program has enabled 3,500 students to study in more than 170 countries each year, according to MSU. The MSU honorees were chosen from approximately 17,000 applicants. More than 70% of Gilman Scholars are chosen from rural communities or small towns, and more than half are first-generation students. MSU recipients will serve as cultural ambassadors, strengthening international understanding and bringing their global perspectives back to the university and their communities. "The Gilman Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for qualifying students to be given a chance to help fund their international educational experience," MSU Study Abroad Coordinator Dominique Brown said. "Studying abroad creates thrilling opportunities for our students, significantly enriching their personal, professional, and academic lives both now and in the future." |
| High interest rates make herd expansion more challenging | |
| A livestock economist says higher interest rates have been a limiting factor to herd expansion. Josh Maples with Mississippi State University says that at current price levels, there is a lot of interest in buying cattle. "They talk to the lenders about what the rates are and then they don't call back," he says. He tells Brownfield it's an added cost to production. "And there is no doubt that that is a huge reason that we are not seeing the same sort of rapid expansion that we saw a decade ago," he says. "I really believe that, but I don't think it's, uh, sure. Fire reason that we're not going to expand the herd again." Maples says the longer producers deal with higher rates, the more normal it becomes. "We'll see people push past them a little bit and be a little bit more willing to take them on," he says. The latest Cattle on Feed report indicated cattle supplies could get even tighter in the coming months. The USDA's July Cattle Inventory report is the next opportunity for the industry to see if there is any expansion underway. |
| Spruill spends $60K in Starkville mayor's race | |
 | Democratic incumbent Mayor Lynn Spruill has raised four times more than any other candidate still in contested races ahead of Tuesday's general election. Since Jan. 1, Spruill has raised $53,289.95, according to campaign finance documents she filed with the city clerk's office by Tuesday's deadline. Candidates are required to file campaign finance reports periodically and itemize contributions and expenses in excess of $200. For candidates who filed a report before the party primary deadline, the most recent report covers donations and spending since March 25. For all other candidates, the reports cover the entire campaign season. Spruill's only remaining opponent in the mayoral race, Republican Roger Bassett, failed to file a campaign finance by the deadline. In Ward 3, Republican James Skinner reported $1,175 in non-itemized contributions this period, which he said came from a fundraising event he held where supporters each contributed donations less than $200. That brought his fundraising total to $11,939 this year, he said. His report notes a total $75 more than that. Democrat Laurel Lynn Rowse raised $761.47 during this period, pushing her total fundraising since the beginning of the year to $2,218.47. |
| Candidates clash over city's future at Columbus mayoral forum | |
| If each of Columbus' mayoral candidates had $3 million to do whatever they wanted for the city, Darren Leach said he would invest in the youth by building a large, indoor recreational facility. Bill Strauss said he would divide the funds, using part to implement a high-tech camera system across the city and the rest to address infrastructure problems. Stephen Jones, however, plainly stated he doesn't deal in hypotheticals. "We have to make tough decisions with the money that we have," Jones said during a mayoral candidate forum hosted Tuesday in the Nissan Auditorium on the Mississippi University for Women campus. "... We have to deal with what we have, and pay the bills and do things according to the money that we have. So I can't answer the hypothetical question." Democratic candidate Jones and independent candidates Leach and Strauss, shared their visions for Columbus during the hourlong forum. Disagreements in fiscal philosophy emerged as an early theme of the forum, beginning with a question about how to make Columbus more attractive to young professionals and families. |
| The MAX extends popular photography exhibit through June 21 | |
 | The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience on Tuesday announced it is extending Kate Medley's photography exhibit "Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed and Fuel the American South" through June 21. "Thank You Please Come Again" features 25 photographs from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and the Carolinas. It opened Feb. 22 and was originally scheduled to close May 24. It proved so popular that The MAX decided to give those who haven't seen it another chance -- and allow those who have already experienced it to take a second, or third, look and share it with friends. Jackson, Mississippi native and national photojournalist Kate Medley drew the photographs from her award-winning book of the same title. Over 10 years of traveling and covering the South, she visited some 150 gas station grills, buffets and quick marts, many of which served as hubs for their rural communities. During the exhibit, The MAX hosted Medley for a week-long artist-in-residence program, allowing her to create new pieces, direct workshops, and teach area students about photojournalism and the study of cultures and folklore. Nearly 500 students from Meridian Community College, Meridian Public School District, Lauderdale County School District and Newton Municipal School District attended hands-on workshops led by Medley, learning about her career path as a photojournalist.] |
| Mississippi emerges as top 10 U.S. relocation destination: study | |
| A new study says Mississippi is one of the most sought-after states in America. U.S. News & World Report placed Mississippi at No. 10 on its list with the most people considering calling it home. The publication tracked migration interest, or curiosity about living in certain states, through internet searches made during the first quarter of 2025. Common themes throughout the top of the list are states that have coastlines, mountains, or are in the South where the cost of living can often be lower and the weather is warmer. The top 10, in order, were: South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, North Carolina, Maine, Idaho, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. U.S. News & World Report pointed to Mississippi directly for its diverse music scene and the state frequently ranking as the cheapest to live in. Gov. Tate Reeves, during an interview on Wednesday morning, said the study is spot on as Mississippi is seeing incremental population growth and a record number of companies looking to open shop in the Magnolia State. "Our people sell themselves. Our state sells itself," he said. "Our biggest challenging is convincing someone to come to Mississippi once, whether it's tourism or economic development. If we can convince them to come to Mississippi one time, they almost always like what they see. My view is Mississippi is the best kept secret in the world." |
| House approves budget bills in special session. Senate to take up budget next | |
 | After a contentious showdown on the floor of the Mississippi House of Representatives on May 28, bills were finally forwarded to the Senate for a potential conclusion the special session. The session is expected to start back around 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 29. A special session costs taxpayers roughly $100,000 per day. Democrats protested the hurried nature of the called special session, first in an appropriations meeting in the afternoon and then in a vote on the floor in the evening. Omeria Scott of Laurel asked for several amendments to bills during the afternoon appropriations meeting that delayed the process by hours, followed by a shouting match between Speaker of the House Jason White, a Republican, and Democratic house member Zakiya Summers. Democratic House members had asked for all of the bills to be read out loud by the automated system, saying they had not had enough time to prepare for the session and to know what was in the bills. Summers, then wanted to debate one of the bills and White announced that there would either be debate of the bills or reading of the bills, but not both. At one point, White told Summers that if she did not want to work within those parameters, she could leave the chamber. Eventually, all of the bills were read and voted upon successfully by the House followed by another appropriations meeting at 7:30 p.m. The House was then expected to hand off the baton to the Senate. |
| Tempers flare, 'Demon chipmunk' reads bills as Mississippi lawmakers try to pass a belated state budget | |
| Angered at being shut out of the process and kept in the dark on particulars of a $7-billion state budget, House Democrats filibustered on Wednesday, using a constitutional provision to force the reading aloud of lengthy budget bills. The House Republican leadership, forced to break out a computer speed reading system nicknamed the "Demon chipmunk," was angered by the Democrats' move. Republican Speaker Jason White at one point threatened to have a Democratic member removed from the chamber, and refused to allow debate on the budget bills because they were being read aloud, which further infuriated Democrats. "Lady, you are not recognized. Lady, we will maintain order or you will be removed from the room," White told Democratic Rep. Zakiya Summers of Jackson during a heated exchange. The Demon chipmunk droned on into Wednesday night, and House members prepared for a long night finishing up the passage of bills. The Senate adjourned until Thursday after passing all its budget bills on to the House without such hitches. |
| Local legislators say Mississippi 'moving in the right direction' with proposed state budget | |
 | Lincoln County lawmakers will join other Legislators in Jackson today, May 28, for a special session set by the governor to finalize a $7 billion budget. State lawmakers earlier this year failed to pass a new budget before ending the 2025 regular session early. Rep. Becky Currie (R) said she expects to be at the Capitol through Friday. "That's just enough time to do a budget if all goes well," she said. "All the bills are written and done. Three days is enough to get it if everything is perfect." Currie, a nurse from Brookhaven who is in her fifth term in the House of Representatives, said she's pleased with the collaborative budget for Fiscal Year 2026. "We have plenty of money. Mississippi is on the right track. We have a full rainy day fund. We are in great shape," she said. "I feel good about the fact that we've made a budget that everyone can live with. Everything's on the right track for a successful year." However, Sen. Jason Barrett (R), an attorney from Brookhaven serving in his second term, said he has not seen the final proposed budget to be able to comment on it. his will be his first special called session since his election in 2019. "They're going to have to give me time to read it and ask questions," he said. "If I approve of it, I'll vote to pass it. Hopefully the budget is great and something I can support. My goals are: is it best for District 39, is it best for the State of Mississippi, is it fiscally responsible and are we using taxpayer dollars wisely?" |
| Jordan announces retirement from Mississippi Senate after 33 years | |
| State Senator David Jordan (D) bid farewell to his colleagues on Wednesday after serving 33 years in the Mississippi Senate representing Leflore, Panola, and Tallahatchie counties in District 24. "I hate to leave, but my wife of 71 years... she needs me at home," the 92-year-old Jordan told senators. "I love you, I respect you, I am going to miss you." The senator was honored with a resolution recognizing him as "a dedicated public servant with extensive experience" on the opening day of the special session. Jordan served on nearly every Senate Committee, from Agriculture to Veterans Affairs, during his more than three decades as a State Senator. He currently serves as chairman of Enrolled Bills. In his biography, From the Cotton Fields to State Senator, Jordan detailed his humble begins and thirst for knowledge. Jordan said he is writing a new book, this one titled Potholes of Life, with the hope of helping the next generation of youth make smart life choices. "I've been knocked around, I've been kicked around," Jordan said. "But I still love people." |
| Longtime voting rights advocate David Jordan retiring from Mississippi Senate | |
| One of Mississippi's longest-serving current state senators, who published a memoir about how education helped him move from picking cotton to teaching science to making laws at the state Capitol, is resigning. Democratic Sen. David Jordan of Greenwood is a retired educator who has served in the state Senate since 1993. His district serves parts of Leflore, Panola and Tallahatchie counties. "I hate to leave, but my wife of 71 years ... she needs me home," Jordan, 92, told his colleagues during a special legislative session Wednesday. He said he will resign by the end of June. As a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, Jordan has pushed to protect voting rights and increase funding for Mississippi's three historically Black universities. He was also instrumental in legislators' decision in 2020 to remove a Confederate battle emblem that had been on the state flag since 1894. Senators gave Jordan standing ovations Wednesday as they adopted a resolution honoring his service. |
| Attorney general investigating Gulfport mayoral candidate over meal vouchers | |
| The Mississippi Attorney General's Office said Wednesday it is investigating Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes' campaign for Gulfport mayor after allegations that residents had received meal vouchers in exchange for voting. In a letter addressed to Barnes, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said her office "has reason to believe" the candidate violated several state campaign finance laws. Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, said Wednesday he has asked District Attorney Crosby Parker and Fitch to investigate the alleged "vote buying." "This is something that strikes at the heart of our democracy," he said in a news conference across the street from the Gulfport Police Department. "Votes should not be for sale." Barnes did not immediately return messages on Wednesday. In a statement posted to social media, she said she is committed to "voter engagement, civic responsibility, and ensuring that everyone participates lawfully." "I am not affiliated with, nor do I support, any illegal voter activity of any kind," she said. The accusation of vote buying came less than a week before the election and intensified an already contentious race between Barnes and Republican Hugh Keating. |
| Trump, GOP prep next chapter in spending cuts agenda | |
 | The Trump administration is about to embark on the next phase of its plans to downsize the federal government, submitting a formal request to Congress to take back unspent funds in out-of-favor areas and fleshing out the president's "skinny" fiscal 2026 budget proposals. Ahead of the first House Appropriations Committee markups scheduled next week, President Donald Trump's budget office is expected to deliver as soon as Friday supplemental information on agency budget requests for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. And then early next week, likely Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget is expected to send up its delayed rescissions request, which would claw back over $9 billion in previously appropriated funds for foreign assistance and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The moves come after House passage of the "big, beautiful" budget reconciliation package so as not to distract from that all-out-effort, which came to fruition at the end of last week with a narrow party-line vote. Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the White House proposals as a shift in focus from the mandatory side of the budget -- which the reconciliation bill would cut -- to discretionary spending on the operating expenses of federal agencies that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has tried to slash. |
| After four months of disruption, Elon Musk signals he's leaving government | |
 | Elon Musk is saying goodbye to DOGE. The billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, whose government-slashing initiative reshaped Washington over a whirlwind four months, on Wednesday confirmed his time as a "special government employee" was concluding soon. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk said on X. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Musk's apparent departure comes a day after the billionaire criticized Republicans' "big, beautiful bill," slamming Trump's landmark legislation for undermining DOGE's spending cuts. His secretive team's unorthodox slash-and-burn tactics have sowed chaos across Washington and touched nearly every corner of the federal government. Although Trump has remained a fierce advocate of Musk, the Tesla CEO has clashed in recent months with several top administration officials. |
| Tariff Ruling Is a Setback for Trump but Doesn't End Trade War | |
 | Shortly after the news broke that a U.S. court invalidated almost all of President Trump's tariffs, one Vietnam-based furniture exporter responded with an astonished text: "WHAT???" Wednesday's shock decision by a hitherto little-known U.S. federal court sows fresh uncertainty over the U.S. assault on global trade, the latest in a series of escalations and reversals over trade policy that have whipsawed financial markets and scrambled corporate decision-making. The bottom line, say trade experts, is that the global trade war is far from over. While a setback for the Trump administration, the ruling is unlikely to deter the president from seeking to rewrite the rules of global commerce in America's favor or lead him to abandon tariffs as the principal tool to do so. The administration has already said it will appeal the ruling, and trade experts and lawyers say it has a variety of other legal avenues to prosecute the trade war that are unaffected by Wednesday's decision. The administration's plan to appeal could ultimately land the case in the Supreme Court. It is unclear if the tariffs affected by the judgment will remain in place while appeals are heard. For now, business executives say they are unsure how to respond, given the legal fog. |
| Asked About 'TACO' and Tariffs, Trump Lashes Out at Reporter | |
 | President Trump, it would seem, is not one for a "TACO." The taco in question is not a dish made with tortillas, but rather a reference to how markets are responding to his tariff policies. The TACO trade, short for Trump Always Chickens Out, is a tongue-in-cheek term coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong. It has been adopted by some analysts and commentators to describe the potentially lucrative pattern in which markets tumble after Mr. Trump makes tariff threats, only to rebound sharply when he relents and allows countries more time to negotiate deals. The president has spent years cultivating a reputation for political muscle. So when he was asked by a reporter in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether the term might be a valid description of his approach to tariffs, Mr. Trump reacted with ire. "I chicken out? I've never heard that," he said. "Don't ever say what you said," he told the reporter. "That's a nasty question. To me, that's the nastiest question." But gyrations driven by the president's on-again, off-again tariffs are by now taken for granted on Wall Street. Stock markets jumped on Tuesday, for example, after Mr. Trump delayed a proposed 50 percent tariff on the European Union that he had threatened only a few days earlier. |
| Nissan cuts jobs, halts merit raises in global restructuring push | |
 | Japan's Nissan has started offering buyouts to U.S. workers and has suspended merit-based wage increases worldwide, internal emails reviewed by Reuters showed, as the automaker expands cost cuts amid weak performance in key markets. CEO Ivan Espinosa announced a new round of cost cuts this month that include closing seven production sites globally and cutting 11,000 more jobs, taking its total planned workforce reduction to around 20,000. As part of the cuts, Nissan has offered separation packages to workers at its Canton plant in Mississippi as well as to salaried workers in human resources, planning, information technology and finance, showed one email sent last week. "While substantial efforts have been made in the U.S. to help right-size Nissan, we need to take additional, limited, strategic action here at a local level," Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier said in the email. The plan is "crucial for Nissan's comeback," he said. Cutting U.S. workforce runs counter to President Donald Trump's aim of creating jobs and boosting domestic manufacturing through initiatives including a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. But Nissan's operating profit margin in North America including the U.S., its biggest market, worsened in the business year ended March, even as it sold more cars than a year earlier. |
| American doctors look to relocate to Canada to avoid the Trump administration | |
 | Earlier this year, as President Donald Trump was beginning to reshape the American government, Michael, an emergency room doctor who was born, raised, and trained in the United States, packed up his family and left the country. Michael now works in a small-town hospital in Canada. KFF Health News and NPR granted him anonymity because of fears he might face reprisal from the Trump administration if he returns to the U.S. He said he feels some guilt that he did not stay to resist the Trump agenda but is assured in his decision to leave. Too much of America has simply grown too comfortable with violence and cruelty, he said. "Part of being a physician is being kind to people who are in their weakest place," Michael said. "And I feel like our country is devolving to really step on people who are weak and vulnerable." Michael is among a new wave of doctors who are leaving the United States to escape the Trump administration. In the months since Trump was reelected and returned to the White House, American doctors have shown skyrocketing interest in becoming licensed in Canada, where dozens more than normal have already been cleared to practice, according to Canadian licensing officials and recruiting businesses. Canada, which has universal publicly funded health care, has long been an option for U.S.-trained doctors seeking an alternative to the American healthcare system. |
| LOU leaders talk about growth, infrastructure, innovation | |
| City, county, and university leaders delivered 'State of the ...' addresses during last week's Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, highlighting recent accomplishments and future projects that will shape the future of Oxford, Lafayette County, and the University of Mississippi. University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Steven Holley shared an update on the university's trajectory, centered around three categories: student experience, athletics, and research. With enrollment growth accelerating and nearly 90% student retention, demand for on-campus housing is soaring. To meet this need, the university is exploring a public-private partnership for new residence halls, potentially expanding beyond traditional housing zones. New parking structures and expanded dining facilities -- some in partnership with local restaurants and food trucks -- are also in development. Holley also spotlighted Ole Miss's status as an R1 research university. A master plan is being developed to assess the need for a dedicated research facility -- one that could draw talent and industry to Oxford. Currently, $500–600 million in construction projects are active across campus. "We're rethinking what our facilities need to be -- not just for students, but for a growing research enterprise," Holley said. |
| A Mississippi health expert is urging guardians to help keep children's teeth healthy | |
 | Elizabeth Carr is the chair of dental hygiene at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. "Children in Mississippi definitely suffer disparately in a negative manner when it comes to their oral care and their oral health," she said. "Actually, in the whole nation, tooth decay is more prevalent than asthma, and asthma is just a chronic illness that affects so many kids across the nation." One reason behind poor oral hygiene lies in the diet of some children. "We tend to drink a lot of sugary things, and kids will choose a sugary drink over water pretty much any day," Carr said. She says the length of time between dental appointments is another reason children have issues. "The ADA recommends that kids get their first dental visit at age one, and that's sometimes rare, especially in Mississippi," she said. "So if we can get children to the dentist earlier, then you can have a dental professional counsel parents on how to care for children's teeth right out the gate." Parents can help provide dental hygiene support for their children in between visits. UMMC provides dental care at reduced costs from current dental students. |
| International students pick out summer wheels donated by Hattiesburgers | |
 | If you see a few more bikes on the Hub City roads this summer, give the riders a wave. "I am very excited to be here," said Gabriela Leon Mignez, an international student from Mexico, "and I appreciate everything that everybody is doing for us." Thanks to donations from kind-hearted Hattiesburgers, Moore's Bike Shop is supplying bikes to 26 international students while they're here for the summer to work at Serengeti Springs. Wednesday's group of recipients were from Mexico. All of the students are here on a special visa "They can come work in the U.S. on the J1 visa program throughout the summer," said Rick Taylor, Hattiesburg Convention Commission executive director. "What's really important to us at Serengeti Springs is that their summer lasts longer than our summer, which means that we have a lot of high school students that at the end of July, they have to go back to school So, they're going to be critical to us when those students go back to school." Apart from riding bikes, Hattiesburg Convention Commission has a full itinerary laid out, including trips to New Orleans and the Coast. More bikes will be given out next week to students from Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia and Jamaica. |
| USM student creates Historic Downtown Gulfport digital walking tour | |
 | Downtown Gulfport's past can now be unlocked by the click of a button. One University of Southern Mississippi student launched a virtual walking tour of historic structures in the city in partnership with the Gulfport Museum of History. Aidan Graves is the brain behind the new tool. At just 22 years old, Graves' wealth of knowledge extends far beyond his age. "This goes through over 120 years of Gulfport history pretty much at your fingertips," Graves says. Graves first came to the Gulfport Museum of History as an intern. His passion for the past has kept him around as a volunteer. The museum has been trying to make the information you find in archives and history books more accessible. That's where Graves' website comes into play. "This is downtown Gulfport we're talking about, it's not necessarily the most covered topic in the history of the United States, let alone the world, so digging up some info on these topics, these structures, is a little more difficult," Graves explains. "Thankfully, we have a plethora here at the museum." |
| Louisiana higher ed employees get most of their retirement wishes | |
| The Louisiana Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that grants a wish list of retirement reforms state higher education employees put forward, though it lacks one enticement faculty and staff consider critical to keeping them on campus. House Bill 24 by Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, passed the Senate on a 36-0 vote and had previously cleared the House on a 97-0 vote. It next goes to Gov. Jeff Landry for his approval. Bacala's bill expands eligibility for the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) to include faculty at the state's community and technical colleges. It also extends the period when employees can switch from a "portable" retirement plan to the fixed, pension style plan offered to most state employees. Qualifying campus faculty and employees will have seven years, instead of the current five years to choose between the two plans, aligning it with the typical timeline it takes for professors to earn tenure. Bacala's bill incorporates most of the recommendations from a Board of Regents task force he helped form. An increase in employer contributions to TRSL retirement plans was among the most anticipated portions of Bacala's bill that higher education employees had sought. |
| University System of Georgia ending remote work for employees | |
| The University System of Georgia has mandated that employees at institutions like Middle Georgia State University and Georgia College and State University return to campus full-time for the upcoming academic year, ending remote work policies established during the COVID-19 pandemic. The directive, first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, affects thousands of workers across Georgia's public university system and is scheduled for implementation by August 2025, according to university communications to staff. University System officials cite complaints from students and parents as a primary driver for the policy change. The complaints center on difficulties reaching faculty and staff members, according to system administrators. "The professor should be in the office if that's how the students are going to find him," said Elliot Nicholson, a Warner Robins resident. "And they can teach the class online if they want." The Board of Regents has emphasized that the return-to-office requirement aims to improve what officials call customer service and student engagement. Employees who do not comply with the mandate face potential termination, according to university administrators who acknowledged the policy could lead to resignations. |
| Trump Jr. calls on U. of Florida's board to reject new president | |
 | Donald Trump Jr. called on the University of Florida's board of governors to reject former University of Michigan president Santa Ono as UF's president following the school's board of trustees unanimous vote to hire Ono. "WTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???" Trump Jr. exclaimed in a post on X on Wednesday. "This woke psycho might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida? "Every single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!!!" he added. The post is the latest example of conservatives pushing back Ono stepping into the university's top leadership role, citing his past stances on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which has become a target of the Trump administration. Ono wrote in a recent op-ed that his views on the issue have evolved. Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and the state's former governor Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have also spoken out against Ono leading UF. However, the state's Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) has largely avoided stepping into the controversy surrounding Ono, saying earlier this month that he trusts the university's decision makers. |
| U. of Florida water researchers develop prediction system for harmful algae | |
 | The slimy algae topping Florida's waterways are more than just unsightly. They are often toxic to humans, animals and the environment. To mitigate those risks, University of Florida researchers are collaborating with North Carolina State University and University of South Florida scientists on a next-day prediction model to warn and inform water managers about harmful algal blooms. The research is funded by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grants for two phases, totaling $4.4 million. The project is led by David Kaplan, a professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and director of the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands, and Mauricio Arias, an associate professor at USF. In a paper published recently in the Journal of Environmental Management, Kaplan, UF assistant professor Elise Morrison and NCSU's Maria Menchu Maldonado chronicled their work with harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, the environmentally sensitive link between Lake Okeechobee and Florida's southwestern coast. Maldonado performed the work under the guidance of NCSU collaborator Natalie Nelson. Using water samples and computer algorithms, the team developed prediction models based on two water sources feeding the river. |
| Acknowledging AI's inevitability, educators work to navigate its horizon | |
| As chatbots and generative artificial intelligence tools become easier to access, teachers, professors and administrators are deciding what parts of AI might help in the classroom. Generative AI technology that generates content such as text, images, audio and video, and chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot have made generative AI more accessible, leaving educators to examine how such advancements will impact students and their classrooms. Beginning in the fall, Harding University in Searcy will be one of the first universities in the state to offer a Bachelor of Science in AI. Joe Faith, an assistant professor within the Harding University College of Business Administration, helped with the new major. Faith is finishing his doctorate of engineering in AI and machine learning from George Washington University and said he noticed few colleges, particularly at the undergraduate level, offer degrees in AI. Most of the degrees are for computer science with no specialized training in AI. "A lot of people in this space are computer scientists who have had to do a lot of retooling or on-the-job training," Faith said. "My idea was, well, why don't we try to offer this at the undergraduate level?" |
| Texas A&M announces plan for residential retirement community | |
 | Living at Texas A&M University no longer has to end at graduation. Soon, people 55 and older will be able to reside in College Station in a new residential retirement community being planned for former students and fans. A&M has entered into a public-private partnership with Varcity to build residential-over-retail living spaces, amenities and services. Plans call for 260 units including townhomes, villas, stacked flats and apartments. "After spending years studying blue zones and how to live longer, healthier years, Varcity began in 2021 with the core conviction that people flourish in communities anchored by age diversity," Varcity founder and CEO Les Strech said in a statement. "Over the last couple of decades, there have been dozens of university-based retirement communities built near college campuses and they have all been largely successful. It's been a blast spending the last few years studying those and using our findings to launch the first retirement brand within the university space, and we couldn't be more excited to launch here at Texas A&M." The project is slated to open in the winter of 2027 with leasing set to start in the spring of 2026. Although targeted at A&M alumni, being an Aggie is not a requirement for residency. |
| 1 in 4 employers say they'll eliminate degree requirements by year's end | |
| A quarter of employers surveyed said they will remove bachelor's degree requirements for some roles by the end of 2025, according to a May 20 report from Resume Templates. In addition, 7 in 10 hiring managers said their company looks at relevant experience over a bachelor's degree while making hiring decisions. "Over the last five years, we've seen large organizations drop degree requirements in favor of certifications or experience, and now others are following suit," said Julia Toothacre, chief career strategist for Resume Templates. "For employers, it expands the talent pool and generates positive PR. For candidates, it opens doors for those who can't afford a degree or choose a different path. These jobs have the potential to lift people out of poverty." In the survey of 1,000 hiring managers, 84% of companies that recently removed degree requirements said it has been a successful move. Companies without degree requirements also reported a surge in applications, a more diverse applicant pool and the ability to offer lower salaries. Forty-two percent of hiring managers said Generation Z should prioritize gaining job experience over a degree. Hiring managers also said practical skills related to artificial intelligence tools and soft skills, such as strong interpersonal and communication skills, are important. |
| What's Next for Computer Science Education? | |
 | Five years after Northeastern University's Center for Inclusive Computing was founded, the center can boast broad success in its goal of making computer science education more accessible. At its partner institutions, which number more than 100, the numbers of women and people of color studying computer science have increased much more sharply than those of men and white people. Led by Executive Director Carla Brodley, the center spent its first half decade paying special attention to supporting students who did not take computer science classes in high school and therefore lack the baseline knowledge that some of their peers enter college with. Brodley and her team developed a slew of best practices for helping those students succeed in their introductory classes -- and for drawing students who might not consider computer science as a major into the field. But the computer science landscape has also changed since the CIC launched. Most notably, generative AI has become a pain point for professors as students use the technologies to cheat on coding assignments. But generative AI has also become an increasingly important and interesting part of the tech landscape, meaning institutions have to figure out the best ways to incorporate studying it into their existing curricula. |
| Education Department Targets Pregnant, LGBTQ Staff Protections | |
| The US Department of Education is pushing to strip workplace protections for pregnant or LGBTQ staff, telling its employee union the policies must be changed to conform to President Donald Trump's executive order on "defending women from gender ideology extremism." In a May 9 email viewed by Bloomberg News, the agency invited the union to negotiate over "required changes" to the rules and shared a spreadsheet listing dozens of specific union contract provisions and human resources policies targeted for revisions. It proposed that the word "pregnancy" be removed from several clauses, including one specifying types of discrimination that are prohibited in granting promotions. It said rules prohibiting discrimination when disciplining employees or choosing participants for career development programs should be amended to remove mention of sexual orientation, and said "sexual orientation and gender identity" should be struck from a list of characteristics that could not be used to exclude workers from the department's student loan repayment program. |
| Chinese students anxious and angry after Rubio vows to revoke visas | |
 | Chinese students studying in the U.S. are scrambling to figure out their futures after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that some students would have their visas revoked. The U.S. will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in "critical fields", and "those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party," according to the announcement. China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the U.S. This is a "new version of Chinese Exclusion Act," said Linqin, a Chinese student at Johns Hopkins University, who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of retaliation. He was referring to a 19th-century law that prohibited Chinese from immigrating to the U.S. and banned Chinese people already in the U.S. from getting citizenship. He said Wednesday was the first time he thought about leaving the U.S. after spending one third of his life here. |
| Colleges Across U.S. Fear Chill on Enrollments of Foreign Students | |
 | The opening session of the world's largest international-education conference had just begun on Tuesday morning when across the San Diego convention-center hall, Slack messages began to ping and alarmed emails thudded into inboxes. Amid the welcoming remarks, many of the 8,000 attendees at the conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators were learning of the latest news to shake the field: The U.S. Department of State had suspended all new student-visa appointments -- at the height of student-visa application season. Seventy percent of all student visas issued last year, nearly 270,000, were awarded during the peak summer months. "It's not an accident it happened now," said Fanta Aw, NAFSA's chief executive and executive director, said of the pause, which the State Department said is needed to put in place a plan to screen all foreign students' social-media accounts. "I think the end goal is to shake up higher ed and create fear," Aw said. In San Diego, the mood was at once dispirited and defiant, dazed and dismayed. Nearly 500 people packed an early morning session on Wednesday on potential legal and regulatory changes. |
| Here's how much international students contribute to the U.S. economy | |
 | As the Trump administration pauses new student visas in its battle to force change at the nation's elite universities, economists warn that the loss of international students would affect not just the schools that depend on their tuition but local and state economies, as well. The more than 1.1 million international students who studied in the United States last year contributed nearly $44 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 school year, according to nonpartisan nonprofit NAFSA, the Association of International Educators -- from $10 million in Alaska to more than $6 billion in California -- and supported more than 378,000 jobs. "Students don't just spend money paying tuition fees," Nicholas Barr, a professor at the London School of Economics, said in an interview. "They pay rent, they go to restaurants, they travel." States with high concentrations of universities in particular benefited from the economic impact of international students. The nearly 90,000 international students studying at the more than 250 colleges and universities in Texas during the last academic year contributed $2.5 billion to the local economy. The economic demands of international students leads to the creation of jobs, Barr said, whether it's extra staffing at local bars and shops or at the university itself, with extra personnel needed to handle the logistics of having more students. |
| For Fulbright Applicants, a DEI Disqualifier | |
| Curt Rice, director of the Fulbright Commission of Norway, was ready to tie a bow on this year's cohort of Fulbright scholars back in January. Norway had selected 17 finalists for the prestigious academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. State Department and received approval from the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to accept all of them. The country assumed that scholars would be notified by the State Department, as usual, sometime in the following month. That never happened. Instead, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal department cable detailing an additional step for the scholarship's review process, which historically has entailed an initial project review by the Institute of International Education, a secondary review by a panel in the host country and final approval from the FFSB. Inside Higher Ed obtained a copy of Rubio's cable, which says that this year State Department officials would give the final sign-off; they have been tasked with rooting out any projects that could violate President Trump's executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion. All candidates, whether they'd been approved by FFSB already or not, would have to pass. Rice said that of the 17 finalists Norway selected, the State Department ultimately nixed seven of them -- about 40 percent of their expected Fulbright cohort. |
| The Punch That Launched Trump's War on American Universities | |
| Harmeet Dhillon, head of the civil-rights division at the Justice Department, wakes up around 6 a.m. and begins her workday scrolling through X, searching for claims of discrimination. A lot of them, Dhillon said, regard universities. After spotting "a list of new horrors," she said, "I text my deputies, and we assign cases, and we get cranking." The Trump administration is on the hunt for campuses that have allegedly tolerated antisemitism, threatening to yank billions of dollars in federal research funding from Harvard and other top-name schools. The White House has accused universities of failing to protect Jewish students during campus protests against Israel over the war in Gaza that began in 2023. Yet the idea of targeting elite schools by withholding federal funds originated years earlier. Many conservatives have long studied ways to combat what they view as the liberal, anti-Western ills of American higher education. Some are now in the Trump administration, trying to push change. While Dhillon was a student at Dartmouth College, she was editor in chief of a conservative college newspaper that sued the school in a free-speech case. She said the lawsuit, which the paper won, cemented her career path. In 2018, she was the lawyer on a lawsuit that forced the University of California, Berkeley to revamp its speaker policies. Trump has since become preoccupied with the White House push -- headed by Stephen Miller, the president's top domestic policy adviser -- to influence U.S. universities. |
SPORTS
| Inside Ace Reese's transfer to Mississippi State baseball, winning SEC Newcomer of Year | |
| Aaron and Christina Reese had a special feeling about their second child and first son. It mostly came from Aaron, who had a hunch that his newborn son would grow into a star baseball pitcher. So, they named him Ace. "I didn't know, right?" Aaron Reese told the Clarion Ledger. "We prayed about it a lot and you have confidence and faith and know that you're going to get going in the right direction. At that moment, that was the direction we were being led." His parents were right to one degree. Ace Reese has blossomed into a star baseball player. But they were wrong about his position. Ace isn't an ace pitcher, rather a sophomore standout batter for Mississippi State. But before Ace became an All-SEC third baseman, he moved multiple times around Texas as a child. He was not a heavily recruited prospect from a small town. Houston was his only college offer, so he went there before transferring to MSU. Ace has quickly risen into one of the most-feared hitters in the SEC as the No. 3 seed Bulldogs (34-21) begin NCAA tournament play in the Tallahassee Regional against No. 2 Northeastern (48-9) on May 30 (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+). |
| Track & Field: Närhi, Rougetet Book State's First Tickets To The National Championship | |
| Mississippi State javelin standouts Tuomas Närhi and Remi Rougetet earned qualifying spots to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. It was a late night for the Bulldogs, as the meet was put under a four-hour rain delay. Events recommenced at 10 p.m. and concluded after 1 a.m. last night. With a massive collegiate best of 74.89m, Närhi finished second in the field to earn his spot at his first national championship. Rougetet, the two-time All-American and SEC Champion, will make his third consecutive appearance at the meet, after finishing third with a 74.43m attempt. Nicholas Fakorede took care of business in the first round of the 100m, running 10.30 to finish second in his section. His race secured him a big "Q", as an automatic qualifier for the quarterfinals, to be contested on Friday. Abdullahi Hassan and Sam Navarro qualified for the 800m semifinals, finishing in the top three in their respective sections. Hassan leads the field going into the next round with 1:46.29 over the distance. The day closed in the men's 400m hurdles, with Alfonso Hale Jr. running 51.03 for an automatic qualifying spot in Friday's quarterfinals. |
| Softball: Sacco Consensus All-American, Earns First Team Honors From NFCA | |
| Sierra Sacco is a consensus All-American after earning First Team recognition from the NFCA on Wednesday. She joins Bulldog legend Mia Davidson as the only players in school history to be recognized by three different outlets in the same season. Sacco was also tabbed First Team by Softball America and Second Team by D1Softball. She is Mississippi State's eighth player to be recognized by the NFCA, and her selection is the program's 18th honor from the coaches' association. She has earned State's 13th First Team honor from the NFCA. Mississippi State has had at least one All-American in three of the last four seasons, and Sacco is the first outfielder recognized since Iyhia McMichael was a First Team selection by the NFCA in 2004. Sacco, who was selected with the fifth overall pick in the AUSL College Draft, signed with the Talons last week to continue her career among the professional ranks. |
| Mississippi State golfer Avery Weed earns All-American Honorable Mention | |
| Mississippi State women's golf standout Avery Weed was named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Honorable Mention Team on Tuesday. She is the eighth Bulldog to earn All-American honors from the WGCA, and the fourth to do so in the past four seasons. Weed capped an impressive sophomore campaign with a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championship last week, posting three under par rounds in her four rounds of competition. "I was super excited for another chance to compete at Omni La Costa on the biggest stage this week," Weed told the Dispatch after the tournament. "The course played a bit more gettable this year with the course playing softer, so I knew it would take some under-par scores to play well. I felt very confident with my game heading to the tournament after some good finishes at SECs and regionals." The Bulldogs missed the final cut as a team, but proved once again that the team is an emerging power in the sport. Weed, in particular, continued to grow after an All-SEC Freshman Team selection last year, and went 3-0 to help the Bulldogs win the SEC Championship. This year, the Ocean Springs native led the team with a 71.67 average and earned two individual wins at the Mason Rudolph Championship and The Ally in the fall. |
| SEC examining tweaks to field- and court-storming rules to get 'best of both worlds' | |
| The SEC appears to be moving on from trying to completely stop field and court storming. The effort now may be focused on managing it, though the fines would remain. Commissioner Greg Sankey said during conference meetings Wednesday that the conference is "working on continued policy adjustments" after a successful tweak to protocols during basketball season offered hope for less chaotic postgame proceedings. Two years ago, worried about the safety hazard of crowds celebrating big wins by rushing fields and courts, the SEC ratcheted up the fines, starting the penalty at $100,000, then increasing to $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for the next one. The conference also added a twist: The fine would be paid not to the SEC but to the opposing school, which had been on the losing end of the game and victim of the field/court storm. The result: Storming continued unabated. Multiple schools incurred enough offenses to owe an opponent $500,000. But along the way, the SEC hopes it stumbled on something. This past basketball season, schools not wishing to pay bigger fines devised a system. When a big win seemed near, an announcement was made that fans would be allowed to storm the court 90 seconds after the buzzer, giving the opponent and officials time to get to the locker room. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, set to owe $500,000 the next time they were fined, were the schools that suggested it, and the conference signed off. "In a way the pressure to get it right worked well," Sankey said during SEC spring meetings this week. |
| Could SEC play international football games? What Greg Sankey said | |
 | When the 2025 college football season opens, Kansas State and Iowa State will face off in Ireland during Week 0, one of several international games in recent years. With Pittsburgh and Wisconsin set to play in Dublin in 2027, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked whether his league could one day get in on the international fun. Sankey, who said he had once met with the Lord Mayor of Dublin about potentially playing a game there, mostly threw cold water on the idea, at least for SEC teams facing each other. "The economics of our stadiums are just very different from our colleague conferences that have been a part of that," Sankey told reporters at SEC spring meetings in Florida. "You know, the displacement of a home game in our communities and stadiums, it might be 85 to 100,000-plus, and relocating that, the logistical costs and timing, that's a challenge. But the loss of that home gate, that's really a challenge. We've had some conversations around maybe non-conference games, that might be an away game, but it's never worked." The idea of an SEC team going international didn't just come from the media. Brian Kelly said publicly in the past that he would like to take his LSU squad to Ireland, having gone in the past while coaching Notre Dame. |
| LSU's Brian Kelly says SEC coaches want game vs. Big Ten | |
| LSU's Brian Kelly on Wednesday said SEC coaches favor adding one nonconference game against a Big Ten opponent in a scheduling agreement, but they "need a partner" to do it. "We want to compete against the Big Ten," Kelly said, following the last day of coaches meetings at the annual SEC spring meetings. "Look, the Big Ten right now holds it on the SEC. They won the last two national championships. That's the reality of it. We want to get challenged in that regard, and we'd like to be able to get that done. "That is up to our commissioner and the ADs to see if that can happen or not, but that's the wish of the room." SEC scheduling has been a major topic of conversation this week as the league works to determine if it wants to stay at eight conference games or move to nine. Kelly said he would favor playing nine SEC games and adding the additional Big Ten opponent. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said the coaches didn't vote on anything this week. He said that while he would be willing to play a Big Ten opponent along with rival Clemson, he still prioritizes the in-state rivalry over other scheduling options. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said the Big Ten has caught the SEC's attention with Michigan and Ohio State winning the national title the past two seasons. |
| Georgia, SEC schools look to trim athletic department spending to make way for revenue share | |
 | Most Georgia Bulldogs fans probably don't know the names behind the scenes in the Butts-Mehre building that crunch the numbers and spent months making decisions when putting together an athletic budget. People like Stephanie Ransom, Scott Hallberg and Derek Hammock. "They're not the most popular people in the athletic department right now," Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. On a fourth-floor conference room in Brooks' AD suite, the senior administrators who oversee the finances and business operations of an athletic department that supports 21 teams have held meetings with every sport and department. "I can walk into those meetings and play good cop, bad cop depending on what mood I'm in that day and help them out," Brooks said. "It's been a lot of work to really refine the budget." Brooks said crafting the $223 million fiscal year 2026 budget is more "complex" in the first year of expected direct player payments of about $20.5 million -- including $2.5 million of new scholarships -- as part of the House Settlement which is awaiting final approval. He's got plenty of company at athletic departments across the country, including colleagues in the SEC. "Every school I've talked to has tightened the belt and cut expenses and tried to continue to be good stewards of those dollars," said Auburn executive deputy athletic director Jared Benko, the former Georgia Southern athletic director. "From a revenue standpoint, you're always looking to grow in revenue." |
| Baylor football player Alex Foster dies from gunfire as city issues curfew over spate of violence | |
| Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster died early Wednesday after he was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a car in his Mississippi hometown, the Washington County coroner's office confirmed to The Associated Press. He was 18. The shooting was part of a "surge in violent crimes" that Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons said in an address threaten the community. Simmons said the city issued a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to curb the violence, which has included multiple shootings and "senseless killings." The Mississippi Clarion Ledger first reported Foster as being the victim of a shooting in Greenville after Baylor announced without a cause that Foster had died. Greenville Police spokeswoman Major Misty Mew told the AP -- without disclosing the name of the victim --- that officers were called to reports of a shooting in a residential/commercial area of the city shortly after midnight. Police discovered a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside a car. He was taken to a hospital and died about 30 to 40 minutes later, Mew said. No arrests have been made and police are seeking information connected with the shooting. "We are heartbroken by the unexpected loss of Alex Foster, a beloved member of our football family," Baylor coach Dave Aranda and athletic director Mack Rhoades said in a joint statement. |
| South Mississippi plays starring role in Netflix documentary drawing viewers worldwide | |
 | One of the biggest hits on Netflix is heavy on South Mississippi and heavier on native son Brett Favre. From the production of TIME Studios and reporting of Front Office Sports, "Untold: Fall of Favre" released exclusively on Netflix in May and has been tracking as one of the biggest hits on the platform since its release. The documentary follows the career path of the Hancock County native from high school to Southern Miss and beyond, while also delving into the context of another career path that would cross with Favre and lead him to his first major scandal in the twilight days of his NFL life. It then dives into his still-ongoing legal battle stemming from the 2020 uncovering of his alleged involvement in a Mississippi welfare scandal. Fall of Favre was the top movie on Netflix the first week it was released. Not only has it drawn significant interest in the United States, but globally, as well. For those untethered to Favre's mythos, the film offers South Mississippians brief glimpses of home broadcast to an international audience. |
| How college teams adjusted to cross-country travel post realignment | |
| If there were ever a moment when Oregon State baseball coach Mitch Canham would have had reason to second-guess his decision for the Beavers to play an independent schedule in the wake of the Pac-12's collapse, it might have been in the early hours of March 31. Oregon State had just completed a three-game series at Nebraska and was waiting out a four-hour delay in the Denver airport. The team still had a two-and-a-half-hour flight to go, and it would take at least another two hours after that to get on the bus in Portland and drive home to Corvallis, just as the rest of the town would be starting their day. It started ordinarily enough, but this Sunday quickly devolved into a comedy of errors. There was a standard breakfast before the noon game, which had a three-hour window to be played before the team needed to leave for the Lincoln airport to catch its flight. Things started to go off the rails in the bottom of the seventh inning. That's when OSU gave up nine runs before another in the eighth to lose 16-7, after which it found out a popular local barbecue joint had cancelled the team's postgame meal. The Beavers didn't have enough time to make other food arrangements -- or shower -- before they needed to be at the airport, so they took their chances at finding food at the terminal. There turned out to be only one option, a sandwich spot, but as the Beavers arrived, the place's only two workers got into a loud argument. If there was any consolation for Canham as he tried to get some sleep in the airport that night, it came when he found out several of his players crossed paths in the terminal with the Cal baseball team. Their former Pac-12 rival -- now playing in the ACC -- was on its way back from Louisville, and its flight wasn't going to leave until 6 a.m. |
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