| Thursday, July 17, 2025 |
| Mississippi State to churn out blueberry and sweet potato ice cream flavors | |
 | Mississippi State University is using one of its staple food items to pay homage to two of the state's newest official symbols. The university announced Wednesday that blueberry and sweet potato-flavored ice cream will hit the shelves of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) Sales Store in Starkville in 2026. The two "palette-pleasing" flavors come after state lawmakers voted to make the blueberry the official fruit of Mississippi in 2024 before following it up in 2025 with the sweet potato's designation as the official state vegetable. Students played a major role in turning the state symbols into churnable ice cream. Shecoya White, associate professor in the MSU Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition, and Health Promotion, said her students tested 15 to 20 variations of each flavor before landing on the shelf-ready recipe with the public's help. Both flavors should strengthen an already strong relationship with Mississippi-based farmers. The sweet potato's statewide production value currently stands at $82 million annually, while the botanical blueberry contributes $115 million in production value and is a staple of the state's horticulture industry. |
| Your parking questions, answered: From bike permits to game day parking, we tracked down answers | |
| After Mississippi State University Transportation announced major changes to the campus parking system for the 2025-2025 academic year, students responded with confusion, questions and concerns across social media. The original Reflector article, outlining a complete overhaul of smaller parking zones, tiered permit pricing, and a new one-to-one permit ratio, quickly became one of the newspaper's most-read stories of the summer, and many readers responded with questions on our social media graphic. In response, the Reflector followed up with Jerimiah Dumas, the executive director of MSU Transportation, to get clarification on the questions students are asking the most. |
| Hyde-Smith Votes to Cut $9 Billion from Federal Budget | |
| U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, early this morning voted for Senate passage of a budget rescissions bill (HR.4) to trim $9.0 billion from the federal budget, reductions sought by President Trump to stop wasteful spending in major foreign aid programs. The Senate bill also honors a commitment secured by Hyde-Smith in June to preserve funding for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish at Mississippi State University, a program she described as "money well spent and a great program." The bulk of the rescissions package will affect U.S. foreign aid programs, though the Senate's legislation preserves PEPFAR funding to combat HIV/AIDS globally, as well as the popular Food for Peace Program, which utilizes surplus U.S. agricultural commodities purchased from American farmers to prevent starvation around the world. |
| Lifelong Monroe County resident makes history as WTVA's first female chief meteorologist | |
 | Following former WTVA Chief Meteorologist Matt Laubhan's recent departure from the station, an Amory High School graduate turned Hamilton resident is not only leading the weather department but also serving as WTVA's first female chief meteorologist. Chelsea Simmons has spent her entire career at WTVA after graduating from Mississippi State University. "Maybe it's more old school...when you think of a weatherman, you think of a man. To be the first female chief meteorologist on WTVA, I am proud because I can maybe help more younger girls who are interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) push to go into that field, even if it's a more male-dominated field," she said. "When I was little, I had people I looked up to so I hope I can be that for younger girls." Simmons also recognized Ashleigh Bryant for recently making history as WCBI's first female chief meteorologist. Their promotions signal female-led weather departments for northeast Mississippi's local TV market. |
| Mary Means Business: Taco Amigo opens in Clayton Village | |
 | Taco lovers, rejoice. The Taco Amigo, 12072 Hwy. 182 E., is officially open. Isabel Vanegas first opened the Taco Amigo food truck about five years ago, selling authentic Mexican cuisine in Columbus. She has formally opened up the brick-and-mortar restaurant at the former Mama Jean location in Clayton Village. Check out the new joint from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturdays. Meanwhile, it appears that Starkvegas Bar and Grill, 211 Hwy. 12, has closed. The restaurant's Instagram is no longer active, and according to Google updates, it's listed as "permanently closed." I drove by to make sure, and the building is already listed for lease. In other news, Specialty Orthopedic Group is settling into its new location at 188 Hwy. 12, right next to Miskelly Furniture. It is celebrating with an open house and ribbon-cutting from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 7. Community Bank is opening a full-service location at The Summit, 403 Russell St. The 1,925-square-foot office will offer deposit accounts, lending services, an ATM and more. |
| Starkville, Columbus sales tax revenue stumbles | |
| Both Starkville and Columbus' sales tax collections faltered this month, with Starkville's dropping by 23.14% and Columbus' falling 1.15% from June. Year-to-date, both cities are still running ahead of their Fiscal Year 2024 pace. Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window. Taxes are collected by retailers in the first month, sent to Mississippi Department of Revenue the next and then disbursed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, July reported collections reflect sales from May. Starkville collected $873,307 in sales tax revenue this month, marking a 23.14% decrease from last month's collection of $1,136,300. Still, it is up 9.07% from July 2024 collections of $800,670. Year-to-date, the city has received $8,727,789 in sales tax diversions, which is 14.38% increase from this time last year ($7,629,886). The city is on pace to exceed its projected sales tax budget of $9.73 million by about $743,346.80. Starkville saw an increase in month-to-month collections of both its restaurant sales tax diversions, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism, as well as its tourism sales tax diversions, which fund the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as parks. |
| Gulf disturbance drops rain across Coast | |
 | Thick tropical rains beating through the Gulf drenched South Mississippi on Wednesday with lightning and storm clouds that swamped low-lying roads, sent cars splashing through puddles and dumped downpours that are expected to keep falling until Saturday across the soggy coastline. The National Weather Service said two to four inches of rain had already fallen across coastal Mississippi, mostly in Hancock and Harrison counties. But Thursday morning was a dry pause. Mike Efferson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Slidell, said the soaking could start again Thursday night and drop another 1 to 2 inches by Friday morning. That amount, he said, "is not a lot of rainfall. But if you've already had four inches, you could have some minor flash flooding." The tropical disturbance unleashing the rain was just south of the Mississippi Coast on Thursday morning. Forecasters expect it will reach Louisiana by the end of the day. The National Hurricane Center also lowered the system's odds of strengthening. Forecasters now say there is only a 30 percent chance the disturbance will become a tropical depression. Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Pearl River counties are still under a flood watch until Friday night. |
| New testing shows concerning results for origins of shrimp in many Jackson restaurants | |
| A new testing study has come out that shows an alarming number of restaurants are marketing their shrimp as U.S. wild-caught shrimp when they are actually imported. From June 23 to 26, SeaD Consulting -- commissioned by the Southern Shrimp Alliance -- conducted scientific genetic testing on shrimp dishes served at 44 seafood restaurants across Jackson and surrounding areas. Using its patented RIGHTTest™ (Rapid ID Genetic High-Accuracy Test), SeaD Consulting identified whether the shrimp being served was genuine U.S. wild-caught shrimp or imported shrimp. Only 14 of the 44 restaurants tested in the Jackson area were found to be serving authentic domestic wild-caught shrimp, as either implied or explicitly advertised. The remaining 30 restaurants were found to be serving imported shrimp instead of wild-caught shrimp to consumers in the dishes tested. SeaD's investigation concluded that 18 dishes tested appeared to be explicitly inauthentic based on menu or staff claims, while 10 were determined to be implicitly inauthentic based on each restaurant's decor, location, or branding. Mississippians deserve to know what they're being served---especially in a region where wild-caught Gulf shrimp is a source of pride and economic livelihood," said Erin Williams, Co-Founder and COO of SeaD Consulting. "We are hopeful that new restaurant labeling laws will turn the tide and bring greater honesty to the table." |
| Health Department issues whooping cough warning | |
| The Mississippi State Department of Health issued an alert Wednesday that cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, are climbing in the state. The year-to-date number of cases in Mississippi ballooned to 80 as of July 10. That compares to 49 cases in all of 2024. No whooping cough deaths have been reported. Ten people have been hospitalized related to whooping cough, seven of whom were children under 2 years old. Cases have largely been clustered in northeast Mississippi. The region accounts for 40% of cases statewide. The majority of cases -- 76% -- have occurred in children. Of the 73 cases reported in people who were old enough to be vaccinated, 28 were unvaccinated. Of those 28 people, 23 were children. "Vaccines are the best defense against vaccine preventable diseases," State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said after the State Board of Health meeting. The pertussis vaccination is administered in a five-dose series for children under 7 and booster doses for older children and adults. The health department recommends that pregnant women, grandparents and family or friends that may come in close contact with an infant should get booster shots to ensure they do not pass the illness to children, particularly those too young to be vaccinated. |
| The Navy has struggled to construct ships. Now it may cut the admirals who help build them. | |
 | The Navy is considering eliminating up to five high-level admiral positions key to the construction of ships and fighter planes, even as President Donald Trump has vowed to pull the Navy out of its shipbuilding crisis. The evolving plan is part of a larger Pentagon effort to reduce the number of admirals and generals in the ranks, according to a defense official and a person familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration takes aim at what it sees as a top-heavy military that has lost its focus. It would gut the three-star positions atop the five major commands -- Naval Sea, Naval Air, Naval Information Warfare, Naval Facilities Engineering and Naval Supply -- leaving them short of top-level military officials. The potential changes at the organizations, known as the Navy's system commands, would also greatly reduce their staff and eliminate jobs. This would remove experts intimately involved in designing, developing and acquiring new ships and submarines at a time when all of the service's shipbuilding programs are facing significant delays. If Navy Secretary John Phelan goes ahead with the plan, "he would be decapitating the organizations responsible for executing shipbuilding effectively," said a former defense official, who like others, was granted anonymity to discuss closed-door meetings. |
| Trump's Shipbuilding Push Falters as NSC Maritime Office Gutted | |
| Two senior officials at the White House National Security Council have left their roles in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the moves, the latest departures for a body that has been cut sharply in recent months. Ian Bennitt, the senior director for maritime and industrial capacity, and Brian McCormack, the NSC's chief of staff, both departed last week, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel moves. Bennitt is expected to leave for the private sector, the sources said, while McCormack is slated to become chief of staff for Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally. Hagerty's office had already said last week that McCormack would soon take up the chief of staff role for the senator, indicating his departure from the NSC was imminent. Bennitt's departure has not been previously reported. While it was not clear what immediate impact the moves would have on national security policy, the departures follow multiple waves of firings that have at times dented morale and left the NSC a shell of its former self. Bennitt's departure is particularly significant given the Trump administration's early focus on revitalizing the U.S. Navy and rebuilding the country's maritime capacity. |
| Senate votes to cut $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid | |
| Senate Republicans early Thursday greenlit President Donald Trump's proposal to claw back billions in global health and public media funding, pushing past frustrations within the GOP conference about the White House's transparency during the process. The White House-requested spending cuts narrowly made it through the Senate in a 51-48 vote after GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted "no" alongside Democrats. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) missed the vote, with her staff disclosing Wednesday that she was being kept in the hospital overnight "out of an abundance of caution." Because Senate Republicans made changes to the legislation it will need to bounce back to the House, which is expected to vote on it later Thursday. Trump will need to sign the recissions bill by the end of Friday, otherwise he will be forced to spend the money Congress previously approved. It marks the first time in decades that a rescissions package has been approved by the Senate. Even though Trump was successful now, however, there was still plenty of drama. "Let's not consider this a precedent," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who said he was supporting the bill "with reservation." Wicker added, from the chamber floor, "if you come back to us again, Mr. Director of the OMB -- if you come back to us again from the executive branch -- give us the specific amounts and the specific programs that will be cut." |
| In Twist, Some Republicans Push to Protect Unauthorized Immigrants | |
 | President Trump's aggressive deportation policies are spawning a new GOP-led policy push in Congress: Specific immigration-law changes to help protect the workforce in the agriculture industry, which relies heavily on unauthorized laborers. A small but growing group of House Republican lawmakers is encouraging the Trump administration and other factions of their party to pivot toward addressing immigration policy inside the country now that Trump has brought illegal border crossings to effectively zero. The lawmakers argue the party should focus on changing immigration law to allow some workers to gain temporary legal status and make sure people can remain on the job. "The excuse that we've had from not taking steps to pass measures ensuring certainty and availability of workforce has been that the border hasn't been under control," said Rep. GT Thompson (R., Pa.), the chair of the House Committee on Agriculture. "That excuse is gone," he said. GOP backers of changes warn of food shortages and economic calamity if the uncertainty about immigrant labor isn't addressed soon, pushing them to pursue a position that potentially puts them at odds with the Trump administration's goal of mass deportations of people who entered the country illegally. It also risks a replay of more than four decades of failed efforts since Congress's last successful overhaul. |
| Homan hints Trump farm worker policy is coming | |
 | White House border czar Tom Homan said on Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering possible changes to its immigration enforcement policy as it relates to farm and hospitality workers. In an interview on NewsNation's "Cuomo," Homan said people in the White House are talking about various policy solutions and he expects he could see an announcement sometime soon. "I know the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Department of Labor, and the Department of Agriculture are talking about policy changes now," Homan said. "I mean, the president's committed: there will be no amnesty, but there's a lot of smart minds at the White House talking about, is there something for farm workers? Is there something for hospitality?" "So, we'll see what comes out of it," he added. "But people are talking about: is there something that can be done? And I know they're talking now. And I expect something will come out soon, but we'll see what goes on." "I don't want to get ahead of the president on what I think is coming, or if something's even coming, but I know people are talking," Homan said. he Trump administration has sent mixed messages about its approach to immigration raids that affect farms and migrant farm workers. |
| Trump says he's 'highly unlikely' to fire Fed's Powell after floating that idea in private | |
 | President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was "highly unlikely" to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a public statement made less than 24 hours after suggesting in a private meeting that he was leaning in favor of dismissing the head of the nation's central bank. Trump confirmed that in a White House meeting Tuesday night with about a dozen House Republicans he had discussed the "concept" of dismissing Powell, long a target because of his refusal to lower interest rates as Trump wants. "Almost every one of them said I should," Trump said about the lawmakers who had come to talk to him about crypto legislation. He indicated he was leaning in that direction, according to a White House official. During that session, Trump waved a letter about firing Powell, but a person familiar with the matter said it was essentially a prop drafted by someone else and that the Republican president has not drafted such a letter. Trump made his comment about being "highly unlikely" to dismiss Powell -- "unless he has to leave for fraud" -- during an Oval Office meeting with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain. |
| GOP senators warn Trump that firing Powell would send 'shock wave' through economy | |
| Senate Republicans are warning President Trump that it would be a big mistake to follow through on his threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying it would likely send a "shock wave" through the financial markets and roil the broader economy. GOP senators, including lawmakers closely allied with Trump, warn that any move to oust Powell would jeopardize the Federal Reserve's independence, which in turn could undermine investors' confidence in U.S. monetary policy and creditworthiness "I do not believe a president, any president, has the authority to fire the Federal Reserve chair," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Fed. "I believe strongly in the independence of the Federal Reserve. Some countries in the world don't have independent central banks. Ask Turkey how that's been working out for them. At one point Turkey had inflation at 30 percent," he added. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Banking Committee, warned that firing Powell would send a "shock wave" through the economy. "It would be a colossal mistake," he warned. |
| Trump blasts 'stupid' and 'foolish' Republicans amid calls to reveal more Epstein files | |
| President Donald Trump continued Wednesday to dismiss calls within his own party for more transparency into the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and made claims, without evidence, that the controversy was designed to undermine him. In a lengthy social media post, which included references to the president's previous claims about the 2017 Russian election interference probe, Trump blamed Democrats for creating what he called a "scam" and "hoax." "Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'b--------,' hook, line, and sinker," he wrote. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have come under fire from conservatives on the Hill and across the country for declining to release the Epstein probe files in their entirety. The Justice Department and FBI last week stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a "client list" of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women. In his post, Trump disavowed those who focus on the Epstein story rather than his accomplishments. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!" Trump said. |
| GOP Reshapes Opportunity Zones to Target Trump Country | |
| The first wave of Opportunity Zone investments sent tens of billions of dollars into urban areas, accelerating development in low-income neighborhoods already on the cusp of growth. For Opportunity Zones 2.0, Republicans reshaped the program to aid rural America, testing whether bigger tax breaks can bring investment to areas largely left behind by a program for left-behind areas. The new tax law -- the "one big, beautiful bill" that President Trump signed July 4 -- makes Opportunity Zones a permanent incentive and creates targeted benefits for sparsely populated regions. Even with bigger tax breaks, attracting rural investment might prove difficult. Counties far from major highways aren't always great fits for distribution centers or factories. They don't work well for real-estate developers' standard fare of multifamily-housing projects. And they often lack the utility access necessary for industrial projects. "The challenge isn't Opportunity Zones. The challenge is rural," said Alex Flachsbart, chief executive officer of Opportunity Alabama, a nonprofit that works with Opportunity Zone sponsors and communities and manages its own fund. "An Opportunity Zone designation does not magically reverse trends or create assets where there aren't any. What it does is elevate communities that would otherwise be overlooked." |
| Gen Z men, women have a deep political divide. It's made dating a nightmare. | |
 | Kelly Shea's date showed up half-an-hour late to the bar where they were supposed to meet, and things only got worse from there. When he finally arrived, Shea, a now-23-year-old who was studying international politics at the University of Delaware at the time, says they got to talking. She asked him one of her go-to, first-date questions: What is your most controversial take? "I do believe that everybody has, deep down inside them, a controversial take," she says. "This man, he first was like, 'I don't have any.' And I was like, 'That's not true. Tell me what comes to mind.' And then he thinks about it for a second, and he was like, 'Oh, I think being gay is wrong.' " It's because of instances like this that Shea, who describes herself as solidly left-wing, draws a hard line when it comes to dating and politics: If someone's on the far-right, she's not interested. If someone's moderate or center-right -- in the vein of John McCain or Mitt Romney, she says -- she might give them a chance. "Politics is definitely a factor in my dating," Shea says. She's not alone. In addition to the many pitfalls of online dating, Gen Z is also having to navigate a dating landscape marked by steep political polarization between men and women. An April poll by NBC News found the partisan divide between men and women ages 18 to 29 to be wider than that of any other age range. |
| Virginia is for ... data centers? Residents are increasingly saying no | |
 | The two dozen or so nondescript gray, white and blue buildings lining Virginia State Route 625 could be large warehouses. But community activist Elena Schlossberg can identify them literally a mile away by their telltale rows of backup diesel generators. The buildings are data centers. "We're sort of that model of how not to do this kind of development," says Schlossberg. All internet data goes through facilities like these: massive, sometimes multistoried warehouses filled with servers where every webpage and shred of data lives. Demand for these centers has skyrocketed in the last two years as artificial intelligence usage has gone mainstream. Virginia is a data hot spot. It has the world's highest concentration of data centers -- nearly 600 facilities of varying sizes, including roughly 150 of the largest kind, known as hyperscale data centers. Not all residents are happy about that. As data centers have cropped up alongside residential developments, they have become synonymous with intensive power and water consumption, as well as round-the-clock noise from cooling systems. Concerns about power and land use, as well as the cost of these data centers, have galvanized not just those worried about the environment but also a widespread not-in-my-backyard movement against them. |
| An overlooked demographic has the highest suicide risk -- and it's been rising | |
| After a decade-long rise in suicide rates among young Americans -- and with depression diagnoses soaring in this age group during the pandemic -- the U.S. surgeon general issued a report in 2021 warning about the "devastating" state of youth mental health. The American Psychological Association declared it a "crisis." It was part of a prolonged advocacy campaign to raise awareness about the problem and possible solutions, and finally, in 2022 and 2023, there were signs of success: Suicide rates for teens and young adults began to fall. Meanwhile, another demographic has gone largely overlooked. The people most at risk from suicide aren't those in crisis in adolescence or midlife, but men age 75 and older. Some 38.2 deaths per 100,000 among men age 75 to 84 are by suicide, which increases to 55.7 among those over 85, according to data from CDC -- more than 16 times the suicide rate for women in the same age group. Researchers are calling for a public health effort, much like the one to treat youth mental health, to help address suicide in older men. Many attribute the recent declines in youth suicides to all the attention paid to the issue, and the ample resources devoted to it, said Mark Salzer, professor of social and behavioral sciences at Temple University. "The same intensive efforts have not been made for older adults where there is a belief among some that depression is a natural part of aging," he told STAT. "It is not." |
| Former drug dealer turned executive chef to speak at 2025 Welty Gala | |
| Award-winning chef and New York Times best-selling author Jeff Henderson will be the featured speaker for Mississippi University for Women's 2025 Welty Gala, the university announced Wednesday. The gala is one of the events featured from Oct. 23-25 for the 37th annual Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium, the symposium's website said. The three days of events will feature a diverse group of southern authors who have not yet been announced and will present their work, the website said. Henderson started his cooking career while serving time in prison for drug dealing. Since then, he's authored two best-sellers, held executive positions at Bellagio and Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and is the creator of his own Food Network show. The intention in bringing Henderson was for both his inspirational life story and to bring a headliner who could highlight the university's culinary arts program, MUW President Nora Miller said. "We want to highlight something that is kind of unique to The W," Miller said. "We have one of the few Baccalaureate culinary arts programs, and so this highlights a kind of niche that we have." |
| $30M-plus center coming to UM to address childhood education, autism intervention | |
| The University of Mississippi announced this week that a $32.8 million Early Learning and Evaluation Center will open in early 2027 and focus on addressing learning disabilities while helping those with autism. Construction on the center began last month. Upon completion, it will be operated by the UM School of Education and will house the university's nationally accredited preschool, the Willie Price Lab School. It will also allow more children to receive developmental and auditory evaluations, increasing opportunities for early intervention services. The two-story, 51,447-square-foot facility is being funded by a combination of state and federal funds, with the public university investing more than $21 million and another $10 million coming from the state legislation and $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Education. Nearly 12,000 square feet of space inside the facility are reserved for a sensory playroom, evaluation and observation rooms, and clinical information space. Other specifics include 10 technology-equipped preschool classrooms, two outdoor playgrounds, and a dining room. The Early Learning and Evaluation Center is being constructed at the South Oxford Center. |
| Federal cuts could impact Ole Miss cannabis contract | |
 | The University of Mississippi (UM) has historically been the sole provider of research-grade cannabis to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), but this contract might be in jeopardy due to recent federal budget cuts. The university began contracting with NIDA in 2015. Ole Miss has since then signed several contract extensions, with the most recent being a five-year contract with the agency signed in 2023. This contract began with a $2 million task order, which marked the largest in school history. But the contract is now in a stand still due to a review of all existing contracts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Despite conflicting reports online that their contract was completely severed with NIDA, officials with the University of Mississippi said their contract has not been canceled and still has two years remaining. Officials said even with the possibility of this contract with NIDA getting cut, UM remains ready to fulfill any task order they may be given if allowed to continue at a later date. "The university has two years remaining on its federal contract and stands ready to leverage its more than 57 years of cannabis research experience to advance the field of cannabis science and meet any future needs NIDA may have," said Jacob Batte, director of News & Media Relations at the University of Mississippi. |
| Integer Technologies and USM Announce $25 Million Defense Contract | |
| Integer Technologies and the University of Southern Mississippi announce the Office of Naval Research has awarded their team a $25 million ceiling contract, with a fully funded initial base period of $4.3 million. The applied research contract supports the development of novel software to help the U.S. Navy maintain maritime dominance and increase its seabed warfare capabilities. The program, titled Intelligent Autonomous Systems for Seabed Warfare, will enhance underwater missions and data collection for unmanned vessels by improving their decision-making capabilities at the edge. This will allow unmanned vessels to adapt more effectively to changing environmental conditions and improve their ability to identify objects on the seafloor. This program will develop innovative technology for unmanned underwater systems that can autonomously make sense of large, high-dimensional data sets in real-time. This technology augments the Navy's ability to conduct unattended missions with unmanned and autonomous platforms. |
| Southern Miss, Integer Technologies land $25 million defense contract | |
| A $25 million applied research defense contract won by a partnership between the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and South Carolina-based Integer Technologies will make a difference with a clear and ever-growing danger for the U.S.: seabed warfare. The Office of Naval Research approved the program, Intelligent Autonomous Systems for Seabed Warfare, meant to enhance underwater missions and data collection for unmanned vessels by improving their rapid-fire decision-making capabilities. Unmanned vessels will be able to adapt more effectively to swift-changing environmental conditions and improve their ability to identify objects on the seafloor. "This is an ideal moment for this research on software for ocean sensing and seabed warfare," said U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "USM's oceanography expertise will combine with Integer's predictive technology to help us explore and master the ocean floor, earth's last frontier. These unmanned, subsurface vessels will boost the United States' edge in undersea warfare and support the bustling blue economy along Mississippi's coast." |
| Southern Miss, defense tech partner awarded $25 million Naval contract | |
| A partnership between the University of Southern Mississippi and Integer Technologies, a research and development tech company, is bearing fruit. Southern Miss officials announced Wednesday that the partners were recently awarded a $25 million "ceiling" contract. The funding will go toward the develop of maritime software for the U.S. Navy, specifically to increase the military branch's seabed warfare capabilities. "This award demonstrates The University of Southern Mississippi's reputation as a leader in ocean research and blue economy innovation," Dr. Kelly Lucas, Vice President for Research at Southern Miss, said. Integer joins a growing number of defense tech companies like Ocean Aero and Skydweller Aero, putting down roots on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As part of the expanded partnership between Southern Miss and Integer, the company will locate an office in the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise at the Port of Gulfport. |
| Kids College at East Central Community College | |
 | The annual Kids College is underway at East Central Community College with a variety of activities taking place for kids to choose from. Kids College is split into two different sessions, a morning and afternoon session. The morning session allows kids to step into the world of cosmetology, culinary arts, automotive creative arts and all things STEM. The afternoon session lets kids get a bit of exercise by partaking in several different sports such as tennis and basketball. "There's lots of opportunities for kids to experience East Central on a much-parsed down level," said Lucas Calvert, VP for External Relations at ECCC. "Hopefully they'll get some good core memories and experiences on this campus and help us build relationships with the community. In the future, when these kids are old enough to come to school, hopefully they'll have some great memories of East Central and choose us. " |
| Iranian LSU doctoral students released from ICE detention, ACLU says | |
 | A pair of LSU doctoral students from Iran have been freed more than two weeks after federal immigration agents detained them, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday. The organization also claimed Louisiana State Police used "false pretenses" to detain the couple. Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad, who was studying mechanical engineering, was arrested in late June along with his wife, Parisa Firouzabadi, who is also a mechanical engineering student. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not said reasons for the detentions and did not respond to a request for more information. An ACLU news release said ICE used State Police "to effectuate a ruse in which agents pretended they were responding to a hit-and-run the couple reported previously." "Police used these false pretenses to lure Parisa and Pouria out of their home so that ICE could arrest them," the release added. A spokesperson for State Police was not immediately reachable for comment. Todd Woodward, a spokesperson for LSU, did not respond to a request for more information and comment from the university administration. LSU had more than 1,600 international students enrolled in 2023, according to a university report. |
| Federal court says Arkansas can enforce ban on critical race theory in classrooms | |
| A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Arkansas can enforce its ban on critical race theory in classrooms, ruling the First Amendment doesn't give students the right to compel the state to offer its instruction in public schools. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction issued against the ban, one of several changes adopted under an education overhaul that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed in 2023. The prohibition is being challenged by two teachers and two students at Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 desegregation crisis. A federal judge had granted the injunction to the students but not the teachers. "Just as ordinary citizens cannot require the government to express a certain viewpoint or maintain a prior message, students cannot oblige the government to maintain a particular curriculum or offer certain materials in that curriculum based on the Free Speech Clause," the judges ruled. Critical race theory is an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation's institution. The theory is not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas' ban does not define what constitutes critical race theory. |
| Americans Recognize Nuances of Higher Ed's Value | |
 | While the Trump administration has painted a bleak picture of the higher education sector as a costly enterprise that burdens taxpayers and pushes leftist ideologies, new survey data shows that most Americans -- regardless of their political leanings -- still value it. "Increasingly, higher ed is being cast as elite, expensive and not connected with everyday Americans," said Sophie Nguyen, senior policy manager with the higher education team at New America, the left-leaning think tank that published its annual Varying Degrees survey on Wednesday. "There's a significant disconnect in the narrative about what higher ed is" and how it's perceived. Capturing the American public's views on the purpose of higher education drove many of the questions Nguyen and her colleagues asked 1,631 respondents in March for the ninth iteration of the survey. After reaching a low point last year, the data shows that satisfaction with higher education is on the rise: 40 percent of respondents -- including 42 percent of both Republicans and Democrats -- reported that higher education is "fine as it is," compared to 36 percent who said the same last year. New America's findings are in line with a poll Gallup also released Wednesday in partnership with the Lumina Foundation, which shows that 42 percent of Americans surveyed said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education. |
| Chu: China 'Will Blow Us Away' if Trump Destroys U.S. Colleges | |
| The first Nobel Prize–winning scientist to join a White House cabinet, Steven Chu made history when he became Barack Obama's energy secretary in 2009. But his move to Washington cost him an incredible $300 million. "I joined the Nvidia board in 2004, before the company took off, but I had to sell my shares in 2009 when I joined government," Chu said about his early involvement in the microchip firm that recently became the world's most valuable company with a $4 trillion capitalization. "At the time Nvidia was a small graphics company, but there were rules about conflict of interest so I had to sell," he told Times Higher Education. With Nvidia's stock rising 22,000 percent in the past decade alone, Chu's stake would be worth $300 million, he said. Nvidia's astonishing rise has amazed the stock market in recent years, but Chu, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997, felt the company had huge promise when he joined. Sanguine about his lost wealth, Chu's main takeaway from Nvidia is not his own misfortune. Instead, he worries that this American success story -- co-created by a Taiwanese-born Stanford graduate, employing foreign-born engineering talent -- might not have been able to happen today given the double whammy faced by U.S. academia: massive cuts to federal science budgets and an immigration crackdown deterring many students, particularly from China, from applying to U.S. institutions. |
| Workforce Pell Grant Expansion Faces 'Aggressive' Timeline | |
| Community colleges secured a massive legislative win earlier this month after more than a decade of advocacy. Workforce Pell, at long last, is en route to become a reality. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law July 4, extends Pell Grants to low-income students enrolled in eligible short-term programs, between eight and 15 weeks long. The policy shift is expected to put money in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of students per year to help them afford these quicker, increasingly popular programs -- and bring an influx of funds to the institutions that offer them. But realizing those gains will take some time, and with the policy scheduled to get off the ground next summer, some experts are worried a year won't be long enough to parse the program's details and ensure a smooth rollout."We're very thankful to the persistence of our champions in Congress on this legislation from both parties in both chambers, for the commitment they made to this legislation," said David Baime, senior vice president of government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges, noting that while the bill was partisan, support for this provision has been "bipartisan all down the line." |
| Congress Cut a Federal Nutrition Program, Jeopardizing Campus Jobs and Community Services | |
 | Over the last decade, the University of Minnesota Extension has helped fund a program designed to destigmatize use of the state's food pantries and push people who use them toward consuming healthy food. The SuperShelf program, which launched in 2012, has grown to serve thousands of people across the state at more than 80 locations. But Bev Durgan, dean of Minnesota's extension, said she expects most of the program to shutter this September. SuperShelf is one of the thousands of initiatives funded by grants from the Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, or SNAP-Ed. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed this month, eliminates funding for SNAP-Ed, effective September 30, leaving Durgan and hundreds of researchers and educators scrambling to figure out what these cuts mean for their institutions, and the communities they serve. The University of Minnesota announced July 7 that it would not renew the contracts of 59 educators who work in its extension. The federal program isn't the extension's only source of funds, but Durgan said she expects more layoffs as the fall approaches. Minnesota isn't alone. Administrators from the University of California, Utah State University, and the University of Illinois also said they were bracing for layoffs. SNAP-Ed funds partnerships at 57 land-grant universities that employ more than 2,000 staff members to provide services. |
SPORTS
| Lebby's message remains on moving Bulldog program forward | |
| Jeff Lebby walked through the halls of the Omni Hotel on Wednesday morning with a little different demeanor than he did a year ago in Dallas. It was year two representing Mississippi State at SEC Media Days and a lot has happened for the football coach since his first. Lebby's first year in Starkville was filled with turbulence as he lost his starting quarterback in the fourth game of the season and finished the year 2-10. It was the worst season of football that State has witnessed in over 20 years and it has some pressure on the coach to turn things around. As the coach showed up in Atlanta on Wednesday, his message was clear -- the Bulldogs have to turn it around. The work has already begun. "I think there's been a lot of hard work and there's been a lot of different situations that have created a team, and you put them through some strain and some toughness throughout the summer to create that," Lebby said. "You look at it, 80% of our roster is in year one or two of being a part of the program. And I think, as we've gotten into it, guys that have been here that are year two understand what it needs to look like. And then guys that are new guys, man, they've picked up to it really well. There has been great buy in, there's been great consistency, and excited about getting on the grass more." |
| Lebby embraces 'gauntlet' of schedule as opportunity for Mississippi State | |
| Year two of the Jeff Lebby era at Mississippi State will be a pivotal one for the program. After a 2-10 record in his debut season as an SEC head coach, Lebby is looking to turn the page and move the Bulldogs in a positive direction. But there is a glaring challenge to those efforts -- a remarkably tough schedule. The relatively new football frontman, however, is viewing the challenges ahead as opportunities rather than obstacles. "For us, it's all about opportunity. I think I had a great awareness of what the league was when I was able to get the job. That part of it wasn't going to change," Lebby said during his floor speech at SEC Media Days. "For me and our guys, we understand what the gauntlet looks like. That's exciting. What a great challenge, what a great opportunity. Our guys will be excited to go chase it." ESPN has Mississippi State's schedule ranked as the sixth-toughest nationally, and for good reason. The Bulldogs' home slate includes matchups against Arizona State, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Ole Miss. Notable road matchups will be against Florida, Arkansas, and Missouri. An opening day contest against a revamped Southern Miss in enemy territory could also get interesting. Nonetheless, Lebby is confident that his team will be prepared for the tall task ahead. |
| 'A team with a sharp edge': Lebby, Bulldogs energized for 2025 season | |
| "Effort, physicality, execution." Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson has only been in Starkville for a few months, but he's bought into the vision in Year 2 under head coach Jeff Lebby. Thompson, quarterback Blake Shapen and linebacker Issac Smith joined Lebby for SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday, all sporting a calm confidence in the program after a disappointing 2-10 campaign a year ago. The offseason brought change with transfers and new recruits, but it also brought new energy to make the most of the new season. "Coming into the building, you can tell the energy level is way higher," quarterback Blake Shapen said. "Even from just going in the lunchroom, to dinner, or whatever it may be, everybody's energetic. Going to workouts, it's the little things in the locker room. It's energetic. I feel like last year, at times, it was a little bit dead in some areas, and this year, I can just tell it's a different level of energy." The Bulldogs are two weeks away from fall camp and the beginning of full practices, and Lebby has meetings with his coaching staff scheduled for next week to begin planning for the start of the new season, which kicks off the season against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg Aug. 30. |
| Mississippi State overhauls its roster after going 0-8 in SEC | |
 | Mississippi State senior wide receiver Brenen Thompson has been with the team for less than seven months, but he's made a big impact because of his actions. "I got there in January and you're going to see nothing but work from me," Thompson said. "I'm gonna sit there and I'm gonna work. And I'm gonna come tomorrow and work and whenever you're down, I'm gonna help you work. Then I'm gonna help the next guy work and so just actions [make me a leader]. Just showing up every single day, being consistent every single day." The Bulldogs need leaders after going 2-10 last season, including 0-8 in Southeastern Conference play. Thompson is one of the many new faces second-year coach Jeff Lebby is leaning on to help turn things around. "Eighty percent of our players on our roster are in their first or second year of being inside the program," Lebby said at the Southeastern Conference 2025 Football Kickoff Media Days on Wednesday. "You think about 16 new players since Jan. 1; 43 [more] in mid-year, then having the ability to sign five [offensive] linemen, a couple of tight ends [and] a couple others on the defensive side of the ball in the spring portal." It's a whole different looking team. |
| Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby has high praise for former Alabama star now on his staff | |
 | A former Alabama star is making an impact as part of Mississippi State's staff, Bulldogs coach Jeff Lebby said Wednesday. Shaud Williams, an All-SEC running back at Alabama in the early 2000s, is entering his second year as the Bulldogs' head strength and conditioning coach. Lebby was asked about Williams during his appearance at SEC Media Days on Wednesday in Atlanta, and positively gushed. "Shaud Williams, I just don't have enough great things to say about what he's done for the program -- his impact, the day-to-day," Lebby said. "To me he's a guy that just, he gets it. He's lived it; he's played it. He's not asking anybody inside that locker room to do something he didn't do. And I think there's great value in that. I talk about consistency; Shaud is incredibly consistent. I'm so thankful for what he's doing as he's continued to grow our program, the strength and conditioning program, the way he has and we have." Williams, 44, played a decade of professional football after leaving Alabama in 2003, including four years with the NFL's Buffalo Bills. |
| SEC media days: Tennessee embraces QB battle as Florida, Mississippi State seek new heights | |
| The Southeastern Conference's evolving quarterback situations continued to be a focal point of SEC media days on Wednesday. Florida quarterback DJ Lagway went 6-1 after taking over as the starter midway through 2024, creating some buzz around the Gators heading into year four of the Billy Napier era. Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen is back after a shoulder injury ended his 2024 season in September, and the Bulldogs are looking to respond from a winless league campaign in year two under Jeff Lebby. Meanwhile, Tennessee has an ongoing quarterback battle with three participants, headlined by Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar. Part of Mississippi State's struggles last season spiraled from Shapen's injury. The Baylor transfer fractured his right scapula in week four and the Bulldogs went 1-7 in his absence. "I am 100% healthy," Shapen said. "Obviously it was tough not playing last year, but I'm back now and I feel better than ever." Shapen threw eight touchdowns and only one interception with 974 passing yards in his limited sample size, creating some belief his return combined with an extra year of experience in Lebby's offense can help the Bulldogs in 2025. "Inside our walls right now we have great belief," Lebby said. "Our guys are incredibly intent on getting better and changing the outcome this fall." |
| Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen says he can throw football farther after shoulder injury | |
| Blake Shapen's fractured scapula in his shoulder might have yielded an improved skill for the Mississippi State football quarterback. The injury, suffered in Week 4 of 2024 on his throwing arm, ended Shapen's first season with the Bulldogs. MSU struggled to a 2-10 record in coach Jeff Lebby's first season. Shapen said at SEC media days on July 16 that he believes he can throw the ball farther now after the injury. "Yeah, honestly it's crazy," he said. "I can probably throw it a lot farther. I think that's a lot to do with the shoulder workouts that I do now and things like that." Shapen said at the Manning Passing Academy in June that he didn't do much rehab at all on his arm and shoulder before the injury. He's taking it more seriously now. Playing in only four games last season allowed him to obtain a medical redshirt waiver to return as the starting quarterback in 2025. Shapen threw for 974 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 36 yards and two touchdowns. "I was forced to be in the rehab room every single day doing stuff," Shapen said. "That was three months of work, and then I go start throwing and things like that and you could just tell the difference." |
| Unexpected return to State makes for hungry Blake Shapen in 2025 | |
| A year after representing Mississippi State at SEC Media Days prior to his senior season, quarterback Blake Shapen was back running the gauntlet of interviews in 2025. Shapen was supposed to be working towards his first season of pro football or whatever life had planned for him, but his football journey took a different turn. In the middle of the second half of the matchup against Florida early in the season, Shapen was taken down on his shoulder and something felt wrong. After giving it a go for another drive, the veteran QB knew something was wrong. That injury would prove to be season-ending, but it also provided a blessing in disguise as he gets one more season of college eligibility. "As hard as it was going through, what we went through, being year two in the offense and being able to come back, man, I think he's got a chance to have a great year," head coach Jeff Lebby said of Shapen. "He's been an unbelievable leader for us, his consistency, his buy in the way he's worked, what he's done with his body being 212, pounds for the first time ever, he's had great buy in to understand and the biggest thing for him to staying healthy. We got to do a great job of keeping him upright, keeping him clean. But excited about having him back." |
| Final Pieces Of Men's Hoops Non-Conference Schedule Unveiled | |
| The Mississippi State men's basketball program is 112 days away from returning to the Humphrey Coliseum floor and beginning its quest for a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid announced on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will meet North Alabama on Wednesday, November 5 for their regular season opener. State also will travel to Utah for a return matchup on Saturday, December 13 at the Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. Already released, State will play host to a Black Friday football-basketball doubleheader as the Bulldogs play host to SMU on Friday, November 28 in addition to welcoming Memphis on Saturday, December 20 to Humphrey Coliseum. All nine of State's SEC home opponents are coming off NCAA Tournament berths headed by Auburn who made the 2025 NCAA Final Four. The Bulldogs also will welcome Alabama and Tennessee who are coming off 2025 NCAA Elite Eight trips along with Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt to Humphrey Coliseum. |
| Mississippi State basketball releases full nonconference schedule, including season opener | |
| Mississippi State basketball's full nonconference schedule, including the season opener, has been released. The Bulldogs will open the season at home on Nov. 5 against North Alabama, per an announcement on July 16. Tip times for games have not been released. MSU is pursuing a fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Coach Chris Jans got a big boost to his roster when guard Josh Hubbard opted to return to Starkville for his junior season. Hubbard averaged 18.9 points as a sophomore and 17.1 as a freshman. There are other notable games. The Bulldogs get a matchup with the Big 12 member Iowa State on Nov. 10 in the second game of the year. That is a neutral-site game at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On Nov. 20, MSU will play another Big 12 team in Kansas State as part of the 2025 Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. MSU will travel to Utah for a game against the Utes on December 13. That game will be played at the Delta Center, where the Utah Jazz play. |
| The SEC Confronts a New College Football Opponent: Panic | |
| For the better part of two decades, the Southeastern Conference's annual preseason media event stood as a chest-thumping celebration of college football supremacy. Head coaches, star players, league administrators and some of the most rabid football fans in America would assemble at this four-day jamboree to toast their successes, taunt their rivals and look ahead to another season in which the SEC would grind everyone else into dust. But as this year's SEC Media Days got under way in Atlanta this week, the vibe has been a little different. After back-to-back seasons in which the once-dominant conference has been shut out of the national title game and forced to watch someone else take home the trophy, the SEC's swaggering sense of pride has been replaced by something else. Something that felt more like unease. Or anxiety. Or, in some cases, good old-fashioned panic. "You don't play in the championship for two years and it feels like the end of the world," said Paul Finebaum, the sports radio host and SEC Network analyst. "You have to be honest about it." Feelings of trepidation and vulnerability might seem as out of place in SEC land as wearing flip flops on your wedding day. But these days, they aren't hard to understand. |
| What is 'true' name, image and likeness in college sports? The courts might end up deciding | |
 | Four years ago, the century-old model for college sports was turned on its head. College athletes began earning name, image and likeness money in 2021. It didn't take long for boosters to exploit a loophole and weaponize NIL deals as a means to entice recruits and transfers. NIL collectives sprang up to manage the competitive field. Schools initially shunned them, but soon realized they had no choice but to embrace them. As of last week, those same schools are now at war with those collectives. Empowered by the game-changing House settlement, schools are mounting a grand last stand to declare once and for all that collectives can't claim pay-for-play is a valid business. An entire industry's business model -- itself only a few years old -- is now at stake, not to mention hundreds of millions in contracted payouts to athletes. Last Thursday, that newly formed entity, the College Sports Commission, issued guidance regarding the NIL Go clearinghouse, which must approve any outside NIL transaction of more than $600. It's been well known for more than a year that the clearinghouse would determine whether a collective's payment to an athlete for, say, an autograph signing, fell within an approved "range of compensation." But this language went beyond that. It declared that collectives themselves do not meet a "valid business purpose," and thus can expect their deals for athletes to appear at a golf tournament or promote their merchandise will not be approved. |
| College sports leaders, House settlement attorneys in talks over whether to permit booster collective deals | |
| College sports leaders are in active negotiations with plaintiff attorneys over, perhaps, the most significant piece of the House settlement: whether to permit traditional booster collective deals to athletes. A resolution between the two sides could shape the future enforcement of college athletics' new revenue-share concept by potentially upending the settlement agreement's primary goal: to limit or reduce the role of school-affiliated name, image and likeness collectives -- booster-backed entities that have paid millions to athletes over the past four years. The NCAA and power conference officials are negotiating with House plaintiff attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman, who, in a letter sent last week to the NCAA and conferences, accused them of violating terms of the settlement by denying certain NIL collective contracts they believe should be permissible. In an interview from SEC media days on Wednesday, commissioner Greg Sankey described the talks as a "back and forth" that "happens in any bargaining situation." Sankey declined further comment about the nature of the negotiations and details on the NCAA and power conferences' response to last week's letter from Kessler. As college administrators and attorneys embroil themselves in legal negotiations, football coaches and general managers are preparing for the first-ever Aug. 1 official NCAA "offer date," when schools can formally offer revenue-share contracts to prospects (some have already, informally). |
| NCAA Scores Major Antitrust Win as Eligibility Rules Upheld | |
| As more and more D-I college athletes whose NCAA eligibility has run out sue the association, the NCAA on Wednesday won a key decision at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in defense of its eligibility rules. The ruling could set the table for a potential split among federal circuits on whether NCAA eligibility rules comply with antitrust law, and make it possible for the U.S. Supreme Court to take on the issue. The decision comes as a spate of athletes have sued to keep playing in response to NIL and House-settlement opportunities for revenue sharing. Writing for herself and Judge Joshua P. Kolar, Judge Amy J. St. Eve reversed U.S. District Judge William M. Conley's issuance of a preliminary injunction in February that would have allowed Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean to play a fifth season of college football in five years. St. Eve maintained that much of Fourqurean's case relies on an overly expansive reading of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in NCAA v. Alston (2021). Fourqurean is set to graduate this December. His college football career began with a lost 2020 season at D-II Grand Valley State in Michigan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year he played in the equivalent of three games at Grand Valley, followed by a full 2022 season there. He then matriculated to Wisconsin and played for the Badgers in 2023 and 2024. |
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