| Wednesday, February 4, 2026 |
| New talk show brings fresh voices to Golden Triangle airwaves | |
 | "Good morning. Happy Tuesday. Welcome in to Rise and Ring!" Gracelyn Johnson's voice rings over the radio bright and early Tuesday morning. "It's not a bad Tuesday," her co-host Wesley Webb chimes in. "It's looking like it's going to be just a little bit warmer today, nothing to complain about." The daily greeting has become almost second nature to Webb and Johnson after hosting 37 "Rise and Ring" shows together since the broadcast began last fall. From the Grammys and the Oscars to the latest in Mississippi State University athletics and even the recent impacts of Winter Storm Fern, the student duo starts each Tuesday and Thursday hoping to get listeners engaged in conversation instead of sitting on the sidelines. "We try to make it to where if you're listening you feel like you're part of the conversation, (and) not that you're just listening to two people talk," Webb said. The morning talk show, which airs from 7-9 a.m., is the first of its kind at MSU's radio station, 91.1 FM The Junction. Since its first episode aired last fall, it has had nearly 40 broadcasts, a run that all started with a conversation between the two hosts and the station's general manager. The duo was originally broached in May by Becca Thorn, general manager for The Junction, about hosting a morning talk show together. She knew she wanted to create opportunities for students that felt more akin to what is done at a professional radio station, like a morning show. |
| Hardy Road construction shifts focus from vehicles to pedestrians | |
 | Hardy Road, located behind Mitchell Memorial Library on Mississippi State University's Engineering Row, closed in December for a construction project that will convert the road into a pedestrian-focused corridor with limited vehicle access. Saunders Ramsey, the executive director of Campus Services, leads the team that designed the project, which will extend the pedestrian crosswalk, narrow the road, and add seating and outdoor gathering spaces. The project has been years in the making, outlined in the university's Master Plan in 2022 and now being completed in 2026. The area around Hardy Road has seen increased academic use, which has increased the number of pedestrians crossing through traffic. "The primary reason for the project was a change in pedestrian behavior. The goal is to enhance the enjoyment of the students," Ramsey said. Once the project is complete, Hardy Road will be further restricted to certain vehicles, with gates at each end of the road. The few vehicles that will drive along the road will be SMART shuttle buses, maintenance vehicles and emergency vehicles. Pedestrian crossings will be emphasized and increased in this area. |
| Colvard Student Union to add student lounge, expand MSU Event Services suite | |
| A new student lounge with designated study areas, retro video games and a large television is set to be completed ahead of the fall semester, filling the previous Starbucks location at the Colvard Student Union. Last year, Starbucks and State Fountain Bakery were moved to the newly renovated Perry Food Hall, opening up a large section of space in the Colvard Student Union, one of the busiest buildings on campus, and paving the way for a new student-focused spot. Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Jackie Mullen said this new area serves a dual purpose. The space that previously housed the State Fountain Bakery and the area behind the previous Starbucks location will become an extension of the MSU Event Services suite. The rest of the space will be converted into a student lounge. The university polled members of the Student Association to gather feedback on what the space would look like. "It came back that they wanted to see more space where they could gather and hang out, but also a space they could use for events," Mullen said. Mullen said flexibility is a key component of the lounge's design. |
| Committee deadline leaves few university-focused bills standing | |
| Mississippi lawmakers reached the first major deadline of the 2026 legislative session on Tuesday, effectively killing off consideration for dozens of bills that could have affected Mississippi State University students. Mississippi House and Senate committees were required to advance bills forwarded to them by the Feb. 3 deadline, a process that narrows thousands of proposals to only a few hundred measures. One surviving measure, Senate Bill 2238, would allow Mississippi State University and the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to formally partner to share primary and secondary education facilities. The bill follows a memorandum of understanding between MSU and SOCSD to relocate Starkville High School to the university's campus. Authored by Sen. Bart Williams, District 15, the bill moved on from the Senate's Universities and Colleges Committee on Jan. 28. Several other proposals previously reported on did not advance before Tuesday's committee deadline and are no longer eligible for consideration. Other bills that died in committee included proposals to prioritize class registration for in-state students, tighten residency requirements for in-state tuition, increase security measures at large campus events and expand regulations related to student-athlete mental health. |
| 252 unit apartment complex planned west of Highway 25 | |
| A new apartment complex is coming to Starkville with construction slated to begin next month. The complex, called Beacon Place Starkville, will be situated west of Highway 25 and Carter Boulevard near The Links apartment complex, City Planner Daniel Havelin told The Dispatch. IMS Communities, an Alabama-based development firm, purchased roughly 60 acres for the development in December. The complex will feature 252 one-story apartment homes with private garages and electric vehicle charging stations in each unit, according to Lauren Vickers, a development associate with the company. At least some of the units are expected to be move-in ready by spring 2027, Vickers wrote in an email to The Dispatch, though rents have not been published. Mayor Lynn Spruill said the development contributes to a need for housing in Starkville. "I'm really excited about the fact that people are investing in housing, more affordable housing (and) housing for a wider variety of residents, whether they're young professionals, or they're retirees or they're people who are in their first home," Spruill told The Dispatch. "All those things are needed in our community, and I'm really pleased that people are seeing this as an opportunity to invest in the city." |
| 'This was a storm of the likes we've not seen since 1994′: MDOT on winter storm response | |
| It was one of the worst winter storms Mississippi has seen in decades. The Mississippi Department of Transportation crews had their hands full not only preparing for the deadly ice storm but in the aftermath as well. Brad White is the executive director of MDOT. "This was a storm of the likes we've not seen since 1994. You had a lot of accumulation of ice. You had several days where temperatures remained below freezing," White said. MDOT's three northernmost territories were severely impacted by the ice storm. MDOT said a meteorologist from the National Weather Service helped the department prepare before the storm hit. The department also applied road treatment before and after the storm. White said the storm was so bad because of the type of precipitation that fell. "Unfortunately, you can't plow ice. The best friend that you have in treating ice is sunshine and warmer temperatures. And the salt that we use and combine with that can change its composition into something slushy that our graders and our snow plows are able to push out of the way," White said. The department said the main reason the storm was different from others was that it was a widespread event. |
| Siemens Energy investing up to $300 million in new high-voltage switchgear facility in Mississippi | |
| The Mississippi Development Authority announced Tuesday that Siemens Energy is investing up to $300 million and creating up to 300 new advanced manufacturing jobs through an expansion in Rankin County. The move is part of the company's $1 billion investment in its U.S. manufacturing operations. Matt Neal, President of North America for Siemens Energy, said in a statement that the equipment that company makes in Mississippi "is in high demand throughout the Unites States as we build out the electrical grid to deliver more power to homes and business that need it." "Siemens Energy is going to manufacture more high-voltage switchgear here and our continued success in this state will require hiring and training more workers." Neal said. According to MDA, Siemens Energy is constructing a new manufacturing facility at the West Rankin Industrial Park in Pearl to produce electrical grid components, increasing its existing production capacity in Rankin County. MDA noted that the agency is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. MDA said it is also providing assistance for infrastructure improvements while adding that the city of Pearl, Rankin County, Rankin First Economic Development Authority, Entergy and AccelerateMS -- in partnership with Hinds Community College -- are assisting with the project, as well. |
| xAI faces more pollution complaints. This time it's noise in Southaven | |
 | Since 1982, Eddie Gossett has lived along Stanton Road in Southaven. He remembers when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began building the nearby Southaven Combined Cycle Plant, and he recalls when Duke Energy operated its gas power plant. What he doesn't remember is ever having constant headaches or disruptions at 2 a.m. "We used to not hear anything and sit outside. It has ruined our outside life," he said. "I have never had headaches like this in my life." The 77-year-old Gossett lives just a half mile away from xAI's gas power plant in Southaven. Elon Musk founded the artificial intelligence company, xAI, in 2023. In July 2025, xAI affiliate MXZ Tech LLC purchased the former Duke Energy site at 2875 Stanton Road and has reactivated it as a mini power plant with gas turbines. The company is seeking a permit for 41 turbines at the site via the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Gossett compared the turbines' sound to that of a jet engine. Gossett's concerns over noise pollution echo a larger, growing community concern among Southaven residents living in close proximity to xAI facilities. |
| TVA could increase electricity rates for heavy users like data centers | |
 | Tennessee Valley Authority leaders could soon propose charging higher rates for heavy electricity users, as data centers now make up nearly a fifth of all power demand from TVA's industrial customers. The proposed changes were discussed during the utility's quarterly webcast Feb. 3 as TVA provided financial updates to investors. TVA, the largest public power provider in the United States, hasn't actively courted new data centers since 2023. But new developments are changing the electricity landscape. Though the federal government created TVA, the utility is funded by ratepayers -- that is, the millions of residential and industrial customers buying its electricity. The rates they pay are set by the TVA Board of Directors. TVA provides power for nearly 10 million people, and data centers are partly accountable for an energy demand spike in the utility's seven-state service region. Other factors driving up demand include population growth, with more people moving to the South from other parts of the U.S. TVA began pursuing a new rate class for data centers as companies like xAI started making moves in Tennessee, but a year of upheaval in TVA's leadership meant those plans were shelved. |
| AI Threatens a Wall Street Cash Cow: Financial and Legal Data | |
 | For years it seemed like a surefire business model: amass vast troves of financial data and sell it to Wall Street for a premium. Then Claude came along. Shares of companies such as S&P Global, MSCI, Intercontinental Exchange, London Stock Exchange Group and FactSet Research Systems all tumbled this week after fast-growing artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic unveiled a new suite of tools for automating legal tasks. The new legal plug-in for Anthropic's Cowork assistant, powered by its AI model Claude, didn't seem to have much to do with financial data. Nonetheless, LSEG -- which has spent years pivoting away from its traditional stock-exchange business to selling data and analytics -- slid 13% on Tuesday, and its shares dropped further Wednesday morning. S&P Global and FactSet were also hit with double-digit losses on Tuesday, while ICE and MSCI both fell more than 5%. The losses highlighted the expanding threat of AI-driven disruption for financial services and the white-collar professionals who work in the sector. In recent months, the sophistication of a new Claude-based tool for writing code rattled software engineers and raised concern about its impact on the broader tech industry. Anthropic's rollout of new legal tools added to similar fears for lawyers and hit the stock of companies that run legal-research databases, such as Thomson Reuters. Not everyone thinks the selloff makes sense. |
| 'The bill dies today.' Senate committee kills House school choice measure | |
| The House's education bill that includes wide expansion of school choice policies is dead, its fate decided after 84 seconds of deliberation by a Senate panel. The Senate Education Committee met on Tuesday solely to discuss the House's omnibus education package that included a school choice program that would've allowed public dollars to go toward private school tuition and homeschooling. School choice policies, which give parents more say over their children's education by funding choices outside of public schools with state and federal money, have gained traction across the country and are being pushed by President Donald Trump's administration. It's a pet issue of House Speaker Jason White, a Republican from West, who has vocally promoted school choice in his chamber. But as the House leadership and proponents of school choice have continued their press, reaching a fever-pitch in recent weeks, Senate leaders have made clear they are opposed to voucher programs that siphon money away from public schools -- so opposed that there was no discussion when the committee considered the bill. |
| Senate committee kills House school choice package in just 90 seconds | |
| Speaker Jason White's ardent campaigning wasn't enough to save his signature school choice bill from an unfriendly Senate committee. The Senate education committee heard White's bill, which covered education topics spanning from private school vouchers to homeschooled kids in sports, on Feb. 3. Sen. Brice Wiggins made the motion to vote, and the committee took a voice vote in which nobody voted in favor of the bill. The Senate committee meeting, which didn't involve any discussion on the bill or questions, was done in less than 90 seconds, a sharp contrast to the hours spent debating the bill when it narrowly passed the House on Jan. 15. In the House vote, 17 Republicans broke from their party to vote against the bill. The Senate committee killed White's hopes of funding educational savings accounts for students. The accounts would have provided eligible students with up to $7,000 for expenses such as private school uniforms and tuition. All told, the House bill would have been to the tune of $87 million. Proposed pay increases for assistant teachers that would bring their salaries up to about $20,000 were also voted down in the bill. Two similar bills bumping teacher salaries, one from the House and one from the Senate, are still alive. White slammed the committee and Senate leadership in an X post on Feb. 3, shortly after his bill was voted down. |
| House promotes $5K teacher pay raise, topping Senate's $2K | |
| The House is considering giving all Mississippi public school teachers a $5,000 annual pay raise starting next school year, a move that's been long-called for by the state's educators. The bill would raise the state's minimum annual teacher salary from $41,500 to $46,500, and would give special-education teachers an extra $3,000 a year. The House teacher pay proposal tops one passed earlier by the Senate, which would provide a $2,000 a year increase. The House Education Committee and House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 1126 Tuesday afternoon before the deadline for lawmakers to pass legislation that originated in their respective chambers. Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville and author of the bill, said the raise has been a long time coming. Mississippi teachers are, on average, the lowest paid in the country. The Legislature last meaningfully raised teacher pay in 2021, and educators say health insurance premium increases and inflation quickly ate up that raise. |
| Mississippi lawmakers push prison reform after journalists reveal dozens of deaths | |
| A key Mississippi lawmaker has passed a major hurdle on a bill that calls for tougher oversight of deaths inside the state's notorious prisons, following an investigation by Mississippi Today, The Marshall Project - Jackson, Clarion Ledger, Hattiesburg American and The Mississippi Link. On Monday, Rep. Becky Currie, a Brookhaven Republican who chairs the House Corrections Committee, steered legislation to require that an oversight task force review the deaths of state prisoners and make recommendations to prevent future deaths. "There just needs to be another set of eyes," said Currie, who has authored a slew of accountability and reform bills this year aimed at the Mississippi Department of Corrections. If the bill is passed by the House, it will go to a state Senate committee for review. Three people died in state prison custody just last week, said Currie, who also said bereaved families are often left in the dark. "There's people nine years later, they have no idea how their loved one died," Currie said. Currie proposed oversight of prison deaths in response to the investigation into prison homicides by the news outlets. The news team found that prison understaffing and gang violence likely led to the killings of nearly 50 people since 2015. Only eight cases resulted in criminal convictions. |
| Senate advances Glacier Act to help ICE efforts statewide | |
 | A key Mississippi Senate committee has voted to advance a bill that would give grants to law enforcement agencies that cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senate Bill 2329, known as the Mississippi Glacier ICE Act, successfully passed the Senate Judiciary B Committee on Monday, Feb. 1, and now advances to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senator Michael McLendon, who authored the bill, said advancing out of Judiciary B marks a significant hurdle in the legislative process and is a strong show of support within the Republican controlled Mississippi State Senate for public safety. "This legislation sends a clear message that Mississippi will not be a sanctuary for dangerous criminals who are in this country illegally," said Senator McLendon. "If you break our laws and you are here unlawfully Mississippi will work with ICE to detain you remove you and expel you from this state." The legislation is designed to expand cooperation between state local and federal law enforcement under the 287g program and creates a dedicated funding mechanism to reimburse local agencies for costs directly associated with assisting federal immigration enforcement including detention bed space equipment training travel and lodging. |
| Federal immigration officials scout warehouses as they eye more detention space | |
 | Federal immigration officials are scouting warehouses and beginning to purchase some of them to transform into detention and processing facilities. Some warehouse owners have decided not to sell to Immigration and Customs Enforcement under pressure from elected officials and advocates. Some cities are issuing statements urging ICE to look elsewhere, and Kansas City has passed a moratorium on non-city-run detention facilities. ICE has offered few specifics, even to the cities, but said in a statement that the sites wouldn't be warehouses but "well structured detention facilities" and said it should come as no surprise that the agency is working to expand detention space. In Mississippi, federal officials were spotted last month scouting a building in Marshall County, the county's board vice president, Neil Bennett, told The Commercial Appeal. Bennett said he was not aware of the visit beforehand because it is a privately owned building, but he heard about it "later on." The building is listed as available for sale and lease on the website of JLL Properties, a purveyor of commercial real estate. Bennett told The Associated Press that he didn't have time to discuss the situation when contacted Tuesday because he was dealing with ongoing power outages in the area. A woman who answered the phone at the county government building said the county isn't commenting at this time. |
| As some states try to show ICE the door, others put out the welcome mat | |
 | The deaths of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti have shaken up the conversation about how states should respond to immigration crackdowns across the country. Some Democratic leaders have vowed to hold federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers accountable -- even charging them with crimes. White House officials have raised the idea of agents having immunity when they're on the job, but legal experts say that is not the case. "There is no structural or blanket barrier to states bringing a criminal prosecution against federal officials," says Harrison Stark, an attorney who works with the University of Wisconsin Law School's State Democracy Research Initiative. "If a state believes that a federal official has violated state criminal law," Stark says, "the state has broad Investigatory Powers to collect evidence, to explore that criminal action, basically in the same way they would against anybody else." After Trump took office last year, many red states jumped to support the president's mass deportation efforts. In Tennessee, the state provides grants to law enforcement agencies that work with ICE. Since that was passed last year, the number of sheriff's offices and police departments that have signed a formal agreement with ICE has skyrocketed. Now, Republican lawmakers in the state are considering making that voluntary program involuntary as part of a bigger immigration package. Kentucky lawmakers are moving in the same direction. |
| Trump administration will pull 700 immigration officers from Minneapolis | |
 | Border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday that the Trump administration will reduce the number of immigration officers operating in Minneapolis by almost 20 percent, as Homan overhauls the sweeping crackdown in the Twin Cities. At a press conference in Minneapolis, Homan said that local law enforcement has increased cooperation with ICE and Customs and Border Protection so fewer officers are needed to apprehend unauthorized immigrants. In all, Homan said the administration would withdraw 700 officers from Minneapolis as it works toward ending the crackdown. "My goal is, with the support of President Trump, to achieve a complete drawdown. And end the surge as soon as we can," Homan said. "A complete drawdown is going to depend on continued cooperation from state and local law enforcement and the decrease of the violence, the rhetoric and the attacks" against immigration officers. It's the latest deescalation from the White House after federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis who were protesting immigration enforcement activities in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump tapped Homan, who led ICE in an acting capacity during his first administration, to take charge of the operation. |
| Former Farming Leaders Warn U.S. Agriculture Could Face 'Widespread Collapse' | |
 | Current economic conditions and Trump administration policies could lead to "a widespread collapse of American agriculture," a bipartisan coalition of former Agriculture Department officials and leaders of farm groups warned in a letter on Tuesday. The letter to the heads and ranking members of the House and Senate agricultural committees was signed by 27 influential figures in the farming sector, including former heads of powerful associations representing corn and soybean farmers and officials from the Bush and Reagan administrations. It expressed dismay at the "damage done to American farmers." While there are many reasons for increasing farm bankruptcies and decreasing profits, "it is clear that the current administration's actions, along with congressional inaction, have increased costs for farm inputs, disrupted overseas and domestic markets, denied agriculture its reliable labor pool, and defunded critical ag research and staffing," the letter warned. The signatories called on Congress to relax tariffs for the agriculture sector, expand international markets, pass a new farm bill and restore funding for agriculture research and staffing. |
| Hyde-Smith thanks Trump for signing bill with provision to aid Franklin County Hospital | |
| Mississippi U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) joined fellow lawmakers for a White House signing ceremony for the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations package in the Oval Office on Tuesday. President Donald Trump (R) turned to the Mississippi senator and said, "Cindy Hyde, come on. Say something." "There's a little hospital in [the package], a rural hospital Meadville, Mississippi, called Franklin County Hospital. It would have closed the end of this month without this bill," Hyde-Smith told the President. "Thank you, thank you from everybody in Mississippi, especially Franklin County." Trump responded by adding, "We've covered the rural very well, nobody ever thought it was possible because we had a lot of opposition from the Democrats, as you know." The legislation signed into law Tuesday includes language in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill to reinstate the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation for the Franklin County Hospital, which Hyde-Smith noted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded on January 15. |
| Congress turns to Homeland Security funding clash | |
 | With other spending bills behind them, Congress now looks to find a way forward on a Homeland Security measure ensnared in controversies over the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement push on immigration, an area where common ground historically has been hard to find. Since the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent during a crackdown in Minneapolis, Democratic lawmakers have advocated for a variety of policies they want to include in the bill to rein in what they say are the Department of Homeland Security's abuses. Most of those measures center on increasing accountability for officer actions and reinforcing the rights of Americans when it comes to searches, arrests, protests and the use of force during those interactions. Congressional leadership and the White House have an unusual legislative posture and a deadline of Feb. 13 to find a deal for a spending bill with $64.4 billion in discretionary funding for DHS along with other key public safety agencies, as well as $26.4 billion for disaster relief. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said Monday he didn't know if an agreement could be reached before the current continuing resolution for the Homeland Security portion of the federal government runs out. "I think there'll be a serious negotiation. My guess is there will probably be an extension. I don't think it will be settled in 10 days," Cole said. "I'd love to be wrong about that." |
| Trump call for nationalizing elections sparks backlash, warnings | |
 | Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle condemned President Trump's call to nationalize U.S. elections as a dangerous stepping stone after he said Republicans should "take over" their administration. Trump's comments came on the heels of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's presence during the execution of a search warrant in which the FBI seized ballots in Fulton County, Ga., that were cast during the 2020 election. Democrats have expressed alarm over the idea, while GOP allies have dismissed Trump's call for grabbing a power reserved to the states. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the one-two punch of the Georgia search followed by Trump's comments shows he is not just fixated on losing the 2020 contest. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) balked at the idea. "I'm not in favor of federalizing elections, no. I think that's a constitutional issue," Thune told reporters Tuesday. |
| In a Mississippi Bayou, Venezuelan Oil Is Already Big. And Could Get Bigger. | |
| When American forces grabbed Venezuela's president last month and laid claim to the country's vast oil reserves, it quickly reverberated in the coastal city of Pascagoula, Miss. Pascagoula is home to a Chevron refinery that's one of a handful in the United States that has been processing Venezuela's heavy crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Some residents have long complained about air pollution from the 60-year-old facility. They now worry that more Venezuelan oil may be headed to Pascagoula, worsening the pollution they say they are already struggling with. That's giving fresh momentum to an unusual proposal by people who live nearby. They're asking Chevron and other industrial facilities in the city to buy their homes. So far, the company has been noncommittal. Chevron is the only American company that has continued drilling for oil in Venezuela in recent years, under a special license. Venezuela's reserves, thought to be the world's largest, are mostly a thick, heavy oil containing more sulfur and carbon than conventional crude. It requires more energy to extract and refine, making it costlier and dirtier to produce. President Trump has described Venezuelan oil as "probably the dirtiest in the world." The concerns in Pascagoula underscore the ripple effects of America's extraordinary effort to seize control of Venezuelan oil production. |
| 4-Year Institutions Eye Programs Eligible for Workforce Pell | |
 | When the U.S. Department of Education cited short-term workforce programs as a priority for grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), community college leaders celebrated. After all, many have spent decades building up these credential options, which are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the Trump administration's Workforce Pell funding. So, they were somewhat surprised when the FIPSE grant winners were announced last month and showed a number of four-year colleges and universities on the list. Almost half of the grants doled out, 10 out of 22, went to higher ed institutions that aren't community colleges. (Nine were four-year colleges or universities, plus Meharry Medical College, a private historically Black medical school. Michigan State University's proposal included community college partnerships, but none of the others did.) Of the four-year institutions chosen, four of them -- University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Mississippi State University and University of North Dakota -- boast R-1 status, the coveted Carnegie classification connoting "very high" research activity. These types of institutions aren't historically known for their robust short-term workforce credentials, but they won FIPSE grants for such programs including in data skills and construction. |
| Wilco to headline Double Decker Arts Festival | |
| Alternative country music group, Wilco, will headline the 29th annual Double Decker Arts Festival, closing out a packed two-day music lineup in downtown Oxford on Saturday, April 25. The festival's live music kicks off Friday, April 24, at 6 p.m. with Penelope Road, followed by The War And Treaty, before country-folk band Shane Smith and The Saints end the opening night. Wilco, formed in Chicago in 1994 by former members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo, is known for an evolving sound that has moved from its early alt-country roots into a more experimental blend of indie rock, classic pop and alternative rock. Influenced by artists such as the Beatles, Bill Fay and Television, the band has also shaped the sound of many modern alternative rock acts. New this year, festivalgoers can take part in the Oxford Micro Memoir initiative, an opportunity to craft a short memoir and workshop it with author Beth Ann Fennelly. The special session is scheduled for March 16, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Oxford-Lafayette Public Library. Participants can enter the contest, sign up for the free writing class, or learn more beginning Feb. 3, 2026, at greenfieldfarmwriters.org/. Writers have the chance to win a $750 grand prize or a $250 runner-up prize sponsored by Visit Oxford, and selected entries will be read from the Double Decker stage. The initiative is organized by the Greenfield Farm Writers Residency at the University of Mississippi. |
| New exhibit highlights rare collections from HBCUs, including JSU | |
 | Jackson State University (JSU) will expand its cultural reach as a partnering institution with "At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at Historically Black Colleges and Universities." This special exhibit highlights rare collections from five HBCUs, including JSU's Margaret Walker Center (MWC). It will feature Margaret Walker's personal journals, the Elizabeth Catlett sculpture of Phillis Wheatley, and the typewriter Walker used to produce notable works such as the revised 'Jubilee' manuscript. "At the Vanguard" will display more than 100 objects telling a story of resilience, preservation, scholarship and more through the lens of the partnering HBCUs. JSU's MWC will contribute nearly 30 publications, photographs from the 1973 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival, historical markers and political buttons. "At the Vanguard" debuted at the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., on January 16, 2026. The exhibit will remain at the NMAAHC through July 19, 2026, and travel to the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson in April 2027. |
| Florida House advances bill to arm college and university faculty as protection from school shootings | |
 | An effort to expand the armed "school guardian" program to colleges and universities, following a deadly Florida State University on-campus shooting last year, took another step forward in the Florida House Tuesday. Calling for select post-secondary employees to be trained and armed, the Education & Employment Committee unanimously backed the proposal (HB 757) that builds on changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, said input for her proposal came from students, parents, faculty and staff members of state colleges and universities. "This bill creates a prevention and a response mechanism unlike any other," Salzman said. "This will be the beacon for the nation." Arguing against the proposal, Emily Stewart, an assistant professor of geology at FSU, recounted the confusion in the hours after last year's shooting where at one point she emerged from her classroom to several armed law enforcement officers. "They were pointing guns at me because they, too, still believed that there might be a second shooter hiding somewhere on campus," Stewart told the committee. "What if I had stepped into the hallway holding a weapon because I wanted to protect my students? I'm a nerdy looking woman. What if I were a young man who worked for the university, who stepped into the hallway holding a weapon with three weeks of training?" |
| TEEX Cyber Readiness Summit teaches local leaders to fight growing threats | |
| Cyber scams, hacked accounts, and stolen data are becoming a daily reality for many, which is why leaders from across the Brazos Valley and beyond are gathering in College Station to learn how to fight back. Cybersecurity threats have become so common that they affect schools, hospitals, utilities, local governments and businesses that people rely on every day. The TEEX Cyber Readiness Summit brings together public and private sector leaders for three days of hands-on training and real-world conversations about cyber threats. The summit addresses threats from phishing scams to ransomware and AI-driven attacks. Attendees are learning how to defend themselves from threats and how to use AI in their favor. "Data is the new gold, and everybody's after it," said Bart Taylor with TEEX. Participants are attending sessions on how to protect internal systems, respond to incidents, and navigate a technology-driven world where artificial intelligence is changing the landscape. |
| Parking tickets on Mizzou campus can be resolved with food and hygiene donations to Tiger Pantry | |
 | With a donation of 15 non-perishable food and hygiene items, anyone on the University of Missouri campus who has been hit with a parking ticket can resolve it. Called Donations for Citations, the option to "pay" with food and hygiene products can be used three times in one fiscal year to cover up to $40 of the ticket cost. Donations go to Tiger Pantry, a campus operation affiliated with the Food Bank for Central and Northern Missouri, for those experiencing food insecurity at Mizzou. Since July 1, nearly 7,000 donations have been made to the pantry, said Raymond Cecora, assistant director of Parking and Transportation services. Tiger Pantry had 2,200 total visits during the fall semester, and programs like this help the pantry accumulate resources, said Kevin Coughlin, Mizzou student service coordinator. Cecora said he believes the program helps Parking and Transportation connect with student through shared values. "We get to show respect and responsibility with the authority we've been given by being able to offer a return in a way that does help our fellow Tigers out," Cecora said. |
| A 'Barrage of Bills' Would Overhaul Higher Ed in Iowa -- If They Actually Pass | |
| Iowa's legislative session began roughly three weeks ago, and the state's House Higher Education Committee and its subcommittees have already advanced sweeping legislation that could threaten universities' budgets, change who has a vote on the board overseeing public universities, increase direct legislative oversight of these universities, and more. The Republican leading these pushes has called gender studies degrees "garbage" and made other criticism of what universities teach. Some faculty have raised concerns that the Legislature is encroaching on the Board of Regents' authority to oversee institutions, and on faculty's role in shared governance. If all this legislation passes into law, Iowa would join the ranks of states such as Texas, Florida and Utah in enacting far-reaching conservative overhauls of higher ed in recent years. Iowa, where the GOP controls the House, Senate and governor's mansion, has shown the willingness and ability to quickly pass major higher ed legislation. |
| Post–Affirmative Action, Black and Hispanic Enrollment Increased at Flagships | |
| Black and Hispanic student enrollment dropped at many of the nation's most selective colleges following the Supreme Court's 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions. But in nearly every other sector of American higher education, underrepresented minority enrollment is on the rise, according to new research on fall 2024 enrollment data. The new research, published by Class Action, a higher education advocacy organization, and led by higher education researcher and Class Action senior fellow James Murphy, analyzed Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data for 3,200 colleges, representing over 3 million college freshmen. Perhaps most notably, at flagship institutions, underrepresented minority enrollment went up by 8 percent, far outpacing the overall 3.2 percent growth at those institutions. This indicates that Black and Hispanic students who may not have been accepted to an Ivy due to the impacts of the SFFA decision found themselves at top public institutions. "These really talented Black and Hispanic students who were, in the past, treating the University of Mississippi as their safety school or the University of Michigan as their safety school, because they probably have a better-than-average chance of getting into Wesleyan or Williams or Amherst---suddenly those students aren't getting into those places," he said. "So they're not going to say, 'well, geez, no college for me.' They're going to the schools that they were almost certainly getting into in the past, [but] they just weren't enrolling in because they were getting into 'better' schools." |
| Junior scientists face a quandary when starting their own labs: How far to stray from the hive | |
| Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are the worker bees of academia, toiling in labs for years in hopes of one day running their own hive. For the lucky few who get that chance, the moment comes with a dilemma: Is it better to stay close to a former adviser's research area or to distance yourself? A new study argues that overlap helps rather than hinders young life scientists -- up to a point. Researchers gathered data on more than 11,000 U.S. biomedical scientists trained in labs between 1985 and 2009 and tracked them during the first 10 years after they started independent careers. The authors, who measured research overlap by tracking keywords in published papers, found that a 19% increase in adviser-advisee overlap was associated with a 19% increase in an early-career scientist's chances of having an R01 grant, the National Institutes of Health's main award class, in a given year. Increased overlap was also associated with a nearly 15% increase in funding received over 10 years and a 7.4% increase in a researcher's number of publications. But closeness can also backfire. Those who continued co-authoring papers with a former adviser after starting independent careers tended to have less funding and fewer papers. |
| The Strange New Job Market for Conservative Scholars | |
 | In the Squid Game that is the job market for humanities Ph.D.s, any number that ends with a couple of zeros is going to turn heads. So the dollar amounts directed toward civics centers to bring more conservative voices and other heterodox thinkers to colleges are impressive. Since 2016, when the Arizona Legislature appropriated $3 million to create the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, 11 other states have established similar units at 16 public universities, according to Paul O. Carrese, the founding director of ASU's school. Public-college civics centers have created more than 200 faculty jobs over the last decade, Carrese estimates. The University of Florida's Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, perhaps the largest of these centers, alone has hired nearly 50 new faculty members since its inception in 2023, said Jeffrey Collins, the school's interim associate director. On January 15, the National Endowment for the Humanities, signaling new priorities under the Trump administration, announced it had awarded tens of millions of dollars to public and private colleges to hire faculty members in areas such as the American political tradition and "Great Books," including $10 million each to the flagships of the Universities of North Carolina and Texas, and $5 million to Ohio State University. In fact, one current and one former center director described having trouble filling spots. For once, in the humanities, the demand is higher than the supply. |
| Professors Are Being Watched: 'We've Never Seen This Much Surveillance' | |
| College professors once taught free from political interference, with mostly their students and colleagues privy to their lectures and book assignments. Now, they are being watched by state officials, senior administrators and students themselves. In Oklahoma, a student disputed an instructor's grading decision, drawing the notice of a conservative campus group, Turning Point USA, that has long posted the names of professors criticized for bringing liberal politics into their classrooms. The instructor was removed. In Texas, a student recorded a classroom lesson on gender identity that led to viral outrage and the instructor's firing. Now, Texas has set up an office to take other complaints about colleges and professors. And several states, including Texas, Ohio and Florida, have created laws requiring professors to publicly post their course outlines in searchable databases. The increased oversight of professors comes as conservatives expand their movement to curb what they say is a liberal tilt in university classrooms. In the last couple of years, they have found sympathetic ears in state legislatures with the power to pressure schools, and their efforts have gained momentum as the Trump administration has made overhauling the politics and culture on campuses a focus. But all of this, some professors and free-expression groups say, is leading to a wave of censorship and self-censorship that they argue is curbing academic freedom and learning. Lawmakers, and sometimes university administrators, argue that the new scrutiny and rules make for stronger universities at a time of widespread calls for more accountability. |
| States race forward on education AI regulations despite Trump objections | |
| State lawmakers gave AI in education a lot of attention in last year's legislative session with more than 50 bills proposed, and schools have wasted no time trying to teach students about the latest updates and protecting their privacy. The situation, however, is about to get more complicated as the Trump administration wants to curtail state-level regulations of AI, while advocates say they don't see states wanting to slow down progress on how AI is used in the classrooms. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) found 53 bills were proposed regarding AI in education across 21 states last legislative session, ranging from advancing AI literacy, requiring the creation of guidelines around AI usage and cyberbullying, and prohibiting AI in certain situations. While states want to go full steam ahead, the Trump administration is looking to pump the brakes with an executive order in December attempting to impose a moratorium on states' AI restrictions. It says state actions are creating a patchwork of regulations and calls on Congress to pass a "minimally burdensome national standard." Advancing AI literacy was the most popular topic in state legislatures last year for AI education bills, according to the CDT report, with states seeking to have school districts institute professional development training for teachers and adopt AI education in K-12 schools, along with pushing for higher education institutions to create programs and majors in AI. |
| Talented Guy Hovis orchestrated a memorable Neshoba County Fair day in 2000 | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Guy Hovis, the "other" Tupelo native whose singing talent captured national attention, passed away on Jan. 22 in Oxford at age 84. He rose to fame on the Lawrence Welk Show, combining humility, talent, enthusiasm, kindness, and generosity into a successful career and life. He could sing anything. Guy's talent allowed him to perform alongside Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, and Johnny Carson. I knew Guy personally during his second career as a state director for his Ole Miss classmate and Sigma Nu fraternity brother, former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, the Republican from Pascagoula. Even at that stage of his life, Guy remained movie-star handsome, and fans of the Welk Show recognized him and were drawn to him across Mississippi and Washington. He also participated in many charity events to support causes he believed in. Guy was more comfortable in his own skin than most celebrities I've met. I liked him and enjoyed our encounters. One of my favorite moments with Guy was at the 2000 Neshoba County Fair, the first fair of the 21st century, on Saturday, July 22, 2000. |
SPORTS
| SEC Announces Baseball TV Schedule | |
| Nine nationally televised games await No. 4 Mississippi State during Southeastern Conference play this season. Brian O'Connor's Diamond Dawgs are slated to appear on SEC Network six times as well as solo contests on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Most of MSU's other regular season games are set to be streamed on SEC Network+. The second game of the Bulldogs' SEC opening series at seventh-ranked Arkansas on March 14 will air on SEC Network starting at 1 p.m. SEC Network will also televise State's SEC home opener against No. 23 Vanderbilt on March 20 at 7 p.m. as well as road dates at Ole Miss on March 29 at 3 p.m. and South Carolina on April 18 at noon CT. ESPN2 will be at Dudy Noble Field as Mississippi State squares off against second-ranked LSU on April 25 at 6:30 p.m., which is the Saturday of Super Bulldog Weekend. ESPN is set to carry the series finale between the Diamond Dawgs and No. 3 Texas in Austin on May 3 at 1 p.m. The entire home series between MSU and Auburn will be televised. Game 1 on Thursday, May 7 airs on ESPNU at 7 p.m. with SEC Network carrying the final two games on May 8 at 7:30 p.m. and May 9 at 3 p.m. The remainder of the Bulldogs' SEC schedule was also released on Tuesday with an added twist for 2026. In addition to LSU, State will host two other Saturday night SEC games against Vanderbilt (March 21, 6 p.m.) and No. 14 Tennessee (April 11, 6 p.m.). |
| O'Connor, Diamond Dawgs ready to run into 2026 season | |
| There is no escaping the expectation of greatness at Dudy Noble Field. The walls going into the clubhouse and media room, named the Omaha Room, are lined with images of past glories. The most recent glory, and the program's crowning achievement, came in 2021 with a national championship. That's also the last time the Diamond Dawgs made the trip to the College World Series. The 2026 team is determined to change that. A consensus Top-10 team in preseason, ranked as high as No. 3 in some polls, the Bulldogs are geared up for the new season with a returning group of veterans, one of the top transfer-portal classes in the country, and one of the most accomplished coaches in the game, Brian O'Connor, embarking on his debut season in Starkville. "Thursday after our scrimmage was over, I was standing on home plate with the team around me and I'm jumping up and down," O'Connor said of his excitement for the new year in a press conference on Monday. "The veins are coming out of my neck because I'm so passionate about what it all means to them... what this means." O'Connor pointed to the M-over-S baseball logo on the left side of his shirt when speaking to local media. He has made a point of learning what the logo means to players past and present, and it's become a common topic in his team with the team. It's a logo that carries a lot of weight within the sport and in the community, and he's made sure that both he and his players understand that. |
| Reese, Bauer Receive Baseball America Accolades | |
| More preseason accolades continue to pile up for Ace Reese. On Tuesday, the Mississippi State junior was tabbed as a first team All-American by Baseball America as well as being selected to the publication's Preseason Player of the Year Watch List. Reese was also named a first team All-American by Perfect Game and received second team honors from D1Baseball entering the 2026 season. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder started 57 games at third base for the Diamond Dawgs last spring and led the team with a .352 batting average, 80 hits, 18 doubles, 21 home runs, 66 RBIs, 163 total bases and a .718 slugging percentage and ranked in the top seven in the Southeastern Conference in each of those categories. His homer total was also the eighth-most in a single season in school history. Reese wasn't the only Bulldog to receive recognition on Tuesday. Southpaw pitcher Jack Bauer was selected as Baseball America's Preseason Freshman of the Year. Bauer, who was ranked the nation's No. 1 freshman by both Perfect Game and D1Baseball, is credited with throwing the fastest pitch ever recorded by a prep pitcher at 103 miles per hour. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder from Frankfort, Illinois posted a 1.22 earned run average with 56 strikeouts in only 28 1/3 innings as a senior at Lincoln Way East High School where he surrendered just five earned runs. |
| Softball: Ricketts Named American Samoan National Team Head Coach | |
| Mississippi State head softball coach Samantha Ricketts was selected by the American Samoan Softball Association to lead the nation's Women's National Team on Tuesday. American Samoa claimed gold at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau last July and is seeking to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Former Bulldog Chloe Malau'ulu played with that team. Ricketts' appointment begins a new chapter in a career that has been deeply connected to her heritage. Her mother, Carol, can trace her lineage to the village of Leone on the island. Since she arrived in Starkville as an assistant coach, Ricketts has created an environment that has drawn additional Samoan athletes to Nusz Park. Over the last decade, MSU has always had at least one player with Samoan heritage on the roster. Ricketts' connection to the island and its familial culture has brought seven American Samoan players to Mississippi since 2016, including current sisters Kiarra Sells and Kalani Sells. The Sells sisters would be eligible for selection to the national team along with graduate assistant Matalasi Faapito and alumni Fa Leilua and Sarai Niu. "To be entrusted with leading Team American Samoa is a tremendous honor and a responsibility I carry with deep pride and humility," Ricketts said. "This opportunity is about more than LA2028. It's about building a sustainable pathway that connects our culture, our people and our athletes across generations. I am grateful to the ASSA for the belief they have placed in me, and I am committed to honoring American Samoa through the way we build, compete and grow together." |
| Ricketts named American Samoan National Team coach ahead of 2028 Olympic campaign | |
| Mississippi State softball head coach Samantha Ricketts has added another coaching duty to her resume, taking charge of the American Samoan National Team ahead of qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Ricketts, who has personal ties to the island on her mother's side, has recruited and developed seven Samoan players since joining the program as an assistant in 2015, including current Bulldogs Kiarra and Kalani Sells and current American Samoa national teamer Chloe Malau'ulu. Ricketts' sister Keilani has played professionally since graduating from Oklahoma in 2013 and has represented the United States at the national level. "To be entrusted with leading Team American Samoa is a tremendous honor and a responsibility I carry with deep pride and humility," Ricketts said of the appointment. "This opportunity is about more than LA2028. It's about building a sustainable pathway that connects our culture, our people and our athletes across generations. I am grateful to the ASSA for the belief they have placed in me, and I am committed to honoring American Samoa through the way we build, compete and grow together." The American Samoan team will begin its Olympic qualification campaign at the Canada Cup in British Columbia in July, followed by the USA Softball International Cup in Oklahoma City later that month. |
| NBA Players Are Flocking Back to College Basketball. Coaches Have No Idea What to Do. | |
| It had been 1,037 days since Charles Bediako last pulled on an Alabama basketball jersey. In the interim, he entered the 2023 NBA Draft, signed a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs and spent three seasons toiling away in the G League. He did everything a professional basketball player might do short of logging minutes in an actual NBA game. Yet on Jan. 24, the 23-year-old was back in school, wearing a white Alabama top and throwing down dunks against Tennessee. And somehow, this was all perfectly legal -- even if it might not be for long. Bediako's strange trip from Tuscaloosa, Ala. to the NBA and back -- where he encounters chants of "G League dropout" -- is the latest sign that the line that once separated unpaid undergraduates from the pros is eroding beyond recognition. The result is widespread confusion that has coaches scratching their heads and urgently calling for clarity. |
| Charlie Baker Warns Schools' Eligibility Lawsuits vs. NCAA Are a Rebuke of the Rules | |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker tells Sports Illustrated Tuesday that schools backing lawsuits against the association to put professional players in uniform are "saying they don't want to play by the same rules everyone else is." "It makes the rules disingenuous, when they aren't," Baker says. "The rules are clear here. The lines are drawn. Ninety percent of the membership supports and plays by the rules. It's a relatively small number of folks who can create a lot of confusion." A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled on Friday for Alabama center Charles Bediako, who won a temporary restraining order that has allowed him to play for the Crimson Tide since Jan. 24. Bediako formerly played for Alabama in the 2021–22 and '22–23 seasons before entering the NBA draft. He went undrafted but signed multiple NBA contracts, and was on a G League roster as recently as mid-January before joining the Alabama team. The Tide are 1–2 with Bediako in the lineup. Last week, former UCLA player Amari Bailey declared his desire to play next season collegiately, despite having appeared in 10 NBA games in 2023–24. Bailey played one season with the Bruins, in 2022–23, and was drafted in the second round by the Charlotte Hornets. |
| The Next Game-Changing NCAA Case Seeks Athlete Employment | |
| There's been no shortage of major developments in the compensation of college athletes in the 2020s -- from NIL to collectives to the transfer portal to revenue-sharing -- yet college athletes still lack employment status. That dynamic was noticeable in recent legal skirmishes, including Duke suing quarterback Darian Mensah in a case that resembled enforcement of a noncompete agreement, and ostensible NIL and revenue-sharing deals being used to recruit and retain athletes as if they were pro free-agent contracts. An ongoing federal case could change all of that. Johnson v. NCAA, which began in 2019, could lead to a new order in college sports that restates the economic relationship between athletes and their schools. The presiding judge has given the parties a deadline of next Tuesday to explain their "efforts" to reach a settlement. Whatever they disclose will be telling. |
| CFP sets its 2026 and 2027 bowl schedule, keeping Rose Bowl as New Year's Day quarterfinal | |
| The Rose Bowl will remain a College Football Playoff quarterfinal for the next two seasons -- and likely the four after that -- holding down its traditional spot as the afternoon anchor of the New Year's Day lineup. The CFP announced on Tuesday the sites and dates for the quarter- and semifinals of the next two postseason tournaments to decide major college football's national champion. The quarterfinals for the 2026 season's Playoff will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at the Fiesta Bowl, with a tripleheader on Jan. 1 at the Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl. Kickoff times for each game will be set at a later date, but the Rose Bowl is expected to remain the second of three games with a mid-afternoon Eastern Time kick. "The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is excited to serve as a quarterfinal for the next two years as part of the College Football Playoff," Rose Bowl game organizers said in a statement. "The ability to continue to hold the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day is important to us and we appreciate the flexibility of the CFP and the other CFP bowl games to allow for us to continue our January 1 tradition." |
| It's official: The Saints will play the first-ever NFL game in France | |
 | The New Orleans Saints will play the first-ever NFL game in France, the team and league announced Monday. The game is part of the NFL's record nine-game International Series for the 2026 season. Although the release did not specify a date or opponent, media reports over the weekend indicated the Saints will play the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 25. "We are excited to be selected to play in the first regular season game to be held in France," Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a news release. "This moment is special not only because of the strong cultural connection between Louisiana and France, but also because we will compete before a growing Saints fan base in Paris. I am grateful to the NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the French Government, especially Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the United States, Samuel Ducroquet, Ambassador of France to Sport, for helping make this historic event possible." The NFL has targeted Paris as a priority international market in recent years as league officials expand the international series to new cities across the globe. The 80,698-seat Stade de France is the national stadium of France and the largest sporting facility in the country. It served as the host site for various events at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies. |
| Trump to be interviewed by NBC News for Super Bowl week tradition | |
 | Keeping with a Super Bowl week tradition, President Donald Trump will be interviewed by NBC News anchor Tom Llamas on Wednesday, Feb. 4, the network announced. The network said Llamas will sit down with Trump for an exclusive interview at the White House four days before the NFL's biggest night. The interview will air in several parts, including in a segment during NBC's Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday, Feb. 8. Other portions of the interview will air on Wednesday, Feb. 4, first during "NBC Nightly News" at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then on NBC News NOW's "Top Story with Tom Llamas" at 7 p.m. ET. Since CBS first interviewed former President George W. Bush during Super Bowl week in 2004, it's become a tradition for the network hosting the game to have a sit-down with the president. While it continued during former President Barack Obama's two terms in office, Trump and former President Joe Biden did not consistently participate in the Super Bowl week interview for all four years of their respective terms. During Trump's first presidency, he gave interviews with Fox in 2017 and 2020 and CBS in 2019, but he opted to forego the sit-down when NBC hosted the Super Bowl in 2018. While Trump is a longtime friend of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, he will be watching the team play in the Super Bowl from afar. |
| Major sports event advertisments aim to reach millions -- without politics | |
| It's the biggest advertising weekend of the year: The Winter Olympics begin Wednesday, Feb. 4, and the Super Bowl LX is Sunday, Feb. 8 -- both will air on NBC. It's a big marketing opportunity for brands that find themselves trying to sell products and services at a tricky time, both economically and politically. This year, Super Bowl commercials will be full of famous names: Kendall Jenner for Fanatics Sportsbook, Sabrina Carpenter for Pringles, Andy Samberg for Hellmann's. And there's a reason for that. "Taking a side and making a big stand about what you stand for is very, very difficult at this moment," said Sean McBride, chief creative officer at Arnold, a global ad agency. "We don't quite know what to do. And so I think it seems like people have settled on, OK, celebrity." Traditionally, advertisers have settled on patriotism. But nothing's really safe these days. It's why Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said we might see more traditional ads: A bit of a blunt, "Hey, we make this great thing, you should buy it." "We will see advertisers by and large stay very close to the product," Calkins said. |
| Why a 2026 World Cup boycott is unlikely to be successful | |
 | Calls for a European-led World Cup boycott have grown louder and louder in recent weeks. Yet the possibility one could happen is "slim to none," said Alan Rothenberg, a man who knows a little bit about both World Cups and boycotts. Rothenberg organized the soccer tournament at the 1984 L.A. Games, which was boycotted by 19 countries. Ten years later, he led the organization that put on the 1994 World Cup, the first held in the U.S. and still the best-attended in history. So while politicians and soccer officials in several key European countries -- Germany, France, Denmark and the United Kingdom, among others -- have raised the idea of skipping this summer's World Cup, largely in response to President Trump's demands that Denmark hand over Greenland, Rothenberg knows that talk is all bluster. No country has boycotted a World Cup since World War II, though Olympic boycotts have been more frequent with coalitions of as many as five dozen countries refusing to take part in the Summer Games four times between 1956 and 1984. If national soccer federations feel trapped between a rock and the World Cup, however, there's nothing to keep fans from voting with their wallets and electing to stay home. |
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