| Thursday, February 12, 2026 |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark Powers Big Projects in Higher Education | |
 | At leading institutions across the globe, the NVIDIA DGX Spark desktop supercomputer is bringing data‑center‑class AI to lab benches, faculty offices and students' systems. The compact supercomputer's petaflop‑class performance enables local deployment of large AI applications, from clinical report evaluators to robotics perception systems, all while keeping sensitive data on site and shortening iteration loops for researchers and learners. Powered by the NVIDIA GB10 superchip and the NVIDIA DGX operating system, each DGX Spark unit supports AI models of up to 200 billion parameters and integrates seamlessly with the NVIDIA NeMo, Metropolis, Holoscan and Isaac platforms, giving students access to the same professional-grade tools used across the DGX ecosystem. In the computer science and engineering department at Mississippi State University, DGX Spark serves as a hands‑on learning platform for the next generation of AI engineers. The enthusiasm around DGX Spark at Mississippi State is captured through lab‑driven outreach, including an unboxing video created by a lab working to advance applied AI, foster AI workforce development and drive real-world AI experimentation across the state. |
| Independent film takes center stage as The Mag returns for 29th year | |
 | Stories spanning the state of Mississippi and seven countries will play on the big screen at UEC Starkville Theater next week as the Magnolia Film Festival returns for its 29th year. The festival, affectionately known as "The Mag," has brought independent films and the makers behind them to the Golden Triangle for nearly three decades, a feat Thomas Easterling, board president of the festival, attributes to staff efforts behind the scenes and the community that keeps coming back for more. "I think that it survived the pandemic, and that it's managed to stick around when a lot of other independent film festivals have not, shows that people in this area really want to go and see things like this," Easterling told The Dispatch on Wednesday. "Not every movie has to be a superhero movie." This year's festival lineup includes 32 films total, including 29 shorts ranging from 15 to 30 minutes and three feature films. Among the lineup are six Mississippi-made films, Easterling said. The workshop Feb. 21 will feature Marty Lang, assistant professor of communication, media and theater at Mississippi State University, who will give a presentation about raising money for independent films, Festival Director Chris Misun told the Dispatch. |
| Starkville juvenile charged with multiple car burglaries | |
 | A Starkville teen, who is no stranger to law enforcement, was detained in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and charged with a slew of car burglaries. Starkville police received a call Feb. 11 around 2:30 a.m. that an auto burglary that had just occurred in the Longmeadow subdivision just off Louisville Street. Officers responded to the area and later arrested a 16-year-old juvenile. The juvenile has been charged with 10 reported auto burglaries that all occurred in the Longmeadow subdivision. While police cannot give out the juvenile's name or specifics of their alleged crimes, police say the subject has a plethora of past felony offenses. Since 2023 when the suspect would have been 13, this individual has been charged with a total of 27 felony offenses, which include today's charges. In addition to those charges, the juvenile is also a suspect in nine additional felony reports dating back to 2021, when they would have been 11. "Preventing crime requires a community-wide effort as well as strong parenting," the Starkville Police Department said in a press release. "The youth court system and our department work extremely closely in addressing numerous juvenile cases. We encourage our community to strongly support our youth court with additional resources." |
| Mary Means Business: Ollie's coming to Columbus | |
| At long last, Columbus, the bargains are back. Ollie's Bargain Outlet is officially on its way, setting up shop in the former Bargain Hunt location, filling a void since Dirt Cheap closed in 2024, followed by Bargain Hunt in 2025. If you've never been, Ollie's is the nation's largest retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory, which is a fancy way of saying name-brand stuff at slashed prices. It sells anything from housewares, flooring, food, cookware, electronics to snacks. According to Tom Kuypers, Ollie's senior vice president of marketing, the Columbus store is expected to open in late spring, with an official date to be announced closer to opening day. ... Starkville folks, it's officially time. After more than a year of waiting, Starkville's second Waffle House location at 975 Hwy. 12 E. is set to open Monday, according to City Planner Daniel Havelin. I broke the waffle news back in April 2024, and I've been patiently waiting ever since. ... heading over to West Point, a new antique shop is celebrating with a ribbon-cutting. Mockingbird Lane Antique Store, located at 26451 E. Main St., will host its opening at noon Feb. 26, with refreshments and shopping all day. The shop is open 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. |
| Ailey School Co-Director to Lead Dance Residency in Mississippi | |
 | Melanie Person, Co-Director of the world-renowned Ailey School in New York City, will lead a three-day dance residency in Mississippi from February 26-28, 2026. The residency serves as a homecoming for Person, whose ballet career began at age six in Jackson, Mississippi. The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) announced the program in advance of Ailey II's performance at the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Person will begin the residency with a visit to Laurel Middle School on Thursday, February 26. She will lead a master class for ballet students, with the Mississippi School of the Arts dance department traveling from Brookhaven to participate. Representatives from the International Ballet Competition in Jackson will observe. "Having Melanie Person in our studio is a dream come true," said Gabby Bass, Laurel Middle School Dance Teacher. "Her visit validates our students' hard work and shows them that the highest levels of the dance world are within their reach." Audarshia Lee-Flagg, Principal of Laurel Middle School, and Dr. Victor Hubbard, Assistant Superintendent, said the residency underscores the district's commitment to providing world-class artistic and academic experiences to students and teachers. The residency will transition to Meridian for two days of training and public events at The MAX. |
| Ailey School's Melanie Person to lead dance residency at The MAX | |
 | In advance of Ailey II's performance at the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience announced Wednesday a three-day residency featuring Melanie Person, co-director of the world-renowned Ailey School in New York City. Spanning Feb. 26-28, the residency serves as a homecoming for Person, whose prestigious career in ballet began at the age of 6 in Jackson. The residency will begin with a visit to Laurel Middle School on Thursday, Feb. 26. Following the Laurel visit, the residency will transition to Meridian for two days of intensive training and public events at The MAX. "The MAX exists to celebrate Mississippi's arts and cultural legacy while nurturing future creatives," said Heather R. LaCoste, education director of The MAX. "We are proud to provide a path that leads from a local classroom or dance studio directly to one of the most prestigious classrooms in the world." |
| 2026 Dixie National Rodeo: What to know before you go | |
| Rodeo action, country music concerts, and one of Mississippi's annual parades are set to take over Jackson as the 61st Dixie National Rodeo rides into town this weekend. This year's theme, "For the Love of Country," highlights the event's patriotic focus and ties into national celebrations leading up to America's 250th anniversary. Daily editions of the Dixie National Rodeo are scheduled for Feb. 13–15 and Feb. 18–21, with concerts following each performance. The accompanying livestock show is already underway and runs through Feb. 22. The rodeo and concerts take place inside the Mississippi Coliseum at the state fairgrounds in Jackson. Livestock shows are held across the fairgrounds in the Swine Arena and livestock barns. Mississippi's Dixie National Livestock Show and Rodeo highlights the state's agriculture and youth livestock programs while bringing visitors and economic activity to central Mississippi each year. "Watching this event grow into the most distinguished rodeo east of the Mississippi River has been remarkable, and we look forward to carrying the legacy forward," Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said. The main event draws roughly 200,000 visitors annually, making it the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi River. |
| Mississippi peanut growers host 21st annual meeting, trade show | |
 | Peanut growers from across Mississippi met in Hattiesburg Wednesday to get the latest information about improving and marketing their crops. It was all part of the 21st annual meeting and trade show for the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association at the Lake Terrace Convention Center. Speakers included Mississippi Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson and National Peanut Board President/Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lepicier. Growers said they are hoping for a productive growing season in 2026. "It's a very cyclical product," said Malcolm Broome, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association executive director. "Corn and cotton and that kind of thing will have a pretty steady acreage, but some years, on peanuts, we'll be down 300,000 tons and the next year, we'll be up 600,000 (tons)." Yet, Broome said he wouldn't swap crops. "It's still the best crop going, compared to cotton, corn, that type thing," Broome said. "Some of the other states will probably be increasing acres again, so we may keep this supply going for awhile." |
| Mardi Gras liquor shortage hits Mississippi businesses | |
 | Liquor stores, bars and restaurants across Mississippi are experiencing supply shortages as Mardi Gras season begins, with ongoing shipment delays from the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) warehouse affecting businesses statewide. Kevin Fish, who manages several Gulf Coast restaurants, said his liquor orders are running about a month behind schedule. "Mardi Gras season, here we are. People want to go in, they want to buy their specific alcohol because they're going to carry it on their floats. They're going to the parade with it or whatever. It's not on the shelves," Fish said. Fish said the delays are part of a longstanding problem with Mississippi's alcohol distribution system. "This isn't uncommon. I mean, this has been going on for years and years and years and years. I don't understand it. I don't understand why we feel that we need to be in that business. I think the state just needs to get out of the alcohol business and let free enterprise take over," he said. In January, ABC officials blamed the delays on technical system issues compounded by hazardous winter road conditions in North Mississippi. ABC officials did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. |
| Healthcare Jobs Have Become the Engine of America's Labor Market | |
 | Over the past year, demand for healthcare workers has quietly propped up the labor market as other sectors reined in hiring or even shed jobs. On Wednesday, the full power of healthcare's role burst into full view, and marked a clear shift in a labor market now geared toward the hard, often physical, work of caring for America's aging population. Nearly all of the 130,000 new jobs added in January were healthcare jobs or positions related to healthcare. The construction and manufacturing sectors also took on new workers, while employers cut jobs in government, finance, information and transportation and warehousing. Healthcare is "way outperforming most of the rest of the economy," said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at jobs website Indeed. Adding jobs is good news for economic growth, but economists say there is risk in such heavy reliance on one industry if that sector sees a slowdown. Plus, not everyone has the skills or desire to work in the field, Ullrich said. Parts of the healthcare industry have become increasingly reliant on an immigrant workforce: The U.S. has long offered special visas for highly skilled foreign doctors willing to move to rural America, where the need for medical care is great. A surge of young immigrants and immigrants who arrived as part of resettlement programs filled nursing jobs and home health-aide jobs as demand for those positions continued to rise. |
| Push to restore Mississippi voters' right to ballot initiative fizzles again | |
| Citing fears of dark money and special interests usurping the state's constitutional republic, the Senate on Wednesday tabled a bill aimed at restoring Mississippi voters' right to put issues directly on a ballot and sidestep the Legislature. The move, for the fifth year since the state Supreme Court invalidated the former process for ballot initiative in the state Constitution, effectively snuffed out this year's push for reinstating the ballot initiative. The measure faces a Thursday night deadline for passage and is not likely to be brought back up after the Senate tabled it with a voice vote. The House does not have a similar ballot initiative measure pending. Had the measure passed, voters would have had to ratify it to amend the state Constitution in a statewide election. As it was presented, the measure also contained a safety clause that would have required more debate and another vote before it could have passed the Legislature. Sen. Joel Carter, a Republican from Gulfport, made the motion to table the measure. "You've got these big groups that have got the ability to raise a bunch of money and put things on the ballot," Carter said. "... It's not really about an initiative amongst the people ... There's big money behind ballot initiative, and that's what we got elected for, to make tough decisions and make hard votes ... "This is not a good bill," Carter said. "It's a terrible bill." |
| After Senate killed House's main education measure, will House return the favor? | |
| House Speaker Jason White was not happy the Senate killed his expansive school choice bill, without even taking a full vote. Now House leaders appear to be sending a message to the other chamber: Most of the education bills passed by the Senate have been sent to two committees in the House, or "double-referred," a tactic often used to kill bills or delay their passage and overhaul them. White said he is not trying to kill off Senate education measures -- many of which mirror elements of the now-defunct House omnibus school choice bill. But Senate leaders this week took the double referral of their education bills as an indication otherwise. Over the past six weeks, the two chambers of the Legislature have been warring over school choice, policies aimed at giving parents more power over their children's education, usually by funding private schooling with public dollars. It's been White's top issue this session, with backing from numerous interest groups and the Trump White House. But educators statewide have opposed the move, and the Republican Senate leadership has been steadfast in its opposition to spending tax dollars on private schools. |
| Mississippi bill could challenge Supreme Court's ban on school prayer | |
| The Mississippi House passed a bill Wednesday that would allow prayer during school, adding Mississippi to a list of states challenging the Supreme Court edict that church and state remain separate. House Bill 1310 would mandate in state law that public schools provide students and employees with time to pray or read religious text during the school day. State law already says that students "may" pray at any time, but the activity isn't explicitly protected. Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville, said the House bill is intended to provide an organized structure for accommodation, which is not currently in place, and stressed that prayer would not replace any learning time. While public schools have been prohibited from sponsoring prayer since a 1962 Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers in a handful of states, including Tennessee and Texas, have passed or are considering legislation similar to House Bill 1310. It aims to return prayer to schools --- with apparent support from the Trump administration. Recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education allows teachers to pray with students. The bill garnered 45 minutes of debate on Wednesday from House Democrats, who said that people in public schools have the right to freedom from prayer. Rep. Robert Johnson III, the Natchez-based leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said he was concerned about lawsuits over the bill. |
| Undocumented Immigrants Entering Mississippi Could Face Imprisonment Under Bill Passed in State Senate | |
| Mississippi may soon criminalize illegal immigration under State law and allow the Mississippi Department of Public Service to collect identifying information about any undocumented immigrants in the state. "We're making it a crime for a person to come into Mississippi, not through a proper port of entry, but to come into Mississippi directly from another country," Mississippi Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, said when introducing her bill on the Mississippi Senate floor on Tuesday. "So, if someone comes into Mississippi through the Gulf of America and not through a port of entry, this would create a state crime, a felony for somebody coming into Mississippi and bypassing an illegal port of entry." She admitted that it is "rare" for a person to illegally come into the state by boat or plane but said that "we know that it does happen." Undocumented immigrants who illegally enter the state by a plane or boat from another country could face imprisonment for at least two years under Senate Bill 2114. Hill said the goal of her legislation is to align State law with federal law. Mississippi Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, asked if the provision under Hill's bill was constitutional and she said yes, it is. "I think our government ought to be doing things related to immigration, but wouldn't you agree with the Supreme Court, the current law in our country is that this is a federal issue and not a state issue?" he asked Hill on the Senate floor. "Don't you think that by creating a state crime, this is unconstitutional on its face?" |
| GOP senators express relief over failed DOJ effort to indict Democrats | |
 | Key Republican senators say a grand jury made the right decision by rejecting an effort by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), on criminal charges for filming a video last year urging military service members to disobey unlawful orders. Republican senators by and large agree the video urging members of the military and the nation's intelligence agencies to refuse unlawful orders was inappropriate because they thought it encouraged insubordination. But GOP lawmakers were surprised by the bombshell revelation Tuesday that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, had attempted to secure a criminal indictment against Kelly, Slotkin and other Democrats, and they expressed relief that the aggressive move failed. "I think the grand jury made the right decision," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), whose panel includes Kelly and Slotkin as members. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, offered stronger words, applauding the grand jury's decision to reject what he called "lawfare." Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said federal prosecutors have better things to do than bringing charges against sitting U.S. senators over their political speech. |
| Tariff votes hand Republicans an unwanted referendum on affordability | |
 | A small GOP rebellion is unleashing a flood of House votes on President Donald Trump's tariff policies in the coming weeks -- handing Democrats a powerful tool to hammer Republicans on affordability issues ahead of the November midterms. House leaders had shielded their most vulnerable Republicans from politically explosive votes on tariffs for more than a year, but now the fallout is reverberating on Capitol Hill and in tough battleground races around the country. Six Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats Wednesday to overturn Trump's Canada tariffs -- a vote that took place only after three of those GOP members bucked Speaker Mike Johnson and voted Tuesday to reject a provision that would have blocked it. The move is likely to force a Trump veto. More votes are coming: Senior House Democrats plan to call up at least three more resolutions that will force many Republicans to choose between protecting their tariff-hit districts and pleasing their MAGA voter bases -- not to mention their loyalties to a president who has, up until this week, not tolerated any House GOP dissent on the matter. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, who leads the House Democratic campaign arm, said in an interview that her group would "continue to hold every single vulnerable Republican responsible for their broken promise to lower prices." "If Republicans think this is such a great idea, then they can vote to support the tariffs," she added. "But ... we're going to make sure that they're accountable for their votes." |
| Bondi deflects criticism at hearing dominated by Epstein file release | |
 | Attorney General Pamela Bondi showed little regret during an oversight hearing Wednesday for the Justice Department's controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, a release that publicly exposed the names and identifying information of survivors. Instead, with some survivors behind her at the hearing, the attorney general struck a brazenly antagonistic posture before the House Judiciary Committee as Democrats raised issues tied to Epstein and a law Congress passed last year that ordered the release of records related to him. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, was among committee members who criticized the DOJ for overly redacting information that could identify people who may have been co-conspirators or enablers of Epstein's abuse, while failing to fully redact victim information. In his opening remarks, Raskin told Bondi she was "running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice." The high-profile hearing at times devolved into shouting matches when Democratic lawmakers zeroed in on Epstein-related topics. In other moments, their questions led to testy exchanges escalated by Bondi herself. "I think it's pathetic that she can't answer the questions and instead is attacking members of the committee," quipped Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. |
| Federal authorities announce an end to the immigration crackdown in Minnesota | |
 | The immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end, border policy advisor Tom Homan said Thursday. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expected Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, to end in "days, not weeks and months," based on his conversations with senior Trump administration officials. "As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals," Homan said at a news conference. "I have proposed and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude," he continued. Federal authorities say the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. While the Trump administration has called those arrested "dangerous criminal illegal aliens," many people with no criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens, have also been detained. "We're very much in a trust but verify mode," Walz said, adding that he expected to hear more from the administration "in the next day or so" about the future of what he said has been an "occupation" and a "retribution campaign" against the state. |
| Trump Says He Will Now Invite Democrats to Governors' Meeting | |
 | Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma told Democratic governors on Wednesday that President Trump had reversed course and would now invite them to an annual gathering of the nation's governors at the White House, after the president had previously moved to exclude Democrats from the meeting. Hours later, Mr. Trump repeatedly attacked Mr. Stitt, the chairman of the National Governors Association, as a "RINO," Republican in name only, apparently blaming the governor for the episode after The New York Times reported last week that the president had spurned Democrats from what had traditionally been a bipartisan working meeting with the president and cabinet at the White House. Mr. Stitt confirmed the reporting in a letter to governors on Friday and withdrew the N.G.A. as the official organizer of the event, saying that it would not pay for transportation to the gathering and that the association sought to represent all governors. In a social media post, Mr. Trump denied that he had ever tried to exclude Democrats from the meeting -- though by Tuesday night, only Republican governors had received invitations for the meeting scheduled for Friday. He did, however, confirm that he had personally blocked two Democrats, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, from a separate black-tie dinner that would take place after the meeting because he felt they were "not worthy of being there." |
| Lawsuits reveal the free speech fallout following the death of Charlie Kirk | |
 | Five months after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of lawsuits reveals how Americans were investigated, fired, and in one case, arrested for their online reactions to his death. The most dramatic case involves Larry Bushart, a retired police officer in Lexington, Tenn. A self-described progressive and "keyboard warrior," he'd been posting memes that mocked Republican officials' mourning over Kirk. Then local police came to his door. "They were very vague. I don't think they understood why they were there, but that it involved a Facebook post," Bushart recalls. The local police had been sent there at the request of Sheriff Nick Weems of Perry County, Tenn. He objected to a post that quoted President Trump telling people to "get over" a school shooting in Iowa two years ago --- which Bushart says was meant to contrast with the call to memorialize Kirk. But the sheriff said it could be interpreted as a threat against the high school in his county, which shares the name of the school mentioned in the Trump meme. "I knew that I'd threatened no one, and the conversation wasn't even about their local school or community," Bushart says. "I thought, 'No, we were having a conversation about Charlie Kirk, his death and your desire to hold memorial services for him.'" The sheriff had him arrested. Bushart spent 37 days in jail over that Facebook meme --- unable to afford the $2 million bond. As negative publicity mounted, prosecutors dropped the charges. Now he's suing, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). |
| Landscape Workers Clear The Way For Campus Regrowth | |
 | Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc on greenery across campus in January. While there is still much work to be done, the university's Department of Landscape Services and independent contractors are working hard to bring the campus back to life. Chancellor Glenn Boyce detailed the storm's environmental impact on campus in a letter sent to university stakeholders last week. He described the university's preservation efforts and the extent of damage to campus landscaping. Of the more than 130 tree species on campus, red oaks and maples fared the worst. Trees were removed entirely if they met one of the following conditions: losing 30%-40% of their canopy, losing larger limbs on one side of the tree or by losing their resilience with age. While much of the university's greenery survived the storm, there is still a sizable amount of foliage to be removed. "We estimate 95% of the trees weathered the storm pretty well, but we have 14,000 trees on campus," Nathan Lazinsky, director of landscape services, said. "I think we've already pruned over 2,100 trees in ... about 10 days now. So it's been rocking and rolling." Lazinsky estimates that the remaining 5% of trees, around 700, will have to be removed in the coming weeks. He fears the process may be lengthy and continue into the future due to budget and government regulations. |
| Itawamba Community College President Dr. Jay Allen named finalist for national award | |
| Itawamba Community College President Dr. Jay Allen has been named a finalist for one of the top national community-college awards. ICC announced that Allen is a finalist for the American Association of Community Colleges CEO of the Year Award, which annually honors leaders whose work has made a significant and lasting impact on their institutions, students who attend, and the communities they serve. "I am deeply honored by this recognition, but it truly belongs to our outstanding employees," Allen said. "Every day, our faculty and staff go above and beyond to serve students and positively impact our communities. Their commitment, professionalism, and heart for this work are what make ICC special, and I am proud to stand alongside them." Since assuming the presidency at ICC in 2017, Allen has emphasized student success, workforce alignment, and community engagement while maintaining a strong focus on institutional culture and excellence, the release noted. Allen will be formally recognized as a finalist during the AACC annual convention in April in Seattle. |
| Educators walk a difficult line as students bring ICE concerns into classrooms | |
| Conversations about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pose a tricky line to walk for schoolteachers, who must balance compassion with avoiding the political land mine of immigration enforcement. Educators around the country are fielding questions, concerns and fears from students who are not immune to the political upheaval that has surrounded President Trump's ICE policies, particularly the highly controversial deployment in Minnesota. Stacy B., a teacher in St. Paul who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said she has offered to bring groceries to families of her students who are afraid to go out after some saw relatives taken away by ICE, arguing the issue is no more political than her providing basic supplies in her classroom. "I'm just going to say publicly, 'I'm here for you.' And, to me, that's not political, that's my responsibility. That's what I do is I support students. I understand and I support teachers who don't want to say anything," she explained. But "if someone calls me out on it, I'm going to, again, say I spend my own money on Kleenex boxes. There's nothing political about Kleenex. I'm going to support my students, and I don't care what the situation is." Other areas of the country, such as Springfield, Ohio, are seen as the next test of where ICE might increase its presence, with students pulled out of school earlier this week due to threats against the city. And how teachers respond to the situation may depend greatly on their location. |
| U. of Alabama fraternity loses house after hazing incidents | |
 | A University of Alabama fraternity has been suspended for four years after hazing incidents last year, according to university records. Delta Sigma Pi lost university recognition and its chapter house until 2030 after hazing incidents in April and September of 2025. Four additional fraternities were disciplined this year, according to UA's Hazing Transparency Report. "Hazing is strictly prohibited, and it is a matter the university takes seriously," said Alex House, associate director of communications and media relations. "The University's priority is the well-being and safety of its students." On April 24, 2025, five Delta Sigma Phi members forced new recruits to "participate in degrading and/or frustrating activities, physical exercise, and acts of personal servitude," according to the report. The frat also served underaged members alcohol. On Sept. 9, 2025, the chapter again forced new members to participate in "degrading and/or frustrating activities" and failed to comply with university-issued sanctions from the previous incident. Besides losing the chapter house until 2030, disciplinary actions include community service, loss of recruitment programs and loss of social privileges, including block seating at sporting events. |
| Florida proposal to further limit out-of-state, international students at some universities advances in House | |
 | A proposal to further limit the amount of out-of-state and international students at some Florida universities continued to advance in the House on Tuesday. The House Budget Committee approved a proposal (HB 1279) by Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, R-Lakeland, that would require preeminent state universities to reserve 95 percent of new fall enrollments to students from Florida. The current limit is 90 percent for all universities. Jonsson said for the state's preeminent schools, the reduction of out-of-state students paying higher tuition than Florida students would account for about a $54 million cut from a budget of around $17.5 billion. Schools should be able to "find a way to work that out," Jonsson said. "We are giving these universities a lot of money, our Florida taxpayers are giving a lot to grow these institutions, make them the best in the country," Jonsson said. "We need to make sure that we're taking care of our Florida students first." Letitia Harmon, senior director of policy and research for Florida Rising, a progressive advocacy group, said the proposal will hurt students and harm the state financially. |
| A Professor Tackled a Man Who Was Trying to Interview Gordon Gee. Now He's on Leave. | |
 | Ohio State University placed an assistant professor on administrative leave Tuesday after a viral video showed him tackling a person seeking a video interview with E. Gordon Gee, the university's former president. In the video of the altercation, the professor, Luke Perez, appears to be trying to prevent two people from asking Gee further questions and filming him. Mike Newman, who told The Chronicle he is an independent documentarian, was taking a step toward Perez when suddenly the professor struck the camera out of his hand and pushed him to the ground. Perez, who teaches in the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, directed a request for comment to university communications. A university spokesman called the incident "very concerning" and said the "faculty member involved" has been placed on leave. He added that campus police are investigating. Newman, an Ohio State alumnus, told The Chronicle that his neck and shoulder hurt after the incident and that he went to the emergency room. Newman and D.J. Byrnes, a journalist who writes a Substack newsletter about Ohio politics, entered Smith Lab in an attempt to interview Gee, who is a paid consultant for the Chase Center. |
| Endowment Returns Held Stable in Fiscal '25 | |
 | Despite an economy marked by turmoil and the Trump administration's on-again, off-again tariffs, university endowment investment returns remained stable in fiscal year 2025. Universities saw an average return of 10.9 percent, compared to 11.2 percent in fiscal '24, according to the latest study by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute, released today. Though down slightly year over year, the FY25 numbers are stronger than the 7.7 percent returns colleges saw in FY23 and the negative returns of FY22. The 10-year average return for endowment investments was 7.7 percent. While the returns remained stable, donations to endowment funds dropped, according to the study. Contributions to university endowments fell by 9.2 percent, from $15.4 billion in FY24 to $14 billion in FY25, as philanthropists dialed back donations. However, that number still surpasses the $12.7 billion donated in FY23. Despite the stable returns, colleges continue to face financial pressures, due in part to the Trump administration restricting certain federal research funds, which has prompted some institutions to cut jobs and programs. |
| U.S. colleges received more than $5 billion in foreign gifts, contracts in 2025 | |
| U.S. colleges received more than 5 billion dollars in reportable foreign gifts and contracts in 2025, according to a new website from the U.S. Education Department. The release is part of a push by the Trump administration to make foreign influence in colleges and universities more transparent. Among the biggest recipients, the data show, are Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Qatar was the largest foreign source of funds to schools, making up more than 20% -- or about 1.1 billion. Other sources include the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Japan. In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the data provide "unprecedented visibility into funding" from countries that threaten "America's national security." Under existing federal law, institutions are required to report gifts or contracts from foreign entities above $250,000. But Republicans have long raised underreporting as an issue of national security -- pushing for more reporting and more transparency. The new website includes data on what McMahon called "countries of concern," including China, Russia and Iran. Harvard, New York University and MIT top the list of schools getting money from those countries. |
| Students, faculty mystified as NSF turns back applications for prestigious fellowship program | |
| When Kulindu Vithanachchi's phone lit up with an update from the National Science Foundation about his application for a high-profile early-career fellowship, he couldn't wait to open the message, hopeful for big news. But not this news. Vithanachchi, a University of Arizona undergraduate and budding microbiologist, was in the lab when he learned that his application for NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program had been "returned without review," turned back before outside experts had a chance to judge the scientific merit of the proposal. The agency's email said his submission included proposed research that made him ineligible for the program --- and that the decision was final. The email did not specify further. "I was baffled. I was a little bit concerned. I felt kind of defeated," he said. There has been a strange solace in realizing he is not alone. Many applicants have received identical messages lately, befuddling students as well as lab heads who may be used to hearing about rejections but not a string of applications simply returned without review. The exact number of students who've received such notices is unclear, but Grant Witness, a project launched to track federal funding disruptions, has compiled 45 examples; 40 of those cases are in the life sciences. The true total is likely far higher, as social media mentions of the issue have prompted hundreds of replies, many of them from users claiming to have been impacted. |
| 'A Moment of Reckoning': After Epstein, Higher Ed Faces Hard Questions About Its Proximity to Power | |
| Nearly two weeks after the Justice Department released millions of pages of new documents detailing Jeffrey Epstein's ties to academics and universities, the fallout is still piling up. A department chair has resigned. A trustee has stepped down. Conferences have been canceled and faculty profiles taken down. Students at several campuses have staged protests demanding accountability and transparency over connections to the convicted sex offender. In an era of increasingly uncertain federal support, highly selective universities are becoming more reliant on wealthy benefactors. But the networks that fund research and programs can also entangle top universities with morally compromised figures. When word of those figures' misdeeds gets out, colleges may be pushed to confront uncomfortable questions of complicity and compromised institutional integrity. "I would hope that this is a moment of reckoning for higher education," said Jessica Calarco, a sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "It is certainly much easier to punish the bad actors and call it a day than it is to grapple with the deeper question of, What are the structures and systems and cultures that are in place that allowed these bad actors to proliferate in the first place?" she said. |
| How Congress's Budget Could Hamper Trump Education Department Agenda | |
| Following a year of unprecedented funding decisions that often ignored congressional orders and redirected taxpayer dollars to different programs than the ones originally intended, Congress has had enough. New legislation to fund the government for the fiscal year includes a number of significant changes that Democrats argue will prevent the Trump administration's unilateral decisions to defund some grant programs and move money to others. These new restrictions -- which can be found throughout the appropriations bill for the Department of Education and other sections of the 11-part funding package that was signed into law last week -- are part of what policy experts describe as a bipartisan attempt to rebuke the Trump administration's budget proposal and restore Congress's power of the purse. Historically, the language of these budget bills has largely stayed the same, serving as little more than a template into which lawmakers plug that year's dollar amounts and policy riders. Meanwhile, the bulk of the budget's details, like how much should go toward each specific project or grant, were housed in a separate report known as the Joint Explanatory Statement. For decades, presidents from both parties have mostly treated the supplemental report as law. But during the first year of Trump 2.0, the president used his executive authority to reroute dollars from one project to another within the same account. This allowed him to shore up resources for his priorities while leaving other critical programs high and dry. |
| Republicans Threaten Mississippi's Miracle | |
| The Wall Street Journal editorializes: Mississippi Republicans can take credit for the 2013 reforms that wrought the state's education "miracle," bumping fourth-grade reading scores from 49th to 9th in the nation in 2024. So why are they now threatening further education progress by blocking school choice? In a 90-second -- yes, second -- meeting last week, the GOP-led state Senate Education Committee voted to kill a school choice bill passed by the state House in January. The legislation, championed by House Speaker Jason White and supported by GOP Gov. Tate Reeves, would have created the first substantial education savings account (ESA) program in the state. Some 12,500 students could have received scholarships in 2027, and more in future years. The bill also would have expanded the districts where charter schools can open. ... Republicans should know better than to believe that miracles only happen when the government runs something. Mississippi students will stay in public schools if they're successful. But they deserve competitive options when public schools fail. |
| The W: Public higher education doing its job | |
| Scott Tollison, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and professor of management information systems and workforce development at the Mississippi University for Women, writes for The Dispatch: If you were building a public university from scratch in Mississippi, what outcomes should a taxpayer expect? You should expect a university that educates Mississippians. You should expect students to graduate on time. You should expect graduates who then stay and work in Mississippi. You should expect strong earnings after graduation. And you should expect all of this without excessive student debt. These expectations are measurable, and at The W, they are being exceeded ... Public universities succeed when they provide affordable, high-quality education for the people of their state and enable them to build productive careers and lives in the towns and communities where they choose to stay. This is public higher education doing what it is meant to do. This is public higher education doing its job. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: Turning Up The Dude: The 2026 Walk-Up Playlist | |
| Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally arrived. No. Not baseball season (although that's here, too.) It's walk-up-song season. Thanks to incredibly memorable themes that once ushered Bulldog greats like Jonathan Holder, Jake Mangum and Landon Sims to the mound or plate, the last 10 to 15 years have been the golden era of MSU walk-ups/walk-outs. You can't think about Elijah MacNamee without a saxophone blaring in your mind. Frank Sinatra's voice will forever conjure up remembrances of Brent Rooker. What will be the next great State walk-up? Time will tell, but the 2026 Bulldogs have put together several worthy candidates. There's country and classic rock. Some tunes will allow you to sing along while others will have you fired up to take the field yourself. All of it will be part of the sounds of spring at The Dude in the months to come. What are your favorites this year? Take your pick. Here is the full MSU baseball walk-up/walk-out song playlist for 2026. |
| Rain could impact Mississippi State baseball opening weekend | |
 | Inclement weather could impact Mississippi State baseball's first series of the 2026 season. The Bulldogs are scheduled for a three-game series against Hofstra at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville starting on Feb. 13 (4 p.m., SEC Network+). As of Feb. 11, no changes have been made to the schedule. It's the debut for new coach Brian O'Connor, hired in June to replace Chris Lemonis, who was fired in April. There shouldn't be issues on opening day. According to AccuWeather, the high will be 66 degrees with a 3% chance of rain throughout the day. Feb. 14 and 15 could be more troublesome. Feb. 14 has a 68% chance of rain. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 15 has a 25% chance of rain, with that series finale also scheduled for 1 p.m. If a doubleheader is played on Feb. 13, it would be the second straight season MSU plays a doubleheader on opening day. Mississippi State softball is also scheduled to play five games at Nusz Park from Feb. 13-15 in The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial. |
| Baseball: Ron Polk Ring Of Honor Class Of 2026 Revealed | |
| Two Major League managers and a World Series champion comprise the 2026 Ron Polk Ring of Honor Class. Nat "Buck" Showalter, Alex Grammas and Chris Stratton will be the latest group of Mississippi State Baseball legends to be immortalized onto the pillars of the Adkerson Plaza in right field at Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium. The Diamond Dawg trio becomes the eighth class to be enshrined into the prestigious Ron Polk Ring of Honor, which was established in 2019. Showalter, Grammas and Stratton's induction day will be announced at a later date. Showalter (1977) only spent one year in Starkville but it was a memorable one, establishing a new single-season batting average record hitting an astounding .459 (67-for-146). Was a fifth-round draft pick by the Yankees and spent seven seasons playing in the Minor Leagues, rising to Triple-A. Began his coaching career in the Yankees farm system in 1985 and was named the manager of the big-league Yankees in 1992 and served in that capacity for four years. Served as a television analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight and appeared as himself on the hit TV show, Seinfeld. |
| Mississippi State stumbles in slugfest with Tennessee | |
| Mississippi State got dragged into a fistfight on Wednesday night. It ultimately took one too many hits. The Bulldogs were out-physicalled and could not complete a furious rally in a 73-64 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers at the Humphrey Coliseum. It's MSU's third straight loss and its eighth in its last nine games. State was out-rebounded 45-31 and outscored in the paint 42-24. "We were all over the board," State coach Chris Jans. "We just weren't in the right spots with the right coverage, with the right angles, and they took full advantage of it." The Volunteers (17-7, 7-4) opened up the second half on a 9-2 run to go up by 20 and led by as many as 23 at the 10:14 mark. That's when the Bulldogs caught fire. Jayden Epps made a layup, then Josh Hubbard scored four straight points. The baskets snowballed and led to an 18-0 run, which made it 63-58 with 5:15 to go. "We got a little bit of momentum. We just tried to keep it," Epps said. "We've just got to learn how to put together a 40-minute game like that. If not a 40-minute, at least 35. Mississippi State will make a short trip up north to face Ole Miss on Saturday. "We've been good on the road, so I feel like we've got a good opportunity coming up," Epps said. "So it's a must win game for us." |
| Women's Basketball: Battle Of The Bulldogs Set For Thursday | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball returns to Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday for the first time since February 1st to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Tipoff for the contest is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear black. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free black State script shirt. Mississippi State dropped their last contest to #3 South Carolina and enters the game off Sunday's open date. Madison Francis led the Bulldog offense with 12 points against the Gamecocks, her 17th game in double figures this season. Kharyssa Richardson added 11 points, which added to her single-season best of games in double figures and made the total 10. The Bulldog offense has been distributed across the board throughout the season. Seven different Bulldogs have led the team in scoring across 24 games. Francis was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist, making her one of four freshman in the country to be added. Georgia re-entered the win column after a two-game skid with a victory over the Missouri Tigers. State has won eight of the last 10 contests, including winning the last two. |
| Battle of the Bulldogs: MSU faces Georgia in next SEC test | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball is back to start its final stretch of conference play today against Georgia at Humphrey Coliseum. It's one of just three home games remaining this season, and a chance to get back into the win column entering the final stretch. Head coach Sam Purcell showed his appreciation for the home support, particularly in a narrow loss to Missouri 10 days ago, where more than 4,000 fans came out to support his team, and he asked for another big crowd for the blackout game today. "Your attendance is everything, and we're going to need it this Thursday against a really good Georgia team in a blackout," he said. "It's a team that's probably two votes out from being in the Top 25," Purcell said of Georgia. "If the NCAA Tournament started today, probably a six or seven seed. It's going to be an absolute war and we're going to need that sixth-man energy to get one." The Bulldogs (16-8, 3-7 SEC) have lost two straight in conference play since their road upset of Tennessee two weeks ago, suffering a heavy 88-45 defeat at No. 3 South Carolina in their last outing. Seven games of seemingly steady progression culminated in their win over the Vols, but a missed opportunity against the Tigers in their last home game has the team looking to make up for lost time once again. That starts with a positive performance today. |
| Rivera, Ammon fuel MSU's first home win of 2026 | |
| The transfers are already feeling at home at Nusz Park. Mississippi State softball made its home debut for the new season on Tuesday with a 5-0 win over in-state foe Southern Miss. Senior Nadia Barbary broke the deadlock for MSU with a sacrifice fly to get freshman Gabby Schaeffer home, and classmate Des Rivera made her first contribution with a solo home run. It was the first of three RBI for the Iowa transfer on the day, giving starting pitcher Leila Ammon some breathing room in the circle on the way to a shutout win. "I really liked seeing Leila out there, and the way she started off. I thought she gave us a quality start and did a great job," head coach Samantha Ricketts said after the game. "Anytime they got a runner on, she immediately responded." Ricketts said before the season that she wanted a more dependable pitching rotation this season, and she has found that so far in her new arrivals. Ammon tossed five shutout innings with six strikeouts before fellow transfer Alyssa Faircloth came in to close the game, securing a first win for the sophomore starter. The Bulldogs will be back at Nusz Park this weekend for the Snowman Alex Wilcox Memorial weekend. MSU will begin its weekend slate with a Friday doubleheader against Murray State and Rutgers starting at 12:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader with the Scarlet Knights and North Texas, and finally a Sunday wrap-up against the Mean Green. |
| Bill shielding SC college NIL agreements from public records law advances in the Senate | |
| Public colleges in South Carolina could continue concealing what they pay student athletes under legislation moving quickly through the Statehouse amid a lawsuit. The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill to the floor Wednesday without a public hearing. At least two senators -- Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey of Edgefield and Sen. Richard Cash of Anderson County -- verbally voted against the measure. No roll call was taken. Only written testimony was taken by the committee after the bill skipped a subcommittee hearing, though that's more than occurred in the House. That chamber passed the bill 111-2 on Jan. 15, the third day of the legislative session, after bypassing the entire committee process. The legislation is a response to a public records lawsuit filed against the University of South Carolina by a Mount Pleasant businessman seeking information about so-called Name, Image and Likeness payments made by the school to Gamecock football players. Colleges argue that being forced to disclose this information, either on an individual athlete basis or on a team-by-team basis, puts South Carolina at a competitive disadvantage. No other state is forcing disclosure of individual contracts or even individual sports. "It would allow competing institutions to identify, target and attempt to outbid specific student-athletes, undermining fair competition," wrote USC Director of Athletics Jeremiah Donati in submitted testimony made public after the meeting. |
| Craig Bohl taking action on unscrupulous college football agents | |
| When Craig Bohl called it a career as the head coach at the University of Wyoming, he didn't retire from football. Now the former North Dakota State head coach is taking a crusade to reign in sports agents to a leading government agency. Bohl, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission thanking it for conducting an investigation into the validity of agents who are contacting college football players. "Over the last few years, since the long-overdue compensation of college athletes began, our coaches have seen a dramatic increase in unprepared, unethical 'agents' exploiting young athletes in financial negotiations," Bohl wrote. "We have seen many instances of 'agents' manipulating student-athletes and their parents." Look no farther than NDSU, which in the last few years has had to deal with players being contacted to look at bigger schools while the Bison were in pursuit of Division I FCS national titles. Former NDSU defensive end Jake Kava, who played from 2018-23 and now a radio analyst for the Bison pregame and postgame shows on 1660-AM, said he had agents direct message him during his playing days, but he didn't respond because it wasn't a need for him and it was still relatively early in the new era of college football. But it is true, Kava said, that with no rules in place, some players were easy targets for agents to make money off of them. |
| Big 12 adding LED-powered floor for men's, women's tournaments | |
 | The Big 12 Conference will play its men's and women's basketball tournaments on a high-tech glass floor embedded with LED technology that will allow the conference to feature data-driven graphics, advertising and even games for fans during timeouts. The floors have been used for events at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis and in Europe, but ASB GlassFloor and the Big 12 said Wednesday that the March tournaments in Kansas City, Missouri, will be the first time that official competitions in the United States will be played on one. "I'm an old school guy," Kansas men's coach Bill Self said in a statement. "But this has me thinking of new school ways, and from what I've seen and heard, this is the wave of the future." The courts have an aluminum and steel spring-action design that allows them to mimic the flexibility of a hardwood floor. The LED panels have a ceramic coating with dots etched into the glass for grip and a consistent surface without "dead spots" or other quirks that can occur with natural wood. |
| NCAA Warns of College Athletes Playing 18 Seasons in Pavia Case | |
| A federal judge will soon issue a ruling that -- the NCAA contends -- could lead to college athletes playing 18 seasons and beginning their play at Division I schools at the age of 32. That idea might sound far-fetched, but in a post-House settlement world where college athletes can earn millions of dollars through NIL and revenue-share deals, the incentive to "stay in school" has never been stronger. On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr. held a hearing in which he listened to dueling arguments on whether to issue a preliminary injunction to allow former junior college (JUCO) players to enjoy full D-I eligibility. The NCAA limits eligibility in one sport to four seasons of intercollegiate competition -- including JUCO and Division II competition -- within a five-year period and generally restricts former JUCO players to three years of D-I football. Vanderbilt quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia is leading a group of more than two dozen former JUCO players who want D-I eligibility to start when a player first registers at an NCAA member school. The core legal controversy in Pavia v. NCAA is whether NCAA eligibility rules comply with federal antitrust law |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
