| Thursday, March 5, 2026 |
| MSU hosts 2026 Marszalek Lecture with award-winning Civil War historian | |
 | Mississippi State University Libraries welcomes students, faculty and community members to attend the 2026 John F. and Jeanne A. Marszalek Library Fund Lecture Series March 5, 6 p.m., in Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room. Free and open to the public, the annual program highlights outstanding graduate research alongside a distinguished guest lecture. The featured lecturer is Lesley J. Gordon, Charles G. Summersell Chair of Southern History at the University of Alabama and an award-winning Civil War historian. Her talk, "Remember the Hero: Writing about Cowardice and the American Civil War" will examine interpretations of courage and memory in Civil War history. This year's Marszalek Graduate Student Award recipient, Jackie Perkins, will present "Designing Efficiency: Beauty, Nature and Technology in Chicago's Parks, 1870–1890." "The Marszalek lecture is a great event each year that showcases original student research paired with a talk from a more seasoned scholar," said David Nolen, associate dean of Archives and Special Collections. |
| Mary Means Business: 7 Brew construction begins in Starkville | |
 | After an explosive November announcement, the newest coffee joint in Starkville is currently construction. 7 Brew, the Arkansas-based drive-thru coffee chain, is moving dirt just east of Newk's, right in front of Ace Hardware. Yes, the parking lot is a little chaotic at the moment, but hopefully it won't be for too long. 7 Brew first opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017 with a simple concept: seven original coffees, hence the name. Fast forward to today, and the brand has expanded to more than 530 stands nationwide and includes energy chillers, teas, lemonades, lattes, mochas, chai, smoothies and shakes. ... Big things are happening in this parking lot, y'all. Small Time Hot Dogs is returning to Starkville and setting up in Miskelly's parking lot. If you've missed them, now's your chance. The menu reads like a tour of America's best hot dog traditions: Rajun Cajun, Chicago style, New York style, Buffalo wing, French onion and more. For those who don't appreciate a good ballpark classic, they've got barbecue nachos, funnel cakes, pulled pork po'boys and other fair-style favorites. |
| In memoriam: Former alderwoman remembered for compassion, candor | |
| Friends, colleagues and loved ones describe Janette Self as one of the most compassionate people they knew. They're also quick to add that, even so, she was always a straight shooter. "Don't sugarcoat anything -- she was that type of grandmother," her granddaughter, Krishina Turnipseed, told The Dispatch with a laugh. "She was one of those that kind of tore you down and built you back up at the same time. ... But at the end of the day, it was all about love." That candor, paired with her care for others, guided Self through a decadeslong career in nursing and later into public office as Starkville's first Black alderwoman. Self, 88, passed away Friday following an extended illness. A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. March 6 at Beth'el M.B. Church. Visitation is 1-6 p.m. today at Second Baptist Church at 314 Yeates St. Born Aug. 9, 1937, in Morton, Alabama, Self devoted much of her life to helping others, her granddaughter Aundrea Self said. She began her career as a bank teller before entering nursing, working first at Felix Long Memorial Hospital and later at OCH Regional Medical Center, where she served as a board trustee upon her retirement. In 2005, she was elected to represent Starkville's newly created Ward 7, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the Starkville Board of Aldermen. |
| A warm 'false spring' is the forecast. So is the polar vortex | |
 | Spring fever, anyone? Folks across the central, eastern and southern United States are about to experience potentially record warmth over the next week or so as temperatures skyrocket. "Enjoy the springtime warmth -- maybe even 'heat' -- with temperatures pushing into the 80s for more than 100 million Americans over the next 7-10 days," said Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue in an email to USA TODAY. In an online forecast, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Benz said "the pattern from late this week into the weekend will give tens of millions of people in parts of the Midwest and Northeast a serious case of spring fever." This "false spring" will be short-lived, however, as another unwelcome visit from Old Man Winter -- in the form of the dreaded polar vortex -- is in the offing for later next week. "We will see (hopefully) winter's final Arctic blast move through the Lower 48 [in] middle March," Maue said. "This can be classified as a false spring coming up, especially from the central Plains to the East Coast," said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok in an email to USA TODAY. But after a false spring, the temperatures can go back to seasonal averages, or even below average. This can be frustrating for anyone, but can also cause problems for gardeners. |
| Mississippi Power names Meridian native Fredie Carmichael vice president of Customer Solutions and Corporate Communications | |
 | Mississippi Power on Wednesday announced its board of directors has elected Fredie Carmichael as vice president of Customer Solutions and Corporate Communications effective March 16. Carmichael will also serve as a member of the company's management council. Carmichael will oversee Customer Solutions and Corporate Communications, including marketing, energy efficiency, lighting, the company's customer service teams and communications. "Fredie brings a deep understanding of our customers, our business and the communities we proudly serve," said Pedro Cherry, chairman, president and CEO of Mississippi Power. "His proven leadership, strategic mindset and passion for Mississippi are vital as we continue to enhance the customer experience, support growth across our service territory and maximize the value we bring our customers every day." A native of Lauderdale County, Carmichael began his career in journalism, working as a reporter in Mississippi and Florida before serving as executive editor of The Meridian Star. He later worked as a regional economic development manager at the Mississippi Development Authority. Carmichael holds a communications degree from Mississippi State University, completed the True South Economic Development Program at The University of Southern Mississippi and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at Cornell University. |
| Proposed Clinton data center will be the largest economic development project in city history | |
 | Mayor Will Purdie confirmed that a $750 million data center project is being planned in his city at Clinton Industrial Park. He said the investment "will be the largest economic development project in the history of the City and Hinds County." The mayor expects that the project will inject millions of dollars per year directly into not only the City of Clinton's budget, but also additional millions yearly into the budget of the Clinton Public School District as well as that of the county. The name of the company making the investment has not yet been released. Purdie stated that the proposed Clinton project does not involve a power plant and will use power supplied by Entergy through the existing power grid. "The proposed location is deep within an established industrial area, well removed from residential neighborhoods. This project would be subject to the same standards and expectations as the other industrial and manufacturing operations currently operating in the industrial park," he stated. Purdie addressed concerns about the project causing increased utility bills, saying, "The Legislature has enacted regulations protecting rate payers from bearing costs associated with this type of project. With respect to other utilities, this project will use no potable water for cooling purposes. In operation, the only potable water consumption will be to support standard office administration, i.e. restrooms and breakrooms." |
| Who's building the data center in Clinton? Records provide details | |
| Madison, Ridgeland, Warren County, and now Clinton. We can now confirm Amazon Data Services is building a $750 million data center in Clinton. A quitclaim deed obtained by 3 On Your Side shows a 99-acre site in Clinton was transferred to Amazon on February 13. The property is located at 1001 Industrial Park Dr. in Clinton, at the former home of Milwaukee Tool. The Clinton Board of Aldermen and Hinds County Board of Supervisors approved a FILOT agreement for the property at special meetings on January 15. In a statement on Tuesday, Mayor Will Purdie said the developer was still in negotiations about "some aspects of the project, which is why no public announcement [had] been made." The agreement also must be signed off on by the Mississippi Development Authority. It is unclear if that has happened. The center is the fourth major investment made by Amazon in the metro area. |
| Bills aimed at adjusting new PERS Tier 5 die | |
| Bills that sought to adjust the new Tier 5 within the state Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) died on Tuesday, leaving concern that recruitment of emergency responders will be more difficult now that the new tier has gone into effect as of March 1. The PERS Tier 5 was established during the 2025 legislative session. It increases the time that state employees are to be employed before fully retiring, raising the years of service from 25 to 35 as well as making changes how the investments are made on behalf of the employee. The new tier also increased the vesting period from four years to eight years. Changes were made to PERS by lawmakers in an effort to shore up the state retirement system that continues to face a $25 billion unfunded liability. Each chamber had put forward legislation to inject state funds into the system. Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seal, who also serves as the President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, expressed his concern that the bills to adjust the new tier introduced in the 2026 session are now dead. He said that he currently has several positions open within his department, but no applicants. While Seal said he is not certain Tier 5 is the sole reason there are no applicants, he did say it is a barrier for recruitment in all public service positions. |
| Inside the Trump administration's scramble to support its own war | |
 | The State Department is adding resources to evacuate stranded Americans in the Middle East, and the Pentagon is scrambling to increase the number of U.S. troops gathering intelligence for operations -- the latest indications that the Trump administration was not fully prepared for the broader war it is now facing. Amid criticism that the administration has been too slow to alert U.S. citizens that they should leave or help those then caught in the maelstrom, the State Department is sending extra staff to Athens to aid U.S. citizens, according to a current and former department official familiar with consular issues. A State Department official familiar with the process said Wednesday morning that the top leaders in the department had taken charge of the evacuation operation, much of which would typically be handled by consular and bureau officials. U.S. Central Command, meanwhile, is asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September, according to a notification obtained by POLITICO. The rush to add people and resources to support efforts that are often organized well in advance of U.S. military action highlights how the Trump team had not fully anticipated the wide fallout of the war it launched alongside Israel on Saturday. |
| Trump calls on Kurds to aid U.S. effort in Iran, offers support | |
 | The Trump administration, bracing for more U.S. casualties and considering whether to put troops on the ground in Iran, has begun reaching out to Tehran's domestic opposition as potential allies to foment an uprising against the regime. In calls this week to Kurdish minority leaders in Iran and neighboring Iraq, President Donald Trump offered "extensive U.S. aircover" and other backing for anti-regime Iranian Kurds to take over portions of western Iran, according to multiple people familiar with the effort. "The American request to the Iraqi Kurds is to open the way and not obstruct" Iranian Kurdish groups mobilizing in Iraq, "while also providing logistical support," said a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two major political parties that govern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. "Trump was clear in his call" Sunday to PUK leader Bafel Talabani. "He told us the Kurds must choose a side in this battle -- either with America and Israel or with Iran," said the official, one of several Kurdish and U.S. officials who discussed sensitive matters on the condition of anonymity. A U.S. official cautioned that the extent of Kurdish cooperation with the U.S. remains to be seen, given Washington's long history of enlisting their aid in various conflicts and then abandoning them. |
| A Political Earthquake Rattles the North Carolina Legislature | |
 | The American flag cake was about half eaten by the time Phil Berger, North Carolina's most powerful legislator, stepped to the podium on Tuesday at his election night party. The leader of the State Senate did not appear in a good mood. He and his allies had pumped a staggering $10 million into his surprisingly tight primary race against Sam Page, a popular small-town sheriff. He had enlisted allies from Raleigh to campaign for him. He had even secured a coveted endorsement from President Trump, who is beloved in this rural stretch of northern North Carolina. But as of Wednesday, his opponent was clinging to a two-vote lead, with provisional, military and overseas ballots still waiting to be counted. The extremely tight margin underscored the main takeaway for state legislative races across politically purple North Carolina on Tuesday night: This was a primary season about punishing incumbents on both sides of the aisle. Three veteran Democrats in safe seats who tended to vote with the G.O.P. all lost their primaries by as much as 48 points, as their challengers promised to push back harder against Republicans' steamrolling approach to legislating. Five Republican incumbents, and possibly Mr. Berger, were also swept from the State Legislature. The results were a political earthquake that shook the North Carolina statehouse. They could also be an early sign of a broader anti-incumbent mood taking hold across the country as the midterms begin. |
| How our AI bots are ignoring their programming and giving hackers superpowers | |
 | Welcome to the age of AI hacking, in which the right prompts make amateurs into master hackers. A group of cybercriminals recently used off-the-shelf artificial intelligence chatbots to steal data on nearly 200 million taxpayers. The bots provided the code and ready-to-execute plans to bypass firewalls. Although they were explicitly programmed to refuse to help hackers, the bots were duped into abetting the cybercrime. According to a recent report from Israeli cybersecurity firm Gambit Security, hackers last month used Claude, the chatbot from Anthropic, to steal 150 gigabytes of data from Mexican government agencies. Claude initially refused to cooperate with the hacking attempts and even denied requests to cover the hackers' digital tracks, the experts who discovered the breach said. The group pummelled the bot with more than 1,000 prompts to bypass the safeguards and convince Claude they were allowed to test the system for vulnerabilities. AI companies have been trying to create unbreakable chains on their AI models to restrain them from helping do things such as generating child sexual content or aiding in sourcing and creating weapons. They hire entire teams to try to break their own chatbots before someone else does. But in this case, hackers continuously prompted Claude in creative ways and were able to "jailbreak" the chatbot to assist them. When they encountered problems with Claude, the hackers used OpenAI's ChatGPT for data analysis and to learn which credentials were required to move through the system undetected. |
| Unregistered And Unaware: Why Most Ole Miss Students Will Not Show Up To Primaries Next Week | |
 | The Mississippi primary election on Tuesday, March 10, will determine which candidates from each political party appear on the midterm ballot for U.S. House and Senate seats. Among those candidates is Cliff Johnson, a clinical professor of law instruction at the University of Mississippi School of Law, who is running as a Democrat for Mississippi's 1st Congressional District. Even with a local professor in the race, many UM students are unaware of the upcoming election. Between a lack of information and registration constraints, many are prepared to miss voting in the primary election altogether. Student voters who are registered in Lafayette County, such as Will Grem, a freshman psychology major from Oxford, still feel uninformed about the upcoming election. "It's not that I don't want to do research or don't want to get out," Grem said. "It's mainly because I am just too busy to know when it is actually happening." Lauren McKay, a junior dietetics and nutrition major from Wiggins, Miss., said that she did not realize there was an upcoming election but is not registered in Lafayette County, anyway. "I feel like I don't really pay attention to state news," McKay said. "I'm not registered in Lafayette County. I am still registered in my hometown." |
| Lauren Stokes' Firing Over Kirk Post Chilled Speech on University of Mississippi Campus, Faculty Testify | |
| University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce dined at Tarasque Cucina, an Oxford restaurant owned by Lauren Stokes, on the same night she shared an Instagram post about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk that prompted Boyce to fire her. The detail emerged in a brief filed in federal court on Feb. 20 by Stokes' attorney, Alysson Mills, who argued that Boyce violated Stokes' First Amendment rights by firing her from her job as executive assistant to the vice chancellor for privately criticizing the slain conservative activist. In a Feb. 13 hearing, Mills and co-counsel Lilli Bass called seven witnesses to the stand: Stokes herself, coworker Angela Atkins, UM sociology professor Dr. James Thomas, Pre-College Programs Director Dr. Wendy Pfrenger, and three UM students -- Calvin Wood, Kathryn Elizabeth Wildman, and Lauren Hite. Through testimony and 10 exhibits, the witnesses painted a detailed picture of events that occurred in the chaotic hours after 1:23 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2025, when a gunman assassinated Kirk at Utah Valley University, including UM's response to Stokes and what happened on campus in the following weeks. UM Annual Gifts Officer Angela Atkins testified that no university policy prohibits political posts on social media and that Boyce's public email announcing Stokes' firing was "absolutely unheard of" in her experience with campus terminations. She said she knows many UM colleagues who often make political posts and use personal social media accounts for different reasons. |
| Elayne Hayes-Anthony, former journalist and Jackson State interim president, dies at 76 | |
| Dr. Elayne Hayes-Anthony, a former journalist and longtime educator, has passed away. She was 76 years old. Hayes-Anthony's passing was confirmed by multiple sources with people across the Jackson metro and other parts of Mississippi going to social media to express their condolences on Thursday morning. After graduating with bachelor's and master's degrees from Jackson State University, Hayes-Anthony started her career as an intern at WJTV before becoming the Jackson-based TV station's first Black female news anchor. She was an anchor for four years before returning to school to obtain a doctorate in organizational communication and broadcast law from Southern Illinois University. She stayed in education, working as an assistant superintendent of public information for Jackson Public Schools and as a spokesperson for the Jackson School Board before accepting a position at Belhaven University. While at Belhaven, she was a professor and later chair of the Department of Communications. Hayes-Anthony returned to her alma mater, Jackson State, in 2015 as a professor and chair of the HBCU's Department of Journalism and Media Studies. In 2023, she took on the role of interim president at Jackson State and held the position until former president Marcus Thompson was selected for the job. |
| Nearly $25 million in federal funding going toward safe room projects in Mississippi | |
| A multi-use facility at Copiah-Lincoln Community College is headlining $24.8 million in federal funding to advance safe room projects across Mississippi. The funding was made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's hazard mitigation grant program. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced that projects in Webster and Tate counties are also being funded, as they received planning and design awards in 2024. In Wesson, $16,294,746 has been allocated to support phase II of Co-Lin's safe room project. Officials plan to construct a nearly 35,000-square-foot, multipurpose structure on the school's main campus. The facility will be able to accommodate more than 2,000 occupants. An additional $175,000 administrative grant was also awarded for this project. "We've been through enough severe storms in Mississippi to understand the value of safe rooms," Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over FEMA, said. |
| Auburn on Pentagon list for new military partner. Tuberville weighs in | |
 | The Pentagon is considering Auburn University as a possible new partner for military education programs after ordering an end to fellowships at several Ivy League schools. In a Feb. 27 directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed the department to stop funding graduate-level programs that send active-duty officers to universities he said promote views hostile to the military. Schools affected include Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead, the department released a list of 21 universities and security-focused institutions it says could host future military fellows, including Auburn. The shift will affect 93 active-duty service members currently enrolled in programs across 22 universities. Those students will be allowed to complete their studies, but new Pentagon funding for those schools will end beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year. While no formal partnership has been announced, Auburn already has extensive ties to defense research. |
| Sold: Birmingham-Southern College campus has new owner | |
 | After languishing dormant for almost two years since the closing of financially failing Birmingham-Southern College, the sprawling 192-acre campus on the city's west side has a new owner. U.S. Homeland Security has agreed to purchase the property and make it the newest home of the U.S. Coast Guard, according to an announcement on Wednesday. The campus is slated to be utilized as a training facility for 1,200 recruits and 400 staff members, said the agency. "We're very excited to announce that 1,000 jobs are on their way Birmingham," Mayor Randall Woodfin posted on Facebook. "Major thanks go out to BSC President Daniel Coleman for working to keep the campus viable and attractive for this next phase of use, as well as Senator Katie Britt. And a big shout out to the residents of Bush Hills and the western corridor of Birmingham. This is your victory as well." The property has been in limbo since 168-year-old Birmingham-Southern closed on May 31, 2024, after failing to secure a $30 million loan from the state legislature to help address long-standing financial troubles. In November 2023, the city of Birmingham approved a $5 million loan to BSC, but it wasn't enough to keep the school afloat any longer. |
| Kehoe discusses agriculture industry with Mizzou students | |
 | Gov. Mike Kehoe visited the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and Mizzou Collegiate Farm Bureau on Wednesday afternoon for a moderated discussion and question-and-answer session regarding a slew of agricultural issues in Missouri. Kehoe discussed high costs for farmers, low commodity prices and the evolution of agricultural technology. The talk was moderated by Mizzou alum and U.S. Farm Report host Tyne Morgan. "Events like this strengthen the relationship between students, policymakers and the agricultural community," said Carson Calvin, vice president of the Mizzou Collegiate Farm Bureau. "That connection is what the Collegiate Farm Bureau is all about." Throughout the event, Kehoe spoke directly to the agriculture students in the crowd. He referenced the challenges they would face in the industry, specifically high costs of farmland, livestock and general input, which he says is at an all-time high compared to market prices. Kehoe also discussed necessary technological advancements in the agricultural field as the global population increases. He highlighted innovation that would allow farmers to maximize production without needing greater land. This includes artificial intelligence, digital planning techniques and virtual livestock fencing, a practice being pioneered by Missouri farmers with the help of Mizzou researchers Rob Myers, Kaitlyn Dozler and Derek Brake. |
| How One HBCU Is Building a Rural Dental Workforce | |
 | Kyla Marks's grandmother grew up in a small rural town in Mississippi where access to dental care was scarce -- a gap that left her without most of her teeth by the time she was in her mid-30s. "When I came into this world and met her, I never really saw her smile," said Marks, a fourth-year dental student at Meharry Medical College, one of the nation's oldest and largest historically Black medical schools. When her grandmother died in 2020, Marks carried that loss with her, determined to expand access to dental care in underserved communities. "Having a focus in rural areas is really important because sometimes they're scared to go to the dentist," Marks said. "I'm not able to restore my grandmother's smile, but with my patients, I treat them like they're my own family members. Just showing them love and care -- having that small interaction -- can really change their trajectory." Marks is one of more than 300 students in Meharry's dental school. Since 2018, the institution has expanded its reach beyond its home base in Nashville, positioning itself as a critical provider in rural health-care deserts across Tennessee. The mobile dental expansion comes at a critical moment for rural health: Nine hospitals in Tennessee -- and roughly 300 nationwide -- are at risk of closure due to funding cuts in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, leaving many communities with shrinking access to care. In that landscape, Meharry has become a leading provider in many rural communities, including among predominantly white populations that might not traditionally seek care from an urban-based, historically Black medical school. |
| The Coming Dual-Enrollment Wars: Four-year colleges are muscling into community-college territory | |
 | As the president of a small college in the Rust Belt, Jill Murray feels the crush of enrollment pressures. Her institution, Lackawanna College, has a plan to ease them: It's starting the pipeline earlier by tapping into Pennsylvania's 502 school districts. Lackawanna's dual-enrollment system is a recruitment tool. It offers college-level courses at $100 per credit -- an 80-percent discount -- to about 3,000 high-school students, giving them some sense of what majors and career tracks they might pursue at the college. "So many students have no idea what's out there," Murray says. "We have partnerships with over 80 school districts and growing, and we're going after all 502 if we can figure that out." In Pennsylvania, parents pay tuition for dual-enrollment courses, and Lackawanna's lower price point offers a lure. Credits earned in high school transfer into a Lackawanna undergraduate program, which eases the transfer process and further enhances the program's appeal. Dual enrollment -- sometimes called concurrent enrollment, among other names -- is traditionally associated with community colleges, which can draw half or more of their enrollment from high schools. But four-year institutions -- including flagships -- are entering those spaces, too, seeking to reach underserved students and help meet enrollment goals. |
| In-Person Classes Aren't Safe From the AI Cheating Boom | |
| Online courses have long bred fears of rampant academic dishonesty, exacerbated in recent years by the advent of increasingly sophisticated digital technology. But in-person courses may be just as vulnerable, according to one biology professor at Arizona State University who conducted an audit of her department's class offerings. A preliminary analysis of syllabi for 21 in-person ASU biology courses during fall 2025 shows that on average, 45 percent of points for those courses can be easily earned by employing digital cheating methods, including some powered by artificial intelligence. "We were measuring student effort by class attendance or by having them watch a video and answering a set of questions before class. That was before every single student had access to ChatGPT at our university," Sara Brownell, the professor who conducted the analysis, told Inside Higher Ed. "Now they can just copy and paste the question into that and get the answers. We're using students' grades as a reflection of their learning and effort in class, and AI, other technology and increased academic dishonesty [are] undermining that." But ChatGPT and similar large language models are not the only digital cheating tools students are using, Brownell said. |
| He Vibe-Coded a Crisis for Higher Education | |
| When the 22-year-old engineer Advait Paliwal posted a video on X last week showing his new agentic-AI tool, named "Einstein," retrieving a homework assignment from Canvas, answering several complicated computer-science questions, and creating a PDF of the solved worksheet, higher ed had a meltdown. What is the point of homework, or professors, or college itself if students can have a machine do everything for them? "I don't want to live on this planet anymore," one professor wrote. It's unclear whether Einstein, which has since been taken down after several legal threats, could actually help a student cheat. But the debate he sparked laid bare higher ed's collective anxiety about agentic AI's potential to upend teaching and learning. Theoretically, an agentic AI connected to a learning-management system like Canvas or Blackboard could take quizzes, post on discussion boards, or complete and submit homework assignments. "It really is to the point where you're talking about kind of putting your brain in a jar and going on autopilot," said Marc Watkins, assistant director of academic innovation at the University of Mississippi. "We pay millions of dollars in licensing fees for course-management systems under the basic agreement that this is going to accurately gauge our students' learning. That is not going to happen if you're going to use the agentic tool that impersonates you." |
| McMahon Touts First Year in Office; Dems and Students Push Back | |
| A year after Education Secretary Linda McMahon took office, two Democratic lawmakers, a handful of students and several laid-off staff members took to the steps of the Education Department to decry her track record of cuts and crackdowns. Their message was clear -- McMahon must go. "Trump put someone in this position that has absolutely no experience and is completely unqualified to run the Department of Education," said Arizona representative Adelita Grijalva. The only way the secretary can make up for her wrongs, Grijalva and her fellow speaker, California representative Mark Takano, added, is by stepping down. "I'd like her to quit. Resign. Put someone in there that actually knows the job and understands education," Grijalva said. "There is nothing that she can do other than walk away." But the Trump administration and Republicans on the Hill have shown no sign of backing down. In fact, they say things are just getting started. Over the past year, McMahon has wasted no time in carrying out what she called her "final mission" -- ending decades of so-called bureaucratic bloat at the Education Department and ultimately putting herself out of a job. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 4 Bulldogs Return Home Against Lipscomb | |
| Fourth-ranked Mississippi State returns to the diamond a day early for its three-game series against Lipscomb. In anticipation of inclement weather, the Diamond Dawgs will open the series on Thursday at 6 p.m. with the remaining two games still in flux as to when they will be played over the following three days. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+. MSU is coming off back-to-back one-run losses to top 10 opponents. The 11-2 Bulldogs fell 8-7 in 10 innings to top-ranked UCLA in Arlington, Texas on Sunday and lost 7-6 at No. 10 Southern Miss on Tuesday. State faces the Bison in the friendly confines of Dudy Noble Field where the Diamond Dawgs are a perfect 9-0 this season including three run-rule victories. Sophomore Ryan McPherson is slated to start Thursday's opener for Mississippi State. The right-hander is 2-0 this season with a 2.12 ERA, 20 strikeouts and only four walks across 17 innings of work. MSU leads the all-time series against Lipscomb 9-0. The Bulldogs outscored the Bison 24-9 during a three-game sweep at Dudy Noble Field in 2023. |
| Softball: Barbary Blasts No. 12 Bulldogs To Victory In Birmingham | |
| Two big swings from Nadia Barbary put No. 12 Mississippi State in front for good on Wednesday night in a 6-1 victory at UAB. Barbary opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first. She later broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run blast in the fifth. Abigail Stevens delivered a pinch-hit, two-run double for insurance with two outs in the sixth. "Nadia has been such a consistent presence for us, all year and every year," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It's just been fun to watch her continue to grow and step up when we need her, setting the tone in the first, and then helping us extend it late in the game. I think it just give us a little bit of breathing room. You know, with our lineup, we know it can be anyone at any given time, and with the expectations for the senior, she does a great job of handling that pressure." Kiarra Sells added a double, her ninth extra-base hit during her current nine-game hitting streak. Morgan Stiles and Tatum Silva both singled and scored. In the circle, Leila Ammon went 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run. She struck out seven. Delainey Everett closed the ballgame with a scoreless seventh inning. |
| Football: Jeff Lebby Hires Philip Montgomery To Lead Mississippi State Wide Receivers | |
| Mississippi State head football coach Jeff Lebby announced Tuesday the hiring of former Broyles Award finalist Philip Montgomery as Associate Head Coach for Offense and Wide Receivers Coach. Considered one of the brightest offensive minds in college football, his impressive resume spans over three decades in the collegiate ranks, including head coaching experience at the University of Tulsa (2015-2022) and offensive coordinator stints at Virginia Tech, Auburn, Baylor and Houston. He also served as the co-offensive coordinator for the Birmingham Stallions, helping lead the team to the 2024 UFL Championship. He has consistently developed high-powered offenses and mentored several award-winning quarterbacks, including Big 12 Player of the Year Bryce Petty, Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, Baylor All-American Nick Florence, Conference USA MVP Kevin Kolb and Houston standout Case Keenum. A four-year letterman at Tarleton State, Montgomery began his coaching career as a student assistant at his alma mater, where he worked with the running backs and served as the summer weight room coordinator for two seasons. Montgomery received his bachelor's degree in exercise and sports studies from Tarleton State in 1995. |
| Women's Basketball: Mississippi State Falls In First Round Of SEC Tournament | |
| Foul trouble haunted the Bulldogs on Wednesday, as Mississippi State women's basketball fell in the first round of the SEC Tournament, 86-68, to the Florida Gators. Bulldog forwards Madison Francis and Favour Nwaedozi both picked up two fouls in the first quarter and three total fouls before the halfway point of the contest. They both picked up their fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half, before Francis ultimately fouled out with under two minutes to go in the third quarter. Despite playing in foul trouble, Nwaedozi tied for the team-lead of 12 points and picked up her 15th double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. She went 75 percent from the charity stripe and picked up six of her points by way of free throws. The Bulldogs will learn their postseason fate on Selection Sunday, which takes place on March 15 at 7 p.m. CT. |
| College football's bowl season needs an overhaul. Here's 1 intriguing proposal, and what could be next | |
| For years, one of college football's most popular offseason experiments is answering a question that's lingered since the inception of the four-team playoff: What happens to bowl games? That conversation has accelerated given the expansion to a 12-team playoff and the likely eventual growth to at least 16 teams. Do the bowls shift to September as season-opening neutral-site games? Are they all eliminated completely? Are they incorporated into a bigger playoff field? College football enters its most dramatic offseason in the modern history of bowl games. A revolutionary change to the bowl slate doesn't feel possible -- it feels inevitable. A yearslong conversation is nearing its inflection point. "The power league guys must decide what they want the postseason to look like," said one bowl game executive. "Does it include bowls or not?" The leaders of the power conferences have been exploring proposals to dramatically change the financial structure and selection process of the non-CFP bowl games -- at least those tied to the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Big Ten. |
| Lou Holtz, college football staple who coached Notre Dame to 1988 national title, dies at 89 | |
 | Lou Holtz never met an opponent that couldn't beat him. Somehow, he squeaked out nearly 250 wins and a national title while cementing himself both as one of the most lovable and unlikable characters in college football -- a one-of-a-kind iconoclast in a profession brimming with originals. The pint-sized motivator who restored greatness at Notre Dame and demanded it everywhere else he went died in Orlando, Florida, Notre Dame announced Wednesday. He was 89. Spokeswoman Katy Lonergan said the family did not provide a cause of death. "Notre Dame mourns the loss of Lou Holtz, a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and devoted husband, father and grandfather," Notre Dame president the Rev. Robert A. Dowd said in a statement. Holtz went 249-132-7 over a career that spanned 33 seasons and included stops at Minnesota, Arkansas, South Carolina and, most notably, Notre Dame. It was there that he won his lone national championship, in 1988, capped with a win over West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl but highlighted by a 31-30 victory earlier in the season over Miami -- one of the notable meetings in the so-called "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry of the '80s. |
| College football set to play games at London's Wembley Stadium for next 3 years | |
| College football will be played at Wembley, the United Kingdom's largest stadium, for the next three years, with an option to extend the deal to a fourth year, organizers have told The Athletic. On Sept. 19, the Arizona State Sun Devils and Kansas Jayhawks, both of the Big 12 Conference, will become the first two college teams to play in England since 1988 in a series called the Union Jack Classic. Kansas is the home team. Sponsorship deals and TV broadcast rights are still to be agreed for the game, which will take place in Week 3 of the college football season. Players from both colleges will be in London for a week during term time. Wembley, a 90,000-seat stadium in London, has hosted NFL London games since 2007, while in 2022 the Jacksonville Jaguars signed a three-year deal to play a home game there each season. The Union Jack Classic is hoping to build on the international appeal of American football, though college football's global presence isn't as established as the NFL's. But growing the reputation of the sports teams helps grow the reputation of the universities. For Arizona State, the game made sense from a business and academic perspective, Union Jack Classic co-founder and COO Thomas Hensey said, because they are opening ASU London in the fall of 2026. |
| What we know about the process to find Mitch Barnhart's replacement as UK AD | |
 | The first step in the search for Kentucky's next athletic director is listening. In announcing Mitch Barnhart's retirement Tuesday, UK President Eli Capilouto provided few specifics about what is next for the department, but he hinted at what appears to be a methodical approach to find Barnhart's successor. "Over the next several weeks, as I have done before during a hiring process, I will conduct a listening tour," Capilouto wrote in a letter sent to UK faculty, staff and students. "As I make a decision regarding leadership in UK Athletics, I want to talk with people on campus and off it about priorities, the landscape of college athletics and the attributes we will need as we prepare for a future that will continue to dramatically change." This will be Capilouto's first search for an athletic director as UK president. He was hired at UK in 2011, nine years into Barnhart's tenure. The search process for Barnhart's predecessor will instead follow the format Capilouto has used for other high-profile university hires who report directly to him. Since Barnhart will remain in the position through June, the pressure to make a quick hire is diminished. Barnhart will continue to be employed by the university as the executive in residence at a newly created UK Sport and Workforce Initiative, but his responsibilities in the new position do not involve the athletic department. |
| Trump Council's Push for NCAA Antitrust Exemption Faces Hurdles | |
| President Donald Trump's new commission to explore legal reforms to college sports is expected to advocate for an antitrust exemption. The NCAA has pushed for this exemption for years, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court's 9–0 ruling against the association in NCAA v. Alston (2021). Alston involved a review of NCAA rules governing payment of athletes' education‑related expenses, and in the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch clarified that NCAA rules are governed by ordinary antitrust scrutiny. That scrutiny balances the pro‑ and anti-competitive aspects of a rule -- such as a rule saying college athletes can't be paid -- and focuses on how a rule impacts economic competition in a marketplace. An exemption would allow the NCAA and member schools to set rules governing NIL, revenue-sharing, transfer rules and eligibility -- all of which have spawned costly and disruptive antitrust lawsuits in recent years -- without fear of antitrust litigation. But the effort will face political hurdles, in part because many lawmakers value antitrust law's emphasis on legitimate competition in the marketplace. Defendants, like the NCAA, normally have the advantage in antitrust litigation because they need only show their rules are, more or less, reasonable. |
| Steve Kerr, Doc Rivers join 'political interference' letter | |
| A number of prominent basketball coaches, including NBA champions Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers, signed a public letter released Wednesday contending that political interference in universities threatens to undermine college athletics. "College sports unite us as a nation, drawing out team spirit and shared values of fair play," the letter said. "Campuses -- big and small, public and private, two- and four-year -- are a bedrock foundation for the role sports play in American life. Protecting university independence safeguards this proud tradition." Kerr and Rivers are joined in signing the letter by former coaches Jim Boeheim and Muffet McGraw (both of whom have won NCAA basketball titles), former Michigan coach John Beilein, Harvard coach and former Duke All-American Tommy Amaker, and Phil Martelli, who coached perennial NCAA tournament teams at St. Joseph's. Head men's basketball coach James Jones of Yale and Judith Sweet, the first woman elected as president of the NCAA, are also among the signees for the group. The coaches and other athletic administrators who signed the letter said that political interference harms university culture, and that includes college athletics. They point to cuts to funding for research, censorship, intimidation of university leaders and faculty and having federal officers deployed to college campuses as examples of that interference. |
| The U.S. World Cup Is Heading Into Uncharted Territory | |
 | The top executives of soccer's world governing body were sitting inside a castle in South Wales last weekend when they suddenly became distracted by their buzzing phones. They had gathered at an annual rules meeting to review tweaks to substitutions and video replay. But now the FIFA brass was being interrupted by a far more pressing matter. The U.S., a co-host of this summer's World Cup, had launched what it called "a major combat operation" against Iran, one of the countries due to play in the tournament. And no one at FIFA was quite sure what it entailed. All they knew was that the 2026 World Cup was heading into uncharted territory. "Of course, we'll monitor the developments around all issues around the world," FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom said. "Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating." Geopolitics have always been a feature of these international sporting extravaganzas, but not since the last world war have global developments collided so violently with the planet's most popular event. In the space of a few weeks, the World Cup organized across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, has faced a growing list of serious questions over its ability to go ahead as planned. Ever since the hosting rights were awarded to the U.S. in 2018, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has closely aligned himself with President Trump. Infantino, a Swiss lawyer who has overseen global soccer for a decade, has been a frequent visitor to the White House and a regular attendee at Presidential events that go far beyond the world of sports. |
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