| Tuesday, May 5, 2026 |
| MSU Officially Opens New Livestock Evaluation Lab In Starkville | |
 | Students at Mississippi State University now have a new space to call home. MSU President Mark Keenum, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, and others gathered for the ribbon-cutting at the new MSU Livestock Evaluation Laboratory. The lab will give students a centralized location for planning and practice sessions. "We're looking forward to having this building. We already have a few classes out here. We have labs, and then they disperse across the farm for whatever their assignment might be for the day. This is a great place for them to meet. We are right here at the beginning of the farm, right when you walk through the gates. So, we have classes out here already, and our livestock judging team comes out here to practice. They spend many late nights and long hours, and this is just a really great place for them to be. It is safe, it is in the gated area. It's a little bit off campus, and then they have access to the animals they need right here on South Farm. We also have our advisory board meetings, so the animal and dairy science advisory board has met out here, and we are looking forward to welcoming more people," said Animal and Dairy Sciences Department Head Christy Bratcher. |
| Education: MSU unveils Hulett Ambassador Hub to strengthen student engagement, mentorship | |
 | Mississippi State's College of Arts and Sciences hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Drs. Karen and William Hulett Ambassador Hub Friday, on the first floor of Allen Hall in the university's Healthcare Pathways Resource Center. The new office space, funded by a gift from the Huletts, is designed to support student ambassadors and enhance opportunities for leadership and outreach across the college. The Ambassador Hub will provide a central location for student ambassadors to engage with prospective students, alumni and visitors. HPRC ambassadors are student leaders chosen through a highly selective process who help connect prospective and current students with prehealth opportunities while supporting events and peer mentorship. Rick Travis, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the Huletts' gift reflects a deep commitment to student development and connection. The Huletts, longtime residents of Madison, have supported MSU through athletics and academics and both have served on the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board. A dedicated supporter of her alma mater, Karen also has served on the MSU Foundation Board and, alongside her husband, established scholarships supporting student success within the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as in the HPRC. |
| Engineers Monitor Eye Movements to Revolutionize Student Simulation Training and Boost Clinical Readiness in Meridian | |
 | In a groundbreaking collaboration that bridges engineering precision and healthcare education, Mississippi State University at Meridian is pioneering the use of eye-tracking technology to revolutionize the training of future healthcare professionals. The initiative aims to dissect the visual attention, cognitive workload, and confidence levels of nursing students during high-stakes intrapartum and postpartum simulation-based training, promising transformative advances in clinical education and patient care. The project, launched in 2025, harnesses sophisticated Tobii Pro 3 eye-tracking glasses to capture nuanced ocular metrics such as pupil dilation, fixation duration, and gaze pathways of participants engaged in simulated labor and delivery scenarios. By meticulously recording and analyzing these visual and cognitive indicators, researchers can elucidate the differences between novice students and experienced clinicians, thereby pinpointing critical areas where training can be optimized. Assistant Professor Jessica Gonzalez-Vargas, from the Bagley College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, leads the initiative, underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of this research. |
| The lasting appeal of homeschooling: What motivated families to continue after schools reopened post-pandemic | |
| Mississippi State University's Mark E. Wildmon and Kenneth V. Anthony write for The Conversation: When schools abruptly closed their doors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, millions of students unexpectedly started learning at home, with or without the help of Zoom lessons. Many observers -- and perhaps some parents -- assumed these kids would return to in-person classrooms once the COVID-19 risk decreased. But homeschooling numbers indicate that many families chose to keep their kids home after the pandemic. Today, more than 6% of school-age children -- or 3.4 million students -- are learning at home. This is higher than before the COVID-19 online learning period. In March 2020, 5.4% of school-age children in the U.S. were homeschooled. Growth in homeschooling has been gradual. ... We are researchers at Mississippi State University who study why parents want to homeschool. As part of our forthcoming research, we conducted a survey in 2024 with 201 homeschooling parents, primarily those who live in Southern states and were part of national homeschooling networks and educational organizations. |
| Political Cartoonist Marshall Ramsey Visits Starkville | |
| Before there were memes to distill a complex idea into a single image, there were political cartoons, and even with today's choices in visual media, that single frame is still a great way to get a message across. One of the masters of the medium was in Starkville on Monday. Marshall Ramsey shared some of the stories behind some of his favorite images and talked about what he's doing today. Ramsey has called Mississippi home for about 30 years and has worked for the "Clarion Ledger", "Mississippi Today", and now he is at Ole Miss's School of Journalism and New Media. He said things are always changing. Sometimes you get it right, and sometimes you have to pivot. "My thing is, one of the things I tell my students is that never think if something doesn't go your way, it's a failure. Look at it as an opportunity to try new things and experiment. And, that was really a mind-shift that I – I got made part-time many years ago at the newspaper, and it opened up half my day, and I started doing radio and books and all kinds of different things that I didn't know I could do. All because something bad happened. So, with change, sometimes things don't go your way. You just have to realize that's an opportunity," said Ramsey. |
| Oktibbeha deputy fired after brawl with umpire at Cornerstone | |
| An Oktibbeha County sheriff's deputy was fired following a Sunday afternoon brawl with an umpire during a Grand Slam baseball tournament at Cornerstone Park. Lt. Darrell Holley, a coach for Starkville's 14U Sports Performance Center Select team, and Jeff Akins, an umpire for the tournament, were arrested and charged with fighting not in self defense, according to Brandon Lovelady, public information officer for Starkville Police Department. The charge is a misdemeanor. Holley was terminated from his role with OCSO on Monday, Sheriff Shank Phelps wrote in a press release. "Regardless of the circumstances, the (Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office) will not tolerate this type of behavior," the press release said. "A baseball field is supposed to be a place of fun and family; fighting has no place there." Holley, 44, was held on a $1,000 bond and has since bonded out, Lovelady told The Dispatch on Monday. Akins, 52, was released on his own recognizance. |
| House will meet at Old Capitol for special session, Speaker confirms | |
| Mississippi House Speaker Jason White (District 48) confirmed Monday that the House will meet in the Old Capitol House Chamber when a special session occurs regarding redistricting. The Old Mississippi State Capitol served as the statehouse from 1839, when it was built, until 1903, when the New Capitol was constructed. The building was later restored and now operates as a museum, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. White reports that the move is because the House Chamber in the New Capitol is closed for renovations tied to the dome and skylights. Construction is already underway and expected to wrap up in December, White said. Gov. Tate Reeves called a special session regarding voting redistricting for May 20. |
| A Hidden Liability for U.S. Cities: Looming Infrastructure Repair Costs | |
 | U.S. cities are facing huge liabilities that remain invisible on their books: dilapidated roads, bridges and buildings. A new study aims to put a dollar figure on the total wear and tear on the country's urban infrastructure, and arrives at $1.03 trillion. That is not necessarily what it would cost to bring the infrastructure up to date, but it offers a snapshot of the magnitude of the repairs local governments will need to address in coming years. The costs are hypothetical for now but could someday hit cities' bottom lines. About a decade ago, for instance, new rules made cities account for their long-term pension obligations. Afterward, taxes rose, services were cut and municipal bond prices fell for many cities. The new paper, by municipal research pioneer Richard Ciccarone, examines the age and expected life of infrastructure in 2,000 cities. "You're hiding an obligation or a commitment that's got to be made sooner or later," Ciccarone said, "and it's usually more expensive at that point." He said many of the city structures in everyday use are already well past their intended expiration date. |
| XAI sidelines major water reuse project as IPO looms | |
 | When Elon Musk brought xAI to Memphis, Tennessee, the company made a promise to locals worried that its data center would drain the local water supply: They would build a state-of-the-art water recycling plant, a national model for environmental best practices. Two years later, Musk's first data center dedicated to his AI chatbot is up and running, but construction has come to a screeching halt at the promised water recycling plant, designed to clean municipal wastewater for use in cooling the superpowered computing center. The company announced it was stopping work on the water recycling plant in April, a month after its CEO touted it in a meeting with President Donald Trump. Now, Memphis residents are worried about their drinking water in an episode legal experts and scientists say is indicative of a broader pitfall of the data center boom. "At the end of the day, if they are not required and don't have any legal commitments to provide this, then it's anyone's guess if and when they will continue construction on this plant," said Haley Gentry, assistant director at the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy. Caught in the confusion are Memphis residents and their fragile drinking water source. |
| Pentagon Says Iran's Actions 'Below the Threshold' for Restarting War | |
| Iran's military actions since the cease-fire started, including firing on commercial vessels and seizing two ships, don't rise to the level of restarting the war, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "No adversary should mistake our current restraint for a lack of resolve," Caine added in a joint briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who talked up the U.S.'s efforts to free up the flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The comments came as the United Arab Emirates said its air-defense system was intercepting new attacks from Iran on Tuesday. A day earlier, the U.A.E faced a series of attacks on ships and a key energy installation, testing the shaky four-week cease-fire and prompting threats from each side toward the other. Hegseth said the U.S. still hopes Iran will make a deal. Iran's foreign minister warned the U.S. against "being dragged back into quagmire." President Trump said his focus was on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and appeared to play down the chances of imposing strict caps on Tehran's missile program. Oil prices slipped after jumping on Monday. |
| Abortion pill rulings bring the issue back to the forefront in a midterm election year | |
 | Back-to-back court rulings on abortion pill access are thrusting a contentious political issue back into the spotlight ahead of this year's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the second half of President Donald Trump's term. Friday's ruling from a federal appeals court restricted mail access to mifepristone prescriptions, one of the most common abortion methods around the country, in the biggest shift to federal abortion policy since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision allowing states to enforce abortion bans. The Supreme Court then temporarily restored broad access to the drug on Monday while it further considers the case, setting the stage for a potential decision that could have wide-ranging consequences for patients and providers. It's too early to say whether the latest rulings will affect the outcome of races this year, when issues around affordability are expected to take top billing for voters. But advocates on both sides of the issue are hoping it will sway voters their way. |
| 'Stuck with one another': Supreme Court resembles a feuding family | |
 | The Supreme Court often resembles a feuding family where the same heated arguments go on for years. The justices disagree over race, religion, abortion, guns and the environment, and more recently, presidential power and LGBTQ+ rights. And while they try to maintain a cordial working relationship, they don't claim to be good friends. "We are stuck with one another whether we like it or not," Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote last year in her book, "Listening to the Law." And like it or not, the testy exchanges and simmering anger have been increasing, driven by the sharp ideological divide. The three liberals had known since October the conservative majority was preparing to elevate partisan power over racial fairness. By retreating from part of the Voting Rights Act, the court's opinion last week by Justice Samuel A. Alito will allow Republicans across the South to dismantle voting districts that favor Black Democrats. Justice Elena Kagan, who first came to the court as a law clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall, denounced the "demolition" of a historic civil rights law. But Alito and Chief Justice John G. Roberts joined the court 20 years ago believing the government may not make decisions based on race. |
| Why Almost Everyone Loses -- Except a Few Sharks -- on Prediction Markets | |
| John Pederson, 33, couldn't work. The former Outback Steakhouse line cook was recovering from a car crash and running out of money. Kalshi, the prediction market, promised a quick way to fix that. He took out a variable-interest loan and started betting. At first, it worked. Pederson turned about $2,000 into close to $8,000 by betting on daily snowfall totals in Detroit, where he lives. He parlayed that into $41,000 by trading on sports, using a strategy he developed with the help of AI, according to a Wall Street Journal review of his account records. Then he placed his most audacious bet yet: All $41,000 that a celebrity would say a particular word on TV. He lost it all. Pederson isn't alone in walking away empty-handed from the bet-on-anything markets, which cover sports, celebrities, news and more. Kalshi and its competitor Polymarket advertise themselves as life-changing tools for regular people -- implying everyone has a fair chance to score. "I was about to be unable to pay my rent, but I got two years of rent through Kalshi's predictions," gushed one woman in a Kalshi ad on TikTok. But for most users the reality is nothing like that. Instead, casual traders are bleeding cash while a small number of sophisticated pros -- including trading firms with access to vast streams of data -- eat their lunch, according to a Journal analysis of platform data and interviews with traders. |
| Mississippi Attorney General joins coalition calling for state control over sports-related prediction markets | |
| Mississippi's Attorney General, along with attorneys general in 40 other states, have formed a coalition to provide assurance that the regulation power of "event contracts" for online sports-related betting falls to states, and not the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Event contracts, or prediction markets, allow people to bet or "trade" on future occurrences, most of the time the bets are sports related. The coalition of attorneys general drafted a letter to the CFTC presenting the argument that these prediction markets are essentially sports books operating without regulation, and as such should fall under state regulation, not federal. Submission of the letter to the CFTC occurred in response to the federal agency requesting public comment in an effort to establish federal rules on how prediction markets operate. "Mississippi, like many states, has carefully balanced competing interests to allow responsible sports betting here," said Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Monday. "The CFTC should not upend that balance, usurp state authorities without a clear Congressional directive, and leave states with the responsibility for cleaning up the impacts of sports betting without the ability to regulate it on the front end. The best interests of Mississippians are served by preserving our traditional police powers here." |
| Science Has Found Even More Ways Coffee Is Good for You | |
 | Are you a fan of coffee but not sure if it's good for you? Perhaps you're aware of its well-known stimulant effect but aren't sure about the other effects it has on your health. A recent study explores how regular coffee consumption influences the gut-brain axis, a bidirectional communication network that connects the digestive system with brain activity. The results reveal a highly complex interaction that goes beyond caffeine. "Public interest in gut health has risen hugely," said John Cryan, coauthor of the study published this week in Nature Communications. "The relationship between digestive and mental health is also increasingly being better understood, but the mechanisms behind coffee's effects on this gut-brain axis have remained unclear." One of the most relevant findings was that coffee consumption modifies the composition of the intestinal microbiome. In regular drinkers, changes were detected in the abundance of certain bacteria, such as Eggerthella species and Cryptobacterium curtum, suggesting that coffee favors specific microorganisms. The former are believed to contribute to gastric and intestinal acid secretion, while the latter are involved in bile acid synthesis. APC Microbiome Ireland explains that both bacteria contribute to the elimination of harmful intestinal bacteria, preventing infections. Another relevant aspect was the response of the immune system. Coffee consumers presented lower levels of inflammatory markers and higher levels of anti-inflammatory molecules. |
| Education: The W, EMCC sign agreement creating pathway to bachelor's degrees | |
| Mississippi University for Women and East Mississippi Community College have signed a memorandum of agreement establishing new educational pathways for students pursuing career-technical degrees who plan to earn a bachelor's degree. EMCC graduates who earn an associate of applied science degree in specified career-technical fields will be able to transfer approved credits toward a bachelor of applied science at The W, thanks to the agreement signed by W President Nora Miller and EMCC President Scott Alsobrooks. The agreement, signed Thursday at the Culinary Arts Institute on The W's campus, creates a seamless pathway for qualified EMCC students to continue their education at The W. Under the agreement, students may complete up to three years of coursework at EMCC before transferring to The W to finish their bachelor's degree in approximately one additional year, either in person or online. Students also have the option to pursue a master of business administration degree in a fifth year. |
| Scott Colom seeks to become first Democrat to win a U.S. senate election in Mississippi since 1982 | |
 | In a state where a Democrat has not served as a U.S. senator since 1989 or won a senate election since 1982, it is easy to see why some consider Mississippi elections as merely a formality. Scott Colom wants to change that perception. "I think we've been making a lot of cracks in the glass, which represents the belief that a Democrat can't win in Mississippi," Colom said. "(In) 2019, Jim Hood got very close to being elected governor. In 2023, (Brandon Presley was) three points -- 27,000 votes from being elected governor. Last year, the Democrats were able to break the supermajority in the state senate." Colom announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in September 2025. He has served as district attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Mississippi since 2016. The DM has reached out to the Republican general election candidate Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, but her office has stopped communication to set up an interview. The DM will continue to attempt to set up an interview with Hyde-Smith before November. |
| Ole Miss professor to study planet formation through NASA grant | |
| Ole Miss associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry Ryan Fortenberry will study the earliest stages of planet formation and the chemical abundance of the universe as part of two NASA grants. "This never happens," Fortenberry said. "These are two very different projects, but we approach them in very similar ways. The odds of them both getting funded at the same time are astronomical." Part of the studies include how water and gas-phase metals react and leave behind a solid cluster. Unlocking the formula to how this works could revolutionize the way we think about space travel, Fortenberry said. |
| Occupation training investments made at NWCC | |
| AccelerateMS says it is investing in Northwest Mississippi Community College to strengthen the region's workforce pipeline through a new commercial electrical program and expanding the college's robotic welding training. The investment enhances training opportunities for both credit and non-credit students at the Batesville Concourse and DeSoto Centers, equipping labs with commercial electrical systems and robotic welding technology. These programs prepare students for modern manufacturing and industrial environments where electrical systems, automation, and robotic welding intersect. With the $1.9 million investment, Northwest expanded workforce training capacity in high-demand fields, adding 36 seats annually to the commercial electrical and welding programs. Additionally, equipment will be used to support direct industry training as needed in the region. |
| How Trump's orders to disband 'DEI' could cost Louisiana HBCUs millions | |
 | As President Donald Trump's administration moves to smother diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at U.S. universities, Louisiana's higher education board is eliminating an incentive that encouraged universities to graduate more minority students. The change means the state's historically Black colleges and universities stand to lose millions of dollars. "I'm not going to lie, because the numbers are out there," interim Southern University System President Orlando McMeans said. "It will put us in the red as it relates to funding for 2026-2027." The Louisiana Board of Regents doles out money from the Legislature to the state's public colleges and universities based on a complex formula. For the new fiscal year that starts July 1, that formula will no longer include an "underrepresented minority completer" metric, which rewarded institutions for graduating students of races with lower graduation rates than the rest of the population. Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana's commissioner of higher education, said the board dissolved the metric to comply with Trump's executive orders prohibiting the federal government and federal contractors from maintaining DEI programs. |
| UT Turning Point to host Sen. Marsha Blackburn | |
| The University of Tennessee's chapter of Turning Point USA is hosting U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn Tuesday, May 5, to speak to students about current events. Riley Gaines, conservative activist and former NCAA swimmer, and Josh Thifault, senior director of major gifts for Turning Point USA, are also speaking at the event. "This is a unique opportunity to hear from influential voices across government, athletics and media, and to engage in an evening of discussion you won't want to miss," Hayden Swanner, East Tennessee Turning Point college field representative and UT alum, said. Turning Point Action, an arm of Turning Point that targets voter mobilization, endorsed Blackburn's run for governor of Tennessee. "Our campaign is about making Tennessee America's conservative leader for this generation and the next," Blackburn said in a campaign Instagram post. "I'm committed to carrying forward (Charlie Kirk's) legacy and fighting every day for the conservative values that built this movement." |
| U. of Tennessee's huge, $227M building gets a big name to match | |
 | Randy Boyd Hall is now the official name of the newest and largest building coming to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus. Boyd, the UT System president, put an undisclosed amount toward the building's construction in February, according to a letter of recommendation from Chancellor Donde Plowman, who referred to the new name as "a fitting tribute to (Boyd's) enduring dedication" to UT. The building will join the Jenny Boyd Theatre -- another on-campus facility honoring the Boyd family -- when it opens for the fall 2027 semester. The theater, named for Randy Boyd's wife, held its first performance earlier this year. "The Boyd family's efforts have expanded educational access and opportunities for countless Tennesseans," Plowman said, "making this recognition not only well-deserved but also a testament to their lasting impact on the university community." The $227.4 million project at the corner of Cumberland Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard will provide 18 classrooms and house two college centers when it opens. |
| UGA professors react to syllabus policy going into fall 2026 | |
| The University System of Georgia (USG) implemented a policy in 2025 that requires syllabi to be publicly posted onto university websites before registration. Some University of Georgia professors are questioning the scope and necessity of this adjustment. USG says the change "aims to ensure that all students have access to the critical information necessary for informed course selection and successful academic planning." UGA professors are required to have their syllabi available before registration opens for fall courses, a change from the past two semesters in which they were allowed to wait until one week before courses began. Erin Dolan, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, thinks the policy will be beneficial for students, but has some trepidation over what the motivation for the new policy is. "A syllabus is basically a contract between students who enroll for a course and the faculty who teach them," Dolan said. "I feel like before students enter into a contract, they should be able to review the contract." |
| S.C. Lt. Governor Threatens Defunding HBCU That Canceled Her | |
 | Last week, while South Carolina State University students were protesting their administration's plan to have Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette speak at graduation, Evette held a news conference. She took reporters' questions sitting in front of a banner declaring her next career aspiration: "Evette for Governor." One journalist asked, "If there is a risk of them pulling you out as the guest speaker, is there a chance that funding might be cut from the school?" "I'm not a vindictive person," she responded, adding that "I was asked as a guest to come and speak. I was happy to do that. I don't believe they did that hoping that they would get more money, or not get money taken away." But since S.C. State canceled her graduation speech, Evette is now talking about taking the historically Black university's money away. She's amplified a letter from a small group of Republican lawmakers asking the House Ways and Means Committee chair to cut from next year's budget the more than $35 million in state funding proposed for S.C. State. |
| Texas A&M breaks ground on new Meat Science & Tech Center | |
| Leaders from Texas A&M AgriLife and the Texas A&M University System gathered Monday to break ground for the new Meat Science and Technology Center. The Monday ceremony at 3844 Finfeather Road marked the beginning of work on an 85,600-square-foot facility, which will serve as the anchor for a future agriculture district on West Campus. The project follows a decision in March by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to keep the Meat Science and Technology Center on the main campus. The new center will feature modern laboratories, classrooms and processing spaces for beef swine, poultry, sheep and goats. Designed to address global food solutions, the facility will incorporate emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to enhance food safety and processing. The center`s expanded footprint and infrastructure will support long-term growth on the university campus. The new center will house an array of key programs and initiatives of the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science and the Texas A&M Department of Poultry Science. |
| U. of Oklahoma president discusses first-year housing challenges, strategic plan updates | |
| University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. sat down with OU Daily editors Monday afternoon to discuss housing changes at Traditions Square, growth hurdles and strategic plan updates. In 2020, OU launched "Lead On, University," an eight-year strategic plan centered around five pillars for future growth at the university. OU announced a refresh of the strategic plan in 2025, incorporating both OU Health and OU-Tulsa into the planning efforts. "Nothing's perfect, but it's going really well, ..." Harroz said. "I'm really proud of what's taking place." Harroz said a core tenet of the strategic plan is making education at OU more affordable and accessible, specifically citing growth in its first-generation student population. Of the total university enrollment, 28% is first-generation and 37% of in-state students are first-generation, according to OU Institutional Research and Reporting's SoonerFacts reports. "That's my favorite statistic personally, because this idea of access to the American dream, to me, is huge," Harroz said. Harroz also spoke about the university's increased investment in research. |
| U. of Missouri to overhaul merit scholarships for fall 2027 | |
 | The University of Missouri will change how it awards merit scholarships and will eliminate its current grid award system. The change will officially take place in the fall of 2027. Current and incoming student scholarship funds will not be affected. The overhaul could significantly affect how much financial aid students receive and how families plan for college. A broader review that considers incoming students' coursework rigor in high school will replace the current predictable GPA-based system. "The changes have been finalized. We're moving ahead with the changes for fall (2027)," said Steve Robinson, vice provost for enrollment management. The former grid system showed how students could earn merit scholarships based on a combination of their GPA and SAT or ACT scores. By finding where those two factors met on the grid, students could see which award level they qualified for, with higher GPAs and test scores leading to larger scholarships. "The goal of all these changes is to make the process fairer, clearer and more aligned with student success," said Christopher Ave, a university spokesperson. |
| Michigan Professor's Praise for Pro-Palestinian Protesters Sparks Furor | |
| As part of a commencement speech Saturday praising University of Michigan student activists throughout history, African studies and history professor Derek Peterson tipped his hat to pro-Palestinian protesters who over the past two years "opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel's war in Gaza." The remark received loud and long applause, but -- as is true of many professors' public praise for pro-Palestinian activists -- it also sparked immediate political backlash against Peterson and university leaders. Republican officials and some Jewish groups criticized the speech as antisemitic and unnecessarily political. University of Michigan president Domenico Grasso publicly apologized for Peterson's remarks on Saturday afternoon, calling them "hurtful and insensitive to many members of our community." Others -- including faculty, students and staff members -- have leaped to Peterson's defense and urged the university to publicly support him. Peterson spoke as chair of the Faculty Senate -- a commencement speaker spot that chairs have filled since 2014, he said. The university streamed the ceremony on YouTube. The ensuing online pandemonium from all sides of the political spectrum came as a surprise, Peterson said. |
| Cornell's President Has Gone Viral for Bumping a Student Activist With His Car. Is It a Crisis? | |
 | Michael Kotlikoff, Cornell University's president, has gone viral for bumping a student protester with his car on Thursday. Kotlikoff had just left a talk, part of an on-campus debate series about Israel and Palestine -- a sanctioned space for student disagreement, as it were. Then came the unsanctioned part. Members of a student organization that opposes the university's protest policy followed Kotlikoff after the talk, asking him pointed questions about Cornell's treatment of protesters and filming the interaction. Kotlikoff, saying he was not going to engage, went to his car and got in, as several people milled around it, according to security footage posted by Cornell. After about 15 seconds, Kotlikoff backed out of the parking space and the car bumped one of the student activists. As of Monday, the story had appeared in The New York Times and on ABC, NBC, and Fox News, and video footage had been widely posted on social media. The incident is an example of how the college presidency has become "increasingly complicated," thanks in part to the prevalence of video evidence, said Michael S. Harris, an expert in higher-education leadership at Southern Methodist University. |
| U.S.C. Will Infuse A.I. Across University With $200 Million Donation | |
 | The University of Southern California said Tuesday that it would use a venture capitalist's $200 million donation to apply artificial intelligence across academic disciplines. The contribution comes as universities across the country are weighing how to incorporate A.I. into their curriculums and research programs and considering how the fast-changing technology could upend demand for higher education itself. U.S.C. said it expected some of the money would go toward building computing power. Most, though, was earmarked to attract new faculty members who would infuse A.I. into areas like health care, cybersecurity and, crucially in Los Angeles, the arts. "The focus is really thinking universitywide about how these world-class A.I. researchers can extend knowledge and excellence in these other fields," Beong-Soo Kim, U.S.C.'s president, said in an interview. Like many universities considering their role as A.I. rises, U.S.C.'s plan reflects an emphasis on practical uses of the emerging technology rather than under-the-hood development. |
| A storied women's college faces federal probe for admitting trans students | |
 | The Education Department has launched an investigation into Smith College, one of the nation's most well-known women's colleges, for its policy that allows transgender women to enroll. The probe, announced Monday, could mark the start of a lengthy legal battle between the Trump administration and women's colleges that accept students who were assigned the male sex at birth but later self-identified as women. Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination at education institutions that receive federal money, makes an exception for admissions decisions at private undergraduate colleges, like Smith. That allows single-sex colleges to operate without violating the law. But the Education Department asserted that the exception applies only to biological sex, not gender identity. "An all-women's college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males," Kimberly Richey, the assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a news release. |
| College Towns Are Becoming Retirement Destinations in 2026 but How Does the Tax Math Add Up for Retirees? | |
| It's that time of year again when college is on many people's minds. Students are preparing to graduate after years of learning, growth, and hard work, and high schoolers across the country face Decision Day as they choose where to spend their next four years. But amid the college admissions and graduation frenzy, there's another interesting trend to consider: from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Durham, North Carolina, and beyond, so-called "college towns" are emerging as appealing pockets for some older adults. It's not that hard to see why. Yes, familiarity or nostalgia is likely a factor for some. But the fact is that many college towns offer advantages that surveys show many retirees value. Older adults often seek affordability, good access to healthcare, and a sense of community when deciding where to live, and some college towns check those boxes. But...financial and tax considerations are often a major part of the "where should I retire" decision, with the latest tax migration data showing millions of people leaving high-tax states for those with low or no personal income taxes. So, a key question comes to mind...do college towns benefit retirees from a tax perspective? |
| Mississippi faces pressure to redistrict before congressional midterms, but also real world constraints | |
| The Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: Even before the Supreme Court's decision in Callais changed the redistricting landscape, Mississippi faced pressure from the White House to redraw its congressional lines. The state maintains four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the one occupied by Congressman Bennie Thompson stands center-stage in a national redistricting frenzy aimed at the 2026 midterms. On the same day Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new redistricting plan for the Sunshine State, Byron Donalds, a black Republican and DeSantis' likely replacement, called explicitly on Mississippi to target Thompson. Thompson, who oversaw the January 6th Commission as Chairman of Homeland Security, has drawn the ire of the President and those around him for how he conducted that investigation. Governor Tate Reeves previously announced a special session to address redistricting for the Mississippi Supreme Court, but to date has not expanded the call to address congressional redistricting. Were that call to be made and were the Legislature to act to eliminate Thompson's district, that action would face a bevy of real world challenges. Lawsuits would almost certainly follow. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 11 Bulldogs Prep For Final Midweek Test | |
| Mississippi State has reached the point in the season where every inning carries weight, even when it comes outside Southeastern Conference play. The 11th-ranked Diamond Dawgs will try to turn the page quickly from a competitive road series at No. 4 Texas when they host Nicholls on Tuesday night at Dudy Noble Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. MSU enters the midweek matchup 36-12 overall and 14-10 in the SEC after dropping two of three in Austin. State won Saturday's game 7-4 but bookended the weekend with a 3-1 loss Thursday and an 11-6 defeat Sunday. For a club still sitting inside the national top 12 in every major poll, Tuesday offers a chance to reset before another top-10 SEC test arrives later in the week. The Bulldogs host No. 6 Auburn for a three-game series beginning Thursday, making the Nicholls game more than a simple midweek date. It is a chance for Brian O'Connor's team to clean up the details, protect its home field and avoid letting one rough Sunday linger into the final stretch of the regular season. |
| Nicholls Baseball Heads to Starkville to Battle No. 11 Mississippi State | |
| The Nicholls State University baseball team will hit the road to take on No.11 Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS on Tuesday, May 5. Action from Dudy Noble Field will begin 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed via SECN+. Nicholls (25-22) enters the final week of the regular season in fifth place in the Southland Conference Standings. Last week the Colonels were busy as they swept a double header against Southeastern Baptist before losing a midweek game at Louisiana and ending the week by losing a three game home series against New Orleans. The Colonels balanced offense features three players batting over .300 and four who have at least 50 hits. The unit is led by Nico Rijo-Berger who hits .340 with 51 hits and 27 RBI. Greyson Shafer (.307) and Caston Thompson (.304) have 50 and 52 hits respectively and are the second pair of Colonel teammates to have double figure home runs in the same season. Keegan Giger leads the team in hits with 56 and has 39 RBI. The Colonels and Bulldogs have met eight times since 2009 with the Red & Gray's lone victory coming in 2018. This will be the first meeting between the teams in Starkville since 2016 as three of the last four have been neutral site contests. |
| NCAA rules committee approves robot ump for challenging balls and strikes in SEC Tournament | |
| The robot umpire is coming to college baseball, at least on an experimental basis. The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee on Monday approved the Southeastern Conference's request to implement a challenge system for balls and strikes for each game of the 2026 SEC Tournament. It will be similar to the system used in Major League Baseball. Teams can challenge an umpire's strike or ball call via an automated ball tracking system that monitors the exact location of each pitch, relative to the specific batter's zone. "The introduction of this challenge system at the SEC Tournament reflects our continued commitment to innovation," Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "This addition represents a continued step forward for our game, aligns more closely with the professional level and supports the development of our student-athletes as they prepare for success at the next level." |
| 'It could be a positive thing': Mississippi State's O'Connor hopeful ABS will be beneficial | |
| Baseball's automated ball-strike challenge system will be given a trial run at the collegiate level this year, and one Mississippi coach thinks it could be a positive if implemented correctly. The NCAA's Baseball Rules Committee approved Monday the Southeastern Conference's proposal to implement ABS in the upcoming conference tournament in Hoover, Ala. Mississippi State head coach Brian O'Connor told SportsTalk Mississippi before the decision he believes the challenge system could be a benefit if implemented the right way. "I think if it's introduced the right way, it could be a positive thing," O'Connor said. If you've tuned into a major league baseball game this year, chances are you've seen a player tapping his hat or helmet, signaling that he did not agree with an umpire's call. When a player does that, he is vying to have ABS review the call. The apparatus monitors the exact location of each pitch, relative to the specific batter's zone and determines whether or not the call was right. |
| Softball: No. 18 Mississippi State Begins SEC Tournament Tuesday | |
| No. 18 Mississippi State (37-17, 9-15 SEC) will face host Kentucky (26-28, 1-23) in the first round of the 2026 SEC Tournament on Tuesday. Due to forecasted weather, first pitch times for all games have been moved up with State' game set for approximately 1 p.m. CT at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. The game will begin 35 minutes following the conclusion of the first game of the day, which will start at 10 a.m. Coming off their final regular season series against in-state rival, Ole Miss, the Bulldogs earned the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament. State finished 9-15 in the SEC and was the only team in the conference to play all eight series against teams inside the top 25 of the RPI. MSU won eight games against ranked teams during the league schedule, including three over top-10 teams highlighted by handing then-No. 1 Tennessee its first loss of the year. This will be first time in Kentucky has hosted the SEC Tournament since 2013. |
| Softball: Goold Selected By Oklahoma City Spark In AUSL College Draft | |
| Mississippi State's Peja Goold was selected by the Oklahoma City Spark in Monday night's AUSL College Draft, becoming the 19th Bulldog drafted to play professional softball and bringing the program's total of professional players to 29. Of those 29 professionals, 17 were coached by Ricketts for at least one season at MSU. Ten Bulldogs have gone on to pro careers in the seven years since she was named the program's head coach, and at least one player has signed a professional contract in each of the last six seasons. Goold was the No. 4 pick in the second round (No. 10 overall). She will be the third Bulldog to play in the Spark organization. Chloe Malau'ulu and Fa Leilua played in Oklahoma City in 2023. The AUSL enters its second season in 2026 and has expanded to a six-team footprint. Goold joins Sierra Sacco and Mia Davidson. Those two were both selected in the expansion draft in December by the Portland Cascade. Sacco was a part of the champion Talons last summer, while Davidson missed the season with injury though she had been selected by the Bandits, which reached the league championship series. |
| 'In Shock': Why College Tennis Programs Are Disappearing | |
| The Arkansas men's tennis program concluded their NCAA tournament run after a loss to Cornell in the first round. But now that the season is over, the team won't just be saying goodbye to departing seniors or potential transfers -- they'll be saying goodbye to Razorbacks tennis for good. Last week, Arkansas announced the permanent discontinuation of the men's and women's programs. "The whole college tennis community is in shock," Intercollegiate Tennis Association CEO David Mullins told Front Office Sports regarding the Arkansas decision. "When you see an SEC program of such great wealth, great tradition, amazing facilities -- and that team can be eliminated -- then it strikes fear in every coach across the country." In the past week alone, three other Division I schools have also announced tennis cuts: Saint Louis is discontinuing its men's and women's programs; Illinois State is discontinuing men's; North Dakota is discontinuing men's and women's. During the 2025–26 season, 22 programs have been eliminated across the NCAA -- nine of which are at the D-I level, according to ITA data shared with FOS. Only one D-I school, Iona, has announced it will add tennis programs in the future. At the collegiate level, the sport is facing a potential crisis. |
| NCAA, Power Five to House Counsel: Don't 'End Run' Pay-for-Play Ban | |
| The NCAA and Power Five conferences filed their formal response Monday to House v. NCAA class counsel's motion to enforce the settlement, arguing the plaintiffs are effectively trying to "rewrite" the agreement to preempt the first scheduled arbitration over a ruling by the College Sports Commission. At issue is whether -- and when -- multimedia rights (MMR) companies like Learfield or Playfly qualify as "associated entities," a designation that would subject them to the CSC's NIL Go review process. If they do, deals facilitated by a school's MMR partners would face the same fair-market-value scrutiny as athlete NIL agreements with boosters and collectives. In last month's motion, class counsel argued that MMR companies and similarly situated third parties have been improperly swept into a category meant for actors with a clear, school-specific allegiance. Because MMR companies typically work with multiple schools, they argue, those businesses should not qualify. Attached to Monday's motion is a declaration of Bryan Seeley, the CSC's CEO, who writes that his experience contradicts class counsel's view on MMRs and similar institution-affiliated third parties. |
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