| Monday, April 27, 2026 |
| New MSU-Meridian clinic aims to address growing mental health needs | |
 | Community leaders, educators and residents gathered Friday, April 17, to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of a new mental and behavioral health clinic at Mississippi State University-Meridian. Hosted by the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation, the ceremony highlighted the clinic's role in expanding access to care and training future mental health professionals in the region. State Rep. Billy Adam Calvert called the opening "a big day for mental health," noting increased state investment in services in recent years. "We do have a mental health crisis in this state and in this country," Calvert said. "This is a big deal that can help patients." University officials underscored both the clinical and educational mission of the new center. Dr. Peter Ryan, executive vice provost who spoke on behalf of MSU leadership, said the clinic will serve patients while also helping train the next generation of providers. |
| Alumnus Matt Ramsey, Artemis II Manager, visits Mississippi State University Foundation | |
 | Video: Alumnus Matt Ramsey, NASA's Artemis II Mission Manager, visited the Mississippi State University Foundation on Friday [April 24] at The Mill Conference Center. |
| MSU's Equestrian Team saddles up for national finals | |
 | For the first time in program history, the Mississippi State University Western Equestrian Team is bound for nationals. The team is set to compete in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Finals held May 1-3 at Tryon International in Mill Spring, North Carolina. Ashley Glenn, MSU Equestrian Team head coach, said while individual riders from MSU have competed at nationals in the past, this is a first for the team. "It's the determination of our riders that defines our team," said Glenn, also facilities supervisor of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station's Equine Unit. "Within IHSA, not every rider has to be an expert. We have students who've never had a formal lesson and others who have ridden horses their entire lives. This allows the team members to learn from one another, create a support system and build a strong bond within the team." |
| Hyde-Smith Says USDA Reorgnization Will Bring New Resources, Personnel To Stoneville And Mississippi State | |
| U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) on Friday said the effort to reorganize the U.S. Department of Agriculture bureaucracy will result in new Agriculture Research Service (ARS) resources and personnel to Mississippi. Hyde-Smith, who gained the administration's commitment last July to ensure the future of the ARS Southeast Area Office in Stoneville, was briefed by USDA officials on how the agency's reorganization plan would affect Mississippi on Thursday. Details released Thursday are a departure from initial reports that indicated USDA would "eliminate" ARS area offices. "The final details are still being worked out, but I am very pleased that the USDA reorganization plan recognizes the value of the research being led by Stoneville and Mississippi State University. Not only will this important work continue in Stoneville and Starkville, but its importance will grow under plan being implemented by Secretary Brooke Rollins, Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, and their team," Hyde-Smith said. |
| Starkville-MSU Symphony ends concert season with swing, strings and all that jazz | |
 | The Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra will close its 2025-2026 concert season with the Wingo Pops Concert, "Swing, Strings and All That Jazz," featuring show-stopping music for audiences of all ages. The concert will be held Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Lee Hall on the Mississippi State University campus. The orchestra, conducted by Daniel Stevens, will perform works by American music greats such as the Gershwins, Duke Ellington and Henry Mancini. Accompanied by the Starkville Community Chorus, the program includes Cole Porter's "Let's Fall in Love," a medley of Gershwin tunes and Mancini's "The Pink Panther." "Whether you are a fan of swing, jazz, bossa nova or ragtime, we want the audience to enjoy the timeless tunes that shaped American music," Stevens said. The Starkville-MSU Symphony Association thanks Turner Wingo and family for their continued support of the program over the past several years. |
| Meridian City Council works toward demolition of former police department | |
| The Meridian City Council on Tuesday approved a key step toward demolishing the city's former police department building, marking what officials described as a long-anticipated milestone in redeveloping the site. Council members unanimously authorized submission of an application to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for a landmark permit to demolish the structure, commonly referred to as the "old police department" on 22nd Avenue. City officials said coordination is already underway, with contractors expected to begin preparations for demolition as soon as approvals are finalized. "This is a good day for us," one official said during discussion, noting the building has long outlived its usefulness and that its removal will open opportunities for future development. Mayor Percy Bland also updated the council on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where city leaders met with members of Mississippi's congressional delegation. |
| Three injured baby beavers recovering as Mississippi nonprofit expands research into misunderstood species | |
 | Three orphaned baby beavers are receiving critical care after being found injured in a dried-out wetland along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The kits, named Fern, Charlotte and Wilbur, were turned over to Something Wild Nonprofit Beaver Sanctuary after wildlife experts discovered them in a culvert den where several species were competing for limited habitat and water. Dr. Holley Muraco, founder of Something Wild and an assistant research professor with Mississippi State University Extension, said the babies are among the most critical beaver cases the sanctuary has ever handled. "The babies do need round-the-clock care, especially these particular three babies that are the most critical we've ever dealt with," Muraco said. The kits were found after homeowners in the area reported seeing an unusual number of cottonmouth snakes. A wildlife expert placed cameras around the wetland and discovered beavers, cottonmouths and an otter family were all using the same isolated space. |
| Jackson officials commit to zoo but expect a reinvented, smaller footprint | |
 | City leaders tried to paint an upbeat picture for the future of Jackson Zoo on Friday, April 24 during a press briefing at the historic but aging West Jackson facility. Despite attendance declines, a cut in the number of animals on display, and calls from some to either close or move the century-old facility, Jackson's Chief Administrative Officer Pieter Teeuwissen called the zoo a "cultural icon" and an "oasis" for the community off Capitol Street where it is located. At the same time, Teeuwissen acknowledged that the zoo "has suffered some setbacks" and that its future has been "a topic for some time." But he said the current city administration under Mayor John Horhn is committed to what he called a "reinvented and reinvigorated" zoo that will likely have a "smaller, more modern footprint" and be more cost effective. Asked whether the city might explore a partnership with an area educational institution to create a "teaching zoo" as exists in some other cities, Von Anderson of the Jackson Planning and Development Department said the zoo is already working with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine facility in Rankin County. |
| Fuel, fertilizer price hikes hit Southern farms hardest | |
| Information overload is almost as high as price hikes in crude oil, diesel and fertilizer following conflict in the Middle East that has constricted the Strait of Hormuz, a faraway place farmers likely didn't realize held agricultural profitability in a chokehold. It's hard to quantify all of the pieces at play in the global crude oil market -- which directly impacts diesel and fertilizer prices -- especially when international politics enter the conversation. By and large, the Kansas farms surveyed are dryland operations, averaging about $18 per acre for fuel costs. In the South, that number changes dramatically, especially for the irrigated acreages along the Mississippi Delta. "With the way we irrigate, diesel fuel is a lot bigger piece of the budget down here than it is in those other states, especially on our rice farmers," said Will Maples, Mississippi State University ag economics professor. "Fuel prices for a rice producer are going to be about $150 per acre this year with the 30% increase in fuel costs." Although some farms have moved to electric pumps for wells, the majority of irrigation pumps still run on diesel. "That's going to hurt a lot of producers," Maples said. |
| The rising cost of fertilizer and fuel prices is pushing some farmers to the brink | |
 | On a bright, dry Friday morning in Panola County in the Mississippi Delta, Sledge Taylor did the same thing he's done every morning for the last 53 years -- the same thing his father did every morning, and his father before him. He walked his fields. The little green stalks of corn he grows on about 4,000 acres are between vegetative stages known as V3 and V5, tallied by the number of visible leaf collars on the stems. It's a critical stage for determining future yields, when the plant's roots claw deeper into the dark alluvial soil. The Mississippi River built the Delta over thousands of years, depositing layer upon layer of topsoil as it shifted and wandered across the floodplain. Today, the river runs just over 30 miles to the west, leaving behind some of the most fertile farmland in the country, adding to Mississippi's $9.5 billion in total estimated agricultural production in 2025. Normally, this is when Taylor would use a 20-inch diameter steel disk to slice the soil open beside the plants and add nitrogen fertilizer. "But I may not do it this year," he said, "because of the price of nitrogen and the low price of corn." |
| Governor sets special session to address State Supreme Court redistricting | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced Friday afternoon that 21 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issues its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, he will call Mississippi lawmakers into a special session to address state Supreme Court redistricting. "During the recently completed regular session, the Legislature discussed drawing new maps to comply with a decision from a federal judge from the Northern District of Mississippi -- a decision that has been appealed to the 5th Circuit and the appeal has been heretofore stayed pending future U.S. Supreme Court decisions," Reeves stated. "The entire world knows the Callais decision has not yet been handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a decision that could (and in my view should) forever change the way we draw electoral maps." A decision from the nation's high court on the Louisiana v. Callais case is expected before the end of the court's term in June. |
| Republicans, including Rep. Trent Kelly, jockeying for top spot on House Armed Services | |
| The question of who will be the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee next year won't be resolved until after the midterm elections. But the campaigning is already underway. At stake is the panel's top GOP slot -- a powerful perch that helps shape defense policy, oversees the Pentagon and influences the party's national security agenda. Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers' term as the lead Republican on the committee expires in January. Reps. Trent Kelly of Mississippi and Rob Wittman of Virginia are vying to replace him -- and the showdown is heating up. Armed Services leadership races are typically quiet, internal matters before they are decided by the House Republican Steering Committee. But the contest burst into the open this week when Wittman -- the panel's vice chair and Rogers' preferred successor -- was dealt a possibly politically fatal setback. Virginia voters on Tuesday cleared a path for a new electoral map that would drastically reshape his red-leaning district. |
| Trump calls for unity and bipartisan healing after another violent incident. But will it last? | |
 | President Donald Trump was somberly contemplative and unusually conciliatory after confronting what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world. "It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes," a subdued Trump told reporters in a hastily organized news conference at the White House late Saturday. Only a short time before, a man with guns and knives tried to rush past the security perimeter inside the Washington hotel where the Republican president was about to address the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Trump called for Americans to put aside their differences and unite. That was a break from his usual gleefully combative political tack. "We have to, we have to resolve our differences," the president said. Trump has called for national unity before, only to quickly pivot. |
| Caltech Grad, 'Teacher of the Month' Named as Washington Shooting Suspect | |
 | The 31-year-old suspect in the shooting outside the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is a Caltech grad who recently won a "teacher of the month" award. Cole Allen, of Torrance, Calif., has been identified as the man suspected of opening fire Saturday night near the ballroom where President Trump was in attendance, according to two law-enforcement officials briefed on the investigation. Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives and was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was taking place, police said. One law-enforcement officer was wounded in the attack. Allen graduated from Caltech, one of the most academically rigorous schools in America, in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering, according to the school and the commencement program. Allen worked as a teacher at C2 Education, a private tutoring and test-prep company. Allen is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. |
| Supreme Court to hear case that could limit pesticide liability -- and divide MAHA from Trump | |
 | On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could curtail anti-pesticide lawsuits --- an issue that pits the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement against the Trump administration. The high court agreed to take up the case earlier this year after a request from Monsanto, maker of the frequently litigated weedkiller Roundup. Monsanto had asked the court to overturn the results of a lawsuit that forced it to pay $1.25 million to John Durnell, who alleged that he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma because of his exposure to Roundup. Durnell specifically accused the company of failing to warn of potential health implications of Roundup exposure; the case and others like it center around this failure-to-warn claim. However, many in the agriculture and pesticide industries argue that potential legal action threatens their access to chemicals that they need to protect their crops. While President Trump has pledged to "Make America Healthy Again" and put MAHA leader Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into the key role of Health and Human Service secretary, his administration has sometimes been at odds with the movement on chemicals, including in this particular case. |
| The MAHA revolt threatening the farm bill | |
 | Republican infighting between two important constituencies -- the agriculture sector and the MAHA coalition -- is threatening passage of a bill leaders are counting on to help woo rural voters ahead of the midterms. House GOP leaders hope this week to advance a long-stalled farm bill that would secure a slew of industry and rural investments. They see a political incentive to move quickly now to shore up farm country support in advance of the November elections, plus heed calls from President Donald Trump to "PASS THE FARM BILL, NOW!" The biggest source of conflict is over a provision that would shield pesticide makers -- a powerful lobbying force with agriculture state Republicans -- from lawsuits. It comes as the Trump administration has also moved to protect access to a key pesticide after chemical manufacturers told the White House they were concerned about regulatory uncertainty or MAHA-driven crackdowns. Removing the measure would stoke backlash from Trump officials and farm state Republicans. The farm bill is also in peril over a provision that would undo state-level guidelines on livestock sales -- specifically a California ballot initiative governing pig confinement that pork producers have argued hurts their bottom lines and created regulatory inconsistencies across states. |
| USDA kicks off more employee relocations, including some that spark déjà vu | |
| The Agriculture Department on Thursday announced additional relocation plans for employees as part of its larger reorganization, including a new center for food inspectors in Iowa and a second attempt at sending research staff to Kansas City. The Food Safety Inspection Service will send out two-thirds of its headquarters staff currently based in Washington, the agency said, to a newly stood up National Food Safety Center in Urbandale, Iowa, a new Science Center in Athens, Ga., or other locations. The Iowa facility will become FSIS' largest office with 200 people and USDA said the changes will move staff "closer to the agricultural and food production systems that FSIS regulates." The department's Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, meanwhile, will once again relocate employees to Kansas City. It also did so in President Trump's first term, though President Biden subsequently moved the agencies' headquarters back to Washington while keeping the Kansas City offices open. Following the 2019 moves, both agencies lost more than half of their staff, leading to a significant decline in productivity from which it took the agencies years to recover. |
| Southaven resident named Ole Miss' 21st Truman Scholar | |
 | Aminata Ba became the first person in her family to attend college in 2023. Now, the Southaven resident has become the University of Mississippi's 21st Truman Scholar. Chancellor Glenn Boyce congratulated Ba during the surprise announcement recently, when many of the junior's Ole Miss mentors gathered to support her. Ba, a junior economics and public policy leadership major, wants to continue her focus on civil and voting rights while she pursues a Juris Doctor. "I'm shaking; I can't even stand still," Ba said in the moments after Boyce told her the news. "I have been dreaming of this for -- I don't know how long." Since high school, Ba has been a devoted advocate of the right to vote. At Ole Miss, she was a member of the UM Voting Ambassadors and worked with Mississippi Votes to improve voting turnout and education in the state. |
| Funeral services held for former USM president Dr. Shelby Thames | |
 | Funeral services were held Saturday for Shelby Freland Thames, the eighth president of the University of Southern Mississippi. Services were held at Bennett Auditorium. Thames passed away at his home on April 17. He served as president of USM from 2002 to 2007. Before that, he worked at Southern Miss as a faculty member and administrator for nearly four decades. Thames established USM's polymer science programs, and in 1998, the university's polymer science research center was renamed in his honor. Burial took place at Highland Cemetery. Thames was 89 years old. |
| Chemistry student is Jackson State's first Goldwater Scholar | |
| Mia Robinson always had a deep love for science. Growing up in Jackson, Robinson would read every article and book she could find about insects, animals, weather and plants. She said she wanted to know everything and would research every little topic she could to quench her curiosity. "I've always had a deep love for it because I viewed it as the way to get all my answers about the world," said Robinson, a junior chemistry major who is also pursuing a minor in meteorology at Jackson State University. Now, Robinson has been recognized as a promising future scientist. Robinson is a 2026-27 Goldwater Scholarship recipient. Robinson is Jackson State University's first Goldwater Scholar. Six other students attending universities in Mississippi were also awarded. |
| Power outage forces Jackson State to relocate about 500 students for emergency dorm repairs | |
| Just hours before the week of final exams begins, more than 500 Jackson State University students have had to leave Alexander Hall, where power has been out since Sunday morning. The students are being relocated to a hotel several miles away. It may take at least two days to resolve the situation. University officials said a mechanical emergency is connected to the power outage at the freshman women's dormitory. It was not immediately clear what a "mechanical emergency" describes. It is unclear if the issue is related to storms Saturday night into Sunday, university officials said. Officials instructed students to pack three days worth of clothes and belongings, according to an email a student shared with Mississippi Today. Sunday evening, university officials emailed students that they need to fill out a form to request temporary housing off campus. Students had less than 15 minutes to fill out the form before the 5:30 p.m. deadline, according to multiple emails students shared with Mississippi Today. The email said the emergency housing is based on availability. |
| Millsaps Elseworks students boost Mississippi businesses | |
| Millsaps College's Elseworks entrepreneurship program has long been helping the Mississippi and Jackson area business community kickstart ideas into action. On April 23, the latest group of business program analysts gave updates on their projects during a year-ending presentation before their professors. Student projects ranged from helping the local restaurants streamline their image to providing college football teams analytical data to make decisions during games to providing an area church options to bring young people back into the fold. In another project, students took a look at Fertile Ground Beer Company in the Belhaven Town Center in Jackson. The team developed beer branding concepts, including a structured logo design process for a Millsaps-themed beer, alongside customer insights and strategic recommendations to support product positioning and partnerships. They hope the Millsaps-themed beer can will be available soon. |
| Mississippi is encouraging more people to go into construction. Will it work? | |
| Daniel Osborne did not start working as an electrician until his late 30s. Before that he was a registered nurse and working on the side for a friend's construction company. But what started as a side project became a passion. "I found it fascinating because I like math and I like showing my craftsmanship. Bending conduit and running conduit is a work of art to me," Osborne said. He began taking electrician classes at Hinds Community College and began working in the field. Osborne now works as a project manager and teaches second-year apprentices at Build Mississippi, a nonprofit that partners with employers, community colleges and schools across the state to provide training in trades such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing. His job is now primarily in the office, which gives him more time with his family but he misses the camaraderie of being in the field. Osborne says that there are plenty of companies willing to hire green apprentices, but he cautions that such jobs are physically demanding and new apprentices are not always prepared for it. State and private organizations, such as Build Mississippi, are trying to attract more workers by educating them about the field and providing hands-on training and apprenticeships. |
| U. of Kentucky president defends law school dean. Board wants more transparency | |
 | University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto on Friday defended the selection of a federal judge to lead the College of Law Friday, but board of trustees members made a move to review the approval process for new deans going forward. Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove's appointment to the dean position did not require board approval. Van Tatenhove's appointment came under new scrutiny Tuesday when Gov. Andy Beshear released a statement taking issue with recent administrative decisions at UK. Beshear said he was "losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making" at the state's largest university." At Friday's board meeting, Capilouto again defended Van Tatenhove as the right choice to lead the College of Law and the dean selection process. "The provost ran an exacting process, as he does in every dean selection," Capilouto said. Of the candidates interviewed, Van Tatenhove was the best selection, Capilouto said. |
| New law changes U. of Tennessee professors' tenure protections | |
 | A new Tennessee law has stripped some academic tenure protections for professors and set a deadline for universities across the state to implement new guidelines. Gov. Bill Lee has signed a bill from state Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville and state Sen. Adam Lowe of Calhoun that requires Tennessee universities to create new guidelines for professor conduct and allows university leaders to discipline professors for misconduct, regardless of existing tenure status. The law gives chancellors and provosts more control over professor discipline while removing faculty members' role in the process. "Given that the law has passed and it will require some rewriting of system bylaws, I am hopeful that the UT faculty will have the opportunity to have input in that process," Faculty Senate President Charles Noble said April 20 in an emailed statement shared with Knox News. The change will take effect July 1. |
| Jack Bass, journalist, historian, whose work embodied South Carolina and the South, dies at 91 | |
 | Jack Bass, journalist, historian and professor, whose work chronicled South Carolina's civil rights era and the state's transformation from a Democratic Party segregationist enclave to a hard-right Republican bastion, has died. He was 91. Over six decades, first as a student reporter at the University of South Carolina, then as a journalist for newspapers in Charleston, Columbia and Charlotte, and then as a writer of books and as a professor, Bass covered the state's politics in the volatile civil rights era of the 1960s and 1970s, when in-depth reporting on racial issues was not encouraged by South Carolina white power elites. Bobby Donaldson, who leads the University of South Carolina's Center for Civil Rights History and Research, said, "Jack Bass's early journalism and his publications later made my work as a teacher and historian much easier. He was meticulous in his coverage of major news stories, and the articles and stories he produced provide extraordinary first-hand accounts of some of the largely overlooked civil rights moments in our state." Major civil rights events that Bass wrote about include sit-ins around the state, the integration by a Black student of Clemson University (1963) and of the University of South Carolina (1964) and what is known as the Orangeburg Massacre, a violent event in 1968 at S.C. State University |
| Engineering seniors show off capstone projects at Texas A&M Showcase | |
| Students crowded every floor of the Zachry Engineering Building at Texas A&M University on Friday, but it wasn't just the normal movement of students to and from classes. For 1,753 engineering students, they found them in the halls of the Zachry Building showing off their capstone projects as part of the 2026 Engineering Project Showcase, the largest event of its kind in the country. The students made up 346 teams, each vying for awards in their respective engineering disciplines. Most teams had about eight members on them though some had more than 10 members for larger-scale projects. Each team was given a problem and had to figure out a way to solve it. Every floor of the Zachry Building, and part of the courtyard outside the building, had projects being displayed from 14 different majors in the department of engineering. The largest discipline represented was mechanical engineering, with nearly 20% of the participants Friday. |
| Texas Politicians Are Taking Curricular Control. Where Is the Accreditor? | |
 | In recent months, two of the biggest Texas public university systems -- Texas A&M and Texas Tech Universities -- passed comprehensive restrictions on how faculty can teach about gender, sexuality and race. Faculty at both institutions, as well as free speech advocates nationwide, have decried the new policies as gross violations of academic freedom. But those seeking to fight against the state-mandated changes can't turn to the federal government for help -- leaders at both institutions have cited federal rules and executive orders as justification for their decisions. And as of now, the accreditor overseeing the Texas institutions doesn't appear likely to step in. Accreditors are tasked with ensuring that universities maintain fiduciary responsibility, good student outcomes, academic quality and effective governance. To earn their stamp of approval -- which is required for an institution's students to be eligible for federal financial aid -- universities must adhere to the accreditor's standards. Both Texas A&M and Texas Tech are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which requires that faculty must have primary responsibility for the "content, quality and effectiveness" of the curriculum. These new policies, handed down by systems' governor-appointed boards, appear to violate that standard, experts say. But SACS hasn't taken any action in response. |
| U. of Missouri program helps disabled students navigate job, education opportunities | |
 | A free University of Missouri program is helping high school students with disabilities explore career and post-secondary opportunities. The Pre-Employment Transition Services, or Pre-ETS, is a collaboration between the Mizzou College of Education and Human Development and Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation. High school students between the ages of 14 and 21 with an individualized education plan, 504 plan or documented disability are eligible for the program. The program provides services in five main categories: job exploration, workplace readiness, self-advocacy, work-based learning and post-secondary counseling. These services may include matching students' interests to job opportunities, mock interviews, soft skills training, job shadowing and researching college programs. "We teach them about how to work as a team member. We help them prepare resumes and learn how to interview for jobs, and apply for jobs and then how to keep jobs," Pre-ETS Director Kim Pudlowski said. |
| College students wary of the job market are changing course in search of 'AI-proof' majors | |
| Two years ago, Josephine Timperman arrived at college with a plan. She declared a major in business analytics, figuring she'd learn niche skills that would stand out on a resume and help land a good job after college. But the rise of artificial intelligence has scrambled those calculations. The basic skills she was learning in things like statistical analysis and coding can now easily be automated. "Everyone has a fear that entry-level jobs will be taken by AI," said the 20-year-old at Miami University in Ohio. A few weeks ago, Timperman switched her major to marketing. Her new strategy is to use her undergraduate studies to build critical thinking and interpersonal skills -- areas where humans still have an edge. "You don't just want to be able to code. You want to be able to have a conversation, form relationships and be able to think critically, because at the end of the day, that's the thing that AI can't replace," said Timperman, who is keeping analytics as a minor and plans to dive deeper into the subject for a one-year master's program. Today's college students say that picking a major that's "AI-proof" feels like shooting at a moving target as they prepare for a job market that could be fundamentally different by the time they graduate. |
| Why Students Stop Out -- and What Brings Them Back | |
| Students who enrolled in college but left without earning a degree or certificate number more than 43 million people in the U.S., including over 37 million working-age adults under 65. For many institutions, re-engaging these students is a top priority to help strengthen the workforce and increase postsecondary attainment rates. New research from Trellis Strategies offers a closer look at why these students leave---and what might bring them back. The postsecondary research and consulting firm's most recent Some College, No Credential survey draws on responses from more than 3,000 former undergraduates across 58 institutions in 13 states, examining both their reasons for leaving and their interest in returning. The findings suggest stopping out is driven more by students' life circumstances than academic performance. |
| Nearly One-Third of Faculty in Red States Say They've Censored Their Research | |
 | Nearly a third of researchers polled in a newly released survey said they've censored their own research because of laws in their state restricting the teaching and study of "divisive concepts." Twenty-one states have passed laws since 2021 regulating university curricula, dictating how certain topics related to race and gender can be taught, and restricting shared governance. That's driving some academics away from topics and out of states with laws on "divisive concepts," "woke ideologies," "DEI," or "critical race theory", the survey of 4,000 faculty members found. It was conducted last fall by Ithaka S+R, a research and consulting service, and released this past week. "There are large numbers of researchers in a wide range of disciplines who are feeling pressured to alter their research agendas," said Dylan Ruediger, principal for the research enterprise at Ithaka S+R. "Important research topics are getting harder to do and harder to fund." |
| Critics slam Trump's purge of National Science Board: 'Wholesale evisceration of American leadership in science' | |
 | The future of the National Science Foundation is in question after a slew of scientists who serve on the National Science Board, an independent body that promotes the progress of American science and provides advice to the U.S. president and Congress, were abruptly dismissed from their positions Friday by the White House. All 22 current members of the board, which establishes policies for the National Science Foundation, were terminated, according to Yolanda Gil, a research professor of computer science and spatial sciences and principal scientist at USC Information Sciences Institute, who has served on the board since 2024. Many of them received a curt email from President Trump's presidential personnel office. After receiving an email Friday afternoon, Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University and director of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Data-intensive Astrophysics, said he reached out to fellow board members. Every member he heard back from -- about a third of the board -- reported receiving the same termination notice. For Stassun, a board member since 2022, the termination represented "a wholesale evisceration of American leadership in science and technology globally." |
| Vital local journalism is at critical risk | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: The Mississippi Press Association, celebrating its 160th anniversary, held a forum highlighting local journalism last week at History Is Lunch in the Two Museums. MPA vice president Peter Imes, publisher of the Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, spoke of the vital role local journalism "plays at the grassroots level in our democracy" as he welcomed the panel. Charles Overby, chair of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism at Ole Miss moderated. Panelists included professional journalists Natalie Perkins from the Deer Creek Pilot in Rolling Fork, Jamie Patterson from the Yazoo Herald in Yazoo City, and Anita Lee from the Sun Herald in Biloxi. Discussion focused on local journalism's importance as a community storyteller, watchdog, and public-information source. |
| Gov. Reeves wins veto fight thanks to Senate Democrats' anger with Lt. Gov. Hosemann | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Soon after the 2026 legislative session ended with a whimper, one senator noted that Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann had accomplished what many thought was impossible -- convincing all 18 Democrats in the Mississippi Senate to vote to uphold vetoes by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. It is safe to assume that most Senate Democrats dream of overriding the Republican governor. But on that fateful final day of the session, they were so mad at Hosemann, a Republican presiding officer they have had a relatively good relationship with, that they voted to sustain Reeves' vetoes. ... The day represented a big victory for Reeves as what will be a 24-year tenure in state government nears the end. After eight years as state treasurer, eight as lieutenant governor and now in his seventh year as governor, he has one legislative term remaining, beginning next January. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 15 State Completes Super Sweep Of LSU | |
| No. 15 Mississippi State finished off a Super Bulldog Weekend sweep that was 41 years in the making Sunday afternoon. Ace Reese drove in four runs, Noah Sullivan added three hits and the Diamond Dawgs erased multiple deficits to beat LSU 13-8 at Dudy Noble Field, completing State's first sweep of the Tigers since 1985. Mississippi State (34-10, 13-8 SEC) trailed 3-0 after the first inning, 5-3 after the third and 8-5 in the sixth before scoring the game's final eight runs. MSU piled up 12 hits, drew seven walks and took advantage of three LSU errors to close out one of its most memorable weekends of the season. MSU heads down to Trustmark Park in Pearl for the annual Governor's Cup game against rival Ole Miss on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. |
| What Mississippi State baseball's first sweep of LSU in 41 years means | |
| The three games between Mississippi State baseball and LSU were nearly copies of each other. The No. 11 Bulldogs trailed 3-0 in the first inning of every game of the series at Dudy Noble Field. They were behind by as many as four runs in Game 1, five runs in Game 2 and three runs in Game 3. Yet MSU (34-10, 13-8 SEC) still won, all in thrilling comebacks, to sweep LSU (24-21, 6-15) for the first time since 1985. It was all part of Super Bulldog Weekend, where Mississippi State had an attendance of 15,289 for Game 2, the third-largest on-campus crowd in NCAA and program history. "What I learned the most is that their competitive sprit is what it needs to be," MSU coach Brian O'Connor said. "We're not going to make all the plays, we're not going to hit in the clutch all the time or have great pitching outings all the time, but we're going to hang in there and represent this university and this uniform the right way." |
| Thompson, Traore Selected In NFL Draft | |
| A pair of Mississippi State playmakers have seen their professional football dreams realized. Wide receiver Brenen Thompson and tight end Seydou Traore each heard their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday. Thompson, selected by the Los Angeles Chargers, became the first Bulldog receiver to be drafted since Eric Moulds in 1996. The Miami Dolphins' pick of Traore made history as he became first player to ever be drafted via the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. Thompson was picked in the fourth round and is among the most explosive players in this year's entire draft class. The Spearman, Texas, native wowed at the NFL Combine earlier this year. He posted an event-best 40-yard dash time of 4.26 seconds. Traore was a fifth-round selection. The London, England, native shined at State the last couple of seasons, and as a raw talent who only started playing 11-on-11 football in 2020, might very well have his best playing days ahead of him. |
| Softball: Goold Receives Final AUSL Golden Ticket | |
| Peja Goold will become Mississippi State softball's 19th professional draft pick after she was presented with a Golden Ticket by the AUSL at Nusz Park following the No. 17 Bulldogs' series-clinching win over No. 20 LSU on Saturday. The AUSL enters its second season in 2026 and has expanded to a six-team footprint. Teams have already completed the draft, but selections remain confidential until the College Draft Show on Monday, May 4 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. At that time, Goold will learn which team has selected her and where her professional career will begin. Only 17 collegiate athletes nationwide will be drafted to the league. Goold gives MSU three active players in the AUSL, joining Sierra Sacco and Mia Davidson. The AUSL begins play on June 9 with teams playing in home cities for the first time. |
| Successful High School Baseball Coch Chuck Box Returns As Head Coach At Jackson Academy After Coaching At Texas A&M, Texas | |
| Chuck Box was a huge success as a head baseball coach at Jackson Prep and Hartfield Academy before he left for Texas five years ago as a director of program development for Texas A&M, then the University of Texas. Now, he's coming back to Mississippi. Jackson Academy announced this week that Box has been named head baseball coach and associate athletic director. Box is a part of one of the top college programs in the country, but missed being a high school head coach. Box coached at Prep for 10 seasons and at Hartfield for four seasons before leaving to join longtime friend Jim Schlossnagle at Texas A&M and followed him to Texas. Former Prep and Mississippi State outfielder Jake Mangum, the career SEC hits leader who is now playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is a big Box fan. "Coach Box means so much to the guys who played for him," Mangum said. "My four years with him (2012-15) were awesome, winning three state championships together." |
| SEC produces 87 NFL Draft picks, topping conference leaderboard for 20th consecutive year | |
 | The Big Ten may have passed the SEC on the football field -- at least when it comes to recent College Football Playoff results -- but the SEC remains the premier conference in churning out professional football players. For the 20th straight season, the SEC outpaced its fellow conferences with the most NFL Draft picks. The 16-team league set a record with 87 selections, dwarfing the previous record the SEC set last year with 79. For the seventh time in the last eight years, the Big Ten finished second with 68 draft picks. The ACC and Big 12 each had 38 selections this year. "It's different," said Missouri tackle Keagan Trost, a Los Angeles Rams third-round pick who also competed at Wake Forest and two Football Championship Subdivision programs during his college career. "In the SEC, every week, it was somebody on that scouting report. If we looked over the top guys, it's the defensive ends, it's the defensive tackles. In the ACC, you have Clemson and Miami, but every single week, you may not have a guy that's the same as the SEC." |
| Diego Pavia joins dubious NFL draft history list | |
 | Diego Pavia joined a dubious NFL draft history list on Saturday, becoming the first Heisman Trophy finalist in 12 years to go unselected. Pavia was the runner-up to Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza following a stellar 2025 season as quarterback at Vanderbilt. Mendoza, the former Indiana quarterback, went with the No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday. But Pavia was not among the 257 players who heard their names called by NFL teams during the draft's three days, becoming the first Heisman finalist to go unselected since Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch in 2014. Pavia could still sign with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent, but will likely have to head to Canada or perhaps the United Football League if he is to have a future in the professional game. |
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