| Wednesday, October 21, 2026 |
| MSU provost David Shaw joins Ochsner Rush Health board | |
 | David Shaw, Mississippi State University's provost and executive vice president, has joined the Ochsner Rush Health Board of Directors. Ochsner Rush, based in Meridian, serves patients across east Mississippi and west Alabama through multiple locations and providers. It operates under the Ochsner Health system. Shaw joined MSU in 1985 and has held roles ranging from assistant professor to chief academic officer. As provost, he has overseen the expansion of health sciences offerings at MSU-Meridian, according to the university. That expansion includes the School of Nursing and School of Health Professions, as well as master's programs in physician assistant studies and nursing and a Doctor of Physical Therapy program. The Riley Foundation and other community partners, including the Phil Hardin Foundation, Broadhead Foundation and Montgomery Foundation, have supported growth of the university's health sciences programs, MSU said. |
| Starkville OKs Marriott hotel parking reduction | |
 | The board of aldermen on Tuesday approved a special exemption and helped clear the next step in the potential development of a new hotel near Mill Street. KBR Hotel Partners LLC, a Ridgeland-based company, has proposed building a 102-room Marriott TownePlace Suites on a section of land on the east side of Mill Street. Under the current commercial zoning of the land, the developers would have been required to build a parking lot large enough for 128 cars, or roughly 1.25 parking spots per room. The exemption request received unanimous support from the commission, City Planner Daniel Havelin told the board at Tuesday's meeting. Mayor Lynn Spruill said she was excited to hear of the progress being made both on the Marriott hotel and in the nearby Crossroads District. The district is a multi-phase project by the Mississippi State University Foundation announced in August 2025 that includes an array of planned shopping centers, restaurants, faculty housing, a new facility to house the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and the Hotel Madelon. The board Tuesday approved two memorandums of understanding to receive $2 million allocated to the city during the 2026 Legislative Session through Senate Bill 2189, half of which will fund improvements in the Crossroads District, near Hotel Madelon. The other half will help with the next phase of wastewater improvements for the city to increase both the system's overall capacity and peak capacity, Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp said. |
| Mississippi delegation celebrates signing of Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act | |
| The full Mississippi federal delegation welcomed the signing of the Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act into law this week. The legislation permits the State of Mississippi to build a new informational visitor center and make necessary structural improvements around the park. Congressman Bennie Thompson (D) introduced the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, which was approved on March 16. Last month, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) led the effort to push the bill through the Senate, where it received unanimous support. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new visitor center is being held Wednesday. |
| Inside the Mississippi AG's Cyber Crime Lab: How investigators uncover child predators, crack skimmers, and fight predatory AI | |
| Behind secure doors at the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, state investigators are engaged in an escalating digital arms race against high-tech syndicates and online predators. Attorney General Lynn Fitch led a tour of the state's Cyber Crime Lab on Tuesday, offering an inside look at how state investigators are utilizing specialized forensics tools, custom hardware, and elite detection dogs to combat digital crime syndicates operating across Mississippi. During the tour of the Digital Forensics Lab Unit, state investigators demonstrated specialized extraction techniques and walked through case studies spanning emerging cyber threats -- including cryptocurrency scams, business email compromise, ATM jackpotting, skimmers, "SMiSHing" text schemes, artificial intelligence, and child exploitation CyberTips. "In here, [investigators] can preserve evidence and prosecute cases and put bad guys in jail," said Nick Sprowles, an investigator with the Cyber Fraud Task Force. "That's what it's all about." Much of Sprowles' casework centers on point-of-sale skimming hardware designed to silently harvest customer data at store checkout terminals. The devices fit flush over legitimate payment hardware without alerting shoppers or cashiers. |
| Vicksburg's Edney tapped to lead ASTHO as president | |
| The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) named Daniel Edney, MD, as the organization's 84th president. Edney, state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health, succeeds Manisha Juthani, MD, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Edney, ASTHO president and state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health., is a resident of Vicksburg and brings more than three decades of clinical experience and public health leadership to the role. Since becoming Mississippi's state health officer in 2022, Edney has led efforts to strengthen the state's public health system and improve the health of its residents, which includes initiatives focused on maternal health and chronic disease prevention. A board-certified physician in internal medicine with a subspeciality in addiction medicine, Edney earned his undergraduate degree from William Carey University and his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Virginia before returning to Mississippi, where he has practiced primary care since 1991 |
| How the Mississippi AG Cyber Crime Lab is used to track evidence, AI | |
 | Attorney General Lynn Fitch opened the doors of the Mississippi Attorney General's Office Cyber Crime Lab on Oct. 20 for a media tour, providing a glimpse into the digital realm where investigators confront evolving technological threats. From cyberattacks to the pursuit of predators exploiting children online, the Cyber Crime Division works in a lab to investigate and help law enforcement agencies collect digital evidence. The division, established in 2000, also manages the Mississippi Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Mississippi Cyber Fraud Task Force, which is a partnership with the United States Secret Service. Fitch called the division a "national-level, top-notch team" always working on initiatives to create solutions through partnerships. "People are always looking to our cyber division on how we're doing innovative things, what we're doing (and) how we're creating solutions. We are always out there on the cutting edge, so I'm very grateful for my entire team," Fitch said. Inside the lab, the atmosphere is detailed and highly professional. |
| State lawmaker urges Jackson city leaders to sell property for Pearl River casino project | |
| A state lawmaker pleaded with members of the Jackson City Council on Monday night to sell city-owned swampland along the Pearl River, a move that could advance a long-sought riverfront casino resort in Mississippi's capital city. Rep. Chris Bell, a Democrat from Jackson, expressed his dismay that the council had not yet approved an order allowing LeFleur Development to buy and develop 93 acres within the river's floodplain. "We have an opportunity to change the trajectory of the city of Jackson," Bell said after thanking the council for letting him speak even though the project was not on the council's work session agenda. The council had tabled the matter during an Oct. 6 meeting after Ward 1 Council Member Ashby Foote, who represents northeast Jackson and is the body's lone Republican, had questioned if the proposed selling price of $110,000 was too low. The amount was based on two estimates LeFleur Development obtained from two Mississippi property appraisers. LeFleur Development is supported by former Gov. Haley Barbour and attorney-developer Robert Gibbs, a key ally of Mayor John Horhn. |
| Mississippi receives credit rating upgrade for its gaming revenue tax bonds | |
| Governor Tate Reeves (R) and State Treasurer David McRae (R) jointly announced Tuesday that Fitch Ratings had upgraded Mississippi's Gaming Revenue Tax Bonds Series 2015E and 2019A to AA-, with a Stable Outlook. The governor's office said the upgrade reflects increased confidence in the financial strength and stability of the revenue stream supporting the bonds. "The rating incorporates very strong coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS) by discretionary and extremely sensitive revenues with declining growth prospects and is capped at Mississippi's 'AA' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) risk level," Fitch explained. Fitch Ratings did note, however, that while Mississippi's economy continues to diversify beyond its historical concentration in manufacturing, growth in service sector employment remains relatively weak. "The state's socioeconomic profile, while solid overall, exhibits wealth and educational attainment indicators that significantly lag national levels," Fitch added. |
| W declines to host rally featuring Kamala Harris | |
| Mississippi University for Women has backed out of a plan to host former Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday at Pohl Gymnasium. Scott Colom, the Democratic challenger for Mississippi's junior seat in the U.S. Senate, confirmed to The Dispatch that the campaign was set to hold a rally featuring Harris at 6 p.m. at Pohl Gymnasium, with plans to announce the venue Wednesday. MUW leadership initially agreed to host the rally, Colom said, then reneged Tuesday. Leadership offered the campaign no reason why but were "apologetic," Colom said. "We've had plenty of communication with The W for like a week. It's been regular, moving forward, and we were told everything was fine," said Colom, who was campaigning Tuesday night in Olive Branch. "Now we're declined." Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins confirmed he, along with officers with Columbus Police Department and MUW, met at Pohl Gymnasium on Tuesday morning to coordinate a security plan for Harris' visit. At that meeting, he said, he expressed concerns about logistics. "I'm asking questions like, 'Where's everybody going to park?' I mean, this is a logistical nightmare," Hawkins told The Dispatch. "But if that's where they were going to have it, we were going to try to make it work. ... We were meeting again (Wednesday) to put the plan in place." At about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, he said the MUW chief called and said Scott Tollison, the university's interim president, canceled it. "(The W police chief) told me the president at the college decided it wasn't a good (venue) because of us not having enough time to plan for security," Hawkins said. "I agree with him. We didn't have enough time because they kind of sprung it on us (Tuesday)." Tollison, in an emailed statement to The Dispatch, said The W never officially agreed to host the event. |
| Senate Democrats launch first ad in Mississippi as their midterm optimism spreads in the South | |
 | Senate Democrats' top campaign spending group is wading into Mississippi's U.S. Senate race for the first time this year, an aggressive move in a deep-red state that signals a party on the offensive as Republicans look to protect a slim majority. The Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, will spend $1.2 million on a new television advertisement to boost Scott Colom, a district attorney, in his campaign against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The ad, first disclosed to The Associated Press, is set to start Wednesday and run through Election Day. "Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels," group spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement. Jake Monssen, campaign manager for Hyde-Smith, noted that the spending was coming late in the race. "Team Cindy is confident that voters will reject this radical agenda at the ballot box on November 3rd," he said. |
| Chuck Schumer PAC spends $1.2 million for Scott Colom as pundits say Hyde-Smith lead is waning | |
| A top Democratic super PAC focused on U.S. Senate races announced Tuesday that it will spend $1.2 million on an ad campaign in Mississippi for Scott Colom. The ad, paid for by the Senate Majority PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, marks the group's first entry into Mississippi's heated Senate race this cycle. Colom is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, whom the ad calls a "'do nothing' senator who voted to kick people off Medicaid while pocketing thousands from special interests." The ad buy from Schumer in the election's homestretch is a notable development since Schumer had earlier been criticized by figures such as U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's only Democrat in Washington, and some other congressional Democrats for failing to spend more on Colom's campaign. In a statement, Hyde-Smith's campaign said the late investment from Schumer was evidence Colom was "too liberal" to win, pointing to issues such as immigration and transgender rights. |
| 'I have nothing to hide': Colom calls mugshot from 2001 arrest a distraction in Senate race | |
| Campaign season is reaching its apex in Mississippi with midterms just two weeks away, and nothing reminds voters that elections are nearing more than an exchange of mudslinging. In Mississippi's contentious race for U.S. Senate, the candidates representing the two major political parties have pulled no punches in an attempt to brand their main opponent as unqualified for the job. The latest example of this came from Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The incumbent's team looked to link Democratic challenger Scott Colom with alleged far-left activist groups ActBlue and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Both are accused of illicit financial practices. Hyde-Smith's campaign called into question donations Colom has received from both, and took things a step further by producing a 2001 mugshot of the current Lowndes County-based district attorney, saying "criminals stick together." Colom's team initially dismissed the mugshot as AI-generated, but eventually acknowledged its validity and confirmed that he had been arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Colom, acknowledging the arrest during Tuesday's episode of Mornings with Richard Cross, said he was 18 years old with 17-year-olds who were out past curfew and was handcuffed, though he didn't recall having his mugshot taken. Colom was a student at Columbus High School at the time of his arrest. |
| Trump Says Data Centers Must Provide Their Own Electricity | |
 | President Trump said he is requiring companies that build large data centers in the U.S. to provide their own electricity and suggested they pay communities hosting facilities a dividend, his latest steps to address widespread opposition to the artificial-intelligence boom ahead of the midterm elections. "New and large, in some cases gigantic, data [c]enters are mandated by me to make their own electricity, and give or sell any excess back to the local community, or grid," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social early Wednesday. The president had previously recommended that data centers provide their own power to avoid passing electricity costs on to locals, a key source of anger in communities hosting the facilities, but his promise to require it appeared to be a new step. While the largest tech companies have often pledged to build new power plants for their projects, doing so is costly and requires navigating local regulations, making it a potential challenge for smaller developers in certain states. It isn't clear how the new mandate could be enforced. |
| It's not just gas and groceries. Childcare costs weigh on some voters before the midterm elections | |
| Like so many Americans, Jenny Escolastico has watched wearily as the cost of living has risen, straining her household budget. But as a mother of two children under 5, she faces added pressure that could shape how she votes in November: childcare costs. Escolastico's household outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, is relying solely on her husband's income. She's staying home with her children, at least in part because she simply can't afford to work. "What I would be spending on childcare would be more than what I would be making if I were working full time," said Escolastico, an Air Force veteran who later worked in human resources. "Childcare is another rent, another car note." Even though her son now attends state-funded prekindergarten, returning to work would still mean finding him after-school care, plus full-time childcare for her daughter. Those costs are top of mind as Escolastico, who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, weighs whether to vote Democratic next month. She lives in Pennsylvania's hotly contested 7th Congressional District, one of a handful that will determine which party controls Congress next year. For millions of parents of young children, childcare is one of the largest strains on the family budget. |
| Trump just made a last-minute gambit to save farm-state Republicans in the midterms | |
 | Republicans locked in tight races this November are desperately hoping the Trump administration's last-minute gambit to send farmers $8 billion in taxpayer money will work. President Donald Trump announced the new round of money, aimed at farmers struggling with high diesel prices, during a Monday rally for at-risk GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. The move comes as White House officials have scrambled to address anger in farm states from Republicans. Farmers won't know how much money to expect for several more weeks. Even then, if approved, they won't receive the payments until late November or early December at the earliest, according to three people close to the plans, granted anonymity to share details. With two weeks to go before the election, the new aid may also arrive too late to convince some voters. But top Republicans are banking on the announcement to stem GOP bleeding in farm states -- especially in the Midwest. Top agriculture groups have warned they'd need at least $50 billion in direct aid this fall to make farmers whole following the impacts of tariffs, weather-related disasters and other high costs linked to the Iran war's chokehold on agricultural supplies. |
| Trump ties ethanol boon for farmers to a Marshall win | |
 | President Donald Trump announced $8 billion in aid to farmers struggling with high diesel prices while also tying his support for increased ethanol content in gasoline -- a boon to Midwest corn growers -- to the reelection of a Kansas senator. Trump made the proclamation Monday while stumping for the embattled Sen. Roger Marshall, who's trying to avoid being the first Republican in his state to lose a Senate race in 94 years, in his race against pastor and first-time political candidate Adam Hamilton, a Democrat. "With Roger Marshall in the Senate, we will make year-round E15 permanent. But if Adam Hamilton is in, I'm not doing it," Trump said. "That's it. I'm only doing it for him." Republican lawmakers and candidates from well beyond Kansas have been advocating for changing the law to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline, which contains more ethanol blended in than the typical 10 percent ethanol content. E15 sales in the summer can be permitted under current law with an EPA waiver. |
| Sen. Wicker pushes Trump on Ukraine oil-for-missiles deal, warns of global threat | |
| Sen. Roger Wicker is urging President Trump to back a proposed deal between Ukraine and Russia that would trade limits on Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for Ukraine's ability to target launch pads used to attack civilian areas. Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appealed to a group of Madison County business leaders Tuesday. "We are in the worst national, international, security situation that we've been in since my daddy was a private in World War II," Wicker said. Wicker made headlines this week for urging the president to back the strategy, ending a social media post in all caps: "MR. PRESIDENT, PLEASE TAKE THIS WIN!" "I think most Americans want this war to end. But they want to see it end with freedom for a people in Ukraine who haven't done anything to deserve an invasion," Wicker said. Wicker said he still has a working dialogue with President Trump and plans to continue making the case for the deal as they debate future defense spending. |
| GOP senators not happy about Trump's warming relationship with Putin | |
 | President Trump's warming relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which may lead to a trilateral summit of the United States, Russia and China to resolve the fate of Ukraine, is getting strong pushback from Republicans in Congress. Several Republicans have panned the idea that Trump would huddle with Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, two foreign leaders largely viewed in Congress as adversaries to American interests, to cut a peace deal that Ukraine would be forced to accept. Trump told reporters this week at the White House he would be open to a trilateral summit with Putin and Xi but said the focus should be on nuclear weapons and nuclearization and possibly trade as well. But the prospect Trump could also cut a deal on Ukraine with Russia and China is leaving some Republican senators alarmed after Trump surprised GOP lawmakers on Friday by issuing an executive order waiving tough new sanctions against Russia that Congress approved last month. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) declared in a CNN interview that "Putin is playing President Trump like a fiddle" and warned "history is not going to look good on an America that failed to rise up and defend the Western world if Putin actually gets his way." |
| More Republicans break with Trump on Russia sanctions | |
| Two more Republicans are calling on President Donald Trump to use a bipartisan law to impose penalties on Russia, joining a growing chorus who disagree with his decision to waive sanctions meant to force Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. "It is my belief that we need to use economic firepower to help drive [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to the table," Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Semafor in Des Moines Tuesday. "I believe that Russia is at the darkest point that they've been at in this entire war, and now is the time for us to turn up the pressure." Britt was campaigning with Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who expressed similar reservations about Trump's overtures toward Putin. "I don't think we need to be making any more deals with Russia," Hinson said. Trump has said he waived sanctions to keep Russia at the negotiating table. Hinson said she plans to campaign with Trump on Thursday and indicated she may raise the topic of Russia sanctions then. |
| Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Blindsided Ukraine | |
| Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration, U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter said. Both Musk and President Trump have expressed anger at Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries in recent weeks, which the president blames for high energy prices. Last week, Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network, the people said, rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless. Musk and Trump discussed the Starlink decision in a call soon after the slowdown became public, while the president was campaigning last week, two of the people said. One of the people also claimed Musk and Trump discussed the matter prior to the decision to throttle Starlink. Trump and Musk's animosity toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has grown in recent weeks, as the president looks to lower diesel prices ahead of November's midterm elections. While Trump blames Ukraine's attack on Russia's energy facilities for the elevated prices, most analysts say the Iran war has had a greater impact. |
| Russia Frees American Prisoner During Visit by Steve Witkoff | |
| Russia on Wednesday freed an American who had been jailed for more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, in a deal completed during a visit by a top U.S. envoy and at a time when President Donald Trump has taken a series of actions meant to benefit Moscow. Trump said in a Truth Social post that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call last week to free Stephen Hubbard, and that, unlike previous releases, his had not required the U.S. to give up anyone in return. Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher from Michigan, was on his way home following a visit to St. Petersburg by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who also held talks with Putin about Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Trump pushes Kyiv to make a deal that stops the fighting. Witkoff, a key Trump administration figure who has tried without success to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement to end a war that will hit the five-year mark in February 2027, thanked Putin for releasing Hubbard, telling him, "Because of you, he's going home to his family." Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway on Tuesday. He was expected to exchange ideas from that meeting, as well as proposals from European and American colleagues, in his talks Wednesday with Russian leaders in St. Petersburg. |
| Justice Kagan warns Supreme Court rulings are fueling polarization and undermining democracy | |
| Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday said voting and elections decisions from her conservative Supreme Court colleagues have helped make the country more politically polarized and less democratic. In a speech two weeks before the pivotal midterm elections for control of Congress, the liberal-leaning justice sharply criticized how the majority's rulings have affected the nation's political environment. "The court has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effect of their rulings on how the political system works and has created a democracy that does not work as well as it should," she said during a talk before students and professors at Catholic University's law school in Washington, D.C. She blasted rulings that weakened the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance regulations while opening the door for more partisan gerrymandering. She dissented from those decisions. "Over the last couple of years especially, both political parties have been engaged in a race to the bottom in terms of doing these partisan gerrymanders, ... making what I think is unfortunately a too polarized country even more so," she said. "The people of America look around and think that all this money chasing all these political candidates is a nightmare, and they're right." |
| Welty Writers' Symposium begins Thursday | |
| Ralph Eubanks spent nearly a decade after returning to Mississippi in 2016 working through what it means to be from the Delta. Throughout the course of researching, photographing and writing his book "Darkness on the Delta: How America's Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land," Eubanks said he gained a new appreciation and outlook for the region. And when he discusses the culmination of the project, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday as the keynote speaker for the Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium, Eubanks hopes others will take home a similar lesson when looking at the Columbus area. "What I'm trying to do with that book is change people's way of seeing the Mississippi Delta, and I hope that my speech has some impact on people who may not have visited the Delta," Eubanks told The Dispatch. "... I think maybe seeing the Delta through a different lens is what I hope will happen. ... (And) also to have that same impact on the person who reads the book to kind of alter their way of seeing (different parts of Mississippi) as well." The 38th annual symposium, which is set for Thursday through Saturday, will feature 12 authors, including Eubanks, presenting their works during various sessions, art displays and the return of The Welty Gala. |
| JSU to host Oct. 22 forum on data centers | |
| Jackson State University's Mississippi Urban Research Center and Department of Urban and Regional Planning will host a community forum Thursday, Oct. 22, on the impact of data centers. The forum is scheduled for 10 a.m. at JSU's Downtown Campus, 101 W. Capitol St. It will include a research presentation, panel discussion, open forum and lunch for early registrants, according to the university. Free parking is available across from the building's Pearl Street entrance, on the side opposite the black gated fence. The Mississippi Urban Research Center says its mission is to conduct basic and applied research into urban problems and public policy and make the results available to private groups, public bodies and public officials. |
| Delta State project aims to protect bald eagles in the Mississippi Delta | |
| Delta State University is launching a bald eagle conservation initiative aimed at protecting the birds' habitat in the Mississippi Delta while giving students hands-on research experience. The project, developed by Dr. Nina Baghai-Riding, a professor of environmental science and biology, will combine habitat assessments, environmental testing, and community partnership to support bald eagle conservation and expand environmental education opportunities for local schools. The university's conservation proposal, titled "Conservation, Education, and Mitigation of Bald Eagles Habitat," was approved for funding following encouragement from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The initiative comes as highway widening projects along Interstate 55 in DeSoto County and another Mississippi highway affect nearby bald eagle nests, requiring their relocation. In early October, the project received additional support through an MDOT award. Students in Delta State's Materials and Methods in Environmental Science and Ornithology courses will survey potential eagle habitats at Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge, Bear Pen Park, and the former Delta State golf course. |
| Mississippi Christian University launches $200 million bicentennial campaign | |
| Mississippi Christian University has launched a $200 million capital campaign that leaders say will support the institution's next 200 years. The university announced "Rise to 200: The Bicentennial Campaign for MC" during its Sept. 29 Bicentennial Gala. MC President Blake Thompson said the campaign is the most ambitious in the university's history. "This is an exciting time to be part of Mississippi Christian University," Thompson said. "It is rare to reach a 200th anniversary, and we shouldn't take it for granted. MC is not here by chance -- we are here because of generations of prayer, planning and work. And now, it's our turn to rise and continue supporting MC and its vital mission of excellence in education and commitment to the cause of Christ." |
| PRCC's Compass Pathways offers up-close look at career options | |
 | People exploring career options now have a chance to get an up-close look at different fields through Pearl River Community College's new Compass Pathways program. Now in its first month, the program combines career exploration with hands-on activities in classes that cost $15 and last 12 hours, according to PRCC instructor Jennifer Culpepper. The classes introduce participants to a field before they commit to longer training. Options include health care, advanced manufacturing, business and technology, and heavy equipment and transportation. "You can explore as many of the different seven pathways as you want to," Culpepper said. The program is open to the public, including people who are not enrolled at PRCC, with no age requirement, Culpepper said. Each $15 class includes all materials. Compass does not award college credit, Culpepper said. It gives participants an opportunity to explore their choices before pursuing additional training. "I'll work with them one-on-one after to help them with whatever steps they need to complete," she said. |
| Inside the Conservative Takeover of the U. of Texas | |
| n theory, Texas colleges enjoy a degree of freedom and independence. They have a layer of insulation from politics: The governor appoints board members, and these regents in turn hire (and fire) a university's president. Under state law, governing boards are also obliged to "preserve institutional independence." The day-to-day business is -- or was -- conducted through a model of "shared governance," in which faculty and administrators each have a role in decision-making. To ensure academic freedom, the right to teach and conduct research without political interference, universities established a system of tenure for professors, a promise of indefinite employment that makes it hard, but not impossible, for faculty to be fired for speaking their minds. But in 2021 that order began to break. |
| WalletHub ranks Austin as 'top college town in America' for 2027 | |
| Every year, WalletHub releases its top college city rankings ahead of college application deadlines to help students refine their school choice. This year, Austin ranked as the best college town in America -- as it did in 2026, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2019 (in 2020, it ranked second). The 2027 report analyzed more than 400 U.S. cities, factoring in cost of living, crime rate and quality of higher education. Austin is home to many colleges and universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Huston-Tillotson University, St. Edward's University and more. The report highlighted the capital city's "great economic environment," with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and the 34th-best annual job growth rate, which the study said helps students find work both during school and after graduation. It also attributed Austin's top spot to the "high number of attractions" like clubs and restaurants, as well as other activities and entertainment options for students outside of the classroom. |
| AI company touts jobs, training for RELLIS AI center | |
| Weeks after closing on the dormant RELLIS data center site, ThisWay Global unveiled plans Tuesday for the Reveille AI Compute Center (RACC) at a conference at Texas A&M's Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. ThisWay Global Founder and Executive Chair Angela Hood, an Aggie, said transparency and being a "good neighbor" are central to the project. "You want to make your community that you're sitting in thrive. That's part of being a good neighbor," Hood said. The focus was workforce development. Hood said an 8-week training program -- seven weeks virtual, one week on-site across 10 roles -- could launch by end of year. Hood said 250 to 300 people will work on site through June 2027, with about 120 full-time jobs to run the facility. CEO Stephan Fabel said the impact goes beyond the building, giving A&M startups access to GPUs to train models. Both executives stressed closed-loop liquid cooling and a new on-site substation to limit water and grid impacts, with Hood saying they aim for "no negative environmental impact." |
| Opponent of NYT v. Sullivan Decision Set to Lead Iowa Intellectual Freedom Center | |
 | The Iowa Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hire the first permanent director for the civics center at the University of Iowa, despite the interim director's call to suspend the search. The board offered the position leading Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom to Carson Holloway, currently the chair of the political science department and interim chair of the philosophy department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Holloway has also served as a visiting fellow at multiple conservative organizations. He was a William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, a program that has been influential in the formation of public university civics centers such as the Center for Intellectual Freedom. Republican lawmakers and university governing boards have created these centers on prominent public university campuses in red states. This year, the conservative publisher Encounter Books published his No Liberty to Libel: The Constitutional Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan, in which Holloway argues the Supreme Court should throw out that landmark case, which increased journalists' defenses against defamation lawsuits. |
| Minnesota's Democratic U.S. Senate Nominee Inflated Academic Record | |
| Peggy Flanagan said she "graduated Phi Beta Kappa" while arguing a decade ago for legislation to encourage greater teacher diversity in Minnesota's public schools. Now the state's lieutenant governor and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, Flanagan was a Minnesota House member when she said college teaching diversity transformed her from a high-school graduate with a 1.75 grade-point average to a University of Minnesota honors student. "Everything changed, there was a switch, something clicked," Flanagan said during a March 2016 legislative hearing. "I graduated Phi Beta Kappa because I saw myself reflected in my teacher and I saw myself reflected in my curriculum." A commencement program for Flanagan's class of 2002 doesn't list her as an honors student, although it did highlight those with GPAs of 3.5 or higher. The university's current GPA threshold for Phi Beta Kappa is 3.65 for a senior. The Wall Street Journal asked Flanagan's campaign on Oct. 12 to provide information proving her membership in what is often called the nation's oldest and the most exclusive honor society. It also told her campaign Phi Beta Kappa's headquarters would release any membership records that might exist with her permission. Eight days later, her campaign acknowledged she never belonged to Phi Beta Kappa. |
| The Pentagon pushed colleges to cut ties with China. Some pushed back | |
 | A high-level Defense Department official sent a startling letter to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale this summer, alleging that the school had connections to China that potentially put U.S. research at risk of being stolen. The letter sounded an alarm at the public university known for its aviation program, and it asked the school to conduct an audit of its relationships with nine Chinese entities. But in its response to the government, Southern Illinois said it saw no need to end the relationships, because there was no ongoing work with any of the Chinese organizations, documents obtained by The Washington Post show. The school later terminated an agreement with one of the Chinese universities, Shenyang Aerospace University, at the insistence of the Defense Department, which noted that the entity had recently been added to a government blacklist. Southern Illinois wasn't alone. The Defense Department ordered 30 universities in August to review their relationships with "foreign entities of concern" and address any risks to remain eligible for federal research dollars. This week, the Defense Department declared victory. The Pentagon said all 30 of the schools had ended or "fully mitigated" the foreign relationships. A Post review of documents and information from 17 of the schools, however, found that most of those universities told the Defense Department that they had already decided to end the foreign relationships before receiving the agency's letters -- or that the connections didn't involve any sensitive technology. Six of the 17 schools indicated they planned to maintain at least some of the ties to Chinese schools. |
| The GOP Is Going After the ABA. But Why? | |
| Republicans have turned their attention to attempting to bring another organization to heel: the American Bar Association. Over the past three weeks, GOP leaders have announced two new antitrust investigations into the ABA and its accreditation arm, formally known as the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The first investigation, announced in late September by Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, focuses on the council's alleged anticompetitive actions, including "artificially inflat[ing]" the salaries of legal faculty, and establishing accreditation requirements that impose "substantial costs" on law schools and "deprive the market of innovative, lower-cost approaches to legal education." The second, revealed in an Oct. 7 letter from the Justice Department obtained by Inside Higher Ed, has yet to be fully launched but raises concerns about the council's standards for faculty. In the letter, the DOJ's antitrust division describes the council's standards as having a "substantive preference for full-time faculty over adjunct faculty," arguing that it restricts the supply of instructors and raises costs in an anticompetitive fashion. If the ABA doesn't provide a sufficient response by Thursday, the DOJ said, it will take "additional investigatory steps necessary to address this apparent violation of federal antitrust law." |
| What Happens After Students Enroll? Explore Graduation Outcomes at 2,300 Colleges. | |
 | After students enroll in college, some of them make it out on time: two years for an associate degree or four for a bachelor's. Others finish at 150-percent time: three years for an associate and six for a bachelor's. Still others transfer somewhere else, remain enrolled, or leave altogether. The federal government keeps tabs on all of these outcomes, which you can explore on the table below or by clicking on a college's row. The data are from more than 2,300 colleges as of August 31, 2024. Students seeking bachelor's degrees began in 2018; those seeking two-year degrees started in 2021. The figures are from the Education Department's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. They include associate- and bachelor's degree-granting institutions in United States and U.S.territories. Colleges with degree-seeking cohorts of fewer than 100 students of all races/ethnicities are omitted as are colleges with cohorts seeking four-year degrees categorized as not equivalent to bachelor's degrees. Where both associate-seeking and bachelor's-seeking students were enrolled, we included only the largest cohort. |
| The college sports dispute fracturing conservatives | |
| The coalition that built a motto around "protect women's sports" is splintering as some conservatives argue that a decades-old policy boosting female athletes is a threat to men. Republicans found years of political success uniting against transgender athletes, a push that helped them energize voters in a range of elections and divide Democrats. But the movement is now fraying after two influential conservative organizations, including The Heritage Foundation, started openly attacking bedrock anti-sex discrimination policy that's fueled women's sports for decades. A recent paper published by Heritage argues that longstanding sports policy tied to Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination, is "a failed experiment." The policy was built on the mistaken assumption that women are just as interested in competitive sports as men and has evolved into a tool of "feminist social engineering," the paper adds, factors that are leading to cuts in men's sports like wrestling, gymnastics and tennis. These arguments land as both parties position themselves to appeal to disaffected young men and conservative groups press Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take sides. They've also outraged conservative women leaders who say the new effort could damage a movement that's resonated in red states and with PresidentDonald Trump. Those who cited the law in their push to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports say they didn't sign up to start culling athletic opportunities for women and girls. |
| Social Security and Medicare: The promise America made and the bills we postponed | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Every few years, Washington issues another warning about Social Security and Medicare, and Americans react in one of two ways. Some insist the sky is falling. Others shrug and note that politicians have been predicting trouble for decades. The truth lies somewhere in the uncomfortable middle. Social Security and Medicare won't go broke tomorrow. Checks are still going out. Hospitals are still being paid. But neither program is financially sound over the long haul. According to the latest trustees' reports, the Social Security retirement trust fund can pay full scheduled benefits until late 2032, while Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund can pay full benefits until 2033. If Congress does nothing, Social Security will still pay about 78 percent of scheduled benefits, and Medicare Part A would still cover about 89 percent of projected costs. ... Americans understandably become nervous when they hear that Social Security and Medicare face financial problems. Yet we can still keep the promise made to generations of Americans. Doing so will require honesty from elected officials and realism from the public. The bill is coming due whether Washington acknowledges it or not. |
SPORTS
| 'A ton of familiarity': Lebby, MSU football have strong ties to Oklahoma | |
| Jeff Lebby played college football at Oklahoma. He was injured early in his career, but joined the Sooners as a student assistant, getting his first taste as a member of a football staff. He served as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2022-23 before taking Mississippi State's head coaching job, and will lead the Bulldogs into their first-ever meeting against the Sooners Saturday. So, Coach Lebby, does this game mean anything more to you personally? "No. This game means a ton to me because it gives us another opportunity to win another SEC game and get to 5-2. That'd be a huge deal for us and where we're at and where we're trying to go," Lebby said during Monday's media availability. Lebby's ties to Oklahoma are strong, although he said they don't mean anything personally heading into Saturday. He was a member of Oklahoma's 2002 recruiting class as an offensive lineman and spent time as a student assistant on the Sooners' staff for four seasons. He said his time as a student assistant is where he fell in love with coaching. |
| Mississippi State offensive line seeking to master the basics | |
 | Those group outings for food will need to start paying off for Mississippi State's offensive line. The unit struggled once again in a 31-0 loss to LSU last week. According to Pro Football Focus, Billy Puckett was pressured 11 times and sacked five against the Tigers. Since SEC play started, the offensive line has allowed 37 pressures and 16 sacks on its quarterback. Center Canon Boone feels that, like his teammate L.J. Prudhomme, the solution lies in technique and execution. "I feel like the past couple weeks, there've been a couple times we haven't all been on the same page, and I kind of take that on myself," Boone said. "It's my responsibility to get everybody together. We need to get that in order, but also, like I said, just the technique that we use, we got to use it week in and week out." Boone sees technique as something that separates good offensive lines from great ones. "It's really just all about hand to feet. All the top offensive linemen that get paid. ... They're all really good with their hands and all really good with their feet," he said. "So kind of just using those and then tying those together creates success up front." |
| Oklahoma says Mateer is still the best QB option despite turnovers and inconsistency | |
| Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is in his fourth year with John Mateer and knows what the quarterback is capable of, from the 44 touchdowns he accounted for when they were at Washington State in 2024 to making the College Football Playoff last season after they went together to the Sooners. So despite Mateer's inconsistency this season, Arbuckle still believes he is the best option at quarterback for Oklahoma (3-3, 1-2 SEC). The Sooners play Saturday at Mississippi State (4-2, 2-2). "Everything that he's done, the player that he is, the preparation that he has, we believe that John Mateer gives us the best chance to win," Arbuckle said Tuesday. "Like I've said multiple times, we have to eliminate back-breaking errors, catastrophic errors. For all the good that he does, we have to eliminate those, and he's not alone in that." But Mateer is responsible for nine of Oklahoma's 14 turnovers this season, including seven interceptions. He has played behind a banged-up offensive line for much of the season. |
| Former Mississippi State football coach Jackie Sherrill wins Bear Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Former Mississippi State football coach Jackie Sherrill has been selected to receive the 2027 Paul "Bear" Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes individuals for outstanding career accomplishments both on and off the field. Sherrill compiled a 180-120-4 record over 27 seasons as a head coach, concluding his career with a historic run in Starkville. Arriving at Mississippi State in 1991, Sherrill engineered arguably one of the most noteworthy turnarounds in SEC history. He guided the Bulldogs to six bowl appearances, an SEC Western Division title in 1998, and a top-15 national finish in 1999. His 75 victories stand as the most by any head coach in program history. Sherrill also has a personal connection to Bryant. He played for the legendary coach at Alabama from 1962-65, helping the Crimson Tide win two national championships. He later served as a graduate assistant under Bryant before embarking on a coaching career that would help shape college football for more than three decades. He will be formally presented with the Bear Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award in Texas on Jan. 27. |
| Louisiana AG calls SEC argument that LSU basketball could add ex-pro a 'Hail Mary' in court filing | |
 | Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill dubbed the Southeastern Conference's argument that LSU men's basketball could still add ex-pro athletes a "Hail Mary" in a Tuesday filing seeking the dismissal of the league's federal lawsuit. Last week, the SEC argued its case against LSU officials -- initially spurred by Lane Kiffin's effort to add players who previously signed NFL contracts -- needed to live on because of Will Wade's recruitment of former G League player RJ Luis. During the conference's basketball media days, Wade said he intended to follow SEC rules prohibiting schools from rostering athletes who previously signed pro contracts and Luis wouldn't be rostered. But the legal back-and-forth continues in an Alabama court. "So obvious is the case for dismissal that the SEC throws a Hail Mary: new (and demonstrably false) claims that the LSU men's basketball program is violating SEC rules. Enough is enough. There is no good reason to waste this Court's time and resources," Murrill wrote, asking the lawsuit be dismissed until the conference can bring a "real case." |
| Kansas' NBA Signee Spotlights a Major Eligibility Problem -- Schools | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves 2026 second-round pick Trey Kaufman-Renn is headed back to college. The 24-year-old former Purdue star recently won a court order in Indiana against the NCAA and has signed with Kansas for his fifth season, and sixth year, in college basketball. Kaufman-Renn's signing is a reminder of a fundamental hurdle to stability and predictability in the application of NCAA rules. Even though colleges create and contractually agree to follow the rules of NCAA membership, the institutions are also opportunistic and competitive. They look for every advantage, even if it means acting in ways that undermine the NCAA and create incentives for other schools to do the same. To that point, absent a court order, Kaufman-Renn would be NCAA-ineligible because he has already exhausted his eligibility. Put another way, Kansas, an NCAA member, is playing an athlete who can compete only because he obtained a court order preventing the NCAA from enforcing rules that member schools agree to follow. It's worth reflecting on why there are eligibility rules. |
| Big 12 commish mulls new event if conference title games end | |
| Amid reports of plans to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said the league would pivot if expansion were to eliminate conference championship games and would "replace" them. "First of all, nothing has been done yet with the College Football Playoff. It's only speculation," he said Tuesday at Big 12 media day. "Nothing is final, so I don't want to get too much into the details there, but tentpole events, for us, matter. Our championship game has been very valuable. Our basketball tournament, both men's and women's, has been very valuable. And if there is a point in time where a change is made, we will look to backstop those events with other events. We're in the event business. It drives a lot of fan engagement and excitement, so we'll see what happens in the future, but those are big moments for us. And if for some reason, if one goes away, we'll replace it with something different." |
| NFL's chief medical officer defends handling of Jalen Hurts; NFLPA calls for investigation | |
 | Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, defended the Philadelphia Eagles' medical team and its care of quarterback Jalen Hurts at the league owners' meetings Tuesday. Hurts played with a "superficial blood clot" in the Eagles' Week 5 game in London. Despite Dr. Sills and the NFL's defense of the Eagles' medical team, NFLPA leaders have questions about how the events unfolded and how the league came to such a conclusion. Hurts has since been diagnosed with blood clots in both lungs and, while clinically stable and expected to recover fully, is expected to miss the remainder of the NFL season. Sills avoided discussing specifics because of patient confidentiality rules but said, "I respect the patient, who happens to be a prominent player, and also the providers. I just go back to saying I think there was incredible vigilance. Sills also strongly dismissed speculation that Eagles officials may have swayed medical professionals into letting Hurts play when he shouldn't have. "Our first obligation as team physicians is always, and evermore will be, to the patient; to do the right thing. Why? Because that's what we're licensed to do," Sills said. |
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