| Friday, October 16, 2026 |
| 7 New Feed the Future Programs Announced | |
 | The U.S. State Department announced seven new international agricultural innovation labs to be hosted by land-grant universities, restoring a global research network that faced 20 months of uncertainty following cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development in February 2025. The Feed the Future Innovation Labs, which support agricultural research and development in foreign countries, have the end goal of improving food security while expanding markets for U.S. agricultural products. The seven newly announced programs are: Fertilizer and Soil Health Innovation Lab at Auburn University, Securing Agriculture Food and Economy (SAFE) Feed the Future Innovation Lab for High-Value Crops at the University of Florida, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut at the University of Georgia, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao at the University of Hawaii, Sustainable Intensification of Targeted Agricultural Systems Innovation Lab (SITAS-IL) at Kansas State University, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish at Mississippi State University, and Feed the Future Animal Health Innovation Lab at Washington State University. |
| MSU announces schedule, safety guidelines for Bulldog Bash | |
 | Mississippi State University has announced the schedule and updated parking and safety guidelines ahead of their 2026 Bulldog Bash. The concert will be held on October 16, 2026, and will bring a full day of live music, shopping, food and entertainment to campus with Maroon Market in The Junction and an evening concert at the university's Amphitheater. Bulldog Bash is an annual MSU tradition bringing together students, alumni and members of the surrounding communities. This year's main-stage lineup features country artist Vincent Mason as headliner at 9:30 p.m., with 2026 MSU Battle of the Bands winner Pothole Paradise and Penelope Road performing at 7 and 8 p.m., respectively. Festivities begin earlier in the day with Maroon Market, noon to 5 p.m., featuring local and regional vendors, artists, shops and food trucks alongside live performances on the local stage. Several roads surrounding the MSU Amphitheater and The Junction will be closed throughout the day, with additional closures beginning at 7 a.m., 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. |
| AccelerateMS seeks $2.5M budget increase to expand staff and workforce programs | |
| Mississippi's workforce development agency is seeking more state money to add staff as it launches and expands job training programs. The request comes as the state prepares for thousands of jobs to open in the next decade. AccelerateMS is requesting a $7.1 million operating budget for fiscal year 2028, which begins July 1. That is about $2.5 million more than its current appropriation, according to information that agency officials recently presented to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The increase would go toward hiring staff to help manage new programs, including UPSKILL (Upgrading Priority Skills for Key Industry Learning and Labor), which launched this summer, and the new Workforce Pell Grant program, said Courtney Taylor, executive director of AccelerateMS. The State Workforce Investment Board estimated in 2025 that Mississippi will face a shortage of 19,000 workers in priority fields such as manufacturing, construction and healthcare through 2035. Taylor said closing the gap will require the state to train more workers and students and to connect them to high-demand jobs. "The investment is crucial for our state and to meet the economy where it's going," Taylor said. |
| Officials work to 'modernize' plan to improve health of Mississippians | |
| The Mississippi State Department of Health is updating its blueprint for improving healthcare and public health systems. The new Comprehensive State Health Plan will establish priorities and strategies for enhancing access to care, addressing workforce and system challenges and supporting the sustainability of the state's public health systems, said State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney at a Board of Health meeting Wednesday. "Instead of just monitoring, we're trying to shape the healthcare needs of the state and push resources to those gaps," Edney said. The state published its last health plan (PDF) in 2023. This plan, designed as a regulatory document, focused on healthcare provider planning law, Edney said, but the new state health plan will expand its scope to analyze data and help the agency set priorities and plan its programs. Efforts to craft the new plan are funded by the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, a five-year, $50 billion federal investment in rural healthcare. Mississippi received nearly $206 million as a part of the first year of the program. Gov. Tate Reeves' office oversaw the development of Mississippi's plan and made a statewide rural health assessment one of the state's six main initiatives. |
| Entergy Mississippi awards $20,000 in STEM scholarships | |
| Entergy Mississippi awarded $20,000 in STEM scholarships to four students attending Jackson State and Alcorn State universities, according to a company announcement linked in its October newsletter. The Sept. 22 announcement identified the recipients as Hugo Estrada, Damian Ohajunwa and Ebuka Chibudem Uzoama of Jackson State, and Antoine Washington of Alcorn State. Estrada studies electrical and computer engineering. Ohajunwa's field was listed as computer and information, Uzoama's as computer and information sciences, and Washington's as electromechanical engineering. The scholarships are part of Entergy's $20 million Power of Prosperity initiative supporting historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions across the Gulf South. "By investing in their education today, we're not only opening doors of opportunity, we're building a stronger, more resilient workforce that will support our communities for years to come," Entergy Mississippi President and CEO Haley Fisackerly said. |
SPORTS
| Sources: College Football Playoff nearing deal for 24-team format in '27 | |
| The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand the field to 24 teams in 2027, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel. The deal is expected to come together in the near future, pending final approvals. The CFP and ESPN have been negotiating a new deal for the network to be its continued broadcast partner, leading to a seismic move for the postseason that is also expected to eliminate the lucrative Power 4 conference championship games and start the season a week earlier. While final details have yet to be announced, discussions about the 24-team field have included 19 at-large bids, the Power 4 conference champions as determined by each league and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team. The New Year's Six bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange and Cotton) are still expected to host the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the national championship game remaining in January. |
| College Football Playoff closing in on expansion from 12 to 24 teams in 2027: Sources | |
 | The College Football Playoff is "95 percent done" with a deal with ESPN that would expand the tournament to 24 teams next season, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Athletic on Thursday. The deal, those sources say, is worth north of $300 million a year. If completed, it would be a historic and dramatic shift that will place more emphasis than ever on the postseason to determine a national champion and is expected to have sweeping ramifications across the sport. The CFP management committee, made up of 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director, was scheduled to meet to discuss the negotiations with ESPN, another person briefed on the meeting told The Athletic. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations remain ongoing. The move from 12 teams to 24 is the most significant and stunning in the decade-and-a-half evolution of college football's postseason. After decades of gradual change, evolution isn't a sufficient description for the event's latest transformation. |
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