| Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
| Doctoral research on 160 million-year-old salamander species' health earns national award |
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| A Mississippi State doctoral student has earned national recognition for research using near-infrared spectroscopy to screen the health of Eastern hellbenders, a 160-million-year-old amphibian species of conservation concern. Sam Mathes, also a research associate in the Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion, received the inaugural Green-Wave Award for Conservation Innovation as part of the SpectraWizard's Spectroscopy Application Challenge, sponsored by StellarNet, Inc. "Researchers worldwide submit innovative uses of this technology, so this recognition is a tremendous honor," Mathes said. Mathes conducts his research in MSU's Conservation Physiology Laboratory with funding support in part from the national Institute of Museum and Library Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. | |
| America's farmers are harvesting a bounty. Why are they struggling? |
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| America's farmers are bringing in a plentiful harvest. What many aren't bringing in is much profit. As the 2026 harvest winds down, rising production costs and inadequate crop prices are eating into farmers' income, particularly among Midwest corn and soybean growers, even with a potential record in government subsidies. For consumers, weary of sticky, persistent inflation, the horizon is a bit brighter: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) early forecast predicts grocery prices will rise just 1% next year, the smallest annual increase since 2019. There's "an affordability squeeze on the consumer end in terms of prices going up ... but also at the farm," says David Ortega, food economist and professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. "You have input costs, right? This is really squeezing producers, especially crop farmers." While government assistance is buoying crop farming, the cattle industry continues to boom. Beef prices, though projected to fall, remain elevated. When the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University projected income for its farm models earlier this year, it found that 10 of 11 cattle operations were in a good position, with less than a 25% chance of losing value over the next five years. For farms growing corn, soybeans, and other feed grains, the picture was far bleaker. | |
| Burglary at Mississippi Christian University residence hall under investigation |
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| Mississippi Christian University is investigating a weekend burglary at one of its residence halls. In an email obtained by SuperTalk Mississippi News, the school's director of public safety, Mike Warren, notified students and staff that an unidentified individual entered multiple dorm rooms in the early morning hours of Nov. 8. At around 12:44 a.m., the suspect, identified as Black male standing at approximately 6-foot-2, allegedly entered the Ratliff Residence Hall through an open bathroom window in the building's basement. After reviewing surveillance footage, school officials determined that the suspect entered 18 dorm rooms through unlocked doors. Several of the rooms were reportedly occupied by residents who were still awake. The residents are said to have contacted the Mississippi Christian University Office of Public Safety, which responded within two minutes of receiving the initial call. By the time officers arrived at the scene, the suspect had reportedly already escaped through the same window he is believed to have entered the residence hall through. Officials said the suspect was last seen running northbound on Capitol Street around 1:43 a.m. | |
| Alabama defends DEI restrictions in universities, supports Florida appeal |
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| Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined 12 other state attorneys general Tuesday in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Florida law restricting how public university professors teach certain concepts involving race and sex. Marshall and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman led the coalition supporting Florida's appeal of a July ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the restrictions likely violated professors' First Amendment rights. The case, Florida Board of Governors v. Pernell, challenges provisions of Florida's Individual Freedom Act that prohibit professors from endorsing certain concepts, including claims that members of one race or sex are morally superior to others. The law permits professors to discuss those concepts but prohibits them from promoting or requiring students to accept them. | |
| Access to banking is a national problem so it needs a national solution |
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| Mississippi State University's Tom Miller, Jr., a professor of finance and the Jack R. Lee Chair in Financial Institutions and Consumer Finance, writes for the Magnolia Tribune: A key characteristic of federalism is the constitutional division of powers that defines which powers belong to the national government and which belong to state governments. The nature of the integrated national financial system in the U.S., however, means that states cannot solve national problems that arise when financial services cross state lines. That is particularly true of debanking, which can affect law-abiding individuals and businesses operating within a financial system that crosses state borders. Mississippians and local businesses can be debanked if they are denied banking services without warning or a clear explanation. To address this alarming national trend, the Trump administration and Congress should establish a federal standard to protect equal access to banking services. Across the country, people and businesses in lawful industries have lost access to financial services. | |
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