| Tuesday, November 10, 2026 |
| Bully's Pantry gears up for 3rd annual Egg Bowl Food Fight |
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| Bully's Food Pantry and Mississippi's Grove Grocery will be going head-to-head this month in what will be their 3rd annual Egg Bowl Food Fight. The competition started November 1st, as bully's food pantry is looking for non-perishable food items, hygiene products, and is also taking monetary donations as well. This is used in a way to use the gridiron rivalry to put eyes towards the fight against hunger. Bully's Pantry coordinator Suzanne Bowen said that the pantry has been operation for a few years now, opening at the beginning of 2020. "Right now, we're having a friendly competition with Ole Miss and their food pantry to see which pantry can receive the most donations during the month of November through November 20th, leading up to the egg bowl," said Bowen. "We're calling it the egg bowl food fight." "You can look on our Instagram page and donate through our Amazon wish list," said Bowen. "So, we have an online donating option. You could also come to the pantry to donate items. We're open Monday through Friday from 1 to 4, and we also have a link to donate through the MSU Foundation to donate money." | |
| MSU to honor America's veterans at annual recognition ceremony |
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| Mississippi State University will honor U.S. veterans during its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11. MSU President Mark E. Keenum will be the featured speaker for the ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. on the Drill Field and is free and open to all. The university's G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans helps coordinate the annual event, which is part of a week-long recognition honoring all who have served. MSU's Army and Air Force ROTC cadets also will participate with a mixed color guard representing both programs. Following the ceremony, attendees are invited to the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery for a reception and viewing of the "Student Salutes: A Visual Tribute to MSU Veterans." The week-long recognition culminates when the MSU football team faces Auburn in the annual Military Appreciation Game at Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 14. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. | |
| Chapman Navy Veteran Jason Hernández '98 on Leadership |
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| Chapman University alumnus and Navy veteran Dr. Jason I. Hernández '98 served aboard the battleship USS Missouri during the first Gulf War before building a career in human resources. Today he is chief human resources officer at Mississippi State University. This Veterans Day, he reflects on what the Navy taught him about leadership and why the connections he made at Chapman still matter to him. Hernández enlisted in the Navy in 1987 and served on the USS Missouri as a damage controlman. His job covered shipboard firefighting, flood control, and chemical, biological, and nuclear defense. During the first Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, he saw how much a crew depends on teamwork and preparation in high-pressure situations. After his military service, Hernández enrolled at Chapman in 1995 and earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental science with a minor in biology. He played football, served in student government, and joined Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, which became a large part of his college life. More than 30 years after leaving the Missouri, Hernández still credits the Navy with giving him discipline, confidence, and a path to college. That foundation carried him through 12 years leading global HR at FedEx Freight, a role as chief human resources officer at Centerstone and, in 2026, a move into higher education at Mississippi State. | |
| MSU Extension shares November planting and landscape checklist |
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| Cooler soil makes November a good time to plant trees and shrubs, while mulch, seasonal flowers and pruning preparations can help gardeners get ready for winter, according to Mississippi State University Extension. The service's November landscape checklist encourages homeowners to assess what worked in their yards this year and plan for the growing season ahead. Trees and shrubs can be planted as soil temperatures cool. Extension offers tree-planting guidance and a publication on installing trees and shrubs for gardeners preparing a new planting. A layer of mulch in garden and flower beds can help protect tender plants during winter weather. Homeowners can also add color with winter and spring annuals such as pansies, pinks, flowering cabbage and kale, including in containers. As leaves fall, dead or diseased limbs become easier to identify. Extension recommends using the period through February to address those limbs and offers pruning guidance. Gardeners can contact their county Extension office for advice specific to their area. | |
| Police investigate shots fired in Starkville |
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| Police are investigating a Saturday night shooting that resulted in property damage on North Montgomery Street but no injuries. Officers responded to the area at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday, shortly after shots were fired, Starkville Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Brandon Lovelady told The Dispatch. There was damage to the property but no injuries when officers arrived on scene. Lovelady declined to specify if the incident happened on public or private property. "Right now, we're just investigating discharging a firearm with some property damage," Lovelady said. Officers stopped at least one car in the area that matched the description of the shooter's vehicle, Lovelady said, but no arrests have been made. Lovelady said the department is still pursuing a lead. | |
| Why High Beef Prices Are Here to Stay |
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| Tyson Foods maintenance worker Austin Campbell was checking his email in August for updates on a promotion when instead he saw a message from the company's chief executive. "Our beef business is operating in a challenging environment due to the historic cattle shortage," Donnie King, Tyson's CEO at the time, wrote in an internal email announcing the closure of the Utah facility where Campbell worked. "These supply constraints are likely to persist." The $300 million Utah plant was only five years old. It doesn't slaughter cattle but was filled with state-of-the-art automation to help employees cut and package beef cuts into steaks, roasts and ground beef for grocery stores. The closure was part of sweeping changes to Tyson's business, including scrapping another slaughter facility in Illinois and plans to sell a plant in Washington. It had already shut down a massive slaughterhouse in Nebraska earlier in the year. Rival JBS also closed a slaughter plant in Pennsylvania. Cargill shut a ground beef packaging facility in Wisconsin. America's $100 billion beef industry is undergoing a painful downsizing, and it's poised to make high meat prices a long-term reality. After years of economic turmoil and droughts, the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest level in 75 years. | |
| Mortgage rates are down sharply since mid-October |
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| As of last week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sits at 7.18%, according to Freddie Mac. That's not exactly low by recent standards. The rate hovered between 6% and 6.5% for much of 2025 and early 2026, but rates rose over the summer as war in the Middle East and inflation escalated and the Fed started raising interest rates. By mid-October, the 30-year mortgage hit 7.4%. Since then, it's fallen sharply, by more than 20 basis points. That's welcome news for the still-struggling housing market. The first thing to know is that mortgage rates are pegged to that key long-term investment benchmark: the 10-year Treasury bond. Second thing to know? "The impossible forecast is forecasting the 10-year, and therefore the mortgage rate," said Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at The Wharton School. But we can look back to try and understand what's been moving them recently. "Why the pullback in rates? It's because inflation, it's hoped, will come down, with oil prices coming down," Wachter said. Investors are increasingly betting, following the midterms, that the U.S.'s war with Iran will wind down and the Fed will hike short-term rates one more time, then pause for a bit. | |
| Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom attacks Cook Political Report accuracy |
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| Senate candidate Scott Colom (D) in Mississippi lashed out at the Cook Political Report on Monday, criticizing the vaunted election forecaster for underestimating his campaign's strength against incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R). In a post on social media, Colom, who is leading Hyde-Smith by nearly 2,600 votes, argued that Cook's race ratings hurt his campaign by hampering his ability to fundraise. In its final pre-election forecast, Cook rated the race as "Likely R," its second strongest behind "Solid R." "At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other 'prognosticators' who had me and other southern candidates labeled as solid R for much of the campaign cycle," Colom wrote in his post. "They made it much more difficult to fundraise and are part of the reason the South has been neglected for so long." Founded in 1984, Cook has developed a reputation as one of the most reliable nonpartisan election forecasters in Washington. But like many forecasters this cycle, Cook's 2026 ratings underestimated Democratic strength. | |
| Lauderdale County Supervisor JJ Anders announces run for Mississippi House District 83 |
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| Lauderdale County District 1 Supervisor Justin "JJ" Anders announced his intention to seek election to the Mississippi House of Representatives for District 83 in 2027. "Being elected to serve the people of Lauderdale County as District 1 Supervisor has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life," Anders said in a news release. "However, as new opportunities have presented themselves, I have spent a great deal of time thinking and praying about the future and how I can continue serving the people of our area," Anders said. "After much consideration, I am excited to announce my plans to run for Mississippi House District 83 in next year's election." | |
| Mississippi awarded $205M for second year of federal rural health program |
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| Mississippi will receive nearly $205 million for the second year of a national program that aims to improve rural healthcare, federal officials announced Monday. The state's total award for the 2027 fiscal year is about $1.2 million less than its first-year award announced last December for the five-year Rural Health Transformation Program, though its amount exceeded the award made to the average state. Awards were made to all 50 states as part of the $50 billion federal investment in rural healthcare. Like last year, Texas and Alaska received the largest shares of funding, while Connecticut and New Jersey received the smallest amounts. The $50 billion funding program was tacked on to President Donald Trump's tax-and-spending law passed in July 2025, which is expected to result in significant reductions in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas. Congressional Republicans added the money for rural health to soften the blow associated with those cuts. | |
| U.S. Attorney General Blanche in Jackson to highlight nearly $64 million in federal funding to fight crime |
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| What was initially reported as a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Model Cities Initiative to the city of Jackson will actually amount to $64 million over three years. Back on October 30, an announcement from the Mississippi Congressional Delegation announced the award from the DOJ program would be $100 million. However, on Monday afternoon, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the amount is just shy of $64 million. When asked why the amount had changed between the two dates, Blanche said he was unaware of any previous announcement concerning the amount of funding to be provided under the program. "I don't know anything about that announcement, sorry, so I can I can't speak to it," Blanche stated in Jackson. Governor Tate Reeves (R) said the federal funding will be used to further invest in the public safety within Jackson, pointing to previous investments by the state in the creation of the Capitol Police Department, establishment of a new court, and other efforts to ensure the safety of Jackson's residents, families and business owners. | |
| Government Watchdog Questions Justification for USDA's Relocation Order |
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| The Agriculture Department did not show that it analyzed how its sweeping reorganization would affect the economy, public services or taxpayer dollars before officials ordered thousands of employees to relocate across the country, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday. According to GAO auditors, the Trump administration ignored six requests over the past year to explain the math behind Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' July 2025 plan to relocate some 2,600 USDA jobs from Washington, D.C., to hubs across the country. "Without such analysis, it's not clear if USDA's plans were based on leading practices, like strategic workforce planning, that would better position the agency to address possible effects," the report reads. Rollins' announcement came amid a mass exodus of USDA employees driven by the Trump administration's efforts to restructure the federal government. The USDA's workforce shrunk by roughly 20% between December 2024 and March 2026, dropping from approximately 91,000 employees to less than 73,000, according to the GAO report. | |
| House Republicans could be about to clean their own house |
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| One week after suffering devastating midterm losses, Republicans in the House will decide just how thoroughly to clean their own house. While Speaker Mike Johnson is exiting the scene in January, Tuesday's GOP leadership elections will still pit members of the existing leadership structure against insurgents who are hoping to capitalize on the desire for a clean slate. "Somebody's got to get fired," said Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), who said he is backing outsiders in the three top races "because we got our butts handed to us." At the top of that slate is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a 20-year House veteran and a well-known face of the GOP's hard-right wing who nevertheless has never served in the senior leadership ranks. He is facing off for minority leader against Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the sitting majority leader who has held the party's No. 2 or No. 3 slot since 2014. Jordan is pledging a fresh look for the House GOP's top echelon and has swiped at Johnson and Scalise for having too often "operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us." But Scalise is seeking to fend off the throw-the-bums-out sentiment by drawing on his experience as a fundraiser and a set of personal relationships he has closely tended -- some for a decade or more. He's expected to benefit as well from the distrust of Jordan held in some pockets of the conference. | |
| Hegseth defends his record, Iran war as impeachment vote looms |
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| Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, facing an impeachment vote in Congress, punctuated a week-long bid to save his job with a rare Pentagon news conference on Tuesday during which he appealed directly to President Donald Trump and Republican allies. Whether Hegseth remains in office has become a central question since voters handed the GOP resounding defeats in last week's midterm elections, chiefly over their disapproval of the Iran war. From the lectern, Hegseth seemed acutely aware of the job audition he was undergoing, noting that there was never an impeachment vote for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration despite the chaotic fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021. Hegseth called the effort to remove him from office "sabotage," defended the Iran war as doing "the tough, right thing," and noted that there have been many more U.S. military fatalities in previous wars. Articles of impeachment were filed against him Monday by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), an anti-war lawmaker who has repeatedly clashed with Trump and Hegseth, and will soon leave office after losing his primary earlier this year. At the Pentagon, Hegseth appeared alone, taking questions only from conservative news media and condemning mainstream media reporting about the war. As journalists awaited his arrival, his security staff, in an unusual move, threatened to physically remove anyone who acted unprofessionally. | |
| He built a chipmaking giant. Now Jensen Huang faces his biggest test |
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| Over three decades, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang helped propel the chipmaker's rise into one of the world's most valuable and resilient companies, leading the business through near-death and periods of reinvention. Now the self-described "battlefield CEO" faces a personal crisis that will test a roughly $4-trillion Silicon Valley powerhouse that has become the face of the artificial intelligence revolution. Over the weekend, the 63-year-old tech billionaire and married father of two sent an apology to his employees, admitting he had an affair and is hoping to win back trust. Nvidia's board announced it is launching an investigation after allegations surfaced that Huang had a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy. The board said it doesn't believe the relationship compromised Nvidia's secrets or national security. The revelations, though, rattled Silicon Valley and Washington, where federal lawmakers have called for an investigation into accusations that China targeted the powerful tech mogul. The scandal also comes as the U.S. competes with China in the AI race, raising more scrutiny over Nvidia's business with the country. | |
| Mississippi Press roast of Mike Chaney to benefit journalism scholarships, internships |
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| Mississippi Press will roast Vicksburg resident and Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney on Nov. 19 at a benefit for journalism internships and scholarships. Chaney, Mississippi's 11th Commissioner of Insurance and State Fire Marshal, has certainly given his friends and colleagues plenty of material over a long career in public service. First elected to the position in 2007, he is now serving his fifth term. Before becoming commissioner, Chaney spent 15 years in the Mississippi Legislature, serving in both the House and Senate. His career has earned several honors, including induction into the Insurance Hall of Fame at Mississippi State University, a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Mississippi's Risk Management and Insurance program, and recognition as a Healthcare Hero by the Mississippi Business Journal. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. Chaney and his wife, Mary, have three children and eight grandchildren. | |
| U. of Mississippi officials condemn alleged racist taunts in viral doorbell video, launch investigation |
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| Officials at the University of Mississippi are investigating a video showing three white women outside a Black student's apartment Friday evening, with two of them allegedly making racist noises and gestures captured on Ring camera footage. "[T]he incident is being actively investigated by the appropriate university offices," Vice Chancellor Shawnboda Mead said in a statement Monday, in part, adding, "our staff have reached out to the students directly impacted to offer support, listen to their concerns, and connect them with available resources. We will continue to support them as we work through this process." "Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at the University of Mississippi. Racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in our campus community," the statement also said. The two women in the video, which was posted to TikTok, are seen briefly stepping toward the door camera, beating their chests while grunting and cooing like monkeys. The school confirmed to ABC News that the women in the video are students at the university. | |
| Ole Miss investigating 'deeply troubling' video depicting racist gestures by students |
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| A viral video appearing to show two college-aged females making racially offensive gestures in front of a doorbell camera of a Black individual's apartment is under investigation by the University of Mississippi. The video in question was posted to the social media platform TikTok by Ole Miss student Jakiyra Metcalf and was captured around 8:30 p.m. Friday. It depicts three unidentified white females walking by an apartment door. Two of the females beat their chests and made monkey-sounding noises, a gesture eerily similar to the one a white male Ole Miss student directed at a Black female who was protesting the war in Gaza in May 2024. Metcalf, a Black female who shares her apartment with two other Black students, claimed the females in the video are her upstairs neighbors. The caption of Metcalf's post read, "What do we have to say about this??" Ole Miss was tagged in the caption. Ole Miss officials confirmed that the university's Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance are assessing the video. Officials added that the behavior displayed in the video is "unacceptable" and does not represent the university's values. | |
| Jackson State University students face uncertainty over rejected election ballots |
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| Hundreds of Jackson State University students are facing uncertainty after 205 ballots were rejected in last Tuesday's election due to registration issues, according to an election commissioner. The commissioner said the ballots were rejected because voters were either not registered, voted at the wrong precinct, or were registered in another county. Faith Eckford, a senior at Jackson State University, said she registered to vote on campus three weeks before the Oct. 5 registration deadline. "They made sure our addresses lined up, our driver's license and Social Security numbers were correct. He even texted me to make sure all my information was correct," Eckford said. However, when Eckford tried to vote on Nov. 3 at the precinct on campus, she encountered a problem. "She told me she didn't see my name at all. I asked her, 'Are you sure?' because the group who registered me to vote made sure all my information was correct. They double-texted me to make sure all my information was correct," Eckford said. Eckford later discovered her voter registration card listed her uncle's address and designated her voting precinct at the Mississippi Baptist Seminary on Lynch Street, which is off campus. | |
| Jackson State opens Mississippi's first resource closet for aspiring teachers |
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| Jackson State University opened Mississippi's first Aspiring Educators Resource Closet on Monday, giving education students a place to pick up classroom supplies before they start teaching. The closet, inside the College of Education and Human Development, is a partnership with the Mississippi Association of Educators-Retired. Shelves hold calculators, rulers, staplers, markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, paper clips, Play-Doh, sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. There also are clipboards, dry erase markers, headphones, a tea kettle, coffee and water. Teanna Howard, a JSU senior who will graduate in May 2027, is president of the school's Student Education Association. She said new teachers have a long list of materials to gather as they enter the field, and the closet takes some of that weight off. "As we step into the teaching field, we have a lot of things that we have to get together as far as materials and making sure our children have what they need to be successful in life," Howard said. | |
| Johnny Moore shares his vision for Rust College's next 100 years |
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| Johnny M. Moore envisions a future where Rust College becomes the heart of Holly Springs. It's one of several ambitions Moore has as president of the historically Black college, which is celebrating its 160th anniversary this month. The celebration also included Moore's inauguration Friday as Rust's 13th president. But realizing Moore's vision will require revitalizing the small, private liberal arts college, which has experienced declining enrollment, rising tuition and leadership turnover in recent years. A decade ago, Rust enrolled more than 1,000 students. By the 2024-25 academic year, enrollment had fallen to 467 students. Tuition has increased from $9,900 in 2022-23 to more than $13,000 in 2023-24. And just 12% of students who entered Rust in 2018 graduated within six years. Addressing those challenges will require adapting Rust's academic programs and providing students with more support to earn a degree, Moore said. One of Moore's priorities is to expand career and workforce opportunities for Rust students, including those who may not need the traditional four-year college degree. | |
| Miss. Dept. of Education reports 24% drop in total absences during first months of 2026-2027 school year |
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| A new state law on student attendance in public schools is showing promise, officials said Monday, with total absences demonstrating declines in the first couple months of the 2026-2027 school year. According to data released by the Mississippi Department of Education, the total number of absences between the months of August and September last year compared to this year have fallen by 24%. During those months of the 2024-25 school year, there were 1,012,946 total absences. This school year that number came in at 769,180 total absences, a decline of 243,766. Excused and unexcused absences fell by 17% and 29%, respectively, MDE reported. "We are excited to see absences drop across the state," House Education Committee Chair Rob Roberson (R) told Magnolia Tribune. "I congratulate all of the parents who get their kids to school and help to keep unexcused absences down. The real winner in this is our kids." | |
| The Parents Suing Schools Because Their Kids Got Bad Grades |
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| When Weiwei Luo saw the report card saying her son needed to work on "cooperating with others," the Silicon Valley mom demanded it be changed. When the school district declined, she called her lawyer. What began last fall as a playground spat between third-graders has now escalated into a courtroom brawl: In a lawsuit filed in October, Luo calls the teacher's comments "inaccurate and unsubstantiated," and is asking a judge to order the district to rehear her case. Time was when parents disciplined children for bringing home bad marks. Today, they often take a more adversarial approach, educators say, leaning on teachers and administrators to change grades in disputes that can even spill into court. Ever since remote learning brought classrooms into living rooms during the pandemic, U.S. parents have grown more involved in and less enchanted with schools, according to numerous surveys. That includes scrutinizing how teachers evaluate their children. Four in 10 American teachers report facing pressure from moms and dads to change grades, according to a 2024 EdWeek survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,500 educators. Affluent parents, teachers noted, were more likely to complain. That pushback is pushing some teachers over the edge. | |
| Vanderbilt University shuts down devices after cyber attack |
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| Vanderbilt University officials urged people to shut down university devices, disconnect from school WiFi and "remain extremely vigilant" Monday as they investigated an active cybersecurity incident. "Take immediate action if you notice any unusual or suspicious activity on your devices," they wrote on the school's website. A website claiming to be that of the BYOD ransomware group posted a message online to Vanderbilt: "If you could not tell already, your databases are locked, We have your entire estate and research data. Over 1 Million SSNs, Full Names, Email addresses, Phone Numbers, Student & Employee Records, Full takeover of your DC, whatever was on your network, we possess." A spokesperson for Vanderbilt said the school had not confirmed those numbers. It was unclear Monday afternoon whether the hackers had demanded a ransom. The Vanderbilt Hustler, a campus newspaper, reported that some students were seeing pop-up README tabs on their university devices, and that university information technology officials entered classrooms with warnings. | |
| Student-aged voters helped turn Texas blue. U. of Texas shifted even further left |
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| Politics became personal for many University of Texas students this fall. In September, Bo French, the conservative candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, described a crowd of South Asian UT students cheering for the Longhorns as "a problem" facing Texas. UT did not condemn the racist language --- a marked turn from past administrations that spoke out when outside groups posted white supremacist posters on campus and after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. But on Tuesday, UT voters had their own opportunity to rebuke French, with 96% of voters in the university's precinct casting ballots against the Republican. Ultimately, 142 voters in the precinct supported French and 144 voted for Republican Ken Paxton, who lost his bid for U.S. Senate to Democrat James Talarico. More young voters swung left in Texas than any other age demographic this year: Texans ages 18 to 29 moved 49 points left from 2024 to 2026, according to the New York Times. Though UT students and faculty have long had a reputation for leaning left, the 2026 midterms showed that in the precinct where UT's campus is located, voters shifted even further in favor of Democrats. There, 95.5% of voters backed Talarico, a 15 percentage-point shift from 2024, when 80% of voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris for president. | |
| Mizzou officials tout economic impact over athletic departmental deficits |
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| As the University of Missouri stares down a projected budget shortfall, Mizzou Athletics is an expensive part of the university ecosystem. "It is becoming expensive," UM System President Mun Choi said during Mizzou's general faculty meeting on Wednesday. "It is a high number, but it is manageable." In fiscal year 2025, the athletics department reported a $9 million operating deficit, which was covered by an internal loan from the university, according to previous Missourian reporting. There was a $15.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2024. "As most universities can attest, this is the most transformational time in the history of college sports," Mizzou spokesperson Travis Zimpfer said in a statement. "To help Mizzou Athletics navigate this ever-changing environment, the University of Missouri provided $25 million in direct institutional support FY 2025, unchanged from FY 2024." | |
| International Student Interest in U.S. Surges After Midterms |
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| International students showed more interest in studying in the United States after Democrats won control of Congress following last week's election, new data suggests. The number of views of web pages for on-campus programs at U.S.-based colleges and universities rose 40 percent between Nov. 1 and Nov. 8, according to internal data from Studyportals, an online platform that helps international students search and compare programs. The rise in interest after the Nov. 3 election follows nearly two years of decline amid a changing federal policy environment for international students. Since taking control of the White House in January 2025, the Trump administration has revoked student visas, approved fewer new visa applications and sought to limit the time international students can stay in the country. Department of Homeland Security data from the 2025–26 academic year showed an average 13 percent decrease in international student enrollment compared to the previous year. But the Studyportals data showing a postelection jump in interest in studying in the U.S. is "good news for both domestic [and] international students, American universities, and for entrepreneurship and industries facing severe talent shortages," Edwin van Rest, CEO and co-founder of Studyportals, said in a news release. | |
| The U.S. Is Driving Away Young Scientists |
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| For nearly a century, the United States has been the global leader in cultivating young scientists, training them at the nation's vast network of universities and harnessing their talents to ensure American dominance in research and innovation. But now that Ph.D. pipeline is in turmoil. An analysis by The New York Times of university and federal data found that the Trump administration, in its broader dismantling of the American scientific machinery, has undermined opportunities for young scientists. Many of the nation's top research universities, facing uncertainties in federal funding, are offering fewer Ph.D. spots across the sciences. Federal programs created long ago to finance doctoral students are mired in chaos. Widespread grant cancellations and funding delays have made it harder for recent graduates to find jobs and start new labs. Some institutions have managed to adapt by marshaling funds from elsewhere, but the sudden instability of federal support has led many others to scale back their Ph.D. programs. The administration, for its part, has promised to energize the next generation of scientists. But interviews with dozens of early-career scientists -- Ph.D. applicants, doctoral students and newly minted graduates -- revealed deep concern that even two years of disruption could permanently alter the storied success of federally funded science in the United States. | |
SPORTS
| Hubbard Joins 2,000-Point Club In MSU Win Over Jackson State |
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| Josh Hubbard has now reached rarified Mississippi State air and the Bulldog superstar helped move State to 3-0 in the process. Hubbard became just the fourth MSU player to score 2,000 career points in the Bulldogs' win over Jackson State on Monday night at Humphrey Coliseum. Hubbard joined State legends Jeff Malone, Bailey Howell and Quinndary Weatherspoon in the Mississippi State men's hoops 2,000-point club as the Bulldogs tamed the Tigers 98-57. Hubbard finished the game with 14 points. He entered the evening needing just 13 points to hit 2,000 and he crossed that mark early in the second half. With Mississippi State already firmly in control, a Hubbard jumper at the 17:10 mark of the second half put MSU up 55-31 and made him only the 29th Southeastern Conference player in history to reach 2,000 career points. Mississippi State is now one of only two SEC schools with four or more players on that list. Only Tennessee has more players that've eclipsed 2,000. | |
| Hubbard scores 14, surpasses 2,000 in his career as Mississippi State beats Jackson State 98-57 |
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| Josh Hubbard scored 14 points and surpassed 2,000 in his career to lead Mississippi State to a 98-57 victory over Jackson State on Monday night. Hubbard hit a jumper with 17:10 to play for his 2,000th point, and then split a pair of free throws with 15:16 remaining that stretched the Bulldogs' lead to 64-36. He also shot 3 of 6 from long range, pushing his program high to 320 made 3s. Tristan Reed scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench for Mississippi State (3-0), which shot 58% from the floor and outrebounded Jackson State 49-21. RJ Johnson added 12 points for the Bulldogs. Kimani Hamilton chipped in with 11 points and Thomas Bassong scored 10. Reed and Bassong each had eight rebounds. Reserve Mike Williams made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting for Jackson State (1-2). | |
| College Football Playoff doubles up, expands to 24 teams beginning next season |
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| The College Football Playoff will double in size to 24 teams beginning next year, bringing an end to a three-decade era of conference title games that used to be among the marquee events of the season. College leaders announced the new format Monday, after ESPN agreed to rework its contract to add the 11 new games. Terms were not announced, though ESPN said it was a deal for five years and additional $1.7 billion, on top of the $7.8 billion contract that runs through the 2031 season. "Opening the playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football," said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, who is chair of the CFP board. "We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season." The first final for the 24-team playoff remains set for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans. Traditional bowl games will still host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. | |
| CFP expanding to 24 teams, big conference title games eliminated in $1.7 billion ESPN deal |
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| The CFP is only getting bigger. ESPN agreed to a five-year deal with the postseason tournament valued at about $1.7 billion that will expand the field to 24 teams starting in 2027, ESPN reported Monday. It's a move that keeps the Worldwide Leader as the CFP's broadcast partner and will also eliminate the Power Four (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12) conference championship games. The CFP selection committee plans to continue to rank its top 25 teams with inclusion in mind. It's also considering expanding its weekly rankings to 30 teams to reveal which programs are on the bubble. "Opening the Playoff to more programs, more student-athletes and more fan bases across the country is great for college football," Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP board of managers, said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing this expanded format come to life next season." The college football regular season will begin the week before Labor Day in what has been deemed "Week Zero," and will conclude on Thanksgiving weekend. | |
| Inside the 24-team Playoff plan's winding 15-month journey from unpopular to unanimous |
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| On the first Saturday after news broke that college football was moving to a paradigm-shifting 24-team tournament, fans booed the mention of the idea on ESPN's "College GameDay." The public pushback was not a surprise to the people who made the decision. In August, the College Football Playoff conducted a balanced-sample fan survey through Nielsen Sports. Anyone with social media knew that plenty of people didn't want expansion, but now the conference commissioners would have scientific public polling to consider. According to data from the survey reviewed by The Athletic, the results were overwhelming: 63 percent of "avid fans" and 76 percent of "casual fans" wanted no expansion whatsoever. Given the choice of six size options between "no playoff" and "increase to a 24-team playoff," less than 10 percent of both the "avid" and "casual" fan groups favored a 24-team field. However, of the fans who preferred no expansion, 71 percent said in response to another survey question that they would not watch fewer games if the field got larger. Ultimately, the sport's leaders, in pushing through expansion to give meaningful postseason access to more teams, believe the fans will still show up for whatever new world the super-sized Playoff brings and perhaps grow to like it more. "We're aware of the fan sentiment and that many fans aren't in favor of expansion," CFP executive director Rich Clark said. "It was considered, but ultimately, we just need to make a spectacular playoff." A 15-month journey from a seemingly outlandish idea to reality was completed Monday when the College Football Playoff and ESPN finalized a new deal. | |
| SEC Commissioner responds to criticism from Big Ten coaches |
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| SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show Monday afternoon, where he addressed some comments from Big Ten coaches. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema have both criticized how highly the SEC was favored in the College Football Playoff rankings. Cignetti inferred some ESPN bias in the CFP rankings, while Bielema said Illinois would be a top 15 team if they were in the SEC. While on The Paul Finebaum Show, Sankey responded to these comments and stood up for the SEC. "One of those head coaches canceled a non-conference game with one of our teams, so what I would say is, we're ready to schedule those non-conference games," Sankey said. "If you're concerned about us being overrated, there's a full regular season. We're pretty flexible in how we approach non-conference games. Let's not run to the microphone in a press conference and complain, let's find those opportunities because they're there." | |
| Ole Miss fined $250K for fans throwing debris on field |
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| The SEC has levied a $250,000 fine to Ole Miss after its fans threw bottles and other debris on the field during the second quarter of Saturday night's 42-7 loss to Georgia. In a statement on Monday, the SEC said the fans' actions interfered with the "competitive opportunity for both teams and [endangered] contest participants." "The University of Mississippi will be assessed the financial penalty under the sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies established by the Southeastern Conference," the SEC statement said. "The actions taken by the Conference are consistent with SEC Bylaws and Commissioner's Regulations related to the availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events which state, 'If cans or plastic bottles are used as projectiles or otherwise cause game management issues, the institution is subject to an immediate fine and suspension of the alcohol sales privilege.'" The SEC said it wasn't suspending alcohol sales for future games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, "but reserves the right to do so in the future." | |
| LSU graduate, now Alabama pastor, says Tigers' wasted '$40 million' after loss to Tide |
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| Chris Hodges, the founding pastor at Church of the Highlands and an LSU graduate, returned to the pulpit a day after the Tigers lost 31-13 to Alabama on Saturday. Hodges raised his hands and opened his sermon with a question for the congregation. "Don't you love Sundays?" Hodges asked. "Aren't they so much better than Saturdays, everybody?" The audience began laughing, as Hodges paused for a beat to smile himself. "I had the most beautiful purple sports coat picked out that I could not wear," Hodges said before he opened his jacket, revealing the crimson red on the inside of the coat he wore to service. "There you go. That's all you get! That's all you get! I don't want to hear anything else, alright? Let's move on. Help me, Jesus. Alright." As the church exploded in laughter, Hodges filled everyone else in on the joke. "If you're new to our church, I went to LSU, help me, Lord," Hodges said on Sunday morning. "Alright, $40 million down the drain, alright, here we go." The $40 million Hodges was referring to was the reported cost of this year's LSU football roster, through name, image and likeness funds. The Church of the Highlands is the largest church in Alabama, according to al.com, and has campuses throughout the state and Georgia. | |
| Tennessee players co-design a model of what collective bargaining could look like in college sports |
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| A group representing college athletes partnered with Tennessee basketball players to release the most detailed vision yet of what a collective-bargaining agreement in college sports could look like. The model for the term sheet released Tuesday by Athletes.org does not carry the weight of a signed agreement but is unusual in that it comes with the support of school leadership. It outlines guidelines for paying players, the transfer portal, academics and ways to enforce rules in an industry that pays millions to athletes under the guise that the money is for things other than playing sports. "We know what we want and how we want to move forward," said DeWayne Brown II, a freshman for the 11th-ranked Volunteers and one of three team organizers. "Working through the collective bargaining process has been great and I hope it's just a stepping stone for more college athletes to replicate our process with their own schools." A CBA that would offer some union-like protections is one of the most divisive issues in college sports, which has never had a union for athletes. Supporters of the CBA idea, including Tennessee athletic director Danny White, believe it's the most direct way to save an industry under increasing financial pressure in a world of $50 million football rosters. Opponents view it as a possibly illegal cash grab that could bankrupt the athletic departments that fund all their sports teams with revenue generated by football and basketball. | |
| College Sports Commission: NIL Go cleared more than $190 million in deals across September, October 2026 |
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| Across September and October, NIL Go cleared more than $190 million worth of NIL deals, the College Sports Commission announced Monday morning. That's the second-highest total for a two-month period since NIL Go's launch last year. Between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31, a total of 10,092 NIL deal were cleared by the system with an aggregate value of $192.62 million, according to the CSC. On the other side, 581 deals worth $20.21 million were not cleared. Additionally, as of Oct. 31, the College Sports Commission said there are not any deals in arbitration. Of the deals cleared over the last two months, 6,599 of them were with associated entities, worth a total value of $140.53 million. The other 3,493 deals were with non-associated entities with a value of $52.09 million -- the highest total value for non-associated deals during the 2026 calendar year. All told, since NIL Go launched in June 2025, the system has cleared 56,570 deals worth $775.11 million while 2,877 submitted deals, totaling $177.14 million, have not been cleared. The largest totals came between July and August 2026 as the 2026-27 school year approached. | |
| See What It Takes to Turn a High-School Athlete Into a Business |
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| Amateur athletes' ability to sign endorsement deals that monetize their name, image and likeness has pumped billions of dollars into college sports. Now it is coming for high-school athletes. For some parents and coaches, NIL deals create welcome opportunities for students to offset the growing costs of elite youth sports. Others, especially in the six states that still restrict NIL activity before college, think allowing teenage athletes to cash in on their personal brands takes the increasing professionalization of amateur sports too far. | |
| Greg Sankey addresses impact of midterms on Protect College Sports Act: 'Elections have consequences' |
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| Six days after the midterm elections, the House of Representatives was due to report back to Washington, D.C. on Monday after the recess. It will be a lame-duck session of Congress, though, after both the Democrats took control of both the House and Senate. As a result, there's a level of uncertainty around the Protect College Sports Act as legislators return from the break. The bipartisan bill advanced out of the Senate by a 77-22 vote, but the House was not in session and lawmakers did not return from the campaign trail to take it up. Now, they're back in Washington, D.C., but questions remain. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey realizes that and said he expects plenty of action this week, and the conference is in communication with members of Congress. "We had an election last week and elections have consequences, as they say," Sankey said on The Paul Finebaum Show. "I think our Senators and House of Representatives members are returning to D.C. probably as we speak. I'm certain it will be an active week in many different ways." Sankey knows about the level of uncertainty for the bill in the weeks ahead. But he made clear college sports leaders have to be ready for whatever happens, whether the bill passes the House or if it doesn't. | |
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