| Thursday, April 10, 2025 |
| Starkville, Oxford featured in USA Today's Readers' Choice Awards | |
 | Two of Mississippi's college towns have once again earned recognition from USA Today. Starkville, home of Mississippi State University, was voted "Best Small Town in the South" for the second consecutive year as part of the publication's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. Commonly referred to as "StarkVegas," Starkville topped small-town destinations such as Lewisburg, W. Va., Inverness, Fla., Clemson, S.C., and Orange Beach, Ala. "Though it's home to Mississippi State University, Starkville is much more than just a college town," USA Today editors wrote. "You'll find a thriving arts scene, multiple historic districts, many opportunities for birdwatching, and plenty of great food. Be sure to check out the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, a treasure trove of artifacts and correspondence. Mayor Lynn Spruill called the honor well-earned, especially considering she already believed Starkville to be the best small town in the South. "The USA Today results are incredibly exciting," Spruill said. 100 miles northeast, Oxford is also celebrating being part of USA Today's annual awards. Home to the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, Oxford notched the runner-up position for "Best Small College Town in the U.S." |
| 'Writer-In-Residence' program at MSU welcomes renowned Nigerian writer | |
 | Internationally-acclaimed Nigerian poet, playwright and author Chigozie Obioma will visit Mississippi State University as the Writer-in-Residence this week, bringing his in-depth wisdom of African literature -- shaped by his Igbo heritage and Nigerian upbringing -- to explore themes of fate, family and the clash between tradition and modernity with the MSU community. Obioma, the Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia, is an acclaimed author whose first two novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His debut novel, "The Fishermen," a 2015 Little, Brown and Company publication, was honored with the Financial Times/Oppenheimer Emerging Voices Award and shortlisted for the esteemed Booker Prize, while "An Orchestra of Minorities," a 2019 Little, Brown and Company, also earned a Booker Prize shortlist designation. Hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences' Institute for the Humanities and the Department of English, Obioma will spend April 8-12 engaging with students, staff and faculty. Free and open to the public, Obioma's reading is April 10, 7:30 p.m. in Old Main Academic Center, Room 1030. The Writer-in-Residence program is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Mississippi Humanities Council. |
| GTRA secures remaining stakeholders support for land purchase | |
 | The Golden Triangle Regional Airport has secured support from all of the stakeholders it needs to purchase a strip of land south of its runway, giving it additional land for potential future development. GTRA plans to offer roughly $2 million for the property, half of which is covered by grant funds and half from city and county governments that collectively own the airport. West Point selectmen on Tuesday were the last of the airport's stakeholders to kick in funds to make the purchase. Lowndes County supervisors approved paying the county's cut during their regular meeting on Monday, and the other stakeholders -- Starkville, Columbus, Oktibbeha County and Clay County -- all signed on over the past few weeks. Three aerospace companies – Stark Aerospace, Aurora Flight Services and Airbus Helicopters – are already located on airport land. Adding 109 adjacent acres would provide space for those companies to grow or for new companies to come in, Betsy Young, vice president of economic development for the Golden Triangle Development LINK told the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors on Monday. |
| Oktibbeha sheriff's office will soon unveil app | |
| Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office is getting an app, giving the public access to tip lines, community resources and live information about public safety hazards and inmate status. Chief Deputy Maurice Johnson presented the contract to the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors on Monday, garnering unanimous approval to partner with OCV LLC, the company that already runs the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office app. He said Oktibbeha's new app will offer a wide range of services, something he's already experienced with apps for Lowndes and the district attorney's office. "It has sheriff compliments and complaints, a featured fugitive, jail information, a resource map, ways to join our team, the sex offender registry, a community calendar," Johnson said. "You know how Saturday mornings people can come up to the jail and visit their family and friends? This way they'll be able to do it by video." Johnson told The Dispatch on Wednesday that the sheriff's office and County Attorney Rob Roberson are finalizing the details of the contract now, with a roughly 90-day timeline once it's signed for the app to get up and running. “I’m looking forward to that app very much,” Sheriff Shank Phelps told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “It’s going to be very beneficial to the citizens of this county.” |
| USACE Vicksburg District adjusts Steele Bayou structure gates to minimize flooding in Yazoo basin | |
| In response to rising water levels on the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District closed the gates of the Steele Bayou Control Structure Tuesday at 4 p.m. Due to changing conditions on the Mississippi River and the river slowing its rise, the gates at Steele Bayou Drainage Structure have been reopened today, April 9, to allow more water to flow out of the lower Yazoo basin. It is anticipated that the gates will close again; however, we are taking this welcome opportunity to get as much water out of the basin as possible. The safety of residents and communities remains the Corps' number one priority as it continues to closely monitor the situation and support local flood-fighting activities. Other than possible issues traveling to and from the area, there are no other expected impacts to the Eagle Lake community at this time. The Steele Bayou Control Structure was constructed in 1969, and is located about 10 miles north of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The structure, combined with the Mississippi River and Yazoo Backwater levees as a MS Rivers and Tributaries (MR&T) project, serves as a critical flood risk management tool to prevent the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers from backing up and flooding the Yazoo basin in the MS Delta. |
| Inflation eased in March but Trump's tariffs could still bite despite 90-day pause | |
 | Inflation eased more than expected to a five-month low in March as gasoline and used car prices tumbled and rent increases softened further, offsetting a sharp rise in grocery costs. The report provides some relief to Americans just as President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on some sweeping tariffs that could, along with other steep import taxes, still drive prices sharply higher. In March, consumer prices increased 2.4% from a year earlier, down from a 2.8% rise the previous month, according to the Labor Department's consumer price index, a measure of average changes in goods and services costs. That's the lowest annual increase since September but still leaves inflation above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal. An underlying inflation measure also drifted down to the lowest level in nearly four years. Trump's announcement Wednesday sparked a massive stock market rally but the effects on inflation and the economy in the months ahead are unclear, forecasters said. In a note to clients, JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli said the harm to the economy from tariffs "is likely to be somewhat less than before, and thus the prospect of a recession is a closer call." The research firm previously had raised its recession odds to 60%. |
| Egg prices increase to record high despite Trump's predictions and bird flu outbreak slowing | |
 | U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump's predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks. The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief. Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter, which falls on April 20. Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices dropped significantly in March. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline even though prices started to fall at the end of the month. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices. Trump tried to take credit for the lower wholesale egg prices the USDA reported in recent weeks. But experts say the president's plan to fight bird flu by focusing on strengthening egg farmers' defenses against the virus is likely to be more of a long-term help. Earlier this week, Trump said the annual White House egg roll would use real eggs again this year despite the high prices. Egg farmers typically donate more than 30,000 eggs for the event. |
| U.S. farmers sell products in China they have trouble selling elsewhere. Will tariffs change that? | |
| While new tariffs on most countries are not happening (at least for the next three months), the U.S.-China tariffs are in place -- the U.S. at 125% for China, and China at 84% on the U.S. Those tariffs include some agricultural products that American farmers would have trouble selling elsewhere. Washington and Beijing are playing a game of chicken -- and that includes over chicken feet. If U.S. products get too expensive in China, American farmers are worried about losing a key market for things like chicken feet. While people in other countries often don't eat chicken feet, many consumers in China do. "We very well could take a hit," said Davie Stephens, who raises chickens in Clinton, Kentucky -- specifically broilers for Pilgrim's Pride -- so he doesn't sell directly to China. But he knows China is the market for chicken feet. He's hoping Chinese consumers love them so much, they won't blink at higher prices. Pig parts that don't appeal to Western palates are also big in China. "Snouts, feet, ears, organs -- those types of products," said Joe Schuele, spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, which is a trade group. He said that U.S. pork would face a total 131% import tax in China. |
| Markets continue to navigate trade uncertainty | |
| A livestock economist says the markets are stuck navigating a lot of uncertainty amid ongoing tariff discussions. Mississippi State University's Josh Maples says, "Volatility is the absolute driver right now." He says there will be a lot for the ag sector to monitor in the coming weeks and months. "The length of time it happens, how long are the tariffs in place, or are there some deals negotiated," he says. "Who are the deals negotiated with? What are they? There are so many questions right now that are feeding that uncertainty into these markets." Maples tells Brownfield that trade relationships are important for domestic beef and pork producers. The tariffs announced last week are for products imported into the United States. "But the threat of retaliation on these reciprocal tariffs is a real threat to our exports as well," he says. For beef, exports contribute approximately $415 to the value of each animal slaughtered and more than $66 to the value of every hog processed. |
| Is former Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn running for governor in 2027? | |
 | It seems the field of Mississippi Republicans seriously considering a run in the 2027 gubernatorial race continues to grow. Several unnamed sources told the Clarion Ledger that former Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, a Republican from Clinton, is seriously weighing his odds for the state's highest office. Gunn's campaign finance expenses in 2024 also indicate he has been consulting, traveling and meeting people with the intent of eventually raising funds for and gauging the odds of a run for governor. "I have not dismissed that as a possibility," Gunn told the Clarion Ledger in late March. "I'm just continuing to evaluate opportunities to serve. If the Lord opens the door for me to serve somewhere, then I will plan to try to be obedient to what he calls me to do." Gunn was also seriously considering running for U.S. Senate last year against incumbent Roger Wicker and for the governor's office in 2023 against Gov. Tate Reeves but decided the timing was not ideal as those races included incumbents. With an open race in 2027, some say this is his chance. Gunn would be joining four other Republicans who have spoken publicly and are considered interested in the 2027 governor's race -- state Auditor Shad White, state Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and billionaire Mississippi businessman Tommy Duff. |
| New National Guard commander to be Bogue Chitto resident | |
 | A Bogue Chitto man will take over as commander of the Mississippi National Guard's largest unit, the "Dixie Thunder" brigade. Col. Christopher W. Cooksey will accept the command of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team from Col. Michael Dykes of Ocean Springs on Saturday during a change of command ceremony at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center Parade Field in Hattiesburg. Maj. Gen. Bobby M. Ginn Jr., the adjutant general of Mississippi, will host the time-honored ceremony. Cooksey lives in Bogue Chitto with his wife Allison and their two children, Sophia and Jackson. He will be the commander of the 155th ABCT, headquartered in Tupelo, and will command seven battalions across Mississippi and Kansas. He is a native of Jackson and holds a Bachelors of Science from Mississippi State University and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. The 155th ABCT is comprised of approximately 3,500 soldiers. |
| State Board of Health receives update on measles, pertussis cases | |
| Measles in the state of Mississippi are currently nonexistent, but the concern is there due to rising cases in other parts of the nation. Dr. Renia Dodson, State Epidemiologist, said that there is still concern due to the highly contagious nature of the virus. The Mississippi State Board of Health heard the reason for that during Wednesday's meeting. "If you've never seen it before that means we have done a good job in vaccinating people," Dodson added. The potential risk for measles cases in Mississippi is low due to the state's 97.5 vaccination rate through the MMR shot, putting the state above the vaccination rate required for community protection. Dodson added that Mississippi is currently ranked third nationally in vaccination rates, but that is a drop from first a few years ago. The last death from measles in Mississippi occurred in 1986, and the last reported case occurred in 2002, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney said. The most recent case in Mississippi involved a person traveling from another country. "This just shows the effectiveness of the vaccine," Edney added. |
| House GOP adopts Trump budget blueprint after last-minute scramble | |
 | House Republicans on Thursday adopted the Senate's framework that will be used to enact key parts of President Trump's legislative agenda, getting the blueprint over the finish line after a last-minute scramble to win over conservatives who had spent days railing against the measure. The largely party line 216-214 vote marks a big win for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has pushed an aggressive timeline to advance Trump's domestic policy priorities, and President Trump, who endorsed the legislation and lobbied those on the right flank to get on board. Only two Republicans -- Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Victoria Spartz (Ind.) -- voted against the measure. It was not, however, an easy path to victory for the GOP leadership. More than a dozen hardline House conservatives had come out against the Senate resolution, vowing to vote against the legislation if it came to the floor out of concern over the level of spending cuts mandated in the measure. Now, however, the even tougher part begins. Republicans in both chambers must craft a package that is in line with the levels laid out in the budget resolution and make decisions on a number of hot-button issues like spending cuts, how long the tax cuts are extended for and the cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction, among other details. |
| As Republicans defend trade agenda, Trump changes course | |
 | House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith and other Republicans on the panel were giving a robust defense of President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policy Wednesday even as the president was making a sharp course correction by pausing and lowering tariffs on 75 unspecified countries. "The Trump agenda prioritizes the long-term prosperity of working families and communities ahead of short term stock market swings," Smith, R-Mo., said to open the hearing on the trade policy agenda with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. "The American people are counting on us to think beyond today's headlines and stay focused on growing the economy and creating good paying jobs." Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., echoed that support. "We sit here today trying to make this a political event, instead of a country-saving event," Kelly said. "Who's finally going to talk about the real problems in America and quit talking about the stock market, stop talking about all these others, because I've watched it go up, I've watched it go down, I've watched it go sideways." The president, meanwhile, was changing his mind. He posted on Truth Social that he would pause and lower reciprocal tariffs on more than 75 countries, that they hadn't retaliated against the U.S. tariffs announced last week and therefore would get a 90-day pause. The pause doesn't extend to the baseline tariff, which will remain at 10 percent. The president didn't name the countries, but they appear to include European Union members. And he said he was raising the levy on goods imports from China to 125 percent. |
| The 18 hours that changed Trump's mind on trade | |
 | Washington woke up Wednesday to the highest tariffs on foreign goods in a century and to bond markets flashing warning signs that President Donald Trump's bid to remake global trade could spark a far bigger crisis. Trump's advisers were still projecting confidence that his effort to restructure the world's economy and sweep away generations of globalization was foolproof despite the S&P 500 wiping away 12 percent of its value in a week. One senior White House official said that Wall Street didn't understand Main Street -- and that Main Street was still backing the president. But hours later, Trump partially backed down -- escalating his trade war with China but lowering many of the tariffs he had just imposed on the rest of the world. Stock markets soared. It was a shocking turnabout coming after days of Trump's aides arguing that he was seeking to remake the global economy. But from Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon, Trump and his trade advisers spoke to several Republican lawmakers and top foreign leaders who raised concerns about the faltering global markets and the growing concerns of a worldwide recession, urging him to do something. |
| Why Trump Blinked on Tariffs Just Hours After They Went Into Effect | |
 | President Trump finally blinked. It took a week for the plunge in the stock and bond markets -- along with a sustained campaign by executives, lawmakers, lobbyists and foreign leaders -- to prompt Trump to roll back for 90 days a major element of his sweeping tariff plan. The president said that the reaction to the tariffs was getting a bit "yippy" -- like a nervous athlete unable to perform -- and he relied on his instincts to change course as he watched the bond market tank and listened to business leaders including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon express fears of a recession. The episode was classic Trump: He took a drastic action, closely tracked the reaction, kept advisers and allies guessing and then changed course. In this case, the extraordinary reversal was announced via Trump's social-media platform just hours after so-called reciprocal tariffs officially went into effect. He tapped out the post in the Oval Office as he sat with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump also significantly raised tariffs on China. Shortly after Trump published his post, as markets rose, Bessent stood outside the entrance to the West Wing and explained that the move to pause some of the tariffs was discussed Sunday when the two men met. "He and I had a long talk," Bessent said before a crowd of reporters. "This was his strategy all along." |
| Beijing, in blocking TikTok deal, turns Trump's trade playbook against him | |
 | Beijing's extraordinary move last week to walk away from the White House's TikTok deal as leverage in an escalating trade war defies the norms of economic negotiations -- but follows President Donald Trump's own trade playbook. The White House last week had finalized a pact to spin the popular video app's U.S. operations into a new company owned and operated by a majority made up of American investors, according to two people familiar with the deal granted anonymity to speak candidly. The deal was set to be announced just days before a Saturday deadline mandating the app's Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, sell to a majority of non-Chinese companies, or TikTok would go dark in the United States. Then it fell apart. Last Wednesday, Trump slapped 34 percent tariffs on China. On Thursday, ByteDance representatives told the White House Beijing would no longer approve the deal, the people said. And on Friday, Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline by 75 days. Now, as the world's two largest economies retaliate against each other with increasingly crippling tariffs, the TikTok deal is completely on pause, according to another person close to Vice President JD Vance, whose team was leading the negotiations. It's a "waiting game," said the person, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. |
| The Next Generation of Democrats Don't Plan to Wait Their Turn | |
 | George Hornedo, a liberal activist and Democratic Party strategist in Indianapolis, had already been weighing a primary challenge to the local congressman when he was confronted last month by a senior Indiana Democrat. Asked whether he was planning a run, Mr. Hornedo, 34, acknowledged he was considering it. The woman, he recalled, told him he was "going to get hurt." He posted his recounting of the interaction on TikTok, where it quickly went viral. "Don't let them scare you off," one commenter wrote. On Wednesday, Mr. Hornedo announced his campaign against the nine-term incumbent, Representative André Carson, while deriding him and those like him as "do-nothing Democrats" and promising a new generation of leadership for Washington. "The Democratic Party cannot win the future with a leadership structure that is built for the past," he said in an interview. A small but growing group of young Democrats are being propelled to act by outrage among rank-and-file voters, and especially among young people. Infuriated by the early months of President Trump's second term, impatient with the status quo and frustrated with party leadership, they are mounting bids for office. "They're looking to build a Democratic Party that will fight instead of fold," said Amanda Litman, the leader of Run for Something, a progressive group that pushes young Democrats to run for office. |
| Interior Department staff, including those at national parks, offered buyouts and early retirement | |
| Employees across the Department of the Interior have until the end of Wednesday to respond to the latest offer to take buyouts or early retirement, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to reduce the federal workforce. The offer for deferred resignation, often described as a buyout, or early retirement was sent April 4 -- one day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order for national parks to "remain open and accessible" and directing officials to ensure proper staffing. The memo says the department is also planning for reductions in force "to maximize workforce efficiency," but some positions will be exempt from layoffs because they are "critical to public safety" or "directly linked to the highest priority programs." Some National Park Service jobs are exempt -- those with "on-site duties" and those who work at National Wildlife Refuge visitor centers -- with written approval from a senior level, the memo says. Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the offers are an attempt to pressure dedicated staff to resign or face arbitrary firings. "The administration's relentless attacks are crushing the Park Service," she said. |
| Where did U.S. humanities grants go? To projects from a baseball film to AI research | |
 | At their core, the humanities are all about what makes us human -- like language, religion, philosophy, history, art, community, and identity. In practical terms, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have funded historical preservation, museums, literary festivals, media projects and community-based research. Examples include Ken Burns' film The Civil War and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, as well as efforts to save the Tlingit language and to mark the Mississippi Blues Trail. "The humanities help us understand the human experience in the past and today in order to frame it and shape it for the future," said Lauren Tilton, a professor of digital humanities at the University of Richmond. Critics of federal funding for arts and culture have argued that taxpayers shouldn't pay for highbrow museums, theaters and other institutions that don't serve everyday Americans. Yet both the arts and humanities endowments have awarded millions of dollars in grants that prioritize underserved communities across the U.S. |
| Catholics prepare for an unusual Easter, with Pope Francis out of view | |
| The Catholic Church starts its busiest week of the year on Sunday with the countdown to Easter, but Pope Francis remains out of public view after surviving double pneumonia and it is unclear whether he will take any part in the celebrations. Doctors have prescribed the 88-year-old pontiff two months of rest to allow his ageing body to fully heal, meaning he may spend much or all of Holy Week -- when Christians recall Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection -- out of public view. The pope would normally preside over at least eight Vatican ceremonies during Holy Week, culminating in Easter Sunday Mass, when tens of thousands of people flock into St. Peter's Square to celebrate the day they believe Jesus rose from the dead Vatican officials are still unsure whether Francis, who came close to death in hospital, may try to make brief appearances, or partake in some of the events via a video link. Rev. Bruce Morrill, a Jesuit priest and academic at Vanderbilt University, said the pope's "perseverance and transparency in his infirmity brings a new poignancy" to the holiday "It could be that people will draw strength and inspiration of a different type with the pope's limited presence to this year's Holy Week services," he said. |
| Bill Prohibiting DEI Programs In Public Schools Awaits Governor's Approval | |
 | Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in Mississippi public schools are now at risk of being banned after the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 1193 on Wednesday, April 2. The bill, which is awaiting the signature of Gov. Tate Reeves, gives the state the power to withhold its funding from institutions found in violation of the law. Jacob Batte, director of news and media relations, said the University of Mississippi is "aware of the bill" but that it "does not comment on pending legislation." At the university level, the bill would require the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning -- the governing body of Mississippi's public higher education institutions -- to adopt a formal complaint process and investigative procedures for potential violations. If the institution does not comply with the stipulations of the bill, the state has the power to withhold its funding. Funds will be reinstated only when the institution is in full compliance. Full compliance would be certified by the appropriate governing authority and affirmed by the state attorney general or appropriate court. The legislation also prohibits the use of diversity statements and training in admissions and hiring processes in higher education. |
| USM hosting annual Children's Book Festival | |
 | The Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival is underway at the University of Southern Mississippi. From keynote speakers to workshops, the annual festival is filled with events. Leuyen Pham, the 2025 Southern Miss Medallion winner, has illustrated more 100 books for children in her career. Organizers said Thursday's activities will include an event open to the public in downtown Hattiesburg. "We're going to be at the train depot in downtown Hattiesburg at 7p.m. (Friday)." said Mary Osborne, event coordinator for the festival. "There are going to be some light refreshments and the authors will be there to sign books and we will have books for sale. We encourage folks to come out." The festival runs through Friday. |
| Belhaven students invent interactive Minecraft campus | |
| With all the buzz around A Minecraft Movie dominating the box office, Minecraft fever is officially in full swing -- and Belhaven students are riding their version of the wave with a university twist. The Belhaven University Gaming (BUG) club recently launched "Bellcraft," a fully interactive Minecraft replica of their campus. Built entirely by students, the virtual version of Belhaven offers a fresh, engaging way for current students, alumni, and prospective Blazers to explore and connect with the campus. Spearheaded by film productions and visual arts majors from Vicksburg, Garrison Owens ensured the project went far beyond aesthetics. Eyeing every detail -- brick, pathway, and landmark -- carefully recreating the campus into a place for collaboration, events, and gameplay. "Bellcraft is a key part of our community," BUG Vice President Lily Theisen said. "It's not just about building the campus -- it's about creating a space where students can interact, collaborate, and share a love for gaming and creativity. We want more students to join us in making Belhaven a fully realized virtual world." |
| Black Spring Break is back in South Mississippi. Here's what to know about traffic, events | |
 | Crowds are expected to return to the beaches in South Mississippi this weekend as Black Spring Break is back in Biloxi and Gulfport from April 10 to 13. Events are planned day and night from Thursday through Sunday, mostly at clubs in Gulfport. It starts with a Bounce Fest Welcome Party Thursday for ages 18 and up at Club Thirty IV in Gulfport. Tickets start at $20 and a $1,000 twerk contest is part of the festivities. The weekend wraps up Sunday with an R&B brunch and a hangover party, both in Gulfport. Admission to most events starts at $20 to $30, and admission to the beach is free. The weather forecast is for sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s throughout the weekend. This is the 15th Mississippi Black Spring Break, the group said in a news release. The event is tied to the wade-in events that eventually led to a federal court ruling in 1968 that opened the beaches to everyone. Those who don't want to get into the Spring Break traffic should stay away from the beach and Pass Road on Friday night and Saturday afternoon into the night, when traffic typically is heaviest. The areas to watch for people crossing the highway to the beach in Biloxi extend from Treasure Bay Casino to Edgewater Mall. |
| Space Command move to Huntsville will be announced very soon, congressman says | |
 | A top Alabama congressman is predicting U.S. Space Command will announce its pending relocation to Huntsville this month. In an interview Tuesday with Auburn University's "Cyber Focus" podcast, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said contractors are "ready to turn dirt" the day the announcement is made. "I expect sometime during the month of April that Space Command will officially be assigned to build its headquarters in Huntsville," Rogers told Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. "We do expect it to be announced right after the Air Force Secretary is named." President Donald Trump has nominated Troy Meink to be Air Force secretary. Meink, who served as director of the National Reconnaissance Office since 2020, had a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in late March. No date for a confirmation vote has been set. Rogers said the president's call for a "Golden Dome" missile defense system would likely leverage public and private industry in the Rocket City. Golden Dome refers to Trump's vision for beefing up space-based sensors and interceptors to counter and deter a variety of ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks. |
| UGA ranks high among institutions assisting military veterans | |
 | The University of Georgia released the results of a survey from Viqtory Media that shows UGA ranks high as a "military friendly" educational institution. The media group has several categories for awards mostly based on a college's size. In the Tier 1 research institutions, UGA ranked at No. 6. UGA also noted in a news release that it ranked first in 2017, 2021 and 2023 as it continues to remain in the top 10. Viqtory, a company that does marketing and job search help for veterans among other services, reported on its website that thousands of schools participated in the survey, described as "an exhausting fully automated survey that rates the facilities, programs and services they offer to military and veteran students." UGA works with veterans and military personnel through the Student Veterans Resource Center located at the Tate Student Center. The center assists veterans with identifying their military benefits and obtaining tuition benefits. There are 363 military veteran students at UGA identified through the center. |
| U. of Florida international student detained by immigration agents now back in Colombia | |
 | The University of Florida international student arrested near campus and sent to an immigration detention center has returned to Colombia, according to a new statement from his mother there. Felipe Zapata Velásquez, 27, was arrested March 28 for driving with a U.S. driver's license that had been suspended since January 2024 and with an outdated vehicle registration. He was taken to Jacksonville by federal immigration agents after his arrest and told he could await his case's resolution in jail in the United States or sign his self-deportation and return to Colombia, according to an interview on April 2 with his mother, Claudia Velásquez, by NTN24. Zapata Velásquez chose to remain in the U.S. and was sent to Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami within days of his arrest, his mother said. He is now back in Colombia. University spokeswoman Cynthia Roldán said federal student privacy laws prevented her from discussing details about Zapata Velásquez's case. |
| High schoolers get to join Tennessee's Pride of the Southland Band for just one day | |
 | The Tennessee football team will be on the field for its annual Orange and White Spring Game for fans to enjoy, accompanied by the musical stylings of 350 high school band students playing side by side with the Pride of the Southland Band. Current high school sophomores, juniors and seniors will join the University of Tennessee at Knoxville's prestigious marching band April 12 to be a "Member for a Day," bringing their own music holders and instruments picked from a long list of what's allowed - including brass and percussion instruments. It's open to any student in the county, state and country as long as they can make the trip, but the event fills up quickly about a week after registration opens. "It's a big recruiting day for us," Mike Stewart, director of the Pride of the Southland, told Knox News. "The goal is to get as much interaction time with our students as possible." The event has filled up year after year, with UT capping it at 350 students to ensure they're not overcrowded. Feedback has been positive from students and faculty, Stewart said. |
| 'Several' international U. of South Carolina students have had US visas terminated, school says | |
 | "Several" international students studying at the University of South Carolina have had their U.S. visas terminated by the federal government, according to university spokesman Jeff Stensland. The revocations come as colleges and universities across the country have reported similar terminations. USC has been in contact with the students with revoked visas, Stensland said. University officials have not been given a specific reason for the revocations, which they learned about through a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Stensland did not provide further details about the situation, citing student privacy rules. The U.S. Department of State, which is responsible for issuing and revoking student visas, did not respond to an inquiry about the USC terminations. Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters in Washington April 8 that the department wouldn't give out statistics about revocations or explain publicly why specific visas were being ended. Legal challenges from international scholars whose student status was ended have been filed in several states. |
| Future in-state college students in South Carolina may get reprieve from tuition rate increases | |
 | Whether future in-state college students in South Carolina could pay higher tuition rates appears to be headed to for a debate in an eventual conference committee on the budget later this spring. Senate budget writers backed away from a plan pushed by the House to allow schools to increase tuition on future students, instead reverting to a plan that says not to raise tuition rates in any manner. The House approved a proviso that allows for increases on future students, but would still allow families to know tuition rates for four years. A proviso is a one-year law attached to the annual spending plan that directs agencies and state colleges how to spend money. "Well it treated incoming freshmen different than sophomores, juniors and seniors. I didn't think that was right. And here again, the governor wasn't excited about it either. So I listened to him. I don't obey him, but I listen to him," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler said. Peeler added lawmakers have encouraged schools to find ways to be more efficient in spending money. "We're nudging higher ed to clean up their own backyard," Peeler said. |
| 15 Texas A&M international students might have quietly lost their ability to stay in the U.S. | |
| Fifteen international students at Texas A&M University may no longer be allowed to remain legally in the U.S. after their immigration status was changed in a federal database. It is unclear why the federal government revoked the A&M students' ability to stay in the country legally but a university official said the students had not committed any dangerous offenses known to the university. A&M did not name the students. In an email sent Tuesday morning and obtained by The Texas Tribune, International Student and Scholar Services director Samantha Clement provided details about 11 students who had been affected. She said one of the students has already left the country. Eight of them are currently enrolled and three already graduated. Ten students attended the flagship campus and one went to Texas A&M-Galveston. All but one attended A&M as graduate students, Clement said. Tuesday evening, university officials said the number of students affected had risen from 11 to 15. |
| Texas Senate bill seeks to limit faculty senate influence at colleges, universities | |
| The introduction last month of Senate Bill 37, an overarching piece of legislation that calls for major reforms to higher education in Texas, surprised Bruce Cushing, president of the University of Texas at El Paso's Faculty Senate. That shock quickly turned to disbelief after he reviewed the proposal that, among other things, seeks to limit the role of untenured professors in curriculum development and faculty hiring and grant additional oversight of faculty senates to institutional leaders and off-campus governing bodies such as boards of regents for university systems and boards of trustees for community college districts. Faculty senates -- or councils -- traditionally take the lead in the creation of curriculum, and offer a voice to instructors throughout the institution. The bill, as originally written, seeks to codify the input, membership and existence of faculty senates. SB 37 also calls for the governing boards to do a comprehensive review of the general education curriculum at their institutions every five years. The goal is to ensure that the core courses prepare students for a civic and professional life and "do not distort significant historical events" or teach identity politics, systemic racism or promote an ideology but does not offer specifics. While a few speakers spoke in favor of SB 37 during the hearing, dozens of professors voiced their opposition. Some proposed ways to improve the bill. |
| Universities issue more bonds as protection against federal funding freezes | |
| There has been a lot going on in bond markets in recent days. The corporate bond market ground to a halt after the President announced his new tariffs, as we reported. But there's another part of the bond market that doesn't always get a lot of attention: higher education. These are bonds issued by small colleges and big universities meant to fund capital projects, research and other expenses. The amount of bonds issued by colleges nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024, according to Bloomberg. And this year, universities are on track to issue even more. One of the reasons colleges have been issuing new bonds over the last few years is to address a growing challenge: Declining enrollment. "Some of the schools are trying to re-tool themselves and change their academic offering," said Pat Luby, senior municipal strategist at CreditSights. He said schools are borrowing money to create new academic programs, update their facilities and build new ones. "These are capital intensive endeavors, and it takes multiple years to not only get the facilities up and running, but also to get students in there, to attract students," Luby said. Last month, the ratings agency Moody's lowered its outlook for the higher education sector from stable to negative. |
| Trump Freezes Cornell Funding, Compromises U.S. Military Safety | |
| Cornell University has been slammed with stop-work orders on more than 75 Department of Defense grants that support research into robotics, superconductors and military safety, university officials said on Tuesday. Among the affected projects is a joint research effort between the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) and the Air Force Research Lab, Scientific American has learned. The freeze placed on these grants is part of a pattern of stop-work orders and threats to withhold funding that the federal government has issued to several universities over campus protests and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The New York Times reported that the Cornell grant freeze has gone far beyond DOD funding and has affected grants from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. In a recent statement, Cornell leaders said the grants affected "research into new materials for jet engines, propulsion systems, large-scale information networks, robotics, superconductors, and space and satellite communications, as well as cancer research -- work of significance for our national defense, the competitiveness of our economy, and the health of our citizens." |
| U.S. Education Dept. Wants to End DEI. Does It Have the Staff? | |
 | The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights was swamped before President Trump took a sledgehammer to it. In the last decade, the number of discrimination complaints has more than doubled, while the number of investigators has been cut in half. Last year, the office had a staff of 588 people, most of whom were lawyers responsible for handling more than 22,000 complaints. In 2021, the first year Joe Biden was in office, more than 900 open cases were four or more years old. Trump has now directed the office to root out diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at America's 6,000 colleges, announcing several new investigations every week. With last month's rash of layoffs, longtime supporters of that vision say he may not have the staff to execute it. By law, every investigation requires due process. Education Secretary Linda McMahon last month fired more than 240 OCR employees, almost 40 percent of the staff. Mark Perry, a former professor who has filed close to 1,000 OCR complaints regarding programs he says exclude men and white people, said that for years the office has been slow to open and complete investigations, despite the loads of evidence he said he's compiled. "My concern is fewer employees, fewer staff attorneys, fewer investigators, more complaints, more investigations," Perry said. |
| Chinese Students on U.S. Campuses Are Ensnared in Political Standoff | |
| Mounting U.S.-China tensions are forcing a rupture in the long love affair between Chinese students and American colleges. Chinese students, who often pay full tuition, have been a significant source of revenue for U.S. schools. On Wednesday, China cautioned students against studying in the U.S. The warning came as the U.S. is revoking visas for many of those already here. As the U.S. hit Chinese goods with new tariffs, China's Ministry of Education advised Chinese students considering studies in the U.S. to thoroughly assess risks. Beijing issued a similar advisory in 2019, amid the U.S.-China trade war during President Trump's first term. One in every four international students in the U.S. comes from China. The U.S. has been running a large service surplus with China for years, partly because of billions of dollars that Chinese households spend on schooling in the U.S. The services surplus, which also includes categories such as financial services, rose to nearly $32 billion in 2024 from $27 billion in 2023, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Education-related travel alone, which covers Chinese students' expenditure on tuition, books and living expenses in the U.S., stood at $14.3 billion in 2023, representing a little less than one-third of all foreign students' expenditures in the U.S., according to the latest detailed breakdown by the BEA. |
| Republicans Oppose Legislation Demanding Details on Trump's Plan to Close Education Department | |
 | Republicans struck down a Democratic-led attempt to gather more information on President Trump's plans to dismantle the Department of Education on Wednesday, arguing collecting agency documents would cost time and distract political appointees from their efforts to repair the American education system. "This resolution of inquiry is an attempt by the Democrats to derail the work of this committee and gaslight Americans about Democrats' decades of failure on education," Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican and chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said in his opening remarks. The committee voted 18 to 12 along party lines to kill the one-page resolution following a three-hour markup hearing earlier yesterday morning. The legislation received letters of support from the National Education Association and National Down Syndrome Society and no letters of opposition. The committee also considered three Republican-sponsored bills during Wednesday's markup regarding K-12 education as well as the Flexibility for Workers Education Act, which would cut red tape that requires employers to count professional development opportunities as working hours. All four bills cleared the committee. |
| Government secrecy tends to bite Mississippi in the butt. It's happened again | |
| Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender writes: The state Senate Republican leadership didn't plan to fail on a Mississippi tax overhaul. It failed to plan. And when pressed late in the 2025 legislative session to come up with a proposal to counter the House Republican leadership's sweeping bill, Senate leaders did so behind closed doors and hurriedly. The result: a majority of legislators passing a tax overhaul bill full of math errors that accidentally did what Senate leaders didn't want. And it stripped out safeguards for taxpayers that both the House and Senate leadership said were prudent. No matter how much Gov. Tate Reeves praises House Bill 1 as "one big, beautiful bill," borrowing a phrase from President Trump as he signed it into law, it was passed through secrecy, subterfuge and error, not representative democracy. Had the Senate perhaps taken a little more time, allowed more input from and access to its strategizing from rank-and-file lawmakers, and who knows, maybe even a little crowd-sourcing allowing the public to scrutinize the bill before passing it, maybe the blunder could have been prevented. And while House leaders should receive praise for coming up with an initial public-facing tax overhaul plan through months of public hearings and forums, that's not what was passed into law. |
SPORTS
| Mitch Moreland joins Diamond Dawg immortality with Ring of Honor induction | |
| As Mitch Moreland gazed across the right field entrance of Dudy Noble Field and looked out over the grass he once roamed, memories no doubt flooded his mind. Nearly 18 years earlier, Moreland's strikeout of Clemson hitter Taylor Harbin sent the 2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs back to the College World Series for the first time since 1998. At the time, Moreland was just a good ol' boy from Amory who wanted to play ball for the Diamond Dawgs. Two decades later, Moreland has an accomplished MLB career in his back pocket and is now a family man. His return to Starkville marked his enshrinement into Ron Polk's prestigious Ring of Honor -- an achievement that brings the Mississippi native a deep sense of pride. "Obviously, it's a huge honor. I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity," Moreland said. "When I got the call, it was the last thing I was expecting, but it's been a great weekend and nothing but first class from everybody here. Just happy to be able to be a part of this, for sure." "An hour away, this is the only place I ever thought about playing. It's ingrained in me -- I'll always be a Bulldog," Moreland said. "I love it here and try to get here as much as I can. If we're not here, we're definitely following along. We love being over here." |
| Alabama vs. Mississippi State: Baseball team preview for Bulldogs | |
| Southern Miss, a game which resulted in a 10-6 victory, the Alabama Crimson Tide are set to welcome another this upcoming weekend to Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Alabama's latest SEC opponent, the Bulldogs are only a few seasons removed from winning a national title, but have not necessarily performed on that same level in recent years to make it back to Omaha. Mississippi State is also off to a slow start to SEC play this season, but are still a team that could give Alabama some problems this weekend in Tuscaloosa. Currently unranked in the college baseball Top 25 polls, Mississippi State enters this series sporting an overall record of 20-13 for the season, while also currently 3-9 in SEC play. The Bulldogs are also currently riding a three-game winning streak that includes two victories over South Carolina, as well as an 8-3 road win at UAB on Tuesday night in their most recent game. Leading the Bulldogs offense is sophomore infielder Ace Reese, who has the by-far team-lead with 11 home runs, as well as 39 RBI, so far this season. Undoubtedly the top starting pitcher to know for Mississippi State is senior left-hander Pico Kohn, who owns a 2.96 ERA with a 67:10 K:BB ratio across 45.2 innings so far this season, while also holding opponents to a combined .180 AVG offensively. |
| With NCAA settlement pending, Power Four conference stakeholders lobby lawmakers on Capitol Hill | |
| While a federal judge considers whether to approve a massive NCAA settlement that would pay athletes over $2 billion and pave the way for even more spending, a large group of industry officials returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers on legislation to land some antitrust protection for some of the final vestiges of college athletics' amateurism model. Commissioners of the Power Four conferences, dozens of athletic directors from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12, and even some coaches and players spent hours meeting with members of Congress. There was no firm conclusion to the talks, but multiple stakeholders involved came out of them with positive takeaways. "We had great dialogue throughout the day, so I'm very optimistic we can get there," Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said. "The common denominator on the Hill is that everyone has a great passion for collegiate athletics. They want to see something that's sustainable moving forward." |
| Power 4 stakeholders lobby for NIL legislation on Capitol Hill | |
| A who's who of leaders from the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC gathered on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with state representatives and lobby for federal NIL guidelines -- a strong showing of unity from the NCAA's largest and wealthiest conferences just days after a federal court hearing inched college athletics closer to a landmark settlement. University presidents and chancellors, athletic directors and a few coaches and players concluded the day with a cocktail reception at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti participated in a brief panel recapping the day. "We're kind of in a seminal moment," Phillips said. "We're trying to find something that has sustainability to it. It's a modernization of college sports. I think for all of us, we are passionate about access and affordability to higher education ... at the heart of this thing is opportunities for young men and women. Times have changed, and whether we like all the things that have occurred, or we don't, we find ourselves in a position where we are major stewards of the future of college sports." |
| The Masters ends the 9-month wait for golf's most anticipated major | |
| For a sport renowned for moving slowly, the Masters can't get started fast enough. Wednesday at Augusta National was filled with anticipation, not to mention a bit of pollen from a glorious spring day in the South, as players filed out of the clubhouse for a final dress rehearsal at what has become the most anticipated major of the golf season. Rory McIlroy walked out of the clubhouse through a crowd under the live oak tree and headed out for a quick nine holes in his bid for an elusive Masters green jacket, the final piece of the career Grand Slam. He played a money game with Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry before heading over to the Par 3 Tournament. "The buildup to this event is a lot, and the sort of anticipation and we're waiting eight or nine months for the next major to roll around from the Open championship," McIlroy said. "To end your preparation with an afternoon like this ... it's such a fun afternoon." And then it's time to get to work. Augusta National was in pristine condition -- anyone surprised? -- despite the destructive Hurricane Helene that roared through the region last September and knocked out so many of the Georgia pines. There is a noticeable difference, though maybe not to the television viewer. CBS Sports does not plan to show any before-and-after pictures, only what Augusta National is like now. |
| The Masters: A Gesundheit Unlike Any Other | |
| At the Masters Tournament, beneath a towering oak tree, executives, sports agents, well-connected golf fans and club members in green jackets mingle as past and aspiring champions roam. Bring a business card. Better yet, bring an antihistamine. Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters is held, boasts one of the world's most beloved courses. It also presents a sniffle-and-sneeze-laden assault on the senses at this time of year. The oak by the clubhouse is but one of its scourges. "The pollen is just killing my eyes," Tiger Woods said years ago after he donned sunglasses at a Masters. "I've been sneezing and hacking all week, so trying to keep it out of my eyes the best I can." Pollen, it turns out, is an equalizer of players and patrons, as Augusta National refers to the spectators who gaze upon great golf. Given the hundreds of acres of manicured Bermuda grass and majestic pine, oak and magnolia trees, the cost can be misery. I get out of my car in the morning, my eyes start watering," Scottie Scheffler, the world's top-ranked player and the winner of the 2022 and 2024 Masters, said this week. "It's a little bit worse than normal years." |
| They Went to the Masters. They Ditched Their Cellphones. Then the Markets Went Completely Crazy. | |
| Steven Vernon III and Kage Brown should have been glued to the stock market this week. Vernon works in finance while Brown is the chief investment officer at a real-estate firm. But on Wednesday, these friends from Chicago were among the only people in their orbit not thinking about tariffs. That's because they were holed up inside one of the few places on earth where tens of thousands of people who would've been feverishly checking their portfolios instead willingly left their phones behind. They went to the Masters. Attending the first major of the golf season at Augusta National Golf Club means adhering to the club's strict ban on cellphones. And considering that the threat of sweeping tariffs had wiped out trillions of dollars on Wall Street and fanned fears of a recession over the last week, they didn't really mind unplugging. "It's a respite from negativity," Vernon said next to the practice putting green. "It feels so good to be surrounded by a bunch of people who disconnected." t didn't feel quite so good when they were told by a Wall Street Journal reporter that President Trump had announced a 90-day pause on many tariffs -- and that while they were walking the Augusta fairways, they had unwittingly missed out on a day of historic gains in the stock market. "The market's ripping?" Brown asked. Yes, the market was, in fact, ripping. |
| Trump Tariffs Need Pushback From Sports Owners, Ken Griffin Says | |
| Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin says sports team owners should band together to appeal to President Donald Trump to change the new blanket tariff policy. "The owners of American sports teams represent one of the pinnacle services industries in the United States, which is the entertainment capital of the world. They also carry a huge voice with the administration," Griffin said in an interview at a private event attended by sports and business leaders. "This is a chance for them to speak out on the importance of thoughtful economic policies that protect the interests of the American people and yet ensure that America is loved by the world, because that's our market for American entertainment." Griffin, who founded and leads Citadel, which has been ranked as the most profitable hedge fund ever and currently has $66 billion in investment capital, said the tariffs have diminished American wealth by at least $10 trillion the past few days. Within that market turmoil, $318 billion has been wiped from the value of U.S. sports-related equities the past week, according data compiled by Sportico. "The loss of American wealth the last couple of days signifies that we've taken a misstep in our policies toward trade," Griffin said. "The administration needs to take a step back and ask, 'What do we need to change in the way of our policies to both protect American businesses and the American consumer?'" |
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