| Wednesday, June 11, 2025 |
| Riley Center announces fall-winter series | |
 | Meridian residents congregated at the MSU Riley Center Monday as the venue announced the lineup for its upcoming fall-winter performing arts series. Riley Center Director Morgan Dudley said the center had been offering a series that lasted the majority of the year, but feedback from attendees pointed to a fall-winter series being the more popular option. "So we went back to what you wanted, which was this fall-winter, and then we're going to introduce the spring-summer series next year," she said. "So we've got six shows starting in August, going through January." Dudley said the series lineup offers a diverse range of talent to offer something for everyone. Also returning this year is the ability to build custom show packages, Dudley said. The Riley Center got away from custom packages for several years, she said, but the fans have spoken. "For a couple of years, we've only done mini-packs, set mini-packs, where we pick the shows that we put in there, and you didn't like that either," she said, laughing. "So, we can't sell these packs online, but what we do best is a white glove experience. So you can come here at 9 a.m. on the 23rd, and you can build a pack." Season ticket holders can go ahead and renew their membership, Dudley said, with the box office opening on June 23. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning June 30. |
| MSU: Asian needle ant invasion spreading in Mississippi | |
 | An invasive species of ants has been confirmed in more than a dozen states, including Mississippi. Mississippi State University researchers are tracking the Asian needle ant, which has been spreading since the 2000s. JoVonn Hill, director of the Mississippi Entomological Museum and assistant professor in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said researchers first documented the shiny black ants in Mississippi in 2013. "They're now abundant across the East Coast, with isolated populations into Louisiana and Arkansas," Hill said in a news release. The ants are about the size of a fire ant and can often be found in shaded areas under logs, mulch or leaves. They can sting, but they are not aggressive. The stings can cause allergic reactions in some people. "If disturbed, they'll likely run --- but if trapped under clothing or threatened, they can sting," said Joe MacGown, museum ant curator. "After being stung three times, I had a mild fever and had to sit down for a while. I never experienced that with other ants." MSU researchers have focused efforts on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Oxford, where there are "established populations" of Asian needle ants. They plan to expand into northern Mississippi, as well. |
| Miss Mississippi Pageant returns, featuring two from Vicksburg | |
| Thirty-three delegates from across Mississippi will compete for the title of Miss Mississippi this week, including two Vicksburg natives -- Miss Vicksburg Morgan Nelson and Miss Mississippi State University Sarah Randolph. Preliminary rounds are scheduled for June 11–14, beginning each night at 7 p.m. The final night of competition will take place Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m. All events will be held at the Vicksburg Convention Center, located at 1600 Dr. Briggs Hopson Blvd. On Friday, Story Time at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library will feature current Miss Mississippi Becky Williams and Miss Teen Mississippi's Teen Avery McNair beginning at 10 a.m. Organizers encourage attendees to arrive early each evening, as all shows are produced to follow a live broadcast format, especially Saturday's televised final. |
| The four alternates from 2024 are back to compete for Miss Mississippi 2025 | |
| The four alternates to Miss Mississippi 2024 are back in Vicksburg to compete for the title. Of the 33 delegates, four of the Top 11 are also back, hoping to win the title of Miss Mississippi 2025. First Alternate to Miss Mississippi 2024, Becky Williams, Jane Granberry, who is Miss Hattiesburg 2025, was also Miss Mississippi's Teen in 2019. The Ole Miss grad says she has already been a business owner and has big plans for the future. Second Alternate in 2024 is this year's Miss Vicksburg, Morgan Nelson. Nelson graduated from Mississippi State in May and plans to use her scholarship earnings to attend medical school. She is already a published author. 2024′s Third Alternate, Sarah Randolph, is back to compete as Miss Mississippi State University. She also graduated in May and is planning a career in cosmetic dentistry. "My dad was stationed in the Army in South Korea, so that's how [he] and my mom met. So, I was raised in Korea. I was born in Seoul, South Korea, and I moved here in the second grade, [when] they moved my dad back for his job. So, I've been in Vicksburg ever since. My mom actually had to literally follow me around to school in second grade to be my translator," said Randolph. The Fourth Alternate from last year is Miss Capital City Anna Leah Jolly. The dance teacher who already owns a dance studio is a sophomore at Belhaven University. |
| Inflation Rose to 2.4% in May, In Line With Expectations | |
 | Year-over-year inflation edged up only slightly in May, after hitting a four-year low in April, defying fears that the impact of President Trump's tariffs would start to show a rise in prices. Consumer prices were up 2.4% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, hotter than April's gain of 2.3%. That year-over-year number was in line with the 2.4% rise expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. By some other measures, inflation was below expectations. Prices excluding food and energy categories -- the so-called core measure economists watch in an effort to better capture inflation's underlying trend -- rose 2.8%, below forecasts for a 2.9% increase. The monthly increase in prices last month was also milder than expected by economists. Concerns that the global economy will get walloped by President Trump's trade war have eased since the U.S. and China brokered a 90-day detente last month, staving off the largest potential shocks to the system. Still, the window for the two countries' negotiation expires in August, and concern about the prospect of higher inflation remains high. The closely watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index stabilized in May after falling for four consecutive months, though it remains at one of its lowest levels ever recorded in data going back to 1952. A recent survey by the New York Federal Reserve, however, found that consumers expect lower inflation over the next year than they did the month prior. Consumer expectations matter deeply to economists and policymakers, in part because they can prove self-fulfilling. |
| Incumbents qualify for re-election in special House races | |
 | Two state House districts in the Golden Triangle will hold special elections this fall as part of a court-ordered redistricting effort to ensure Black voters are fairly represented. The commission had to redraw the Senate map after the panel rejected the proposed plan for redistricting in April. In the same ruling, judges accepted the redrawn House district map and ordered more than a dozen special elections to take place in November. Among them are House Districts 41 and 39, which both include parts of the Golden Triangle. Incumbent Republican Dana McLean submitted qualifying papers to reclaim her seat in District 39, which she said gained more territory in Monroe County and all but one of the Amory precincts. McLean and other lawmakers were unsure how much redistricting would impact their districts until late in the session, she said. In District 41, Incumbent Democrat Kabir Karriem confirmed he submitted qualifying papers to seek re-election. He said his district saw few changes in redistricting, with about two precincts moving into House District 36 to create a special district in Chickasaw County. |
| Candidates line up for special Mississippi legislative elections | |
| Thirty candidates have filed paperwork to compete in special elections for the state Legislature this year, and 10 of the 14 races will be contested. The deadline for candidates to submit papers to political parties was 5 p.m. on Monday, and party leaders have until Friday to verify the candidates' qualifications. Party primaries will take place Aug. 5, and the general election will be Nov. 4. Even though voters just participated in statewide elections in 2023, a panel of three federal judges determined that portions of the map lawmakers used in that election diluted Black voting strength. The panel ordered the state to redraw certain areas of the map. |
| New seafood labeling law to go into effect in Mississippi next month | |
| Beginning next month, consumers in Mississippi should have no question as to where the food on their plates comes from. Earlier this year, the Mississippi legislature passed House Bill 602, requiring that all seafood and crawfish sold in the state to be labeled as "imported" or "domestic." The new law, which goes into effect July 1, includes all seafood and crawfish sold by wholesalers, processors, retailers, and food service establishments. That includes distributors, grocery stores, markets, restaurants, and food trucks. Oversight and enforcement of the new labeling requirements will be jointly managed by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The two agencies will inspect businesses across the state to ensure compliance. The law was created after seafood labeling became a hot-button issue in Mississippi, specifically in the coastal region. Both MDMR and MDAC will provide outreach and educational resources to support businesses as they adapt to the new requirements. Commissioner Andy Gipson, who charges the agriculture department, said the transition should be seamless and compared it to the already-existing labeling law for catfish. |
| Mississippi realtors, Lieutenant Governor advocating for incentives targeting affordable housing | |
 | Rising construction costs are one factor driving the trend of smaller homes being built in many areas of the Coast. Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann says those high costs are making it tough for people looking to buy a house. Hosemann says next session, he will ask lawmakers to pass incentives to lower home prices, especially on new construction. "If they didn't pay taxes on the materials that could lower the house, and have more people get into them. You will see a first-time home buyer's whole series of things that will go forth this year out of the legislature," he said. Hosemann's plan is likely to have the support of the Gulf Coast Association of Realtors. Summer Nelson is the group's president. "Lowering the cost of building material isn't only going to help new builds, but it will help people that are investing and remodeling and putting houses back on the market to either sell or rent," she said. Newman said more help is needed. Last week, she and several coastal realtors traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk to Mississippi's congressional delegation about passing bills to help everyone looking to buy or sell a home. |
| Could Mississippi's Guest be the next House Homeland Security Committee chairman? | |
| Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest, a Republican who has represented the state's 3rd District since 2019, could be in line to be the next chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee. House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican Congressman, announced Monday that he would be retiring from Congress "as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package." House Republicans have very little wiggle room on President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" as it only cleared the chamber by one vote. Now, with the Senate looking to amend the legislation under pressure from debt-conscious conservatives, Speaker Mike Johnson (R) needs every vote possible. Green's decision to stay until the package returns to the chamber could be key in the legislation's passage. Green said he was offered an opportunity in the private sector "that was too exciting to pass up." Congressman Guest, who chairs the Ethics Committee, has served on the Homeland Security Committee since entering the House. He has served as the committee's vice ranking member and is currently the chairman of the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee. He is second in line of seniority behind Green. |
| Hyde-Smith Reintroduces Bill to Ensure Smaller States' Stake in NIH Research | |
| U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today reintroduced her legislation to reauthorize and strengthen a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program to improve U.S. biomedical research capacity by distributing funding more broadly around the country. The IDeA Reauthorization Act would amend the existing NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program and update eligibility guidelines for states and territories to participate in NIH biomedical research projects. U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) joined Hyde-Smith in introducing the measure. "Mississippi and other IDeA states have made notable strides in biomedical research, but the IDeA program needs to be updated to expand funding research and funding opportunities for our research institutions. Our nation, as a whole, benefits from their work despite receiving disproportionally less support from the NIH," Hyde-Smith said. "This legislation would allow IDeA states to be more meaningfully included in major national research initiatives, while also requiring greater transparency on how NIH distributes its limited budget." The IDeA Reauthorization Act is supported by the EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Mississippi Senators among those wanting FEMA to scrap Biden-era flood insurance premiums | |
| Mississippi's U.S. Senators are joining an effort to demand that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) end Risk Rating 2.0, the Biden-era flood insurance policy they say has caused premiums to skyrocket and thousands of homeowners to abandon their policies. Senators Roger Wicker (R) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) signed on to the letter to FEMA led by Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy (R). Senators from West Virginia, Alabama and Texas also signed the letter. "Since the Biden Administration's rollout of Risk Rating 2.0, premiums under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) increased in every state. By FEMA's own estimates, 77 percent of all NFIP policies now pay more than under the old system," the Senators wrote. In Mississippi, the Senators say it is estimated that 84% of Mississippi NFIP policyholders experienced monthly premium increases in 2025 as a result of Risk Rating 2.0. "As of August 2023 (the latest available FEMA data), Risk Rating 2.0 would increase annual NFIP premiums for homeowners in Mississippi by ~103%," the letter outlines. "Over the last 12 months, ~2,200 Mississippians have left the NFIP as a result of premium increases." |
| Big changes are being proposed for a US food aid program | |
 | President Donald Trump's plan to cut taxes by trillions of dollars could also trim billions in spending from social safety net programs, including food aid for lower-income people. The proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would make states pick up more of the costs, require several million more recipients to work or lose their benefits, and potentially reduce the amount of food aid people receive in the future. The legislation, which narrowly passed the U.S. House, could undergo further changes in the Senate, where it's currently being debated. Trump wants lawmakers to send the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" to his desk by July 4, when the nation marks the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A little over 42 million people nationwide received SNAP benefits in February, the latest month for which figures are available. That's roughly one out of every eight people in the county. Participation is down from a peak average of 47.6 million people during the 2013 federal fiscal year. Legislation passed by the House is projected to cut about $295 billion of federal spending from SNAP over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A little more than half of those federal savings would come by shifting costs to states, which administer SNAP. The federal government currently splits the administrative costs of SNAP with states but covers the full cost of food benefits. Under the legislation, states would have to cover three-fourths of the administrative costs. States also would have to pay a portion of the food benefits starting with the 2028 fiscal year. |
| Democrats clash with Hegseth over Guard deployment, shipbuilding | |
 | House Democratic appropriators and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traded barbs Tuesday over the deployment of U.S. military forces to California in an often contentious hearing that ultimately yielded few new details about what lawmakers were ostensibly present to discuss: the fiscal 2026 budget request. While the hearing was technically labeled as an oversight meeting, it came just hours before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee was slated to mark up Republicans' $831.5 billion bill to fund the Pentagon next year -- legislation that was drafted without customary access to extensive programmatic details lawmakers typically rely on to craft their plans. Though Hegseth and other DOD officials did disclose information about some planned investments, it was often unclear whether the figures being referenced were associated with numbers in the military's base budget request or a House-passed reconciliation package that the Trump administration is relying on to boost topline national security spending in fiscal 2026. And funding questions often went unanswered as Democratic frustration with Hegseth repeatedly boiled over on topics ranging from the mobilization of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to planned investments in shipyards. |
| Democrats Grill N.I.H. Leader on Cuts: Who Is Calling the Shots? | |
 | As the Trump administration clamped down on the country's medical research funding apparatus in recent months, scientists and administrators at the National Institutes of Health often privately wondered how much autonomy the agency's director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, had. After all, the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk's signature cost-cutting project, helped drive decisions to cancel or delay research grants. Other projects fell victim to President Trump's face-off with universities over antisemitism. But given an opportunity before a Senate panel on Tuesday to dispel suspicions about who wields influence at the N.I.H., Dr. Bhattacharya did little to claim ownership of perhaps the rockiest period in the agency's many decades of funding research institutions. Decisions to freeze grant payments to Northwestern University "happened before I got into office," Dr. Bhattacharya told the panel, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He repeatedly said a proposal to shrink the N.I.H. budget by $18 billion -- nearly 40 percent -- was "a collaboration between Congress and the administration" and declined to talk in detail about how the cuts would affect the agency. And pressed on an effort to curtail funding to universities for research overhead expenses -- a cost-cutting move that is baked into the administration's 2026 budget proposal -- Dr. Bhattacharya said, "I don't want to get into that," citing ongoing litigation. Several Democrats on the committee said they were confused about who was pulling the strings at the agency. |
| From Los Angeles to Washington, Trump leans in as commander in chief | |
 | President Donald Trump loves displays of military force. He's parading two very different kinds this week. On one coast, military forces are arriving by the thousands to defend federal buildings and agents, facing off with civilians protesting the president's immigration agenda. On the other, they're readying a celebration of American military might in a parade held on the Army's -- and Trump's -- birthday. The scenes in Los Angeles and Washington underscore how Trump is leveraging his role as commander-in-chief in a much clearer and more urgent way than he did during his first term -- embodying the image of a strong military commander that he has long admired in other foreign leaders, allies and adversaries alike. Trump has long seen the military and his command of it as a sign of his own strength and even expressed a sense of ownership over it. During the first term he referred to John Kelly and James Mattis, the retired four-star Marine generals who served in his Cabinet, as "my generals." Trump allies say time has reinforced that sense and removed any inhibitions, allowing him to expand his role as commander-in-chief even further, whether that's showing off the military in a parade or using it to quell protests. "When you have four years out of office, you really have an opportunity to reflect on how you would do the job differently -- and I think you see that manifesting itself in countless ways," said Sean Spicer, who was press secretary during Trump's first term. "He is much more confident in command." And, Spicer added: "He does love being commander in chief." |
| Trump Says Deal Restoring China Trade Truce Is Done | |
| President Trump said the U.S. deal with China to revive their trade truce was done, subject to final approval from himself and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Posting on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump said China would supply critical rare earths and magnets up front, and Chinese students would be able to attend U.S. colleges and universities. "WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%," he added. Tariffs will stay at levels agreed to in the deal signed in Switzerland, an administration official confirmed. Trump said in his post that the U.S. would set a "total of 55% tariffs"---a reference to the 30% tariffs applied in his second term, added to duties imposed during the president's first term. Mounting tensions between the countries have put the status of Chinese students under the spotlight, particularly as the Trump administration wages a war on foreign students on U.S. campuses. Trump's post filled in some details of a hastily arranged framework negotiated over two days in London this week, which officials said would get the trade truce back on track and ratchet down tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Representatives from the U.S. and China said the framework would essentially restore a pact they agreed to in Switzerland last month, a deal that saw both sides lower tariffs and was premised in part on Beijing's promise to speed critical mineral export licenses while negotiators kept talking. |
| Civil rights groups, education advocates sue Mississippi education boards over anti-DEI laws | |
 | A group of education advocates and civil rights groups are challenging anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion legislation adopted by Mississippi's education boards. On Monday, June 9, the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, in partnership with the Mississippi Center for Justice and other law firms, filed suit against the Mississippi Department of Education, Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi Community College Board and the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board. The case was filed in a federal court in the state's Southern District, and the plaintiffs allege anti-DEI legislation passed by the Mississippi Legislature earlier this year violates the first and fourteenth amendments. Specifically, plaintiffs allege the state's new DEI policies violate constitutional protections of free speech and equal protections under the law via the Legislature imposing its own views on matters relating to DEI. In their complaint, plaintiffs also alleged the suit would axe books and authors from teachers' reading lists, including famed Mississippi author William Faulkner, and limit what could be taught in history classes. IHL and MDE spokespeople declined to comment on the lawsuit or referred questions to the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, which did not respond to requests for comment by press time. |
| Coalition Sues to Stop Mississippi's New Anti-Diversity Law, Calling It an 'Attack on Truth' | |
| Mississippi's new anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law that Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law April 14 violates the First and 14th Amendments, plaintiffs argue in a federal lawsuit against the governing boards of Mississippi's public schools and institutions. Mississippi public schools, state-accredited nonpublic schools and state-supported institutions of higher learning could not create, teach or promote DEI programs under the law, which the State is set to start enforcing on July 1. The legislation, House Bill 1193, would prohibit requiring diversity statements or training in hiring, admission and employment processes at educational institutions. The plaintiffs are the Mississippi Association of Educators; Barbara Phillips, an adjunct law professor at the University of Mississippi; James Thomas, an associate sociology professor at UM; Dawn Zimmerer, an administrative librarian for McLendon Library at Hinds Community College; L.E. Jibol, a parent of two public school students in the Jackson Public Schools District; Madisyn Donley, a third-year law student at UM School of Law; Alexis Cobbs, a third-year law student at UM School of Law; Karen Aderer, a lecturer of social work at the University of Southern Mississippi; United Campus Workers Southeast Local 3821; Women in Science and Engineering; and Fostering LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Resources, and Environments. |
| Black Men's Mental Health Conference to return to Columbus | |
| Since losing her father to suicide in 2019, Camillia Harris has dedicated her life to breaking the silence around the mental health struggles Black men face. For the past three years, Harris has traveled the country organizing conferences that challenge stigma surrounding mental health. Through her organization justUs, MH Foundation, Harris will bring the Black Men's Mental Health Conference back to Columbus for the second consecutive year on June 21. The conference will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Nissan Auditorium on Mississippi University for Women's campus. The free event will begin with an hour of light refreshments, followed by a keynote address and panel discussion. At 11 a.m., keynote speaker Jason Gibson will take the stage to discuss the importance of speaking up about mental health struggles. Gibson, who serves as chair of the Department of History at Tougaloo College, said unspoken pain is a common burden for many of his students. "The more you suppress your deepest feelings toward any matter, especially with the common challenges that men face on a day to day ... the more it affects you internally," Gibson said. |
| Oxford couple creates fund to benefit Air Force ROTC cadets at Ole Miss | |
 | Shortly before Ron Peterson died, his sister-in-law Susan Cowgill asked what he wanted her to do with his assets. His answer? "Just do good with the money!" Peterson, of Murrieta, California, a third-generation career military serviceman, is being remembered with an Air Force ROTC scholarship in his name at the University of Mississippi, thanks to a $110,000 gift directed by Susan and Jerry Cowgill, of Oxford. This is the first Air Force ROTC scholarship at Ole Miss to receive private funding. The first recipient of the Peterson Scholarship is Cadet Khai Truong, of Clinton, and the second recipient will be announced at the ROTC awards ceremony at the end of the semester. Air Force ROTC was established at Ole Miss in 1952, shortly after the Air Force became a separate branch of service in 1947. The UM program is known as the Department of Aerospace Studies under Lt. Col. Matthew Mills, chair and professor. Distinguished alumni of the program include Gen. Paul V. Hester, who retired as the commander of the Pacific Air Force Command, and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, who retired as a lieutenant colonel. |
| Southern Miss recruiting next group of future educators for Teacher Apprenticeship program | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi is moving one step forward in its efforts to put more teachers into Pine Belt classrooms. The Hattiesburg campus will soon house the state's first Institution of Higher Learning Center for Teacher Apprenticeships and Residency in Education. "Teacher residency and apprenticeship models have been around for a while now," said Andrea Krell, director of the university's teacher residency program. "They are long-term placement opportunities for individuals looking to become teachers." A new program launched last fall provides apprenticeships to those who don't hold a bachelor degree. So far, 100 Golden Eagles are enrolled. "Some of them are already employed in the school district as a teaching assistant, but want to take that next step to becoming a teacher," Krell said. The program is geared toward elementary education, Krell told WDAM 7. Right now, there are roughly 3,000 open teaching positions in Mississippi. |
| Education: Oak Hill announces staffing changes, new head of school | |
| After 38 years of service in education, Cathy Davis will be retiring from her role as head of school at Oak Hill Academy. Davis has served with unwavering commitment for the past 10 years, during which Oak Hill has flourished under her leadership. Her tenure has seen transformative changes to both the school and its curriculum, helping to shape the future of Oak Hill and ensuring that it remains a place of excellence in education. A trailblazer in education, Davis was the first female head of school at Oak Hill Academy, breaking barriers and setting a powerful example for future leaders. Phil Ferguson will be stepping into the role of head of school. With an impressive 35-year career in education, Ferguson brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the academy. Ferguson has dedicated 17 years to coaching and athletics, serving as head football coach and athletic director at both Bruce High School and Tupelo High School. Oak Hill Academy also announced the appointment of Matt Caldwell as the new high school principal and athletic director. Caldwell brings nearly 30 years of experience in education, coaching, and school leadership, along with a proven record of excellence in athletic administration. |
| Bush Library hosts annual celebration of George and Barbara's birthdays | |
 | People came from near and far Tuesday to take part in the George H.W. Bush Library & Museum's annual birthday celebration. Some like William Rasdorf of Raleigh, North Carolina, didn't even know about the birthday celebration until walking into the museum. Once inside, Rasdorf and his partner, Debra McCauley, found their way around the circle of refreshments in the rotunda and watched as people came in out of a slight rain to celebrate the birthdays of the late president and first lady Barbara Bush. "We wanted to come and visit this library and museum," Rasdorf told The Eagle. "We are happy to be here on the day of the birthday celebration. It seems like a really nice way to have an event." Rasdorf, a civil engineering professor at North Carolina State University, was in Texas this week for a wedding but took the chance to see some of Rasdorf's former students who are professors at Texas A&M University. Tuesday seemed as good a day as any to check the Bush Library off their list as they've already visited the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin. This year's birthday party was a special occasion as it marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Barbara Bush who was born June 8, 1925. George H.W. Bush was born June 12, 1924. Both Bushes died in 2018 and are buried on the library grounds with their daughter Robin who died of leukemia at age 3 in 1953. |
| Universities tackling Oklahoma's teacher shortage head on | |
| Applause from friends and families filled Constitution Hall on University of Central Oklahoma's campus as students declared their intent to be the state's next generation of educators. Similar to a signing day for athletes, students planning to enroll as education majors at the university signed "letters of intent" to become the next generation of educators. Students traveled to Edmond from their hometowns across the state, excited to celebrate their futures in education and hoping to snag some of the $100,000 in scholarship money at the event. They were met with UCO merchandise, snacks and desserts, and time to meet with current students and faculty at the college of education. With teacher shortages at the center of state leaders' conversations, UCO is one of Oklahoma's public colleges and universities looking for unique approaches to incentivize students to become the next generation of educators. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have identified teaching as a "critical occupation" and have pledged to produce more graduates in the field. Universities are frequently turning to financial incentives to tackle the shortages. Inspired to Teach is a statewide incentive program offering qualified Oklahoma college students the opportunity to earn over $25,000 as they complete their education and teach in Oklahoma post-graduation. At OU, a lot of the work to address the teacher shortage comes from recruitment and scholarships, said Stacy Reeder, dean of the college of education. |
| OU Board of Regents to consider tuition increase week after governor deemed unnecessary | |
| The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents will discuss tuition and fee rates, dean salaries and a policy regarding trespass warnings at its Thursday meeting. The meeting will be held at 8 a.m. in Ardmore. The agenda shows a proposed 3% increase in tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate and graduate students for the Norman campus and OU College of Law. The cost for a full-time undergraduate resident would be $5,093.25 per semester, showing $150 more than last year's $4,943.25. The cost for a full-time undergraduate nonresident would be $14,150.25 per semester, $417 more than last year's $13,733.25. A graduate resident student would see a $11.50 increase, totaling $393.75 by credit hour. A graduate nonresident would see a $32.50 increase, totaling $1,112.75 by credit hour. Over the past five years, OU has raised tuition and mandatory fees for resident undergraduates by 1.8% per year and for nonresident undergraduates by 2.3% per year. According to the agenda, OU has significantly increased tuition waivers, scholarships and grants that have lowered costs for students. The agenda also shows a $30 semesterly fee for members of OU fraternities and sororities. Funds raised from the fee would be used to hire additional Greek Life staff to provide support for students, including risk management and leadership development, implement hazing prevention, alcohol education and training for student leaders. Last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a press briefing he believed universities did not need a tuition increase and instead should focus on incentives for tenured professors. |
| TCU Appoints Reuben Burch as Vice Provost for Research to Boost Funding and Innovation | |
| TCU has appointed Reuben F. Burch V as its new vice provost for research, effective Aug. 1. The appointment is part of TCU's strategic plan to increase research funding and scholarly productivity in support of the university's national research agenda. Under Burch's leadership, TCU plans to increase research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students and strengthen collaborative programs and partnerships with institutions, agencies, industry and other organizations. Key priorities include advancing TCU's research infrastructure, implementing new initiatives to increase research support, and promoting the university's research accomplishments to educate the broader community about the value of research. Burch joins TCU from Mississippi State University, where he served as associate vice president for research, executive director and founder of the Athlete Engineering Institute, Jack Hatcher Endowed Chair in engineering entrepreneurship, and professor of industrial and systems engineering. He holds a B.S. in computer engineering from Mississippi State, master's in engineering management in industrial and manufacturing system engineering from Kansas State University and Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Mississippi State. |
| Rise of artificial intelligence can make college degrees 'out of date': Upskill in AI or fall behind, says expert | |
| Employer demand for formal degrees is declining for all jobs, but more quickly for jobs exposed to artificial intelligence, according to the 2025 AI Jobs Barometer report by professional services firm PwC published last week. "AI helps people rapidly build and command expert knowledge ... which could make formal qualifications less relevant," according to the report which analyzed close to a billion job ads and thousands of company financial reports across six continents. The technology is also creating rapid turnover in the skills and knowledge workers need to succeed, which may mean that formal degrees become "out of date" more quickly, the report added. Notably, the skills that employers look for are changing 66% faster in occupations most exposed to AI, such as financial analyst, compared to those least exposed, such as physical therapist. This is up from the 25% recorded last year, according to PwC's data. Today, education isn't limited to formal institutions or universities anymore, as you can learn using AI tools and LLMs (large language models), PwC Global Chief AI Officer Joe Atkinson told CNBC Make It. In order to adapt and futureproof your career in the rapidly changing work landscape, he suggested upskilling on AI at home. |
| Is college still worth it? Some Americans are rethinking the value of a four-year degree. | |
| For decades, going to college has been seen as a reliable path to good jobs and economic success in the United States. But a recent Indeed survey reported that over half of Gen Z respondents beg to differ. As tuition prices continue to rise and the Trump administration takes aim at higher education institutions, is the way we view college changing? "There's a lot of anxiety about student debt, and that can get overblown, but American student debt is enormous. It's unparalleled in the world. No other country comes close to us," said Bryan Alexander, a higher education writer and senior scholar at Georgetown University. On the show today, Alexander explains why college is still a worthy investment for most students, why more people are considering certificate programs and technical schools, and how President Trump's attacks on elite universities are a risk to higher education as a whole. |
| One Year In, What Has 'the Anti-Harvard' University Accomplished? | |
 | Four years ago, Pano Kanelos left his post as president of St. John's College, in Maryland. He wanted to start a college that stood in stark contrast to the rest of higher education, which Kanelos and the project's wealthy backers felt was veering dangerously toward illiberalism. That bold experiment, the University of Austin, is finishing up its first academic year this week. The private, start-up college currently has 92 students, 30 faculty members, and 41 staff members. It does not receive federal funding and says it uses a "merit-first" approach to admissions. It's trying to earn accreditation, a process the university expects to complete between 2028 and 2031. Kanelos will step down Wednesday as president to become chancellor. Carlos Carvalho, a professor of statistics in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, will take over the presidency. The college has styled itself as opposed to ideological orthodoxy, a mission that has drawn praise in some circles. But it has also drawn criticism, with some observers arguing the institution is not as tolerant as it claims to be. In an interview with The Chronicle, Kanelos shared his vision for the years to come and responded to a former staff member who recently argued that the institution had betrayed its founding principles. |
| TRIO Advocates Worry After Upward Bound Grants Discontinued | |
 | Montgomery County Community College has run an academic support program for local low-income high school students who would be first-generation college graduates for the last 18 years. Nearly 300 students have participated in the federally funded Upward Bound program since it started, including in its summer enrichment program and other services designed to expose students to college. But on May 29, the U.S. Department of Education abruptly cut off funds for the program, just two days before it was slated to start a new grant cycle. The roughly $650,000 the college expected to receive over the next two years -- part of a five-year grant awarded in 2022 -- was suddenly out of reach. Chae E. Sweet, vice president of academic and student affairs and provost at Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania, wrote to Inside Higher Ed that the college "did not receive any prior indication or warning." The program was one of three projects discontinued that day that were funded by Upward Bound, one of the government college prep and support programs known as TRIO. The Education Department also ended Upward Bound programs at Pima Community College's northwest and downtown campuses, a loss of more than $1 million in federal funding, 13 News in Tucson, Ariz., reported. The move stunned staff at the affected colleges and heightened concerns among TRIO advocates, who worry it's a bad sign for the fate of TRIO programs over all. |
| SNAP cuts in GOP bill will exacerbate state's rural hunger and 'food desert' problems | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: During Republican Gov. Tate Reeves' time in the Governor's Mansion, Mississippi has raised the economic development curtain on over $32 billion in new private sector investment. Much of that growth is in modern, high-tech fields that promise more and better jobs in the future. But there are parts of Mississippi that have not yet reaped the benefits of those developments. Mississippi is still the poorest state in the union, with nearly one in five citizens living in poverty including children and under-18 teens. No small part of that narrative is tied to hunger and food insecurity. Hunger, food insecurity and the very real scourge of "food deserts" are all verses to the same sad song. "Food deserts" are locations in which there is limited to no access to fresh foods, i.e., local grocery stores selling nutritious fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. Nowhere are food deserts more real and visible than in rural Mississippi, and in those rural areas, none are bleaker than in the Mississippi Delta. Food deserts are defined as areas where rural residents live more than 10 miles from a grocery store. The University of Mississippi Medical Center shared data that showed that statewide, over 70 percent of food stamp-eligible households travel more than 30 miles to reach a supermarket. Mississippi State University produced a film series on hunger in Mississippi that captured the real drama in Clarksdale when the last grocery store in that storied town closed its doors. In food deserts, a lack of local access to fresh food does several things. |
SPORTS
| Track & Field: Bulldog Set To Compete At NCAA Outdoor Championships | |
| Mississippi State track and field will compete at the final meet of the season, the NCAA Outdoor Championships, this weekend. The men's squad will kick off competiton on Wednesday, with five athletes competing across three events. Peyton Bair, the NCAA Indoor heptathlon champion, will compete in the decathlon this season. Bair enters the field seeded second and will compete in ten events across the first two days of the meet. Rémi Rougetet and Tuomas Närhi will compete in the javelin this weekend. Rougetet enters the field as a two-time All-American, finishing fifth in the event at the 2024 championships. Narhi will compete in his first NCAA meet after finishing second in the javelin at the East First Round. Abdullahi Hassan and Sam Navarro round out the men's roster, competing in the 800m. Hassan is competing in his fourth outdoor championship and enters the field as the reigning NCAA Indoor Runner-up over the distance. Navarro will compete in his first NCAA Championship as a Bulldog, punching his ticket with a huge personal best at the East First Round. The women will begin competition on Thursday alongside Bair, who will compete the decathlon that same evening. The meet will be available to stream on ESPN+. |
| MSU sends eight athletes to NCAA Outdoor Championships | |
| Mississippi State Track and Field athletes begin their stay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Oregon today, with eight Bulldogs qualifying to compete at the national level. Head coach Chris Woods spoke to The Dispatch last week about the group heading west, expressing his pride in their achievements this season. "As a coaching staff, we are incredibly proud of the athletes and their performances at the NCAA East First Round," Woods said. "They pushed through unfavorable weather conditions and put up solid performances, and we are walking away with eight going to Eugene in a few days." Woods is in his sixth year as head coach of the MSU track and field program. During his tenure, the Bulldogs have broken numerous program records and are increasingly recruiting at high level for both indoor and outdoor seasons. Last year was a historic year marked by several top-five finishes at the SEC Indoor Championships and 22 national qualifiers, including seven All-American honorees. This year, the group of eight traveling to Oregon includes several standouts with championship aspirations, with three freshmen making their first appearances. |
| Baseball: Reese, Sullivan Selected ABCA All-Region | |
| Mississippi State standouts Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan were selected to the ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region team on Tuesday. Reese, a sophomore third baseman, was tabbed to the first team while designated hitter Noah Sullivan earned second team honors. Reese started 57 games at the hot corner for the Diamond Dawgs and led the team batting .352 with 80 hits, 18 doubles, 21 home runs, 66 RBIs, 163 total bases and a slugging percentage of .718. He had 25 multi-hit games, 20 multi-RBI games and five multi-homer games. The Canton, Texas native ranks second in the Southeastern Conference in slugging, third in homers and total bases, fourth in doubles, sixth in RBIs, seventh in hits and eighth in batting average. Sullivan was the lone MSU player to start all 59 games in 2025. The junior from Orlando, Florida boasted a team-best .475 on-base percentage and 63 runs scored while batting .345 with 70 hits, 16 doubles, 15 homers and 46 RBIs. His on-base percentage currently ranks third in the SEC. The additions of Reese and Sullivan bring the total number of Bulldogs named ABCA All-Region to 75 since 1949. |
| Starkville High installing new turf fields and video board | |
| Starkville High School's athletics complex is currently undergoing renovations, with work being done to re-turf the football, baseball and softball fields. The board of trustees approved the use of $5,209,800 in funds from the District Maintenance Fund in an April meeting for the athletic complex and video board replacement project at SHS. "An investment in our athletic facilities is an investment in student opportunities," Superintendent Tony McGee said in a district release last week. "With nearly 600 students participating in Yellow Jacket athletics, the upgraded facilities will provide not only a safer, but more dynamic experience for many of the 7th through 12th graders who utilize those fields. Plus, we want to create venues that our community can be proud of and high-quality spaces that showcase the excellence we expect from our students and staff on and off the field." The fields at Yellow Jacket Stadium, the Carlisle Field at the baseball stadium, and the Jacket Softball Field all began installation projects in May and are scheduled to be ready for use in the upcoming 2025-26 school year. The football team is currently practicing on the Jefferey Simmons turf field at the Starkville Sportsplex until the new turf is installed in time for preseason training in July. |
| Titans' Jeffery Simmons sheds 20 pounds, aims for more sacks in 2025 | |
| Tennessee coach Brian Callahan and Jeffery Simmons both agree on what they want to see more this upcoming season from the Titans defensive lineman. More sacks. The three-time Pro Bowl lineman had just five sacks in 2024, his fewest since his second NFL season in 2020. Simmons ranked third on the Titans behind linebacker Harold Landry III, released in March, and linebacker Arden Key. Worse, the Titans tied Carolina with 32 sacks for third fewest in the NFL behind only New England (28) and Atlanta (31). Callahan said the goal is to see Simmons do more than just affect quarterbacks and take those players to the ground more. He knows the six-year veteran and first-round pick in 2019 can be better at that. He also believes Simmons is driven to do just that. "He's always working at something, and I think he's grown as a person," Callahan said Tuesday. "He continues to grow as a player. You'd like to feel like he's sort of hitting his prime at this point with the experience that he has and the amount he's played to get the best version of Jeff this year." Simmons was on the field as the Titans started their mandatory three-day minicamp Tuesday. Simmons said he's lost about 20 pounds and weighed in Tuesday morning at 301. |
| Study: Online abuse of athletes down during March Madness | |
| Social media abuse targeting student-athletes, including from sports bettors, decreased during March Madness, but tournament officials and coaches experienced a spike in harassment, according to study results released Tuesday by the NCAA. Athletes were targeted in 15% of the abuse flagged by data science firm Signify Group during the men's and women's basketball tournaments this year, down from 42% last year. Sports betting-related abuse dropped by 23%, the study found. The men's tournament featured the fewest outright upsets by betting underdogs (14) since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Social media abuse directed at participants in the women's tournament decreased 83%, but the men's side saw a 140% increase in harassment, much of it directed at the selection committee and coaches. "There was a lot in there that was directed at the NCAA committee from the outset of March Madness, with some of the bubble teams and who got in and who got out; couple coaches' changes that happened throughout March Madness seemed to trigger a lot of abuse, as well," Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk management for the NCAA, told ESPN. NCAA president Charlie Baker has prioritized the issue of sports betting-related harassment directed at student-athletes and continues to push for states to ban prop bets on individual college players. |
| Greg Byrne clarifies plan for punishments under new NIL deal vetting process | |
| One of the key terms in the House v. NCAA settlement, an NIL clearinghouse is rolling out. Called NIL Go, it will vet deals worth more than $600, and there are questions about what potential punishments would look like. Now that the settlement received final approval, Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne clarified that plan. Speaking on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, he pointed out the process if a deal is flagged. NIL Go -- maintained by Deloitte -- will fall under the purview of the newly formed College Sports Commission, headed by former MLB executive Bryan Seeley. The goal is for a quick process, Byrne said, and "checks and balances" will take place with regard to consequences. "If there's a deal that is flagged saying it's not legitimate or it's above range of compensation, fair market value – the terms that are being used – then the student-athlete has an opportunity to re-negotiate the deal, then re-submit it," Byrne said. "If they don't think that's right, then there's an arbitration that can happen with that. The goal is to have it be handled very, very quickly and efficiently. And we need that to happen. If they go ahead and play the young man or woman when it has been deemed not a legitimate deal, there will be consequences. Anything from eligibility to -- there's differing levels. To be honest, I'm learning about how all that works right now. I'll have a better answer for you in six months from now. But there are checks and balances from a consequence standpoint that, hopefully, we'll have some teeth to it to where people will say, 'Hey, I've got to live within the rules that have been created.'" |
| NCAA's Baker: Will Congress back $2.8B settlement with antitrust protection? | |
| Now that the NCAA has taken care of its business, its president wants Congress to deliver. NCAA President Charlie Baker, who like his predecessor is a proponent of federal legislation to lock in some of the seismic changes hitting college sports, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that draft legislation circulating in Washington is what the association has been asking for. Now, it's simply a matter of passing it. "One of the messages we got from them was, 'Clean up your own house first, and then come talk to us,'" said Baker, a former Massachusetts governor whose political acumen was a key selling point when he was selected for the NCAA job in 2023. The NCAA delivered, Baker said, with new rules that guarantee better post-graduate health care and scholarship protections for athletes, and then with the crown jewel of reforms -- the $2.8 billion lawsuit settlement that a federal judge approved last week. The most fundamental change from the settlement is that schools can now directly pay players through revenue-sharing. For that to work, though, Baker and the NCAA have been lobbying for a limited form of antitrust protection that would prevent, for instance, lawsuits challenging the spending cap prescribed by the settlement, which will be $20.5 million in the first year. The Washington Post reported that draft legislation would include room for that sort of protection. |
| Baker: Settlement helps NCAA stabilize, avoid 'bankruptcy' | |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker told hundreds of collegiate athletics administrators during a keynote address Tuesday that the recent multibillion-dollar House settlement approval creates "a far better future" for the organization, one that "comes with choices, instead of bankruptcy." Baker made his first public comments since Judge Claudia Wilken approved the deal between the NCAA, its most powerful conferences and lawyers representing all Division I athletes, as he addressed the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention. The House v. NCAA settlement, reached last Friday, ends three separate federal antitrust lawsuits, all of which claimed the NCAA was illegally limiting the earning power of college athletes. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Baker told the assembled group, "No one in this room needs to hear me say that this is one of the biggest changes ever in college sports. I hope you also understand that it's a far better future than virtually every other alternative that could have been in front of us. "Blame whoever you wish to blame. But the simple truth is clear: College sports' collective inability or unwillingness to change years ago put the entire enterprise at risk. Is the settlement disruptive? Very much so. But it is an opportunity for the D-I community to pay for back damages over 10 years, instead [of] triple that amount all at once. And it creates a future that comes with choices, instead of bankruptcy." |
| Social Media's Most Popular U.S. Teams Share One Similarity | |
| Sports teams looking to boost their social followings just need to do one thing: sign LeBron James. James' current team, the Los Angeles Lakers, has more followers across social media than any other U.S. pro sports franchise, according to a new report from STN Digital, with 63.8 million between Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. His previous employers, the Cleveland Cavaliers (28.5 million) and Miami Heat (27.4 million) are fourth and fifth in overall audience respectively, years after James departed. NBA teams dominate the top of the overall list, claiming the top seven slots, followed by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys (20.5 million), the NFL's New England Patriots (17.9 million) and MLB's New York Yankees (17.9 million). The Cowboys are still first in Sportico's team valuations, at $10.3 billion, while the New York Knicks are fourth in franchise value despite being 18th in social following. The data shows the stickiness of online fandom, with Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors coming in second with 62 million followers and the Chicago Bulls, benefitting from their dynastic run in the 1990s, sitting in third place with 34.5 million. Even after a chaotic year among social media platforms, not a single spot in the top 10 changed from 2024. But there's good news for everyone else: a follower isn't worth what it once was. The new paradigm has made it easier for younger brands, fresh athletes and new sports -- from Ilona Maher to the Savannah Bananas -- to quickly find massive followings. |
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