| Wednesday, July 23, 2025 |
| Are Mississippi State's cowbells the best tradition in college football? USA Today poll is asking | |
 | When you walk into Davis Wade Stadium for a Mississippi State football game -- no matter how good the team is and regardless of the opponent -- one thing is constant: the ringing of cowbells by tens of thousands of faithful Bulldog fans. A celebration known across the college football world has been nominated as one of the best traditions in the sport. USA Today's 10Best has the routine cowbell-clanging featured among some of college football's most storied traditions, including Virginia Tech's iconic entrance to Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the annual Army-Navy game, and the heartstring-pulling "Hawkeye Wave," where Iowa players and fans interact with patients at the neighboring children's hospital. "The sound of clanging cowbells has become an unmistakable display of school spirit at Mississippi State University, with the tradition dating back roughly a century," a statement from USA Today's 10Best reads. "According to local legend, it stems from the arrival of a lost cow onto the football field in the middle of a game -- and while cowbell-ringing was banned in 1974, it made its triumphant return in 2010, ensuring that this time-honored practice can live on well into the future." To earn a preseason win ahead of the highly anticipated 2025 campaign, Bulldog fans can vote here for the cowbell as college football's best tradition. Voting will close on Aug. 17. |
| Mississippi State poultry professor honored | |
| Dr. Pratima Adhikari, DVM, associate professor at Mississippi State University, has been named the recipient of the 2025 NOVUS Outstanding Teaching Award. The honor was presented at the Poultry Science Association (PSA) Annual Meeting held July 17 in North Carolina. NOVUS, a global leader in intelligent animal nutrition, sponsors the annual award to recognize PSA members who demonstrate excellence in classroom instruction, commitment to continuous professional growth, and dedication to advancing the poultry industry. "With this award, NOVUS celebrates educators who are making a difference in advancing poultry agriculture both in the classroom and across the industry," said Bob Buresh, Ph.D., NOVUS executive technical services manager, who presented the award. "Dr. Adhikari exemplifies what this recognition is all about -- lasting impact through education." Dr. Adhikari believes attracting young people to agriculture is critical for the future of food security. "With a growing population and increasing demand for sustainable food production, we need more young people in agriculture," she said. "The future of this field is rewarding in every area -- but it requires true passion." |
| MSU Forensic Recovery Unit helps solve La'datra Williams' case | |
 | New information was released about the man accused of the death of missing woman La'datra Williams. That man is Charles Sims. Lawrence County Sheriff Ryan Everett confirms Sims was denied bond in court on Tuesday. Sims was charged with first-degree murder after he led authorities directly to the remains believed to belong to Williams. The body was found roughly a quarter-mile deep into a wooded area in Lawrence County. Mississippi State University played a big part in this recovery. MSU has what's called a Forensic Recovery Unit. It's made up of about 15 people who assist in crime scene investigations, especially when it comes to looking for and identifying human remains. The Forensic Recovery Unit is made up of MSU police, along with faculty, staff, and students in the anthropology department. The type of help they provide differs depending on what's needed in the investigation. "So if it's remains that are found scattered across the field, they'll ask us, 'Are these human or on human remains? Are these animal bones or human bones? If it's something a little more extensive, like a burial or potential burial, can you help us find that burial? Can you use the techniques that you have?'" Dr. Jesse Goliath said. "For example, ground penetrating radar, we have available equipment like that to look to see if there any depressions or anything that's inconsistent to the soil around it to indicate a burial, and also just our archeological background and how do we dig and excavate and try to maintain the crime scenes and find those remains in a timely fashion." |
| EMA director retiring after 25 years with agency | |
 | County officials will begin looking for a new Emergency Management Agency director after Kristen Campanella announced her resignation Tuesday. Campanella, who started with EMA as a 911 telecommunicator in 2001, is leaving the agency Sept. 1 after serving the past eight years as director. After nearly 25 years at the agency, Campanella said she values the knowledge, partnerships and friendships she's built along the way. "What stands out most is the sense of purpose that comes from knowing my efforts directly improve people's lives during critical moments," she wrote in an email to The Dispatch. "Whether it's enhancing preparedness measures, optimizing emergency response protocols, or fostering collaboration across public safety agencies, each initiative has reinforced my dedication to this amazing field of first responders." While she was not ready to announce the new position she's taking, Campanella said she intends to continue contributing to public safety in the community. Her hope is to continue seeing EMA grow in the future. Along with Campanella's resignation, County Administrator Wayne Carpenter said the county plans to restructure EMA, splitting the 911 communications shop into its own department with its own director. |
| Neshoba County Fair kicks off on July 25th | |
| It may be quiet now, but in just a few days, the Neshoba County Fairgrounds will be packed with action and life, as the 136th annual Neshoba County Fair kicks off, with enough food, carnival rides, music, and other fair-favorite activities to fill the eight jam-packed days of Mississippi's Giant Houseparty. "Of course, we start this Friday with our rodeo, which we'll have Friday and Saturday night. We'll have all of our activities throughout the day, Carnival rides, different things like that going on throughout the day," said Neshoba County Fair manager Kevin Cheatham. "On Sunday we will start our harness and running horse races, then on Monday we'll have the Miss Neshoba County pageant. Then on Tuesday, we'll bring in our entertainment, starting with Molly Ringwald on Tuesday, then we have 49 Winchester on Wednesday, Larry Fleet on Thursday, and then we'll wind up the week with 38 Special and a fireworks show on Friday night." "The economic impact from the Neshoba County Fair is astronomical. I mean, you've got people coming from Starkville, from Meridian, from Jackson," said Tim Moore, with the Philadelphia Community Development Partnership. "We even have people coming from out of state and out of the country." |
| How Nissan, Ford and other Tennessee EV automakers are changing for tax credit loss | |
 | Two years ago, Jérémie Papin, then-senior vice president of Nissan Motor Co. and chairperson of Franklin-based Nissan Americas, said electric vehicles would dominate the U.S. market by 2036. Tennessee was poised to transform into a U.S. hub for EV production. "It's always good business to produce where you sell, and it's something that's very much supported by the government and also by the state of Tennessee, who have been extremely good partners to us," Papin told The Tennessean in 2023. "Obviously many of the competitors are also producing EVs here. Tennessee will be a very meaningful hub of EV manufacturing expertise for years to come." Now it's become clear that electric vehicles won't take over as quickly as expected. Touted to be the future of American auto manufacturing just two years ago, EVs are now forced to hit the brakes. A blend of waning consumer demand, rising tariffs and a rollback of federal tax incentives is prompting automakers to rethink their strategies. As Nissan rolls back electric-vehicle production in Tennessee and Mississippi, Ford is focusing on hybrid vehicles and General Motors is investing in new low-cost battery technology. In addition to Leaf's departure out of Smyrna, Nissan also announced a delay in production of three all-new EVs at its Canton, Mississippi plant. |
| Iconic Pascagoula landmark demolished, developer says he has big plans for site | |
 | Cotita Holdings LLC Owner Hayes Dent plans to turn the former Cornerstone and Cotita's restaurant site in Pascagoula into a mixed-use development. Demolition of the building concluded last week. "We are looking at multiple options to include partnering with someone on a local level that may know of a good business to go there," Dent said. "We're 100% open to opportunities that will enhance the property." Dent said renovations done by a previous owner left the structure "not in a position to be salvaged." The apartment complex next door remains intact and is occupied by over 30 tenants, according to Dent. According to Dent, the former owners of the over-8,000-square-foot facility split the building into at least four office spaces. "That was not the purpose of the building," Dent said. "It just wasn't a sustainable model." Dent said he is making continued improvements to the neighboring apartments, including rehabbing units and installing new roofing and railings. |
| Largest shopping center on Mississippi Gulf Coast purchased for $83.1 million | |
| The largest shopping center along the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been sold. CBL Properties, the company that owned The Promenade in D'Iberville, announced that the 621,000-square-foot open-air mall sold for $83.1 million. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company, which owns more than 80 malls and open-air venues, did not disclose who the buyer was. The Promenade opened in 2009 amid early restoration efforts on the Coast following Hurricane Katrina. The popular shopping destination hosts retailers like Target, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Marshalls, and ULTA, along with restaurants like Chick-fil-A, Newk's Eatery, and Olive Garden. |
| Guest will not lead House Homeland Security Committee, remains chair of Ethics Committee | |
| Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest (R-MS 3) will not lead the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and instead remain the chairman of the House Ethics Committee. The chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee opened this month when Tennessee Congressman Mark Green (R) announced his resignation. Guest, the committee's vice ranking member and current chairman of the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, was second in line for the top spot behind Texas Congressman Michael McCaul (R). McCaul had previously led the committee for six years and was term limited by House Republican rules. The House Republican Steering Committee considered four replacements for Green -- Guest, New York Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R), Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R), and Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins (R) -- with Garbarino getting the nod as announced Tuesday. Garbarino's selection must now be approved by the full House Republican Conference, which is normally a mere formality based on the Steering Committee's recommendation. Guest is expected to remain in his current roles on the Homeland Security Committee. |
| U.S. probes foreign links to agriculture research to protect food supply | |
 | The Agriculture Department is applying more scrutiny to research done by its employees alongside noncitizens. The directives, laid out in a memo which went out to USDA employees and research institutions earlier this month, are part of a broader effort to increase security measures around the U.S. food supply -- especially when it comes to foreign adversaries like North Korea, China, Russia and Iran. The sweeping instructions require recipients of USDA funding to disclose contracts associated with "foreign entities and certify they are not party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program." As a result of the policy, USDA also laid off 70 researchers earlier this month who were from "countries of concern" -- which included Syria, South Africa, Cuba and Venezuela. "It is absurd that foreign nationals from countries of concern were so close to our critical research at USDA," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to NPR. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins "is committed to securing our agricultural research enterprise from foreign adversaries and putting American farmers and ranchers first." Internal and outside researchers agree food security is important. But they say added scrutiny on collaborative agriculture research could hurt U.S. innovation. The directives this month also come on the heels of cuts to research generally to colleges and universities -- many of which partner with the USDA on their work. |
| White House eyeing education cuts for next funding clawback package | |
 | The White House intends to send Capitol Hill a second request to claw back congressionally-approved funding --- this time targeting the Department of Education, according to a White House aide granted anonymity to share plans not yet made public. Less than a week after congressional Republicans approved the administration's first rescissions package to slash $9 billion for public broadcast and foreign aid, the White House aide said Tuesday that lawmakers would soon receive President Donald Trump's next round of desired funding cuts to education programs. The Daily Signal first reported earlier Tuesday that education funding would be in the mix for the next package, though it's not yet clear how much money the administration will ask Congress to rescind or when the request will formally be sent. In a brief interview Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also would not disclose specifics about the forthcoming package, but confirmed talks between GOP leaders and the administration on the matter are well underway. "We haven't made a final decision on what will be in the second rescissions package, but we're of course talking about it," Scalise said. "The administration is very interested in it." While the administration said it would send states approximately $1.3 billion in approved funding for summer and afterschool programs on Monday, billions of dollars in pending federal aid to schools are still being withheld by the White House amid an ongoing spending review. |
| Obama's office: Trump administration's treason claims are a 'distraction' | |
 | Former president Barack Obama's office issued a rare admonishment Tuesday of the Trump administration's claims that Obama administration officials planned a "treasonous conspiracy" aimed at the current commander in chief, calling the allegations "a weak attempt at distraction." On Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard -- whose position has traditionally been apolitical -- released declassified documents that she said show Obama and his national security team "manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump." The evidence pertains to the intelligence community's conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to interfere in the 2016 presidential election on Trump's behalf. The evidence on which Gabbard based her findings is paper-thin and discounts more substantiated intelligence findings, The Washington Post Fact-Checker found, but Trump has nonetheless embraced the material as the basis for potential criminal prosecutions against his perceived political enemies -- including Obama. Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement that while the office "does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," the administration's new "bizarre" and "ridiculous" allegations warranted one. |
| Trump Lashes Out at Obama and Calls for Investigation | |
 | President Trump on Tuesday lashed out at his perceived political enemies and rivals and called on the Justice Department to investigate former President Barack Obama. "It's time to start, after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people," Trump said. Trump gave the remarks while speaking in the Oval Office during a visit with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. They are among the harshest comments he has directed at Democratic leaders during his second term in office. In addition to Obama, Trump said other Democrats engaged in wrongdoing, including Hillary Clinton and former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama's vice president. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said her office found "overwhelming evidence" that government officials committed "treasonous conspiracy in 2016" to set up a "yearslong coup" against Trump. A spokesman for Obama, Patrick Rodenbush, called Trump's claims "outrageous" and "ridiculous." "Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," he said. A bipartisan Senate committee and the Central Intelligence Agency concluded Russia intended to interfere in the 2016 election. The DOJ appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to probe claims linking Trump and the alleged interference. A report concluded that Trump and his campaign didn't coordinate or conspire with Russia to meddle with the 2016 election. |
| Trump's intelligence chiefs try to rewrite the history of the 2016 election | |
 | President Donald Trump's intelligence chiefs are conducting a systematic campaign to rewrite the history of the 2016 election, seeking to reverse an eight-year-old assessment that Russia waged an information war to boost Trump's candidacy. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe have cited declassified emails to allege in social media posts and television appearances that Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence and conspired to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's electoral victory in 2016. But a bipartisan Senate investigation in 2020 and a recent CIA review both found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, launching a disinformation campaign designed to damage Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's candidacy. A three-year investigation by special counsel John Durham reported no criminal conspiracy by Obama administration officials to sabotage Trump, and Durham filed no charges against CIA officials. On Monday, Fox News reported that Gabbard's office made a criminal referral to the Justice Department related to the 2017 intelligence assessment of Russia's role in the 2016 election, without specifying the nature of the referral. In an apparent reference to the report, Trump posted online a fake video generated by artificial intelligence of former President Barack Obama being led out of the Oval Office by police. |
| Over 1,000 musicians make popular Drum Corps International stop at Southern Miss | |
 | More than 1,000 talented musicians from across the country will descend on the University of Southern Mississippi this Wednesday. It's all part of the Drum Corps International 2025 tour, which is one part performance and one part competition. USM has become a popular annual stop. "We love it here; we love this university," said Kelly Elder, a corps manager for The Blue Devils drum corps, of Concord, California. "They take really good care of us. This field is phenomenal. You can't get better than this. We have a great vantage point, beautiful turf." The Blue Devils are one of six drum corps that are scheduled to participate in the event. Members of the Blue Devils are already at Southern Miss. They're staying at USM residence halls and perfecting their show for Wednesday night. "The long rehearsal days (are) to be the best version of ourselves and make this show the best it can be, so the competition is really fun," said Sonia Brekken, 22, a mellphone player with Blue Devils. The competition begins at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, at The Rock stadium. |
| WCU, Howard Industries build opportunities by forming new partnership | |
| William Carey University and Howard Industries have formed a new partnership. The new partnership will offer new opportunities for WCU students and Howard employees to further their educational and career goals. WCU and Howard Industries have signed a memorandum of understanding, which will help boost the qualified workforce at the Ellisville-based company and also provide additional students for the university. It's all being done through WCU's Institute for Excellence. "Our career people got with (WCU's) career people and the curriculum people here and created a program to come and train their students in the curriculum on the things that we need as far as hiring people and the different job classifications," said David Perkins, executive vice president for sales for Howard Technology Solutions. William Carey University President Ben Burnett added, "All of that is going to train our students wherever they go, but specifically, they'll have a pipeline for Howard Industries, and we feel that's a great landing place for our graduates." |
| Auditor notes delay of teacher classroom funds; House chairman says it was expected | |
| A report issued by the State Auditor's Office this week shows that some state support for qualifying classrooms is going to be approved after the start of the school year. A state lawmaker says the delay is due to new cards being issued. The state support is part of the Mississippi Education Enhancement Fund, which will provide $748 to eligible teachers across the state this school year, totaling more than $27 million. That money is provided in the form of a procurement card that must be activated by the Mississippi Department of Education before it can be used to purchase classroom supplies. Prior to 2022, activation of the cards was set by state law to take place prior to September 1. The Auditor report states that a change by the Legislature in 2022 moved that date to August 1. That date change, combined with modified school schedules, has resulted in about 75 percent of the cards now being activated after the start of the school year, leaving access to $17.8 million of those total funds unavailable until after August 1. House Education Committee Chairman Rob Roberson (R) said this year's August 1 timeline is due to new cards being issued. "The new cards are designed for reuse, which will allow districts to request activation as early as July 1 each year," Roberson described. "MDE provided the [Office of the State Auditor] complete context about the transition to new EEF cards in FY26 and the benefits of the new cards for teachers." |
| Auditor: Mississippi gives teachers classroom supply money too late. Ed officials say issue is already fixed | |
| A card that pays for classroom supplies for Mississippi teachers is activated too late to be useful, a new report from the auditor's office says. The Education Enhancement Fund, or EEF, procurement card program, which was established in 2012, gives every teacher $748 -- over $27 million in total across the state -- to buy supplies for their classrooms. But because the cards aren't activated until August 1, $17.8 million of that money is locked when "teachers need it most," the report concludes. According to State Auditor Shad White's office, three out of four classrooms will have already started school this year before teachers have access to the cards. However, the state education department says it typically releases funds in July -- information that agency officials say the auditor's office omitted in its report. Because the state changed vendors and new cards had to be issued, fiscal years 2025 and 2026 were exceptions, according to the education department. In fiscal year 2027, it will be possible to activate the cards anytime after July 1. "It is always MDE's intention to provide teachers with all available resources as expeditiously as possible," a statement from the agency reads. |
| Out with the old, in with the new: U. of Tennessee updates student housing options | |
 | Two new University of Tennessee at Knoxville residence halls are ready to welcome students, two aging dormitories are on their way out, and another old dorm will become temporary student housing for the upcoming fall semester. As the new Beacon and Poplar halls prepare to welcome a total of 1,883 students, Massey and North Carrick halls won't be an option for students this fall. These outdated dorms -- opened in 1960 and 1966, respectively -- typically could house 1,076 students across them. South Carrick Hall -- which, like its sister structure, opened in 1966 -- will house students on a temporary basis as they await permanent dorm rooms. The building can accommodate 530 students. Both Beacon and Polar will include a post office, laundry room and community kitchen. The dorms were fast-tracked through a public-private partnership between UT, Provident Resources Group and RISE, the developer. The collaborative approach helped UT cover costs while addressing ongoing student housing issues on campus. A third dormitory, named Torchbearer, will be completed next year, according to UT. The aptly named dorm will be near the Torchbearer Statue on Volunteer Boulevard. It's also coming together through the public-private partnership. Torchbearer alone will house 1,028 students. The estimated cost for all three dorms is $311 million. |
| Now that it will be illegal to sell Callery pear trees, U. of Missouri researchers have found a way to track them down | |
 | As Missouri becomes the latest state to ban the sale of Callery pear trees, researchers at the University of Missouri are using artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to track them down. The ornamental tree, known for its abundant white blooms, is also considered an extremely invasive species that threatens native plants. The Bradford pear is a common cultivar or variety of the species. A new MU study has discovered how using AI technology could help manage its spread. In the study, researchers mapped Callery pears in Columbia with a GPS device, then applied artificial intelligence to satellite images as a way to distinguish them from other trees. Identifying Callery pears this way could speed up efforts to get rid of them. Recent efforts to control the tree started with appeals, then moved to buyback-and-swap efforts and finally to outright state bans. Last week, Missouri became the fourth state to ban the sale of the Callery pear tree, joining Ohio, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the Invasive Plant Bill into law July 14, which also bans the sale of the climbing euonymus, the Japanese honeysuckle, the sericea lespedeza, the burning bush and perilla mint. |
| The Leadership Skills Scientists Need Right Now | |
 | In the six months since President Donald Trump started his second term, American scientists have been thrust into a world of uncertainty. Federal agencies have canceled thousands of university scientists' research grants. Other researchers have federal grant applications in limbo, making it difficult to plan any future work. And Trump's proposals to dramatically reduce federal spending on scientific research have left universities across the country unsure what their research budgets will look like in the coming years. It all has implications for scientists' careers, the pace of scientific discovery and the country's economy. But in this moment of turmoil, the United States' scientific enterprise needs effective leaders more than ever, says Jen Heemstra, chair of the chemistry department at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the forthcoming book, Labwork to Leadership: A Concise Guide to Thriving in the Science Job You Weren't Trained For (Harvard University Press). While many scientists may not think of themselves as leaders, Heemstra has developed a framework that allows any scientist -- whether they're a department chair, head of a lab or graduate student -- to lead themselves and others through conflict and uncertainty. |
| Far beyond Harvard, conservative efforts to reshape higher education are gaining steam | |
 | Ken Beckley never went to Harvard, but he has been wearing a crimson Harvard cap in a show of solidarity. As he sees it, the Trump administration's attacks on the school echo a case of government overreach at his own alma mater, Indiana University. Beckley, a former head of the school's alumni association, rallied fellow graduates this spring in an unsuccessful effort to stop Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, from removing three alumni-elected members from Indiana University's Board of Trustees and handpicking their replacements. No government effort to influence a university -- private or public -- has gotten more attention than the clash at Harvard, where the Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal funding as it seeks a series of policy changes. But far beyond the Ivy League, Republican officials are targeting public universities in several states with efforts seeking similar ends. Since Trump took office, officials in states including Indiana, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Iowa and Idaho increasingly have focused on university governance -- rules for who picks university presidents and boards and how much control they exert over curriculums and faculty tenure. |
| Trump administration widens probes into Virginia's largest public university | |
| The Trump administration has launched its fourth investigation in as many weeks into George Mason University, the latest in an effort some at the Virginia university believe is an attempt to oust its president over diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Gregory Washington, George Mason's first Black president, has repeatedly and publicly defended the school in recent months, rejecting allegations that the university had policies that were discriminatory. The Justice Department notified George Mason on Monday that it would investigate possible discrimination on grounds of race or national origin in the school's admissions and student benefits policies. It comes days after the department launched a probe into the university's hiring and promotions practices. Meanwhile, the Education Department initiated two inquiries earlier this month over similar allegations of discrimination at the Northern Virginia university. The newest Justice Department letter stated that students must be entitled to access the school's programs without discrimination, but it did not outline specific legal violations or complaints. George Mason, Virginia's largest public four-year university, has an acceptance rate of 90 percent. As the school faces increasing scrutiny from the Trump administration, the office of state attorney general Jason S. Miyares -- which represents Virginia's public colleges -- has retained a law firm co-founded by Trump's former attorney general William P. Barr, said Miyares spokesperson Shaun Kenney. |
| College-Affiliated Public Media Stand to Lose Big Under Cuts | |
| Recent federal cuts are hacking at an additional piece of college and university budgets and operations: on-campus broadcast and radio stations. On July 18, Congress voted to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which gives money to NPR, PBS and their member stations. The move hurts local stations across the country, particularly in rural regions, as well as dozens of broadcast hubs located at or affiliated with colleges. More than half of NPR's 1,000 member stations are licensed to or affiliated with colleges or universities, according to NPR's website. A 2019 PBS article listed 49 university and college public television licensees, a majority of which belong to public institutions -- many of them flagship or public land-grant universities, but some community and technical colleges as well. Data analysis by Alex Curley, a former NPR staffer and author of the blog Semipublic, found that university licensees were far more dependent than non-college affiliated stations on "non-operating revenue," which includes CPB funding and other money allocated by their parent organization to cover losses. "For stations that lose federal funding, especially those who are losing a lot in relation to total revenue, that's going to put a huge burden on their parent organization [the college or university] because they're the only ones who can cover that deficit," Curley said. |
| Trump Cracked Down on Campus Protesters. A Court Will Decide How Far He Can Go. | |
| President Trump's immigration-enforcement tactics have been defined by a muscular use of executive power with little precedent. Now, a federal judge is tasked with deciding whether to curtail that approach against foreigners in the U.S. legally. U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston wrapped up a closely watched trial this week on the administration's targeting of international students engaged in campus activism. Following a series of high-profile arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters, faculty groups are pressing a broad legal effort to head off similar future arrests. The litigation taps into rarely explored legal tensions between the government's latitude to set the terms for foreigners living legally in the U.S. and the rights of those residents while they are here. Two weeks of testimony, including from government witnesses, offered a rare public window into the extraordinary measures the administration has taken against immigrants at elite universities. The challengers, led by the American Association of University Professors, say the administration's efforts to revoke green cards and visas from pro-Palestinian campus activists amount to proof of a policy of "ideological deportation" that has terrified noncitizens in higher education and chilled their speech. Lawyers for the administration say there is no such policy. They also say that the government has long held far-reaching power to order the removal of noncitizens to protect the foreign-policy interests of the U.S. and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is using it lawfully now. Foreigners in the U.S. don't have the same protections as Americans when it comes to protesting, the Justice Department says. |
| Federal Grant Cuts Don't Spare Red States, New Report Shows | |
| The Trump administration's cancellation of federal funds for highly selective universities in blue states has drawn national media attention. But a new report from a left-leaning think tank stresses that the federal government isn't targeting only Harvard and Columbia's research and innovation grants. "Republican- and Democrat-governed states are facing similar impacts relative to their student populations in terms of funding terminated by the administration," says the Center for American Progress's report, released today. And no institution is safe, CAP notes. "Institutions affected by grant terminations range from some of the country's largest public universities to private research universities, small liberal arts colleges, and community colleges," the report says. Land-grant universities and historically Black colleges and universities "have been particularly affected, with more than two-thirds of all land-grant universities and nearly half of all HBCUs targeted for funding terminations." The report underscores how the Trump administration's attack on higher ed funding is a national crusade affecting researchers from multiple fields, rather than a narrow strike. |
| UMMC is not leaving Jackson, just expanding in the area | |
| Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine, writes: Recently, I have seen statements in some media that insinuate the University of Mississippi Medical Center is leaving Jackson. It's true that we are creating more opportunities for all Mississippians to access our care outside the state capital, but leaving Jackson? Nothing could be further from the truth. We are growing and expanding both in Jackson and across the state. In our 70-year history, UMMC has grown into what Mississippi needs, an institution that day-in and day-out works to improve Mississippians' health and well-being through our three-part mission of education, research and patient care. Everything we do rolls up to caring for patients, directly or indirectly, in all parts of the state, including Jackson. This city is the home of our six growing and vibrant health science schools, the primary location of our research programs, which heavily focus on the diseases most impacting Mississippians, and where we provide most of our patient care, some of which can be found nowhere else in the state. |
| Jefferson's gunboats, Nixon's inflation-busting created Trump's $9 billion in rescissions | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Much of the legitimate news commentary and almost all of the social media missives praising or damning last week's congressional approval of President Donald Trump's $9 billion rescission package at least inferred that Trump was engaging in unprecedented actions and expanding presidential powers in a nefarious manner. To be sure, Trump's plan to make funding cuts at National Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, and the U.S. Agency for International Development is a rare presidential move, but certainly not a strategy of Trump's creation. The Constitution clearly gave the power of the purse to Congress in Article 1, section 9, clause 7: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time." In Article III, the Constitution charged the U.S. President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." In reviewing his duties in a matter that would take a few years to settle, President Thomas Jefferson noted in his 1801 State of the Union address that Congress had appropriated money to build more gunboats than were necessary for the nation's security. ... In short, Jefferson made the first recorded presidential impoundment of Congressionally-appropriated funds. Moving forward, that power of impoundment existed for every president but was not widely used in any extraordinary way until the administration of President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. |
SPORTS
| Why Southern Miss football players will 'come out with their hair on fire' vs Mississippi State | |
 | Southern Miss football opens its 2025 season with a daunting task against SEC and in-state rival Mississippi State. The two will face off on Aug. 30 (11 a.m., ESPN) in Hattiesburg at M.M. Roberts Stadium. New coach Charles Huff along with linebacker Chris Jones and quarterback Braylon Braxton were asked about the matchup against the Bulldogs at Sun Belt Conference football media days on July 22. "It's very big, I mean, that's an in-state game, and we'll get to play an SEC team at home," Jones said. "I don't see anything that's bigger than that. I mean, Mississippi State versus Southern Miss. "It's exciting for me as well, and the team, because, I mean, you always want to play against the top-tier talent, and SEC is known to have the best talent. So we want to show them that we got talent too. So we most definitely ready for that game." Huff lauded Mississippi State for traveling down to M.M. Roberts Stadium and hopes to see this in-state rivalry play out more often in the schedule. "We appreciate Mississippi State's willingness to go outside the norm and come play us at home," he said. "The economic effect that's going to have on Hattiesburg and the state of Mississippi is huge. Hopefully, we can continue that with both schools throughout our tenure here." |
| Men's Golf Releases 2025-26 Schedule | |
| Mississippi State men's golf head coach Dusty Smith has released the Bulldogs' 2025-26 schedule. State will host two events for the third-straight year and compete in nine tournaments during the regular season. In the fall, MSU will co-host the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational with Ole Miss and Southern Miss. The event will tee off Oct. 18 from the Fallen Oak Golf Course at Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. In the spring, State's home event returns to Mossy Oak Golf Club for the Mossy Oak Collegiate. The 2025 edition was held at Old Waverly Golf Club while Mossy Oak underwent renovations. "This is a schedule that will be a great challenge for us," Smith said. "The goal is to always play tournaments against great competition on great golf courses that will ultimately have us ready for the postseason. We have added a few new events to the schedule this year, which allow us to get outside our comfort zone and prepare us for when it matters the most." The Bulldogs will open their fall campaign on Aug. 29-31 at the Carmel Cup, held at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links in Monterey, California. |
| Bassmaster schedules 2026 return to Columbus | |
| After hosting a successful tournament on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in April, Bassmaster is planning another national tournament to take place in Columbus next year. The tournament, scheduled for March 26-29, will be the only Mississippi stop of the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2026. "The Tenn-Tom Waterway is a diverse fishery that will really showcase our anglers' skills," Lisa Talmadge, Elite Series tournament director, said in a press release. "It's going to be a fun tournament for both the anglers and the fans." One of the eight 2025 Bassmaster Open tournaments was held on the waterway in April, with more than 100 professional anglers attending. The last time a Bassmasters took place in Columbus before then was in 2004. The event will be broadcast live on FOX Sports, Bassmaster.com and the new Bassmaster FAST Channel on Roku. "We're thrilled to host the Bassmaster Elite Series and represent Mississippi on the national stage," Frances Glenn, Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau tourism director, said in the press release. "This is a chance to show the world what makes Columbus special -- our welcoming community, our thriving downtown and the incredible fishing opportunities on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway." |
| AAC rebrands as 'American Conference,' adds eagle as mascot | |
| As part of a sweeping rebrand, the American Athletic Conference on Monday formally changed its name to "American Conference," ditched the acronym AAC and added its first mascot, "Soar," the eagle. The league will use American Conference on first reference, and "American" on subsequent references. The modernized website will go live on Thursday at the league's media days in Charlotte, North Carolina. "A brand is more than a name," American commissioner Tim Pernetti said in a statement. The streamlined name, which is often already used by fans and the media, was tweaked to eliminate confusion with other similarly named organizations like the ACC. It was also changed to ensure "consistent recognition," and reinforce a "sharper, more modern identity," according to a brand packet provided by ANACHEL, a marketing and communications firm. Their slogan, "Built to Rise," ties into the league's RISE (revenue, innovation, sports and entertainment) Ventures, a new commercial and innovation unit. According to the American, Soar is the first live and animated mascot for a collegiate conference. |
| Big Ten's Petitti: No support for SEC's at-large bid preference for College Football Playoff | |
| The Big Ten commissioner doubled down on the league's preference for multiple automatic qualifiers in the next version of the College Football Playoff on Tuesday, increasing the likelihood of a showdown with the Southeastern Conference when the format for 2026 is decided. At the league's football media days, Tony Petitti said any change that adds at-large bids and increases the discretion and role of a selection committee -- a format the SEC and others have shown a preference for -- "will have a difficult time getting support of the Big Ten." Petitti also bolstered the idea of a weekend's worth of conference play-in games for some of the four automatic bids that would go to the Big Ten in its preferred version of a 16-team playoff. He said the league favored this even though the games could put some of the Big Ten's top-seeded teams in jeopardy of being shut out of the CFP. The likely slate for that would include a league title game between Nos. 1 and 2 and play-in games involving the 3-6 seeds. "There are 18 members in the Big Ten, you have 17 possible opponents and you play nine," Petitti said. "There's a lot of discrepancy. Let alone making comparisons across leagues, there's a lot of issues about how you compare teams inside the Big Ten. ... Where we came down is we were willing to take that risk." |
| ACC's Jim Phillips says to give NCAA revenue sharing model a chance amid uncertainty | |
 | Schools have only been able to pay players directly for three weeks, and questions have already surfaced about the sustainability of the new system. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips' message Tuesday: Give this model a chance to work. "Without question, there's still significant work to be done, but we must acknowledge that, collectively, we are truly in a better place and we have a responsibility to make it work in the future," Phillips said at the start of his league's football kickoff. The questions have centered on whether collectives can continue paying players after the House settlement. Guidance from the College Sports Commission -- the new enforcement arm that's policing deals -- suggested those deals aren't what industry officials consider "legitimate NIL." Even if the dispute doesn't trigger more lawsuits, Phillips said Tuesday that the issue could go before a judge for interpretation. In the meantime, Phillips said the goals of transparency and standardized rules are important to pursue as schools share up to $20.5 million directly with players. He said 15,519 players have registered for the clearinghouse, NIL Go, along with almost 2,000 agents. He also acknowledged the fact that schools have traditionally tried to skirt rules, which is why he's emphasizing restraint. "We can't help ourselves sometimes," Phillips said. "People know what the rules are relative to $20.5 (million). They know what legitimate NIL is. You can play in that gray area if you want, but all that does is undermine a new structure. We fought hard for the things I just mentioned, and we'd be well-served to just kind of relax and let this thing settle in." |
| House attorneys, power conferences work out deal to relax NIL collective roadblocks: Sources | |
| Less than a month into the implementation of the House settlement, college sports' new enforcement entity is adjusting its approach. Attorneys for the House plaintiffs have struck an agreement with the power conferences and NCAA officials to amend the decision-making from the industry's new enforcement arm, the College Sports Commission, related to how booster-backed collectives can compensate athletes. Multiple sources spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity. As part of the agreement, the College Sports Commission is expected to treat collectives or any "school-associated entity" in a similar fashion as other businesses when determining the legitimacy of third-party NIL deals submitted to the CSC's NIL Go clearinghouse. This is a change from the CSC's previously publicized approach. The interpretation of the "valid business purpose" rule is not insignificant. It is one of two measurements used by the new CSC's NIL Go clearinghouse to determine the legitimacy of third-party deals. The second is a Deloitte-created "compensation range" standard that deals must fall within. The change to the valid business purpose standard potentially opens the door for the continuation of school-affiliated, booster-backed collectives to provide athletes with compensation that, if approved by the clearinghouse, does not count against a school's House settlement revenue-share cap. |
| Fitch, 27 other Republican attorneys general want NCAA to strip men of women's sports titles | |
| Republican attorneys general across the nation, led by Mississippi's Lynn Fitch, are calling on the NCAA to strip biological male athletes of any records, titles, awards, and recognitions they received while competing in women's sports while restoring the titles to the appropriate female athletes. In a letter from 28 attorneys general to NCAA President Charlie Baker sent Tuesday, Fitch and her colleagues say the policies that were created, promoted, and encouraged by the Biden Administration and the NCAA not only enabled biological men to compete against women in sporting events across the country, but denied deserving women the recognitions they had earned in events that you managed. The group noted the steps the NCAA has taken since President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports. However, the attorneys general tell Baker there is "far more the NCAA can do for the women athletes that have competed and continue to compete in your events." "There is no doubt that the women forced to compete against biological males in female events were impacted negatively and unfairly disadvantaged," Fitch and the others write, adding, "We urge the NCAA to develop a plan to restore all appropriate recognitions to the women athletes who were wrongfully denied all that they earned." |
| U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials bar transgender women from Olympic women's sports | |
| The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an "obligation to comply" with an executive order issued by President Trump. The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC's website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year. The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under "USOPC Athlete Safety Policy" and reference's Trump's executive order, "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," signed in February. That order, among other things, threatens to "rescind all funds" from organizations that allow transgender athlete participation in women's sports. U.S. Olympic officials told the national governing bodies they will need to follow suit, adding that "the USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials" since Trump signed the order. The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the NGBs. |
| Trump mixes sports and politics with Commanders name fight | |
 | President Trump has reignited the debate over the Washington Commanders team name, the latest example of the president using sports in his second term to expand his influence and impact on culture. Trump upended what appeared to be a settled issue when he threatened to use the power of the presidency to hold up the Commanders' plans to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C., if the team did not revert to the Redskins name it retired in 2020. While it came as a surprise to local leaders and team officials, it was yet another instance of Trump wading into sports for political purposes. But Trump's focus on sports has expanded into the policy arena during his second term. Blocking transgender women from competing in men's sports was a defining campaign promise for Trump in 2024. Within weeks of taking office, Trump signed an executive order following through on that pledge. The president has spoken frequently about the United States's role as a host for next year's FIFA World Cup, convening a task force to help plan for the logistically complex event that will put a spotlight on transportation infrastructure and the visa system to allow visiting fans and players into the country. Trump's latest sports-related focus is on the Washington Commanders team name, an issue he has shared his opinion on dating back to 2013, when he scolded then-President Obama for weighing in on the controversial Redskins name. |
| Trump Executive Order on College Sports Unlikely to Move the Needle | |
| President Donald Trump is weighing an executive order that would attempt to stabilize the business and law of college sports but might instead kindle new legal challenges. A draft of the order, obtained by Yahoo, adopts the viewpoint that big-time college sports has morphed into an unworkable, volatile and overly litigious framework. The order negatively references unlimited transfers, the prospect of college athletes gaining employment recognition and a "chaotic race to the bottom" with states opportunistically using NIL laws to supply "competitive advantages" to their universities. Dubbed "Saving College Sports," the order directs several federal officials and agencies -- including the U.S. Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board -- to pursue policies that would allegedly ensure the "long-term availability" of college sports opportunities. For the most part, however, the order is aspirational and refrains from enunciating policy positions. Notably absent are declarations that the NCAA and its members ought to be exempt from antitrust scrutiny or that college athletes aren't employees. The absence of many specifics is important for several reasons. For starters, agencies that would be directed by Trump are already capable of issuing regulations and other administrative actions to exert control over college sports. |
| As historic day arrives for college sports industry, a new collective-bargaining bill now looms | |
| Within college athletics over the last several months, few topics have garnered more interest than collective bargaining -- from football and basketball coaches as well as top athletic administrators. On Capitol Hill, at least two lawmakers are interested too. Two Democrats, Rep. Summer Lee and Sen. Chris Murphy, are reintroducing on Wednesday a bill to affirm and expand college athletes' rights to organize, form unions and collectively bargain with their universities and/or conferences, according to the legislation obtained by Yahoo Sports. The bill's introduction comes on what could be a historic day for the college sports industry: Two House committees are expected to consider a separate bill, the SCORE Act, and potentially advance that legislation to the House floor. In the NCAA's more than five-year lobbying effort for congressional legislation, no all-encompassing college sports bill, such as the SCORE Act, has advanced out of a committee in either chamber. A full House of Representatives vote could come as soon as this fall --- a potentially groundbreaking moment but one that should come with a caveat. The NCAA-friendly SCORE Act, while bipartisan, faces stiff pushback in a divided U.S. Senate, where at least seven Democrats are needed to overcome the filibuster and reach the 60-vote margin for any bill passage. |
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