| Friday, February 27, 2026 |
| Mississippi State University visited by British consul general | |
 | Mississippi State University welcomed a special guest from one of the United States' greatest global allies on Wednesday. British Consul General to the Southeast U.S. Rachel Galloway visited the school's Starkville campus for a discussion with university President Mark Keenum on leadership and shared U.K.-American cultural and education connections. Their meeting followed a day of tours and talks across campus for the consulate, who viewed Mississippi State's Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, and the Advanced Composites Institute, ending the day in talks with several of the state's aerospace and defense company leaders. Mississippi State officials said Galloway also took part in a Shackouls Honors College "lunch and learn" session, where she discussed Marshall Scholarship opportunities. The Marshall Scholarship funds up to 50 American students annually for one to two years of graduate study at any university in the U.K. Mississippi State biological sciences graduate Madison Brode was the university's first Marshall Scholarship recipient in 2023. |
| Mississippi State University Event Highlights Priorities of North Mississippi Farmers | |
| About 150 people gathered in Lee County last week to let Mississippi State University (MSU) personnel know what their priorities are in agriculture. Those in attendance divided into commodity and interest groups to discuss with a moderator what mattered most to them. Reports on these breakout meetings were given to MSU administrators as a wish list to guide research and Extension efforts in the coming year. "We're here today to listen to you," Jane Parish, head of the research center in Verona, told those in attendance. "We want to learn the things you're thinking about in your business, farms and homes, and the things in your communities you're interested in learning more about." The topics discussed were agronomic crops, apiculture, beef, dairy, equine, forestry and wildlife, goats and sheep, horticulture, poultry, sweet potato and swine. Top research priorities for agronomic crops are reducing input costs for cropping systems, investigating seeding rates and growing crops on raised beds. |
| Beekeeping made attainable | |
| Mississippi State University is bringing back its Beginner Beekeepers Short Course on Saturday, March 21. This one-day course will take place from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Pearl River County Extension Office, located at 835 Hwy. 26 W., Poplarville. It is designed to teach individuals everything they need to know to start beekeeping. Mr. Curtis Waites, a third-generation beekeeper from south Mississippi, serves as the president of the Mississippi Beekeeper Association and is also a member of the Pearl River County Beekeeping Association. Waites has hosted this beekeeping course for the past three years with the goal of helping beginners gain confidence in managing bees. Attendees will receive a comprehensive introduction, covering everything from basic terminology to identifying the queen bee and managing a colony. After the one-day course concludes, Waites encourages everyone to continue their education and improve their skills by joining local beekeeping clubs. "We're coming in, assuming that you know absolutely nothing other than what a bee looks like, and we're gonna give you a crash course," Waites said. |
| Cybersecurity professor breaks down cyber attacks | |
 | Cyberattacks can come in many forms, and they can come from anywhere in the world. Dr. George Trawick, a cybersecurity professor and the Cyber Coordinator at Mississippi State University, said one of the simplest forms is a "denial‑of‑service" attack. "That's just where a lot of computers across the internet point their packets or information towards the machine and overwhelm it," said Trawick. Just last week, The University of Mississippi Medical Center was hit with ransomware attack. Trawick said many attackers use phishing emails, tricking users into clicking false links. "And then once they click on it, the malware gets into the system and that malware goes in and encrypts that data base or your information." Those attackers often demand payment to release that data. Trawick said knowing your system's vulnerabilities can help you stay ahead of a threat. Trawick said awareness and user training are just as important as any technical fix. |
| Area school districts see graduation gains, dropout declines | |
 | Most districts around the Golden Triangle saw improvements in their four-year graduation rates and dropout rates during the 2024-2025 school year compared to five years prior. Mississippi Department of Education on Feb. 19 released its statewide and school district graduation and dropout rates. The statewide graduation rate reached its highest percentage in at least the last 10 years at 90.8% and dropout rates reached their lowest in that same timeframe at 7%, according to the data. Last academic year, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District graduated 89.7% of its seniors, which was an increase from its rate of 88.3% the previous academic year. The district also saw a decline in its dropout rate, going from 10.2% to 8.6%in 2024-2025. SOCSD over the last five years also improved its graduation rate by 13.4% and decreased its dropout rate by 6.7%. Haley Montgomery, communications director for SOCSD, said during the same timeframe, the district has implemented several programs aimed at helping students to succeed and graduate over four years, including hiring a parent liaison to help directly involve parents in their children's education. Montgomery said the district also partners with Oktibbeha County Judge Lee Ann Turner to address issues of truancy, absenteeism and keeping kids in school. |
| Insurance payouts exceed $60M as Winter Storm Fern claims mount in Mississippi | |
| Over 12,000 claims have been filed totaling more than $107 million from Winter Storm Fern's tear in Mississippi, the state's insurance department announced Thursday. "I have instructed companies throughout the state to participate in a data call. Results have started coming in, showing just how many properties and homeowners were impacted," Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said. "I expect that number to continue to climb as reporting continues." According to the numbers provided by the Mississippi Insurance Department, a majority of claims so far have been for residential property -- more than 10,000. Of the over 12,000 claims filed, 55% have been closed and more than $60 million has already been paid. Chaney is urging residents who have not filed claims but received damage during the late-January storm to do so as soon as possible by gathering their policy information and promptly notifying their provider. He encourages homeowners to document damage with photos or videos, make temporary repairs to prevent further issues, keep receipts, and avoid permanent repairs until an adjuster has inspected the property. |
| USDA offers assistance to agricultural producers | |
| Agricultural operations in Mississippi have been significantly impacted by recent winter storms. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and livestock producers recover from these adverse weather events. "USDA has a suite of programs to support farmers and ranchers as they recover from disasters," said Farm Production and Conservation Under Secretary Richard Fordyce. "I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages." Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality or sell injured livestock at a reduced price may be eligible for the Livestock Indemnity Program. Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program provides eligible producers with compensation for feed losses, honeybee colony and hive losses and farm-raised fish losses. Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers may be eligible for cost-share assistance through the Tree Assistance Program to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes or vines. |
| Mississippi House tax bills could save you money, help businesses | |
 | Mississippi legislators passed a historic tax cut last session, setting up the framework to completely eliminate the state's individual income tax over the next 15 years. Members of the Mississippi House took a second bite of the tax apple Wednesday, when they passed a slate of tax cuts, credits and increases. Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, the chair of the House Ways and Means committee, presented the House with more than a dozen proposed tax cuts or credits. Among the first was a credit he said would encourage smaller employers to provide their employees with health insurance. The bill would offer employers a $400 tax credit for every employee that they offer an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement, an alternative to a group plan in which employees are reimbursed for their insurance premiums. The incentive, Lamar said, would help offset the cost for employers to provide health insurance, likely increasing the number of small companies offering the reimbursement plans to their employees. Another bill, which passed the chamber unanimously, would grant employer a 50% income tax credit if they provide child care for their employees during work hours. This could come in the form of an in-office day care, a contract with a day care facility or an employee stipend earmarked for child care. |
| Mississippi's Black voters brace for an elections ruling that could gut their power on the state Supreme Court | |
| Mississippi's Black voters recently won a victory that puts them on the brink of having greater sway over who sits on the state's Supreme Court. But that win may be short-lived. In the coming months, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on a case that could weaken or overturn key parts of the Voting Rights Act -- a Civil Rights-era law that protects the power of racial minorities to elect candidates of their choice. If the law is upended, it could radically alter the country's voting maps, a shift that would be felt heavily in Mississippi and unwind decades of progress for Black voters across the U.S. Last year, a federal judge found that the current voting map used to elect Mississippi Supreme Court justices illegally diminishes Black voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock then ordered Mississippi lawmakers to redraw one of the three districts that are used to elect the state's nine Supreme Court justices. In their ongoing legislative session, lawmakers have taken preliminary steps to comply. Mississippi has the highest Black population share of any state, at about 37%, but just one of the nine justices is Black. There have only ever been four Black justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court in the state's history, and none of them have ever served at the same time. |
| Rep. Trey Lamar wants resolution to Smith-Wills lawsuit | |
| It's been two years since the state attorney general filed a lawsuit demanding the city of Jackson return Smith-Wills Stadium to its control. So far, nothing has happened. The lawsuit is still tied up in court, but Rep. Trey Lamar (District 8-Lafayette and Tate counties), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he plans to meet with Jackson Mayor John Horhn in the coming weeks and discuss a resolution. Lamar wants to see the property the stadium occupies redeveloped, but he did not speculate about what that might be. The location of the property on Lakeland Drive is good, he said, with the interstate nearby as well as the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The stadium is home to the Hank Aaron Sports Academy, and part of the property is subleased for overflow parking for the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery V.A. Medical Center. Churchill's Smoke Shoppe, which closed in 2024, was located there for 10 years. "There's a legal mandate for the state to take back the property because it isn't being used as a park," Lamar said. "That property belongs to the state of Mississippi." Ashby Foote, who represents Ward 1 on the Jackson City Council, hopes the city and state can work things out without confrontation. |
| The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands -- Again | |
 | Iowa lawmakers voted to advance state House bill 751 last week, legislation that would ensure farmers in the state can freely repair their own agricultural equipment, like tractors. This Tuesday, the bill was renamed to House File 2709, and it will be voted on again. Should the political winds align, it will go through the Iowa House and Senate before the Iowa Legislature adjourns on April 21. The bill is the first of nearly 57 state bills supported by repair advocates across the country in 2026. Many of them focus on farm equipment in states like Oklahoma, Wyoming, Delaware, and West Virginia. Repair advocates hope a win in Iowa -- the second-highest-grossing state in the US for agricultural products, behind California -- will help further legislative and broader efforts to make phones, cars, and other devices more repairable. "This isn't just a blue state thing; this isn't just a Colorado activist thing," says Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability for the right-to-repair advocate arm of iFixit. "Its real. Farmers have trouble repairing their equipment and want change." Farmers and their tractors have long been a focal point of the right-to-repair movement, the ever-growing global effort to let product owners fix their own devices and equipment without manufacturer approval. Farmers who use tractors to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops often need to repair their equipment while they work. Waiting for manufacturer approval to get something fixed, or taking the time to bring the equipment to an approved dealership, can cause delays, frustration, and missed opportunities to harvest crops. The most prominent opposition to the Iowa bill is tractor manufacturer John Deere. |
| Rep. Ezell hosts roundtable to talk tax provisions with Coast business owners | |
 | Congressman Mike Ezell held a roundtable Thursday morning to brief local business owners on President Donald Trump's budget bill, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill." Overtime pay and business expenses were at the center of discussion. Under the new law, overtime pay for hourly workers is tax-free. Ezell called it the most important piece of the legislation. "You're going to be spending money, earning more money, you're going to have more money in your pocket," Ezell said. "It's going to go a long way for all the working men and women of this country." The bill also allows business owners a 100 percent write-off on certain expenses. "No taxes on that is going to be a game changer," Ezell said. "It might help you be able to buy a house. There's so many good things going on that's coming out of this that are permanent." |
| In a polarized Capitol, Katie Britt works to play dealmaker | |
 | Two years ago, Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama accepted what is often called the worst assignment in politics -- rebutting the president's State of the Union address. The televised response, broadcast live from Britt's tidy kitchen in Montgomery, was the Alabama freshman's introduction to a national audience, and what many viewers saw was an over-the-top firebrand, parodied as a "scary mom" by actress Scarlett Johansson on Saturday Night Live. "The American dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families," Britt said in the speech. Standing in as her party's pick to rebut the president, ahead of his reelection bid no less, is a daunting task for any up-and-coming politician, but even some Republicans described Britt's performance with words like baffling and bizarre. Colleagues say this initial caricature of Britt as a hyper-partisan MAGA mom is simply untrue. In the Senate, Britt has been building a different reputation -- as a bipartisan dealmaker. Now Britt is helping negotiate changes to how immigration agents operate after the deadly shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis as Democrats refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security without reforms. The department has now been shut down for more than 10 days. And at a time of deep polarization, this moment is testing how far Britt, and other lawmakers, are willing to go to tackle knotty policy problems captivating national attention. |
| Hill added $34 billion in unrequested defense program funds | |
 | Congress added nearly $34 billion above the president's fiscal 2026 defense request for more than 1,000 research and procurement programs favored by lawmakers but not necessarily by the military, according to a new report. The $33.97 billion in a fiscal 2026 omnibus spending law is a dramatic surge in appropriations for what are known as program increases in the defense budget, according to the report and database, which are due out Thursday from Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group that monitors federal spending. By comparison, the fiscal 2024 and 2025 totals for such programs were lower -- at $21 billion and $14.95 billion, respectively. Congress has a duty to shape, not just rubber stamp, budget requests. But the cost of the additions is mounting each year, while no audits have assessed how many of them have yielded useful weapons. Moreover, the process of choosing the projects is inscrutable to the press and public, while the names of the projects' proponents are mostly undeclared. And the spending regularly goes to entities that have bankrolled congressional campaigns, raising ethical questions, critics say. Most of the program increases listed in the omnibus's Defense joint explanatory statement are not by themselves that expensive in the context of the nearly $839 billion Defense portion of that bill. But with roughly 1,000 such increases each year, even relatively modest funding boosts add up to substantial sums. |
| GOP senators warn Justice Department to release all Epstein files mentioning Trump | |
 | Republican senators are putting pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that mention President Trump's name, warning the issue won't go away until there is full transparency. GOP senators are urging the Justice Department to fully comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the wake of media reports that the department hasn't released records detailing claims a woman made in 2019 against both Epstein and Trump, that related to an incident from the 1980s. Republicans are on the defensive as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is vowing that Democrats will use every tactic at their disposal to force the release of the missing records. Republican senators want the Justice Department to get ahead of the issue by releasing any records mentioning Trump that officials may have withheld due to their sensitive or unverified nature. "Release the documents. Redact the names of the victims. Don't release photographs, naked or otherwise, of minors. Release the documents. This is not going to go away until there is full disclosure," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Judiciary Committee. Asked about the whether the administration should hold back unverified allegations a woman made against Trump in several interviews with the FBI, Kennedy replied: "I don't know how else to say it: Release the documents." |
| Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency | |
 | Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting. President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November's midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump's promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump's plans. The idea of claiming emergency executive powers based on allegations of foreign interference attaches new significance to the administration's actions to reinvestigate the 2020 election. Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leading a review of election security that officials said focuses on foreign influence. A 2021 intelligence review concluded that China considered efforts to influence the election but did not go through with them. Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said there is no national emergency. "We've been raising the alarm for weeks about President Trump's attacks on our elections and now we're seeing reports that outline how they may be planning to do it," Warner said in a statement in response to this article. |
| Acting head of the nation's cyber agency reassigned amid rising congressional scrutiny | |
 | The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is shaking up its leadership following months of instability. Madhu Gottumukkala, the former acting director, is taking on a new role as DHS's director of strategic implementation, according to a Department of Homeland Security official. He was appointed deputy director of the agency by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem last spring. Nick Anderson, the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, will step in as CISA's acting director while the agency waits for a Senate-confirmed director, the official added. In a statement, the DHS official told POLITICO that Gottumukkala "has done a remarkable job in a thankless task of helping reform CISA back to its core statutory mission." The news comes as congressional scrutiny over Gottumukkala's leadership at the agency has grown louder in recent weeks. At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing last month, ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) grilled Gottumukkala on POLITICO reporting that he had failed a counterintelligence polygraph last summer, which resulted in six career CISA staffers being placed on leave. DHS later dismissed the polygraph as "unsanctioned" and accused staff of "misleading" Gottumukkala about the need for the test. In a separate hearing this month, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who oversees CISA's budget for the House Appropriations Committee, chided Gottumukkala about why he had not submitted an agency reorganization plan he said CISA owed him ahead of this month's DHS shutdown. |
| Government Agencies Raise Alarm About Use of Elon Musk's Grok Chatbot | |
 | Officials at multiple federal agencies have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of Elon Musk's xAI artificial-intelligence tools in recent months, highlighting continuing disagreements within the U.S. government about which AI models to deploy, according to people familiar with the matter. The warnings preceded the Pentagon's decision this week to put xAI at the center of some of the nation's most sensitive and secretive operations by agreeing to allow its chatbot Grok to be used in classified settings. The Pentagon has given one of xAI's rivals, Anthropic, a Friday deadline to agree to looser rules on its use by the U.S. military. Anthropic was the only developer approved for classified use before the deal between xAI and the military. Throughout the government, agencies are racing to deploy AI for a host of purposes but the debate over which models to use has become increasingly political. Senior U.S. officials including at the White House view Anthropic's outspoken stances on safety and ties to big Democratic donors as potentially making the company too "woke" to be a reliable provider, people familiar with the matter said. The looser controls on Grok, and Musk's absolutist stance on free speech, have made it a more attractive choice to the Pentagon. Other officials have questioned whether Grok's looser controls present risks. |
| A new car, home feel out of reach for middle-class Americans, poll finds | |
| Health care, new cars and new homes feel unaffordable to most Americans, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll shows. Most Americans say that they can afford basic necessities like their current housing costs, groceries, utilities and gasoline. But large numbers across income levels also say larger expenses and the cost of things associated with an enjoyable life -- including taking a weeklong vacation -- are out of reach. Overall, 53 percent of adults say they have just enough money to maintain their standard of living, nearly identical to a year ago, while roughly half, or more, say that discretionary spending on going out to dinner, vacations and new cars is unaffordable. The findings, based on a survey of more than 2,500 Americans between Feb. 12 and 17, show why so many Americans -- and politicians -- cite affordability as a top concern, in spite of a booming stock market and solid consumer spending. Inflation, which has fallen significantly below scorching post-pandemic levels, continues to weigh on households, putting some expenses that many Americans associate with a good standard of living firmly out of reach, even for higher earners. Although gas prices fell in 2025, housing, health care, food and new car prices were stubbornly high. Meanwhile, affordability has emerged as a major theme in the midterms elections. |
| U.S. Mortgage Rates Fall Below 6% for First Time in Years | |
 | Mortgage rates have fallen below 6 percent for the first time in more than three years, offering a glimmer of hope that a frozen housing market may be set to thaw. The average 30-year mortgage rate in the United States fell to 5.98 percent, the mortgage-financing giant Freddie Mac said Thursday, down from nearly 7 percent around the same time last year. The last time the rate was below 6 percent was in September 2022. "That amounts to hundreds of dollars' reduction in mortgage payments," said Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a professor of real estate at Columbia Business School. Mortgage rates peaked at just under 7.8 percent in October 2023 and drifted down gradually, stifling the market for Americans struggling to afford to buy homes as well as for homeowners reluctant to sell. Housing is a crucial driver of the U.S. economy, serving as the most important asset for millions of American households. A mortgage rate at 6 percent or lower "gets people off the fence," said Danielle Hale, the chief economist at Realtor.com, a listings site. But she added that there was no particular marker that would suddenly activate the housing market. "It's not a light switch," she said. "I'd say it's more of a dimmer switch." Housing has become so expensive that a majority of Americans feel it is out of reach, a recent New York Times/Siena poll found. |
| American sympathy shifts toward Palestinians and away from Israelis: Gallup poll | |
 | American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis. That shift accelerated during the war in Gaza. Three years ago, 54% of Americans sympathized more with the Israelis, compared to 31% for the Palestinians. Now, their support is about evenly balanced, with 41% saying their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians, and only 36% saying the same about the Israelis. The numbers reflect how support for Israel has become deeply contentious in the U.S., with profound implications for American politics and foreign policy. The changing sentiment has been largely driven by Democrats, who are now much more likely to sympathize with Palestinians. U.S. assistance to Israel has been a major dividing line in the party's primaries this year. Gallup's data indicates that the shift was already happening before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, then increased during Israel's subsequent military operations in Gaza. The polling has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning sentiment toward Israelis and Palestinians are roughly even. "It's the first time they have reached parity, which is really quite striking," said Benedict Vigers, a senior global news writer at Gallup. "In not many years, that very significant gap in public opinion has now completely closed." |
| IHL funding package poses major capital dollars for MSU, MUW | |
| Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women could see significant funding increases for capital projects and programs under a Senate-approved higher education package now awaiting House action. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning package, which includes several bills outlining funding for the state's eight public universities, totals more than $4.2 billion. While the package has received approval by the Senate, the funding is still subject to change as it awaits House approval and Gov. Tate Reeves' signature. Sid Salter, vice president of strategic communications and director of public affairs at MSU, declined to comment on funding specifics, pending House approval. "We are advocating and communicating with all our legislators in both houses ... about our needs and investments and we appreciate their consideration as those discussions continue," he wrote in a text to The Dispatch on Thursday. Tyler Wheat, communications director for the university, also declined to comment on the proposed funding for capital projects. "The university is aware of the bills under consideration by the Mississippi Legislature," he wrote in an email to The Dispatch. "While the bills remain pending, the university will continue to monitor developments and respect the legislative process." The Senate also approved Senate Bill 3063 on Tuesday, which allocates about $314 million to the state's 15 community and junior colleges, with $233.3 million from the general fund and $80.8 million from special sources, including $64.8 million from the Education Enhancement Fund. |
| Partial shutdown impacting UMMC cyberattack response | |
 | U.S. Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said Mississippians will feel the impact of the ongoing partial government shutdown until lawmakers pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With the partial shutdown in its third week, Guest said lawmakers' inability to pass a bill is impacting Mississippians, as well as the cyberattack that affected the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) on February 19, 2026. UMMC can reach out for help from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). However, the agency is limited because its budget falls under DHS. The sticking point in Congress looms over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms. Guest said the federal government is in the process of working with UMMC. "There are some resources that are available through CISA even during the shutdown, but they don't have access to the full of array of resources that they would if the government was open," he said. |
| UMMC ransomware attack: Expert warns medical records are a top target for hackers | |
| One week after a ransomware attack hit the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the hospital continues to direct patients to social media updates for information. A cybersecurity expert says the slow response is by design. The Solutions Team, a firm that supports thousands of healthcare offices, doesn't have UMMC as a client. However, CEO Todd Gooden said the aftermath of a ransomware attack must be methodical and conducted in layers. "As frustrating as it is, as a patient -- or you and I are patients there -- we really don't want them to come back online until they're ready to come back online," Gooden said. "They have to almost have the attitude of we can't trust anything." Gooden said ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations are not isolated incidents, and patients are not always notified when a breach occurs. "Very often, people don't know that their healthcare organization has been compromised. And a good healthcare organization should, under federal regulations, notify you and make it public. But, depending on the size of the breach, they're not always required to let you know that there's been a compromise," Gooden said. He said healthcare records carry significant value compared to other personal data. Gooden said artificial intelligence is making it easier for bad actors to find vulnerabilities and advised all consumers, not just UMMC patients, to take protective steps now. |
| Alabama House passes bill creating law enforcement family scholarship program | |
| The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill that would create a scholarship for dependents of law enforcement officers. HB 98, sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, creates the Alabama Law Enforcement Officers' Family Scholarship Program. The scholarship can be used by families of law enforcement officers for public technical schools, colleges and universities. "Last year, it got up to the Senate and was the last bill so it did not get voted on, but this is a part of the public safety package of the governor and speaker from last year," Treadaway said on the House Floor. Currently, the state offers scholarships to families of officers who have been killed or totally disabled in the line of duty. This legislation would extend the scholarship to spouses and children of law enforcement officers who have worked seven years at one Alabama law enforcement agency or 12 continuous years at multiple agencies. The bill passed 99-0 with minimal debate or discussion. Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, spoke in support of the bill. The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) would administer the scholarship and the funding would be capped at $3,000 per academic period. |
| Proposed constitutional amendment aims to abolish Louisiana Board of Regents | |
| A Louisiana bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide whether to abolish the Board of Regents. House Bill 391 was authored by State Rep. Dixon McMakin (R-Baton Rouge). If lawmakers pass the bill during the regular legislative session, then the constitutional amendment would go to the voters for the Nov. 3 election. The ballot measure would read: "Do you support an amendment to abolish the Board of Regents?" If approved by the voters, the abolishment of the board would be effective Jan. 1, 2028. The state agency is tasked with overseeing all public higher education in the state, including the Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System, Louisiana State University System, Southern University System and University of Louisiana System. The legislative session begins on March 9. |
| LSU board meets Friday, will consider requiring standardized test scores from would-be students | |
| LSU's Board of Supervisors on Friday will consider whether the state's flagship university will require most incoming freshmen to submit standardized test scores starting in summer 2027. The move comes five years after the Board of Supervisors said would-be students could apply without test scores. Under the proposal, students with a high school GPA below 3.5 would have to submit test scores. By summer 2028, all applicants would need to submit scores regardless of GPA. LSU officials say they have found that students who applied without test scores had lower retention rates and GPAs. Students who applied without test scores had first-term GPAs that were 0.29 points lower on average. Half of the schools in the SEC now require test scores for some or all students. LSU officials say the change will help the school align with other universities and support student success. |
| Online sports bets may be taking toll on Tennessee's Hope lottery scholarships | |
| A memo from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission shows what lawmakers call an emerging imbalance: sports betting revenues are soaring, while traditional lottery ticket sales, the foundation of Tennessee's education scholarships, are declining. For years, the Tennessee Lottery has been more than a game of chance; it's been a lifeline. A promise that a simple ticket could help a young person step onto a college campus for the very first time. Since 2004, the lottery has funded Hope Scholarships and other education programs supporting nearly 170,000 students every year. But now, a different kind of wager is changing the landscape. In an interview with Alex Coleman on WREG's "3 at 3" Rep. Mark White of Memphis said it's a trend lawmakers in Nashville can't ignore. According to White, the shift isn't complicated, just modern. "More people are doing sports betting, which is online, than going into, say, the 7-Eleven and buying a lottery ticket. So those proceeds are going down," said White. |
| Florida bill could allow college, university staff to carry guns on campus | |
| Faculty at Florida's colleges and universities may soon be able to carry guns on campus as part of state lawmakers' planned expansion of the school guardian program. Lawmakers first created the program after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in which a gunman killed 17 people, including students and faculty. Under the program, select staff or an employee hired for security can be trained to carry weapons for school defense. State lawmakers this year are moving forward legislation to expand that program to colleges. The measure is in response to the April 2025 shooting at Florida State University that left two people dead. Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Escambia County, was a student at Florida State University during the shooting. As the shooting unfolded, texts came into Salzman's phone from classmates sharing their hiding locations. "The question was, what are we going to do, what's next?" Salzman said. "How many times is this going to happen before we make it a safer place?" Salzman is sponsoring the House legislation, which she said gives higher education institutions more tools to prevent danger. The Florida House passed the legislation Wednesday. The Senate's version of the bill, which has small differences,is ready for a final vote. Florida's colleges and universities would not be required to participate in the program. The president of a university or college would be able to appoint the school guardians. |
| Hopes pinned on Senate to kill proposed 'barrier' to free college for older Kentuckians | |
| A provision that opponents say would discourage older Kentuckians from taking free college classes was approved by the Republican-controlled House Wednesday --- even as 17 Republicans joined 19 Democrats in voting no. House Bill 497 would require Kentuckians who are 65 and older to file the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) to continue to qualify for a tuition waiver that the legislature created in 1976 to promote lifelong learning. Rep. Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, said the FAFSA requirement would be a barrier to seniors while serving no useful purpose. She urged House members "to show your support for seniors. It's important for our seniors to know that they don't just have one advocate and friend on this House floor." After the vote, Willner said she was encouraged by the bipartisan support in a chamber that mostly splits along party lines. "I'm hopeful that we can work with the Senate to preserve the barrier-free Donovan Scholars program that has served Kentuckians so well for the past 50 years." The new requirement is part of a larger bill sponsored by Republican Rep. James Tipton, chair of the House Standing Committee on Postsecondary Education. Its goal is to partially relieve public universities and colleges of unfunded mandates. |
| Texas Tech regents unexpectedly take no public action on what can be taught on race, gender | |
| Six weeks after the spring semester began, the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents met Thursday but did not publicly answer a central question facing professors: What, exactly, are they allowed to teach about race, gender and sexuality? The new chancellor, Brandon Creighton, upended longstanding academic norms late last year when he directed faculty to recognize there are only two sexes, male and female; barred them from promoting the idea that individuals are inherently racist or sexist; and required regents' approval of flagged course content. Since then, courses were canceled, readings removed or shortened and instructors required to sign statements agreeing not to teach certain material unless regents approve it. Texas Tech University officials, who have declined to say how many courses were affected by Creighton's directive, previously said regents would consider curriculum recommendations at the Feb. 26 meeting and make final decisions on what could be taught. Meeting in Dallas, roughly 350 miles away at a Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campus, regents spent much of the morning hearing campus updates and recognitions. |
| UNC board approves contested academic freedom definition | |
| The University of North Carolina's board of governors unanimously approved a new -- and much-contested -- systemwide definition of academic freedom on Thursday. The change came amid protests from faculty and followed a series of high-profile news stories centered on the public system's operations. UNC's new policy defines academic freedom as "the foundational principle that protects the rights of all faculty to engage in teaching, research/creative activities, service, and scholarly inquiry without undue influence." But it also notes that "academic freedom is not absolute" and includes a number of examples of what is covered -- and not covered -- by the policy. UNC faculty, for example, are protected by academic freedom to teach and research "controversial or unpopular ideas related to the discipline or subject matter." But they are not protected if they teach content that "lacks pedagogical connection to the course, discipline, or subject matter." The definition UNC's board approved differed slightly from the one advanced by a committee in January. Andrew Tripp, UNC's general counsel, said during Thursday's meeting that the revisions came out of an effort to be more precise and to incorporate feedback received after the draft was circulated "to administrators, provosts, attorneys, and anyone in the wider world who cares to comment." |
| Trump Made Higher Ed A Target -- Now States Are Taking Aim At It | |
| A key feature of the second Trump administration has been a multi-front campaign to align the nation's colleges with the president's political agenda. It's a target-rich environment, with President Trump seeking to upend all types of college policies and procedures. Research funding has been threatened. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are routinely condemned. Accrediting agencies are under attack. College admissions are being subjected to more federal scrutiny. International students and workers are facing new hurdles. Free expression has come under fire, and several premier universities -- deemed by Trump to be "woke" sources of liberal indoctrination -- have been singled out for federal investigations. Now, the states are joining the action. Whether through legislative bills, executive orders from governors, or directives by institutional governing boards, conservative-leaning states are taking dead aim at many of the same targets the president has put front and center. From admissions to curriculum, accreditation to governance, faculty tenure to institutional governance, public universities are facing a wave of new mandates, restrictions, and financial controls. |
| At Annual ACE Meeting, a Call to Uphold Higher Ed's Mission | |
 | Higher education can't afford to back down and surrender its independence. That's the message American Council on Education president Ted Mitchell sent at the opening plenary of ACE's annual meeting Thursday morning, calling on college leaders to resist a "federal takeover" by the Trump administration. At last year's meeting, in the early days of the second Trump administration, Mitchell struck a fighting stance in his remarks, telling attendees, "We're under attack." Now that the extent of that attack has become clear -- if not entirely successful -- Mitchell argued that colleges must remain true to their mission, even under fire from a federal government willing to target those who don't fall in line with their political priorities. Mitchell offered his thoughts during the first part of a panel titled Truth, Trust, and Leadership: Higher Education's Inflection Point. That was followed by a conversation between former education secretary Arne Duncan and David Pressman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2022 to early 2025, when Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was further consolidating his power -- including by targeting higher education. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 4 State Set For Amegy Bank College Baseball Series | |
| Fourth-ranked Mississippi State ventures away from the friendly confines of Dudy Noble Field for the first time this season to take part in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. The Diamond Dawgs open things at Globe Life Field -- the home of the Texas Rangers -- on Friday against Arizona State at 11 a.m. The three-day event continues Saturday with a 3 p.m. matchup with Virginia Tech. and finishes with a showdown with No. 1 UCLA on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. All three games will be streamed via a FloCollege subscription. MSU last played in the event to open the 2021 season and went 2-1 with victories over then ninth-ranked Texas and No. 3 Texas Tech en route to the program's first national championship. The Bulldogs will send sophomore right-hander Ryan McPherson to the mound to start things off against the Sun Devils. McPherson has opened both of Mississippi State's series sweeps to begin the year and tops the team with 15 strikeouts and has only walked one in 10 innings while sporting a 1-0 record and a 2.70 earned run average. Arizona State is 8-1 on the year and coming off its first loss after splitting a midweek series at No. 13 Oklahoma. The Sooners walked off the Sun Devils scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory. |
| Arizona State Baseball Drops First Game of Season | |
| The magic has officially run out on the undefeated start for the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-1) on the 2026 campaign, as the Sun Devils fell to the #13 Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday evening in a tight 4-3 contest. This loss shouldn't spell concern for the ultimate direction fo the 2026 season, as Willie Bloomquist has seemingly assembled a team that is just as strong offensively compared to last year, while the pitching appears to be markedly better. Wyatt Halvorson was Arizona State's standout pitcher on Wednesday, as the reliever entered the game for starter Taylor Penn. Halvorson threw 42 pitches across 3.2 innings, striking out three batters and forcing five groundouts in the process. Auesten Roellig was the lone Sun Devil to select multiple hits during the course of this game, including a double. Roellig also recorded one putout and two assists from third base. Arizona State is set to travel to Globe Life Field over the weekend for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series - taking on ranked SEC opponents in Mississippi State on Friday, Tennessee on Saturday, and Texas A&M on Sunday. Mississippi State is one of the best teams in college baseball, as they entered the 2025 season ranked inside of the top 10 in the country. |
| New Era and adidas Expand NCAA Partnership, Providing On-Field Caps for More Baseball Programs in 2026 | |
| New Era, the international sports and lifestyle brand, and adidas are building on their successful NCAA baseball partnership and will now equip all adidas partner schools in the Power Four conferences with premium New Era on-field caps. This now-expanded collaboration brings together two leading performance brands to meet the headwear needs of 10 of the nation's leading baseball programs. Initially launched in Spring 2025 with the Texas A&M Aggies, Miami Hurricanes, and Arizona State Sun Devils, the partnership grows this season to also include the following programs: University of Louisville Cardinals, NC State University Wolfpack, University of Kansas Jayhawks, Texas Tech University Red Raiders, Indiana University Hoosiers, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers and Mississippi State University Bulldogs. As the on-field cap for each of these NCAA baseball teams, New Era will produce headwear for both athletes and fans, crafting designs in collaboration with adidas. "After last year's successful launch, we're excited to give more teams access to our premium, game-ready headwear," said Bruce Popko, Vice President of Global Licensing & Business Development at New Era. The collection will be available for purchase on neweracap.com starting Tuesday, March 3. |
| Mississippi State hosts Missouri following Barrett's 28-point performance | |
| Missouri takes on Mississippi State after T.O. Barrett scored 28 points in Missouri's 73-69 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Bulldogs have gone 8-6 in home games. Mississippi State is 6-8 in games decided by at least 10 points. The Tigers are 9-6 in SEC play. Missouri scores 80.0 points while outscoring opponents by 5.0 points per game. Mississippi State averages 78.2 points per game, 3.2 more points than the 75.0 Missouri gives up. Missouri averages 7.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 8.4 per game Mississippi State allows. The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. Missouri won 84-79 in the last matchup on Jan. 31. Mark Mitchell led Missouri with 19 points, and Jayden Epps led Mississippi State with 23 points. Josh Hubbard is shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging 21.6 points and 3.6 assists. Epps is averaging 11.5 points over the last 10 games. |
| Softball: No. 12 Bulldogs Continue Road Trip At Tiger Invitational | |
| No. 12 Mississippi State will make its first trip to McWhorter Stadium this weekend as the Bulldogs play at No. 25 Clemson's Tiger Invitational. The tournament is a true seeded, round-robin clash. The Bulldogs will play Wofford at 9 a.m. CT on Friday before meeting Georgia Southern and the host Tigers on Saturday. Results of the round robin will dictate who the Bulldogs meet on Sunday. Clemson will automatically be the top seed and play at 11:30 a.m. against the No. 2 seed. The bottom two teams will play at 9 a.m. Only games that Clemson plays in will be available on ACC Network Extra. This weekend will mark State's (15-1) first opportunity to face a fellow ranked team. The Bulldogs have 25 ranked wins over the last two seasons. The Bulldogs remain on the road next week with trips to Birmingham, Alabama, and Mobile, Alabama. State will play at UAB on Wednesday before traveling to South Alabama for the Jaguar Invitational on March 6-8. |
| No. 12 MSU gets road win over Georgia Tech in Tiger Invitational tuneup | |
| Mississippi State softball improved to 15-1 on the season with another road victory and another impressive performance at the plate. The Bulldogs stopped in Atlanta for a true road game at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, adding a midweek test on the way to Clemson, S.C., for the Tiger Invitational. They were able to set the pace offensively in a back-and-forth contest before taking control in the final inning of an 8-3 victory. Des Rivera, Nadia Barbary, Kiara Sells and Morgan Bernardini all registered home runs in a nine-hit team performance. In the circle, MSU starter Alyssa Faircloth remained unbeaten, picking up her sixth win of the season, and Peja Goold came in to record her second save. Faircloth tossed 5.1 innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out 11 of the 21 batters she faced. Goold allowed another run in the seventh, but by then the Bulldogs had a comfortable lead in the contest. The Bulldogs will have an early start on Friday as they begin round-robin play at Clemson. They'll take on Wofford at 9 a.m. to start the weekend, followed by a Saturday doubleheader against Georgia Southern and No. 25 Clemson. A fourth game is scheduled for Sunday, with opponent and time still to be decided. |
| Bill pushing for new multi-purpose JSU stadium dies | |
| A bill pushing for a new multi-purpose stadium for Jackson State University has died in committee. House Bill 117, introduced by Mississippi Representative Robert Johnson during the 2026 Legislative Session, died on Wednesday. The bill advocated for $40 million to be appropriated out of any money in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, which would have served as "seed money for planning, design, and initial building stages." A similar bill has been introduced in past legislative sessions for multiple years now. Rep. Johnson said in an interview in January that he would continue to push for a new stadium. He also said that he would consider legislation to secure funding for the current stadium, the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, to receive renovations, where JSU football has played their home games since 2011. |
| President Trump convening roundtable to discuss myriad issues facing college sports: Sources | |
| The fight over the future of college athletics is reaching its most prominent battlefield yet: the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump is convening next Friday a presidential roundtable of more than three-dozen dignitaries and sports celebrities to further explore solutions for the industry's ills. The invitee list is a who's who -- key political figures, prominent college sports stakeholders, television executives, former national title-winning football coaches, a sitting state governor, the NBA commissioner and, even, pro golfers such as Tiger Woods. Those with knowledge of the meeting spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Many of those involved only recently received invitations to join, and it is unclear if all of those invited -- as many as 40 -- will attend. Some are skeptical that the meeting will transpire as scheduled. White House meetings are always subject to delay or cancellation due to unexpected events warranting the president's attention. Amid the years-long congressional discourse over college sports legislation, the group -- dubbed the Saving College Sports Roundtable -- is expected to hold discussions over solutions to a once-amateur industry rapidly evolving into a more professionalized outfit. |
| NCAA football oversight committee proposing stiff penalties for violations of transfer portal window | |
| The NCAA football oversight committee is recommending emergency legislation to protect the transfer portal window by issuing penalties for schools and coaches who circumvent the rules. The committee on Wednesday proposed the legislation to penalize schools who add players who did not make public their interest in transferring during the January transfer portal window. The proposed legislation would become effective immediately if approved at the Division I cabinet meeting in April. Among the proposed penalties, the head coach who accepts a transfer who did not properly enter the January portal would be prohibited from all recruiting, on-field coaching and team meetings for six games. The school accepting the transfer would be fined 20% of its football budget. Also, the school would lose five roster spots for the following season, even if the coach who accepted the transfer is no longer employed. Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said it is important to enforce the transfer portal window rule. "Attempts to circumvent the transfer window process is an issue for the sport," Brooks said in a statement released by the NCAA. "We want to let everyone know that this is not going to be allowed, and the committee wants to protect the transfer window that has been established." |
| NCAA football panel proposes changes to targeting ejections | |
| Division I football rules makers have proposed a one-year trial rule allowing a player disqualified for targeting for the first time to play in his team's next game regardless of which half the penalty was assessed, the NCAA announced Thursday. Currently, players disqualified for targeting must sit out the rest of the game and, if the penalty occurs in the second half, sit out the first half of the next game. Under the Division I Football Rules Subcommittee's proposal, a player disqualified for targeting a second time during the season would sit out the first half of the next game. A third targeting ejection in the same season would cause the offending player to sit out the entire next game. Targeting is forcible contact with an opponent's head or neck area in which the offending player often uses the crown of his helmet to make contact or launches his body into the opposing player above the shoulders. Oversight committees for the Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision must approve proposals before they become official. Those committees meet next month. |
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