| Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
| Snow? Increasingly 'no,' according to new research | |
 | Faculty at Mississippi State University are continuing groundbreaking work at the intersection of mathematics, statistics and climate science with the publication of a new peer-reviewed study examining regional snow cover trends across the Northern Hemisphere. The results suggest shrinking snow coverage as well as seasonal shifts for when the wintry layer comes and goes. The study, "Regional Analysis of Snow Presence Trends in the Northern Hemisphere," was published in January in the Journal of Hydrometeorology, a leading publication of the American Meteorological Society. Led by Jonathan Woody, associate professor in MSU's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Jamie Dyer, dean of the College of Integrative Studies and professor of meteorology and climatology in the Department of Geosciences, the researchers examined satellite data to determine whether snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere is increasing or decreasing, and where those changes are occurring. After removing unreliable data, they found that significantly more areas are losing snow cover than gaining it. The research builds on the team's widely cited 2023 study that introduced a statistical framework for evaluating long-term snow cover trends. |
| Northern hemisphere snow cover is shrinking -- new analysis tracks how fast | |
| Faculty at Mississippi State University are continuing work at the intersection of mathematics, statistics, and climate science with the publication of a new study examining regional snow cover trends across the Northern Hemisphere. The results suggest shrinking snow coverage as well as seasonal shifts for when the wintry layer comes and goes. The study, "Regional Analysis of Snow Presence Trends in the Northern Hemisphere," was published in January in the Journal of Hydrometeorology. Led by Jonathan Woody, associate professor in MSU's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Jamie Dyer, dean of the College of Integrative Studies and professor of meteorology and climatology in the Department of Geosciences, the researchers examined satellite data to determine whether snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere is increasing or decreasing, and where those changes are occurring. After removing unreliable data, they found that significantly more areas are losing snow cover than gaining it. The 2026 research co-authors include JiaJie Kong of the University of California at Berkeley and Penelope Prochnow, a recent MSU graduate with a bachelor's degree in Data Science from MSU's Data Science Academic Institute who contributed substantially to the research and now works as a data scientist in Huntsville, Alabama. |
| Senate keeps college workforce development, financial literacy bills alive | |
| The Mississippi Senate Universities and Colleges Committee used strike-all amendments to House bills to keep workforce development and financial literacy efforts alive on Tuesday. To keep the Senate's UPSKILL bill, SB 2522, moving through the process, the committee adopted a strike-all amendment to HB 562 when passing the bill out of committee. HB 562 intiailly set up a program called Mississippi Career and Technical Education Employability (MissCATEE) program. Committee Chair State Senator Nicole Boyd (R) explained to the members that she believes the Senate's version of the bill is more efficient in achieving the same goal of aligning Career and Technical Education with post-secondary education. ... In other business, the Senate committee passed HB 1495, a companion bill to SB 2238, which would allow Mississippi State University to co-mingle funds with the Starkville Oktibbeha School District to build a high school on MSU property. Any shared faculty would have to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. |
| Residents, aldermen question lack of sewer in 1998 annexed territories | |
 | Frustration over the lack of sewer service in areas annexed into the city nearly three decades ago surfaced Tuesday during the Board of Aldermen's regular meeting at City Hall. Two residents addressed the board during the citizen comments period about the absence of sewer service along Henderson and Sand roads, a portion of the roughly 10 square miles annexed north and west of the city in 1998. When the city approved the 1998 annexation, the resolution stated sewer service would be extended to areas where it was "economically feasible" within five years. Spruill told The Dispatch the city has met its legal obligations under the annexation but has continued pursuing additional improvements. "We are not and have not been ignoring it," Spruill previously told The Dispatch. "We have not been able to ... be as quick with it because CDBG grants are sequential. You cannot have two of them at the same time." After work extending sewer service on Babylon Road was completed more than four years ago, the city applied for another CDBG but the application was rejected. Spruill said the city's latest application has been accepted and is awaiting final approval, though she did not know when the city would receive a decision. |
| General Atomics investing $25M to expand, automate production line | |
 | For the 13th time since its opening in 2005, defense technology company General Atomics is expanding its operations in Shannon with a $25 million investment. The facility in the Tupelo Industrial Park South is home to General Atomics' Electromagnetic Systems, which develops advanced product solutions for defense, government and national security customers. The expansion, which includes updating and expanding its production line with new, fully automated computer numerical control machines, will support the production of next-generation defense systems, including Bullseye, a long-range precision-guided strike missile. General Atomics said the project increases the company's production capacity and positions it for future competitive U.S. Department of Defense contracts. "Expanding our production capacity allows us to accelerate production of our advanced weapon systems," said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. "This investment strengthens our ability to deliver critical capabilities to rapidly support U.S. national defense priorities reliably and at scale." Since 2018, General Atomics has invested nearly $100 million in its operations in Shannon. |
| Vicksburg ranked No. 1 in Mississippi River projects per capita | |
| The Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership has announced that the March 2026 issue of Site Selection magazine has ranked Vicksburg No. 1 in projects per capita among communities along the entire U.S. Mississippi River corridor. The publication shows strong economic momentum along the corridor, with Vicksburg claiming the top position. The recognition comes as part of Site Selection's annual national rankings, widely regarded as "the industry scoreboard" for corporate facility investment. The rankings are based on new and expanded private-sector corporate facilities tracked by the proprietary Conway Projects Database. Austing Golding, president and CEO of Golding Barge Line and 2026 chairman of the Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Foundation, feels confident more success is on the horizon. "We are excited to see Vicksburg's collaborative and strategic efforts in economic development over the past several years reflected in the national economic development rankings," Golding said. "These results are a product of a deliberate, long-term partnership between the public and private sectors in our community. As president and CEO of a family-owned marine transportation business operating here, I am proud to call Vicksburg home and encourage other industries to take a serious look at the opportunities emerging in our market." |
| Mississippi revenues fall below estimates in February | |
| Mississippi revenue collections took a dip in February as collections for the month came in $65.3 million, or 13.25% below legislative estimates. However, the Legislative Budget Office on Wednesday said year-to-date state revenue collections with four months remaining in the current fiscal year remain $99.5 million, or 2.14% above estimates. The full year state revenue estimate is $7.552 billion. The February dip saw General Fund collections come in $55.7 million, or 11.53% below the actual collections for the same month in the prior fiscal year. Sales tax collections for the month of February were below the prior year by $8.6 million. Corporate income tax collections for the month of February were also below the prior year by $6 million. Individual income tax collections for the month were above the prior year by $12.6 million. Fiscal year-to-date total revenue collections through February 2026, eight months in, were $76.4 million, or 1.64% above the prior year's collections. Lawmakers are currently working to adopt appropriations bills and set the 2027 state budget. |
| 'It's incredibly disappointing.' Teacher pay raise bills die from politics in Legislature | |
| Raising teacher pay, which was originally described as a priority for both chambers of the Legislature, became a casualty of politics this week. Bills that would have increased teacher salaries died with a deadline at the Capitol on Tuesday, despite pleas from educators and advocates who have said for years that a teacher's salary in Mississippi is unsustainable. Mississippi teachers are, on average, the lowest paid in the country at $53,704. Starting teachers make a little over $42,000. The Legislature passed the last meaningful teacher pay raise in 2022, which educators told Mississippi Today was quickly eaten up by rising insurance premiums and inflation. In the years since, teachers say they've had to take second jobs and make tough financial decisions to live within their means. Both the Senate and House authored bills early in the session that would increase teacher pay. A Senate bill would've given educators a $2,000 increase, while the House proposed a $5,000 raise. But by the end of the day Tuesday, the deadline for committees to pass bills originating in the opposite chamber, lawmakers in both chambers ended up blaming the other for failing to advance each other's raises. |
| Sunday liquor sales bill stalls in Mississippi Senate committee | |
 | The Mississippi House bill that would allow stores in any city or county to sell hard liquor during certain hours on Sundays has been halted in the Mississippi Senate. The bill was sent to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration, but they passed over the bill. State Sen. Josh Harkins (R-District 20) said there wasn't enough support to pass the bill out of committee. The bill would have allowed alcohol to be sold between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Sundays, if an ordinance was passed by a city or county. Harkins said cities and counties that see a high volume in tourism on the weekends favored the bill. When the House passed the bill, State Rep. Shanda Yates (I-District 64) said it would have been another way for the state to make money. "I don't know if a lot more money. No, I don't think it's that much. I mean, it's one day. And, you know, I don't think that's going to change that much. I think it's just the availability of functioning businesses on the coast for tourism is a main part of the economy. I think that's what was taken under consideration," Harkins said. |
| PBM reform bill advances in Senate committee with rewritten language | |
| A Senate committee advanced a pharmacy benefit manager reform bill Tuesday, but passed it with a "strike-all" amendment, replacing the House bill's language entirely, as the debate between independent pharmacists and some business groups continued. Independent pharmacist Michael Jones, owner of Helping Hand Family Pharmacy, said the fight for PBM reform is entering its second year. Jones said independent pharmacies are being reimbursed below cost for medications by pharmacy benefit managers, putting their survival at risk. "It's not the fact that it's a private business venture and that we're holding our hands out to beg for more money every day. It's a simple fact of staying alive," Jones said. Jones said pharmacists came close to a resolution last year before the effort fell short. Sen. Jeremy England brought concerns from the business community before the Senate Public Health Committee, warning that passing the reform could be costly. "Senator, if you pass this PBM reform, it's going to cost us a ton of money," England said, relaying those concerns to the committee. England had asked the committee to pass the House bill without changes. The committee instead passed a strike-all amendment, moving the issue forward under entirely new language. |
| Currie revives prison health care bills set to die in Senate, vows to continue fight | |
| A legislative push to improve health care in Mississippi prisons -- which has attracted legal scrutiny and mounting allegations that prisoners are denied necessary treatment -- is still alive in the Legislature even after some lawmakers appeared ready to scuttle the effort. Rep. Becky Currie, the House Corrections chairwoman spearheading a package of reforms aimed at ensuring prisoners aren't denied care, used a legislative maneuver to keep the measures alive after Senate leaders prepared to kill them on Tuesday. Hours before a deadline for committees to pass general bills from the other chamber, Currie, a Republican from Brookhaven, changed the language in a Senate bill dealing with prisons and probation and inserted the language from her own proposals. That move was prompted by Senate Corrections Committee Vice Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, a Republican from Winona, saying she planned to kill almost all of Currie's bills without taking them up for a vote by Tuesday's deadline. Chassaniol is running the committee while Chairman Juan Barnett, a Democrat from Heidelberg, is out with an illness, and said she was honoring Barnett's wishes by only bringing two bills forward. "I just decided, what do we have to lose? They've killed the bills, we'll force them to have to do it again," Currie said. "I'm just continuing the fight." |
| Trump's Wish to Nationalize Elections Is a 'Terrible Idea,' Mississippi Elections Chief Says | |
| President Donald Trump's suggestion for nationalizing elections is a "terrible idea," Republican Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said at a Stennis Institute Press Forum on Monday. Watson, who oversees elections as secretary of state, explained his stance to Magnolia Tribune reporter Dan Tyson by citing the U.S. Constitution. "The Constitution is pretty clear on the delineation of the powers there," Watson said at a Monday press forum at Hal and Mal's in Jackson, Mississippi. "When you look at the elections clause or you look at the different types of federal legislation dealing with (Help America Vote Act of 2002), the National (Voter) Registration Act, et cetera -- all of those are focused on the states clearly running the elections." For years, Trump spread lies and conspiracy theories, claiming that he won the 2020 election by a "landslide" and has alleged the election was rife with voter fraud despite a lack of evidence. He repeated these claims during an appearance on former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's podcast on Feb. 2, where he suggested Republicans should move to nationalize elections. There is no evidence of Trump's fraud claims about the 2020 election. |
| Michael Watson says he won't seek third term as Secretary of State, pushes unfinished reforms | |
 | Secretary of State Michael Watson announced on Monday he will not seek a third term in 2027, closing a chapter on an office he has held since 2020 and signaling plans to pursue another statewide office. Speaking at the Stennis Institute Capitol Press Forum, Watson said he'll "still be on the ballot" next year but did not specify which office he plans to pursue. "We'll talk more about the future when that time comes," Watson said. A former state senator, Watson was first elected secretary of state in 2019 and won a second term in 2023. At the forum, he described election integrity and administrative modernization as defining priorities of his tenure. Watson cited voter roll maintenance efforts, the implementation of paper ballots in all 82 counties and new proof of citizenship requirements as key accomplishments. "We have really gotten to the point where we feel like we've done our duty, we've done our work at the Secretary of State's office," Watson said. "I can walk out of there and feel like I've left the place better than I found it." Watson also pointed to cross-state data sharing agreements and what he described as increased national attention to Mississippi's election and regulatory policies. Still, the future of one of Watson's top legislative priorities remains uncertain. |
| Farm Bill Markup Begins With SNAP, Tobacco and CRP | |
| The House Agriculture Committee began marking up the Farm Bill on Tuesday night during a nearly six-hour session that largely included opening statements from the 53 members of the committee, though lawmakers did get into some proposed changes in commodities and conservation. Leading into the markup of the "Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026," House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., released a list of more than 230 organizations backing the bill. Thompson's statement also included comments from farm organizations and related groups supporting the legislation. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said in her opening statement she opposed the bill because of what she described as "poison pills" and missed opportunities to work in a bipartisan manner. "To be fair, there are some bipartisan provisions in the bill, which I appreciate, as I led efforts on them," Craig noted. Republicans countered that the bill was bipartisan priorities across multiple titles in the bill. The House Agriculture Committee resumed debate early Wednesday morning, debating the potential of allowing people to buy rotisserie chickens or other hot-meal products with SNAP. |
| How one Republican could unleash Senate chaos over Kristi Noem | |
 | Sometimes, it only takes one influential lawmaker to massively slow the legislative gears in the United States Senate. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, made that fact clear on March 3 as he grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the agency's leadership. He said he'd asked her a month ago for more information about Operation Charlotte's Web, an immigration enforcement surge launched by DHS late last year in Charlotte that resulted in hundreds of arrests. But he didn't get them, he said. Until he does, the maverick Republican said he was immediately halting bloc nominations of President Donald Trump's appointees in the Senate. And if he doesn't get the responses he wants in another two weeks, he pledged to up the ante, holding up bill markups and meetings in the influential committees he sits on. "I will be doing none of the nominating and confirming and markups until such time as I get an answer to these critical questions," Tillis later said on the Senate floor. The threats were a reminder -- amid an escalating war in the Middle East and an ongoing shutdown of DHS -- of how even a little bit of GOP criticism of the Trump administration can go a long way, especially in the Senate. |
| John Cornyn, Ken Paxton advance to runoff to be Republican nominee for U.S. Senate | |
| Texas Republicans are in for another three months of mudslinging between Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn after the two bitter rivals advanced to a May 26 runoff in Tuesday's primary. The two rivals are neck-and-neck with much of the Election Day vote yet to be reported. The Associated Press declared before 10 p.m. that the two would make the runoff. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a second-term Houston congressman who entered the race in October, finished in a distant third. Hunt saw a deluge of spending against him from PACs affiliated with both Cornyn and Paxton's campaign in the final weeks of the race, as both campaigns sought to lock him out of the runoff and increase their own ballot share by diminishing his. Hunt had to give up his House seat in order to run for Senate, bringing this chapter of his political career to a close for now. While polling and operatives in both camps anticipated a Paxton-Cornyn runoff matchup, the narrow margin indicates that the level of spending and viciousness, already high on both accounts, will only increase. |
| 'MAGA is Trump': President fires back at right-wing mutiny over Iran | |
 | As President Donald Trump directs military strikes on Iran, he's also fighting online attacks at home from some of the loudest voices in his MAGA political movement. "This is Israel's war. This is not the United States' war," former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said Tuesday on his weekly political podcast. "No one should have to die for a foreign country," Megyn Kelly, another former Fox News host with a massive online following, said on her podcast Monday. Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh beseeched fellow conservatives on Monday to stop supporting Trump's military campaign. "I can't take the gaslighting, guys. I really can't," he wrote on X. MAGA critics of Trump's new military conflict say they're struggling to reconcile it with his "America First" principles and long record of criticizing costly and protracted American military interventions. The president has said operations against Iran could go on for four to five weeks, or longer. "I think to them it feels legitimately like a betrayal on a fundamental tenet of Trumpism," said Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. Trump has dismissed the idea that his critics could speak for the Make America Great Again Movement: "MAGA is Trump," he said in an interview with independent journalist Rachael Bade on Monday. Online infighting is common in political movements but Dallek said the degree of open dissent among conservatives over Iran suggested it could be a "breaking point" for some of Trump's most influential supporters. |
| Supply chain disruptions from the Iran war could raise prices for drugs, electronics and more | |
 | The Iran war has effectively halted oil tanker movement in the key Strait of Hormuz. But it's also disrupting the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East. Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely that there will be shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods. "This is really causing some major impacts within the global supply chain," said Patrick Penfield, professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University. "As this conflict keeps progressing, you'll start to see some shortages, you'll see some major price increases." A wide range of products are shipped through the Mideast region. Along with about 20% of the worlds oil that comes from the region, products made with natural gas such as petrochemical feedstock -- used to make plastic and rubber -- and nitrogen fertilizer come from the Middle East. Pharmaceuticals exported from India and semiconductors and batteries exported from Asia to the rest of the world are all shipped through the region and could face delays. |
| U.S. Sank Iranian Warship, Hegseth Says | |
 | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. can carry out its air campaign for as long as it wishes as he talked up America's successes in the conflict with Iran, saying an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. "Four days in, we have only just begun to fight," he said in a joint press conference with Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The conflict in the Middle East continued to escalate, with Iran targeting sites across the region and Israel shooting down a jet fighter over Tehran. Iran postponed plans to present the body of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for public viewing. A missile from Iran headed for southern Turkey was intercepted by NATO defenses, the Turkish government said. Caine said Iran has fired more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones over the course of the recent operation. Hegseth said the U.S. killed the head of an Iranian unit behind an alleged plot to assassinate President Trump. The State Department said it is lining up flights for citizens leaving the Mideast. Trump said on Truth Social that the flights will be free of charge. Six U.S. troops have been killed so far, and the Pentagon has identified four of them. More than 1,000 civilians have died in Iran, according to a rights group. |
| Renewable energy defies Trump's attacks, reaching a new record | |
 | U.S. utilities generated a record amount of energy from renewable sources last year, even as the Trump administration implemented a range of policies to stymie green energy. About 1,162 terawatt-hours of the country's electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2025, a 10% increase over the prior year, according to federal data released this week. That represents 26% of all U.S. electricity made -- enough to power about 108 million American homes for a year. Some months were even greener; in March, for example, renewables generated nearly 1 in 3 of the country's electrons. That stands in contrast to the Trump administration slashing incentives for wind and solar while gutting clean-air regulations in a bid to help fossil fuels. The economics of renewables have helped them generate a greater share of energy. "Renewables continue to grow, as much as headlines point to natural gas being king right now," said Patrick Finn, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie, an energy research company. "Even though there are plenty of hurdles for renewables coming out of D.C., we're coming out of four years where there weren't a lot of hurdles." Although it was a good year for renewables, the surge in energy demand from data centers, electric vehicles and industry also boosted power generated from fossil fuels. That includes a 13% increase in electricity generated from coal. The Trump administration has also supported fossil fuel production and use with grants and orders to delay plant closures. |
| GOP state lawmakers urge White House to halt efforts to block state AI laws | |
 | More than 50 Republican state lawmakers are calling on the White House to stop efforts to prevent the passage of state AI laws, as the Trump administration takes aim at a Utah measure. In a letter to President Trump on Tuesday, the lawmakers said they are "deeply concerned" by the push to pressure those in Utah and other states to abandon AI legislation. "We firmly believe state-led efforts are fully consistent with conservative principles and with your stated goals of promoting human flourishing while accelerating innovation," the legislators wrote. Their letter comes after the White House sent a letter to the Republican leading Utah's state Senate, saying they were "categorically opposed" to an AI bill and "view it as an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration's AI Agenda," according to Axios. The measure, which was put forward by another GOP lawmaker in the Beehive State, would require AI developers to create and publish public safety and child protection plans. The Trump administration has previously sought to block state artificial intelligence laws, arguing that such measures would create a patchwork of legislation that could slow innovation at a key moment as the U.S. seeks to compete with China. It has instead pushed for a federal AI framework, although efforts to develop legislation have been slow moving. |
| War and uncertainty cloud Trump's AI pledge rollout | |
 | President Donald Trump already faced a tough challenge in convincing American voters that he had a plan to shield them from the costs of powering the data center boom. Then the bombs began falling. The market jitters and fears of a wider conflict that followed Trump's attack on Iran are certain to overshadow Wednesday's White House signing ceremony with seven big tech companies, which are pledging to shoulder the costs of meeting artificial intelligence's growing thirst for electricity. And any long-term rise in U.S. natural gas prices -- driven by a surge in American fuel exports to replace Europe's interrupted supplies of Middle Eastern gas -- would threaten to increase the cost of electricity, complicating Trump's pledge to lower it. Republicans, for their part, largely dismissed energy cost concerns tied to fighting in Iran on Tuesday, highlighting a key divide with Democrats eager to make increased costs a midterm campaign issue. Even without the war, experts in the energy markets expressed doubt that the tech companies' promises can check fast-rising electricity prices. Six people familiar with the plan through conversations with industry and administration officials said it employs the White House bully pulpit to signal their preferred approach to tech companies and utility regulators, but is not enforceable from the federal level. One complication is that electricity supplies are mostly regulated at the state level and managed across regions, using market structures that vary dramatically in different parts of the country. |
| Clinton residents voice concerns over data center project | |
| People living in Clinton left a Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday with a list of unanswered questions about the development. "I really wanted to see if we can get more clarification from city officials on it," said Anna Hite, a Clinton resident. An announcement was made that an unknown company bought land on Industrial Drive to build the data center, and now residents are worried this may affect their livelihoods. "We're within 3 miles of this thing coming into our town, which could really impact our health, our services, and if that's the case, I don't understand what we're talking about," said Greg Draper, another resident. Mayor Will Purdie addressed the topic for about five minutes during the board meeting. Purdie said he understands everyone's concerns based on negative impacts data centers have had on other communities across the country. "In some other places, there are concerns about noise, air quality, energy consumption and things like that," Hite said. But Purdie said with this development, they don't expect to see those issues. Though Purdie said the plans are not set in stone, residents were not able to ask questions during Tuesday's meeting, leaving them confused about the future of their city. |
| Delta State to train agricultural pilots with $1.75 million in federal funding | |
| Delta State University will use $1.75 million in federal funding to help train future agricultural pilots. Officials announced that the funding was made available by the FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump in February. It will go toward enhancing Delta State's Agricultural Aviation Operations Career Pathway, which was created to address a growing national shortage of qualified agricultural pilots and to support the long-term needs of the agricultural industry. "This investment reinforces Delta State University's commitment to workforce education that directly serves Mississippi's economy," Delta State University President Dr. Daniel Ennis said. "The Agricultural Aviation Operations Career Pathway is a powerful example of how targeted federal support can create real opportunities for students while addressing critical workforce shortages. We are grateful to Senator Hyde-Smith for her continued advocacy on behalf of Delta State and higher education across our state." "Mississippi is leading the way in agricultural aviation training, and this investment accelerates that momentum," AccelerateMS Executive Director Dr. Courtney Taylor said. |
| 'The Irish Goodbye': U. Of Mississippi Professor Debuts Her Book Of Micro-memoirs | |
 | Beth Ann Fennelly, distinguished professor of English at the University of Mississippi, launched her new book titled "The Irish Goodbye" at Off Square Books on Tuesday, Feb. 24. "The Irish Goodbye" marks her second autobiographical book. This release is written in the form of micro-memoirs, in which she explores aspects of her everyday life through short pieces of writing. After co-writing a novel with her husband, UM Associate Professor of Fiction Writing Tom Franklin, Fennelly stumbled upon the micro-memoir format while trying to conceptualize her own novel. "Every day I would go to my notebook and I'd try to wait for the novel to announce itself," Fennelly said. "While I did that, I killed time by writing down little memories or funny bits of overheard conversation in my notebook. I was beginning to feel really frustrated, because time was going by and I wasn't writing. One day, I just paged through my notebook, and I thought, 'This is not a novel, not poems that I recognize, not essays. I don't know what this is, but I'm having fun.'" |
| Construction progresses into second phase of Southern Miss pedestrian access project | |
 | Crews have started the next phase of the University of Southern Mississippi's Forrest Avenue Pedestrian and Library Plaza project. The $3 million effort kicked off in December 2023, starting with a roundabout to help with traffic around Cook Library. "There used to be a dead-end here, so it roundabouts and goes back out to that side," Michael McCullum, project coordinator, said. The goal is to improve pedestrian access and infrastructure between the Cook and McCain libraries. The project is being paid for through an 80-20 loan with the Mississippi Department of Transportation. McCullum told WDAM 7 that the university will pay about $600,000. "There's about a year and a half, 18 months, of paperwork, design work and approvals that happen prior to this," McCullum said. McCullum said the next part of the Forrest Avenue portion is a pedestrian walkway that will include new seating and lighting. Library Plaza is also taking shape in the space between the two libraries. Once construction is finished, it will be more of a green space where students can connect, as well as for campus events. |
| JSU prepares students for life after college with career expo | |
| Jackson State University is helping students get the best return on their college education by finding them employment. JSU hosted the 2026 Spring Career Expo on Feb. 26, at the Walter Payton Center. Over 300 students attended, giving them direct access to representatives from 77 private and public-sector employers. "Preparing students for life beyond graduation is a responsibility we take seriously at Jackson State University," said Interim President Denise Jones Gregory. "The Spring Career Expo strengthens the connection between classroom learning and meaningful employment by bringing our students face to face with opportunity." In the lead-up to the Spring Career Expo, employer partners were instrumental in preparing students. Representatives from Lockheed Martin, Cooperative Energy, Continental Tires, Regions Bank, Southern Company and Georgia Pacific participated in the Career Expo Prep Day to help students fine-tune their resumes and enhance their interview skills. |
| 'Game on': Hundreds convene in Knoxville as space race escalates | |
| University of Tennessee students are closing the gaps in a widespread space industry. Two hundred and fifty students from more than 25 schools across the nation gathered right in Knoxville, Tennessee during the weekend of Feb. 28 to discuss bringing the frontier of space closer to the grasp of aerospace undergraduates. The conference, put on entirely by students a part of the Student Space Technology Association, sought to connect the wide-ranging and disconnected space industry, provide students with vital networking opportunities, and empower them to pursue their careers. The headline sponsor of the event, Type One Ventures, is a venture capital firm focused on "investing in an interplanetary future." Ryan Kriser, a partner at the firm, explained why this moment for space is unique. "There's two structural shifts that make this moment different. First is cost curves, and second is revenue durability. Reusability didn't just reduce launch costs, it fundamentally altered capital markets and capital formation," Kriser said. "For instance, over the past decade, launch costs have decreased 90-100 times, and that has allowed entire businesses that were once thought impossible to become viable." |
| Uber vouchers for freshmen part of U. of Tennessee plan to cut cars | |
 | Uber drivers will be shuttling more University of Tennessee at Knoxville freshman around town as part of a new test partnership. The program is a major step toward administrators' goal of moving away from being a car-centered campus and showing new students they can leave their vehicles back home. Registration is open for up to 2,000 eligible students to receive 10 $10 ride vouchers for the spring semester. Eligible students must be enrolled as a first-year undergraduate, live in a dorm on campus and not have a parking permit. The vouchers can be used 24/7, as long as rides start in Knox County or are to and from McGhee Tyson Airport. One voucher can be redeemed per trip. Any charges more than $10, as well as driver tips, must be paid by students. Vouchers expire once the semester ends. The Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, along with the Center for Transportation Research, are treating the program as a research study and collecting information from students about their experiences using the rideshare. |
| UGA's historic Legion Pool demolition begins this week | |
 | The Friends of Legion Pool recently released what may be a final statement regarding the demolition of Legion Pool. It came just days after the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation announced the nearly century-old swimming pool was placed on its 10 Places in Peril in Georgia. The demolition of the pool built in 1936 is scheduled to begin on Thursday at its location off Lumpkin Street near Baxter Street on the University of Georgia campus, according to the statement. UGA has decided to demolish the pool and recreate the space as a venue for student events with sand volleyball courts. There was a public outcry by some to maintain the pool, including those members associated with Friends of Legion Pool. However, UGA has remained firm on its decision. In February, UGA announced plans had changed for the site to include terraced and hillside seating accommodating up to 1,100 seated and 3,500 standing attendees, and Wi-Fi to support a variety of events. UGA also reported that Gov. Brian Kemp signed the demolition order, and work is be completed by the fall. |
| Oklahoma legislature advances bill that would remove tenure at OU, public universities | |
| The Oklahoma legislature advanced a bill Tuesday that would remove the possibility of tenure for OU faculty, limit contract agreements to five years and require each state institute for higher education to submit yearly information regarding full- and part-time faculty. Senate Bill 1782, which passed in the state Education Committee Tuesday, would extend the tenure restrictions given to regional universities last month to OU. Executive Order 2026-07, passed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in early February, directs regional universities and community colleges to phase out lifetime tenure, shifting instead toward renewable contracts based on performance and student outcomes. The bill, authored by Sen. Randy Grellner (R-Cushing), states the Board of Regents would no longer have the authority to establish and maintain plans for tenure of employees hired Jan. 1, 2027, or after. The bill also prohibits contracts of any employee to exceed five years. OU's American Association of University Professors President Michael Givel wrote in an email to OU Daily Tuesday that eliminating tenure could set back the advancement of research and discourage scientific and creative findings for fear of political interference. Givel also wrote if faculty are no longer offered tenure in Oklahoma, they may be encouraged to seek employment at a university out of the state. |
| U. of Missouri microbiology professor launches GoFundMe for golf cart | |
 | A University of Missouri professor launched a GoFundMe to purchase a golf cart for his class. Jason Furrer, an associate teaching professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, launched the GoFundMe following a sharp enrollment increase in Microbiology for Nursing & Allied Health, one of Mizzou's pre-nursing courses. Previously, the class contained roughly 250 students. This spring, enrollment jumped to 375 students, Furrer said. The demand for the class outgrew the University of Missouri School of Medicine room that long-served the needs of the course, so it was moved across campus to the Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building. This room change created an issue for Furrer, who often brings a variety of materials to class. It used to be a short walk from his office. Now, he said he has to drag anything from 20 iPads, class materials, snacks, demonstration equipment, teaching models and teaching kits across campus. "I've done this trek since day one of classes this year," Furrer said. "I've been rained on, had to cover iPads from getting ruined and lost weight." Occasionally, he also brings Luna, his Great Pyrenees, who is known for making appearances across campus, sporting a pair of "doggles." |
| Medical Residency Application Rates Fell in States That Restricted Abortion | |
 | Application rates to medical residency programs fell on average in states that passed new abortion restrictions after the overturning of Roe v. Wade compared to states that didn't, a new scientific paper reveals. "This is true for all medical specialties, so it's not just women's health that's under threat," said Anisha Ganguly, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ganguly said the decrease is especially pronounced in primary care and emergency medicine. About half of medical residents go on to practice in the state where they receive their residency, she said. In June 2022, the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling. A peer-reviewed article published Monday in JAMA Network Open said 20 states passed new abortion restrictions or intensified existing ones from the time of that ruling to the start of the October 2022 residency application cycle. "There were many trigger laws in place," Ganguly said, referring to legislation that states passed ahead of the Dobbs decision that would automatically increase abortion restrictions if Roe fell. |
| How Kennedy Is Trying to Revamp Medical School | |
 | Under pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dozens of American medical schools have agreed to rework their curriculums to teach more about nutrition, according to federal officials, records and interviews with medical leaders. Mr. Kennedy, who has made healthy eating a centerpiece of his campaign to address what he calls an epidemic of chronic disease, has spent months pressuring medical schools to adopt his ideas, threatening funding cuts and promising public recognition. He is expected to announce this week that many schools are embracing his recommendations -- a development that has disturbed some academic and medical leaders who had already been alarmed by the Trump administration's quest to remake higher education. Mr. Kennedy's effort draws on decades of debate about how much America's doctors should know about nutrition. Many experts in the field have long argued that schools do not teach enough on the topic. But in shaping the new curriculum, the secretary has also tapped into voices and ideas from the Make America Healthy Again movement that sometimes deviate from established science. Dr. Daniel Jones, a former University of Mississippi chancellor who also led the medical school there, and generally supports the idea of additional teaching about nutrition, described federal pressure about curriculum as "a dangerous thing to education broadly, and particularly medical education." |
| Lawmakers and Universities Push Back on Loan Caps | |
| Hundreds of lawmakers have joined dozens of university leaders and academic trade associations in urging the Department of Education to amend its new regulations on federal student loans, arguing the current rule will deter students from pursuing high-demand degree programs and thus exacerbate dire health-care workforce shortages. The 240-page regulation, first released in January, narrowly interprets the new loan limits established by Congress's One Big Beautiful Bill Act by designating only a select group of 11 postbaccalaureate degree programs "professional." Students enrolled in those programs will be allowed to borrow up to $50,000 per year, the regulations say. The other programs will be labeled "graduate," meaning borrowers can borrow only half that amount from the government. But critics want the department to expand its definition of professional, adding to the list other high-cost, high-demand medical professions such as physician assistantship, nurse anesthesiology, speech pathology and occupational therapy. Some lobbying groups -- including the American Council on Education -- hope to see the definition expand even further and include licensed professions such as social work, education and accounting. |
| Robert De Niro delivers Lincoln's civility warning at a Carnegie Hall benefit | |
| Robert De Niro walked onto Carnegie Hall's stage Tuesday night, unannounced and to loud applause. He didn't make any speeches, at least none of his own. After a career defined by playing gangsters, an avenging taxi driver and a paranoid prize fighter, the Oscar-winning actor recited a call for civility, as first spoken by Abraham Lincoln. "Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense," De Niro said in an even voice, halting at first, but becoming firmer as he became caught up in words Lincoln delivered in 1838, early in his public life. "Let those materials be molded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws." De Niro was a featured performer at the 39th annual benefit concert for the nonprofit cultural and educational organization Tibet House US. De Niro was reading excerpts from Lincoln's "Lyceum Address," a warning against mob violence that Lincoln delivered to a young man's debating society in Springfield, Illinois. Philip Glass, a co-director of Tuesday night's benefit, used the address as inspiration for his Symphony No. 15, "Lincoln." |
| Deborah Hodges: The W ranks as a national model for leadership and workforce impact | |
| Deborah Hodges, MUW Class of 1990 and chair of the school's Foundation Board of Directors, writes in The Dispatch: On March 5, campuses across the country will observe National Women's Colleges & Universities Day. The W is one of 32 members of the Women's College Coalition. For more than 250 years, women's colleges, including The W -- the nation's first public institution of higher learning for women -- have expanded access and opportunity. Despite representing a small share of national enrollment, women's colleges produce a disproportionate share of women leaders in business, government, health care and nonprofit sectors. Research shows that women-centered institutions increase STEM participation and strengthen leadership confidence. Repeatedly, The W has ranked high in national assessments focused on return on investment, social mobility, workforce outcomes and student success. These are not prestige lists -- they measure performances -- and the data point to something steady happening in Columbus. ... Mississippi's workforce shortages in health care and education are measurable. The W's graduates help close those gaps, strengthen economic mobility and remain in the state's workforce. Preparing women for high-demand professions and leadership roles is not a niche mission. It is workforce strategy! |
| Celebrating Scouting's summit with the latest group of youth to soar with the Eagle rank | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: I had the high privilege Feb. 27 to speak to an outstanding group of Scouts and Scouters gathered at the historic Bruce Forestry Museum housed in the former company store of the old E.L. Bruce Company on the town square here as part of Scouting's Natchez Trace Council annual awards dinner. In Bruce, my thoughts turned to my late friend and mentor, Gale Denley, who was also a Scout during his boyhood. Years ago, he developed Bruce's city slogan: "Where Money Grows on Trees." During the evening, 52 young people were recognized for earning the rank of Eagle Scout -- something I was fortunate to accomplish in 1972 at Troop 53 at the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. In a culture that moves faster every year, it's easy to overlook the old milestones that once shaped American youth. Today's teenagers navigate a noisy, digital landscape where social media often overwhelms service, and short‑term distraction competes with long‑term discipline. Yet there remains a group of young people who quietly commit themselves to something deeper: the path to the Eagle Scout rank. Even now, especially now -- Eagle Scouts are special. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 4 MSU Falls 7-6 In Top 10 Road Battle | |
| No. 4 Mississippi State rallied but ultimately fell just short in a top-10 showdown Tuesday night, as No. 10 Southern Miss held off the Bulldogs 7–6 at Pete Taylor Park. The Diamond Dawgs erased an early 4-0 deficit and briefly seized momentum late, but the Golden Eagles answered with a decisive seventh inning to hand MSU only its second loss of the season. Southern Miss (11-1) struck quickly against State starter Brendan Sweeney with a three-run homer Dray Barrett in the first inning. The Golden Eagles tacked on another run in the second frame on a fielding error and extended their advantage to 5-0 when Seth Smith connected on a solo shot in the fourth. The Bulldogs (11-2) began chipping away in the fifth. Noah Sullivan provided a two-run double to right followed by an RBI single to right by Reed Stallman. State took the lead with three more runs in the top of the seventh. Stallman drove in two more on a single to left followed by an Ryder Woodson RBI single up the middle to go up 6-5. The Golden Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning by scoring two runs on consecutive third strikes by Maddox Miller that got away at the plate. Mississippi State threatened late but couldn't break through against Camden Clark, who worked the ninth inning to record his fourth save. The Bulldogs will look to bounce back this weekend as they welcome Lipscomb to Starkville for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. |
| Madison Francis earns SEC All-Defense and All-Freshman selections | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball freshman Madison Francis picked up two conference postseason honors on Tuesday, marking the end of a memorable regular-season campaign for the forward. She was selected to the SEC All-Defense and All-Freshman teams after a breakout season in which she emerged as one of the premier defensive players in the country. Francis is the only underclassman to be named to the SEC All-Defense team, and the first freshman since 2020 to make the cut. Francis, who has also been recognized on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year midseason watchlist, averaged 13.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.4 assists per game. Her blocks per game average is the best in the SEC, and her 84 total blocks are most in the nation. Francis and the Bulldogs will begin their postseason at the SEC Tournament, taking on Florida in the first round in Greenville, South Carolina today at 12:30 p.m. The game will air on SEC Network. |
| Softball: Bulldogs Continue Road Swing At UAB Wednesday | |
| No. 12/17 Mississippi State will play at UAB on Wednesday night with a 5 p.m. CT first pitch set to air on ESPN+. The Bulldogs sit at 18-2, their second-best 20-game start in program history behind only a 19-1 mark in 2014. This week also saw State claim its highest ranking ever in yet another poll as the Bulldogs are No. 13 in D1Softball.com's rankings. MSU remains No. 12 in the NFCA poll, which is its best mark in that poll as well. State and UAB have met five times in the past two seasons, with the Bulldogs winning all five of those games by a combined score of 51-7. Three of those games have ended in a run-rule as MSU boasts 37 run-rule victories since the start of the 2024 season. State has been led this season by phenomenal pitching performances, allowing more than three runs just once all year in an 8-4 win against Memphis. MSU has only trailed by more than one run at one point this season, and that came in a 3-0 loss at No. 25 Clemson last Saturday. Mississippi State will conclude its longest road stretch of the season when the Bulldogs head to Mobile, Alabama, to compete in the Jaguar Classic this weekend. State will square off against New Mexico, Samford and South Alabama, playing two games on both Friday and Saturday and one game on Sunday. |
| Lebby adds veteran coach Philip Montgomery to staff | |
| Mississippi State head football coach Jeff Lebby is making another staff move as spring football approaches, adding Philip Montgomery to the mix as associate head coach for offense and wide receivers coach. The news was first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel. Montgomery replaces former MSU wide receiver Chad Bumphis as position coach, and fills a vacant role left by Bush Hamdan, who spent just nine weeks with the Bulldogs. Hamdan left MSU last month to accept the role of quarterbacks coach with the Miami Dolphins. Montgomery arrives with 23 years of coaching experience in college and professionally with the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL. He was most recently at Virginia Tech, where he was hired as the offensive coordinator for the 2025 season and served as interim head coach after the firing of Brent Pry in September. He is most known for his work as head coach at Tulsa from 2015 to 2022, where he compiled a 46-59 record with a 2-2 record in bowl games. |
| Mitch Barnhart retiring as Kentucky AD for new role at school | |
| Mitch Barnhart, the longest-serving athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, will retire in June and take on a new role with Kentucky, university president Eli Capilouto announced Tuesday. "Mitch Barnhart has led University of Kentucky athletics for nearly a quarter-century," Capilouto said in a statement released by the university. Capilouto said he had "a profound mix of emotions" to announce Barnhart's retirement. "Mitch often speaks of the idea that our goal at UK is for student-athletes to place championship rings on their fingers and diplomas in their hands," Capilouto said. "Those aren't mere words. They are aspirations that he continually has helped our program, our people and our students meet." Barnhart, 66, was named Kentucky's 10th athletic director in 2002, succeeding Larry Ivy. Kentucky won six NCAA championships under Barnhart, including men's basketball in 2012. Barnhart previously served as athletic director at Oregon State from 1998 to 2002. Capilouto said Barnhart has agreed to "another new and exciting chapter" as the the first executive-in-residence of the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative. |
| NIL Tax-Exempt Laws Face Challenges From Fake NIL, Student Claims | |
| Mississippi may soon join Arkansas in exempting college athlete NIL from state income taxes, but these exemptions could face legal challenges by other college students who earn income and still must pay state income taxes. The Mississippi House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would amend state tax law to remove NIL compensation from an individual's gross income. The bill follows Arkansas last year approving similar legislation that went into effect for earnings as of Jan. 1, 2025. Similar legislation has appeared in a handful of other states, including Georgia, Illinois and South Carolina, with proposed schemes where athletes can deduct NIL earnings from gross income. It stands to reason other states will pursue and, in some cases, approve legislation that exempts NIL from gross income or permits deductions. Preferential tax treatment for athletes is not an NIL-centric concept. The U.S. Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act of 2016 exempts USOPC prize money from U.S. taxes if the athlete's annual income is lower than $1 million. But these NIL tax-friendly laws are likely to face legal challenges at some point. For starters, the difference between what NIL is supposed to mean and what it actually means could pose implementation problems that attract the notice of state tax officials. |
| Smash Sports pitches board members of Michigan, USC and others on CFB restructure: Sources | |
| University leaders and other people affiliated with several power conference schools gathered Tuesday in Dallas to discuss a plan to restructure major college football by pooling the media rights of all the current conferences. Smash Sports, a subsidiary of the private equity firm Smash Capital, has pitched its idea to executives, administrators and board members representing dozens of schools over the past two years. Tuesday's meeting was an effort to gather potential stakeholders from across the country to exchange ideas and confirm interest in the plan. The attendees included board members from 15 schools, including Michigan, Penn State, Maryland and USC from the Big Ten, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting. Board members were not acting as official representatives of their schools and attended in individual capacities, according to one of the people familiar with the meeting. Yahoo Sports reported that LSU president Wade Rousse and TCU president Daniel Pullin planned to attend the meeting. The Big Ten and SEC, the wealthiest and most powerful conferences in college sports, have shown no interest in the Smash plan or others like it. But the idea of pooling college football broadcast rights has gained traction in Washington with lawmakers as the NCAA and conference leaders have lobbied for a federal law to help them govern college sports. |
| With 100 days to go, World Cup faces new challenges with Iran war and Mexico violence | |
| With 100 days to go until the World Cup, the Iran war has added a new layer of complexity to the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. How the conflict will affect the world's most watched sporting event is the latest issue facing organizers already grappling with cartel violence in one of Mexico's host cities, scaled-back plans for fan festivals in the U.S. and criticism from fans against soaring ticket prices. Officials of the qualified teams are meeting with FIFA staff in Atlanta this week. The tournament kicks off on June 11 when Mexico plays South Africa in Mexico City. It will be the biggest World Cup ever with 48 participating teams, up from 32 at the previous tournament in Qatar. It's not unusual for international politics to overshadow a global sports event like the World Cup -- at least in the early stages before the soccer action takes over the headlines. In 2022, Qatar's treatment of migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ community drew headlines off the field. LGBTQ+ rights, the annexation of Crimea and the poisoning of a spy in Britain were in focus when Russia hosted the tournament in 2018. In Brazil in 2014 and South Africa in 2010 there were concerns about crime and security. The 2026 tournament looks set to kick off amid a backdrop of political tensions involving the U.S. and the participating nations. |
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