| Tuesday, June 1, 2021 |
| Freedom Project aims to teach young leaders in Mississippi | |
 | A summer program in Mississippi will teach middle school students about Freedom Summer of 1964, when civil rights workers came to the state to challenge segregation and register Black voters. The Meridian Freedom Project is sponsoring the program for sixth, seventh and eighth graders, with activities that started Friday and end July 2. The nonprofit organization opened in 2013 with a focus on empowering young people and developing leaders while exposing them to new experiences, the Meridian Star reported. "We want them to leave this program knowing they can become leaders," executive director Adrian Cross said. Students from Harvard University, Millsaps College and Meridian Community College will serve as interns during the program, she said. After classes end in Meridian, the sixth and seventh graders will travel to Alabama while the older students will travel to Jackson and Memphis, Cross said. The trips will focus on the civil rights movement. Students will then spend a week at Mississippi State University, to learn about the college experience. |
| Meet Bob Reese, volunteer cat rescuer | |
 | Most people will tell you that a cat has nine lives. Bob Reese of Cat Stuck Tree Rescue of Mississippi believes in doing what he can to ensure that adage is true. Reese, a resident of Starkville, travels within a driving radius of up to three hours to retrieve the forlorn felines who manage to get stuck in the tall trees of Mississippi and surrounding states. As of May 2021, Reese has rescued more than 300 kitties, one coon dog, and one drone. Reese's heroics were formally recognized in April as he was presented with the 2020 Governor's Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award during a ceremony in Jackson. Reese was nominated by Martha Thomas, the director of community relations with the Oktibbeha County Humane Society. Thomas explains that Reese never asks for a fee for his rescue efforts. "Instead, he suggests that they make a donation to the Oktibbeha Humane Society if people wish to compensate him," she said. "Since January 2020, we have seen an increase from $8,000 to $10,000 for our organization, primarily due to Reese's efforts." Reese, who is retired from Mississippi State University, says he enjoys this community service and feels a great sense of satisfaction when he is rescuing someone's pet. |
| Travel slowly moving to pre-pandemic levels at Golden Triangle Regional Airport | |
 | Until Thursday, Mike Hainsey hadn't had a speaking engagement in about 18 months, so the Golden Triangle Regional Airport executive director had plenty to cover during his appearance at the Columbus Exchange Club luncheon at Lion Hills Center. It's been a tough year and a half for air travel, an industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in April 2020 when you could almost count the passengers who passed through GTRA on one hand -- just 211. In 2020, GTRA's traffic was down 70 percent from 2019, when the airport was booming with four daily flights to Atlanta through Delta Airlines. Thursday, the outlook was considerably brighter. "It's nice to be able to talk about the good things that are happening," Hainsey said. His message: The airport is back in business, even if business isn't back in the airport. "As of right now, in the month of May, we've had just under 4,000 outgoing passengers to Atlanta, which means 8,000 round-trip on our three flights," Hainsey said. "That's a little less than 10 percent of what it was in May of 2019, and that was a record level with a 95-percent passenger load." What hasn't come back yet, Hainsey noted, is business travel. "As you've probably heard me say before, business travel is about 80 percent of our business," Hainsey said. "That's still not back and probably won't be until the fall." |
| Ratio of workers supporting state retirees declines, impacting PERS viability | |
 | Fewer active workers are supporting a growing number of retirees receiving pension benefits from the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System, a report by a legislative oversight agency concluded. The study by the Mississippi Legislative Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Committee pointed out that between 2010 and 2020 the ratio of active employees to retired employees decreased about 33%, from 2.02 active to 1 retiree, to 1.35 to 1. "As a result of the decrease, the payroll of fewer active members must fund future pension obligations, a factor made more important because contributions from active members and their employers comprise approximately 46% of PERS revenues" as of 2020, the report pointed out. It could be argued that state budget cuts made in recent years by the Legislature resulting in a reduction in the government work force have made it more difficult to ensure PERS' financial viability. The reduction in the employee to retiree ratio and other factors will at least lead to the PERS governing board considering increasing the employer contribution (paid by state, education entities and local governments) to the retirement plan, according to the report by the legislative committee. The increase in the employer contribution, costing government more money, could be considered as early as the June 23 meeting of the PERS Board. |
| Analysis: Reviving initiative process could invite mischief | |
| Mississippi legislators can do business the easy way or the hard way if they revive the state's initiative process that was recently invalidated by a state Supreme Court decision. The easy way would be to adopt the same process that Mississippi has used for decades, tweaking it only to resolve a problem pointed out in the court ruling. The hard way would be to open the process for lots of debate that could muck up an already complex system and make it even more burdensome for citizens petitioning to put issues on the statewide ballot. The biggest area for legislative mischief could be in increasing the number of signatures needed on petitions. The initiative process is in Section 273 of the Mississippi Constitution. It requires initiative organizers to gather a number of signatures equal to 12% of the total votes for all candidates in the most recent election for governor. Legislators could make the initiative process harder by either increasing that 12% margin, or by keeping the same percentage but applying it to the state's turnout for the presidential election, which is traditionally higher. |
| Battle over state's mental health system could be nearing an end | |
| The fight over whether the Mississippi mental health system is meeting the requirements of federal law could be nearing an end. The federal government says that the state's mental health programs unnecessarily require those with serious mental illnesses to receive services in the state's four mental health hospitals, rather than in their communities. The state says that it is now meeting the standard and should be released from court monitoring. According to the federal government's arguments, Mississippi depends too much on segregated state hospital settings and not enough community-based alternatives, which can provide an alternative to hospitalization for many with serious mental illnesses. This is in violation of the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Olmstead v. L.C., in which the court says individuals with mental disabilities have the right to live in the community rather than be institutionalized. According to federal filings, Mississippi is the only state to house most of its seriously mental ill in the state's four hospitals: the Mississippi State Hospital in Whitfield in Rankin County, East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian, North Mississippi State Hospital in Tupelo and the South Mississippi State Hospital in Purvis. The state Department of Mental Health is already the state's largest employer in government. |
| Mississippi reckons with ending pay boost for the unemployed | |
| Katrina Folks says she has tried everything she can think of to find work since losing her job in September because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 39-year-old mother from Hattiesburg used to do data entry at a law firm, and she has health issues that require her to work from home. She said she has been doing three interviews a week and bought WiFi and a computer to try to make herself a stronger job candidate. But she hasn't been able to find work that will accommodate her weekly doctor's appointments. "Every time I put in an application and they call me, I seem to hit a brick wall," she said. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced May 10 that Mississippi will opt out of the $300-a-week federal supplement for people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other programs that offered extended support for the unemployed. About 90,000 people were receiving the $300 unemployment supplement for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic at the start of May, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Reeves, a Republican, said he made the decision to stop accepting the federal supplement after consulting with business owners and employees. |
| Why Washington's big plan to protect Americans' data is languishing | |
 | If one effort to check the power of Silicon Valley was supposed to be easy under the Biden administration, it was passing a national data privacy law. That hope is quickly evaporating. Even amid a surge in Covid-related scams stealing consumer data and a recent Facebook leak that exposed the personal information of half a billion users, privacy legislation shows signs of having stalled. Lawmakers have held no hearings on a comprehensive national privacy law and have no plans to hold one anytime soon, while disagreement grows over what such legislation should include. And that doesn't bode well for Washington's broader push to take on the tech industry's titans. The deadlock on privacy sets a precedent for how much -- or little -- this Congress can move on other more politically divisive issues, like strengthening antitrust laws to better rein in Silicon Valley, or tightening rules around how social media companies police their users' posts. So instead of making headway on a bill, the Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled no imminent hearings or other legislative activity on the comprehensive national privacy law, according to a committee aide. Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and the panel's top Republican, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, also have yet to discuss the committee's privacy agenda for this Congress, the aide said. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have also made little headway advancing a counterpart bill, though staffers plan to hold bipartisan roundtable discussions on the matter soon. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy and technology, told POLITICO in a recent interview that he struggles to see a "workable path forward" on legislation. |
| Supreme Court: Tribal police may detain non-Native Americans on reservation highways | |
 | A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tribal police may detain non-Native Americans on highways running through their reservations, overturning an appeals court that said such powers were out of bounds absent an "apparent" crime. "To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats," Associate Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court. The case stems from an interaction that took place in 2016. James Saylor, a highway safety officer for the Crow Police Department, approached a vehicle stopped on U.S. Route 212 in the Crow Indian Reservation in southern Montana. Tribal law disputes at the court often involve a complicated stew of federal law, treaties and powers recognized for other sovereign entities -- a legal morass that underscores the knotty relationship the federal government has had with Indigenous tribes. |
| 'Open Air' Effect Gave the South a Break From Covid-19 Spring Surge | |
 | Six months into the drive to inoculate the U.S. population against Covid-19, stark gaps have opened up between the states with the highest and lowest vaccination rates. But so far, states that have been slower to vaccinate haven't paid a big price in outbreaks of new cases, thanks in part to what scientists call the open-air effect. Many of the states with the lowest shares of people who have had at least one vaccine shot are located in the Deep South, including Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas, and avoided large outbreaks last spring, only to see cases surge in hot summer months. Most of these states also avoided a spike in cases during the first few months of this year, even as many northeastern states like Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which now have some of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S., saw cases rise during the winter and early spring. Residents in Southern states have largely faced a lower risk of transmission during the winter and spring months because they have been able to spend more time socializing in the open air where the virus disperses more easily, according to epidemiologists and research. And unlike their Northern counterparts, they haven't had to use heating systems that dry out indoor air. Dozens of studies have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads less easily outdoors and in more humid settings. Doctors and public-health officials worry, however, that as summer approaches, warm-weather states with lower vaccination rates could be vulnerable to a new round of Covid-19 outbreaks as the heat forces people to spend more time in dry, air-conditioned spaces. |
| Immunity to the Coronavirus May Persist for Years, Scientists Find | |
 | Immunity to the coronavirus lasts at least a year, possibly a lifetime, improving over time especially after vaccination, according to two new studies. The findings may help put to rest lingering fears that protection against the virus will be short-lived. Together, the studies suggest that most people who have recovered from Covid-19 and who were later immunized will not need boosters. Vaccinated people who were never infected most likely will need the shots, however, as will a minority who were infected but did not produce a robust immune response. Both reports looked at people who had been exposed to the coronavirus about a year earlier. Cells that retain a memory of the virus persist in the bone marrow and may churn out antibodies whenever needed, according to one of the studies, published on Monday in the journal Nature. The other study, posted online at BioRxiv, a site for biology research, found that these so-called memory B cells continue to mature and strengthen for at least 12 months after the initial infection. "The papers are consistent with the growing body of literature that suggests that immunity elicited by infection and vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 appears to be long-lived," said Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the research. |
| CDC eases summer camp guidance, saying kids do not always need masks | |
 | The federal government relaxed its guidance Friday for summer camps, saying vaccinated adolescents do not need to wear masks at camp, and even younger campers who have not been inoculated can usually shed face coverings when outdoors. The updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remove some glaring inconsistencies between earlier camp recommendations that all staffers and campers wear masks and more recent general announcements that face-coverings are rarely needed outdoors and that vaccinated people can often forgo masks entirely. Still, even the updated guidance comes with a complex set of considerations that may set camps scrambling just days before they launch. A CDC official said the agency wanted to provide more nuanced guidance for a camp season kicking off under starkly different conditions from last year. Not only have coronavirus case numbers plummeted, but older teens and camp staff are eligible for vaccination -- and so, too, since earlier this month, are campers ages 12 to 15. The CDC's previous camp guidance, issued last month, was sharply criticized by some public health experts, politicians and parents for being too rigid, particularly when set against the backdrop of a nation that is quickly reopening and unmasking amid rising vaccination and falling coronavirus case numbers. |
| Confronted By Aging Population China Allows Couples To Have 3 Children | |
 | China will now allow married couples to have up to three children as the country attempts to halt a declining birthrate. The policy is a dramatic change for a country which, less than a decade ago, still performed forced abortions and sterilizations of women who had more than one child. The new three child limit raises the previous ceiling of two children. It is a recognition from the country's top leaders that China will need to undertake drastic measures to counter a rapidly aging society. Only five years ago, China officially ended its One Child policy, a raft of restrictions that for more than three decades strictly limited couples to only one child. Those who had two or more children in violation of the policy were fined heavily. Pregnant women were sometimes effectively kidnapped by local family planning officials who cajoled, intimidated, or forced women to end the birth. Meanwhile, Chinese society is now aging faster than it can produce new workers, threatening to halt economic growth and bankrupt state pension funds. China's latest census shows the proportion of people between 15 and 59 in 2020 declined by about 7 percentage points from 2010, while that of people 60 or older rose by more than 5 percentage points. |
| Farmers Join Push to Harvest the Benefits of 5G | |
| On a collection of adjoining fields near a university in rural western England, an ambitious farming project aims to show it's possible to plant, grow and harvest a crop autonomously, using robotics, drones -- and potentially 5G. The case for using 5G in farming shows promise, although the superfast networking technology is only beginning to be applied in the agriculture world. And there have been some kinks in early-stage experiments. Farmers can benefit from large amounts of data about their crops, and 5G-enabled sensors could help deliver it, measuring if soil needs watering or plants are getting too much sun. Streaming high-quality video over mobile connections could help farmers analyze crops from afar in ways that weren't possible with earlier generations of cellular technology. Kit Franklin, a senior lecturer in agricultural engineering at Harper Adams University in England, who co-founded the autonomous farming project, called the Hands Free Farm, says many of the possibilities 5G opened up were enticing. So he and his colleagues signed up to test the new networking technology about three years ago as part of a government-supported initiative called 5G RuralFirst. Whether investments in 5G will yield returns for farmers remains unclear. Mr. Franklin's RuralFirst project in England, a collaboration between academia and private industry, ultimately produced mixed results. |
| UM Plans Complete Redesign of Olemiss.edu | |
| The University of Mississippi is undertaking a complete redesign of its website in an effort to make the university's virtual front door better reflect the reputation of its physical campus and to provide a more seamless digital experience for all users. The redesign project, which will completely transform the olemiss.edu website, is being managed jointly by the university's offices of Information Technology and Marketing and Communications with assistance from digital agency OHO Interactive. "Our campus is touted for being one of the most beautiful in the country," said Nishanth Rodrigues, chief information and information security officer. "In this remote working setting and virtual connection state, our website has been our digital campus. As such, we're looking to match our digital presence to our physical campus." Besides the redesign, the university will establish a new web governance model that will enable university staff to create content and manage data and insights more sustainably. Alongside the construction of the new website, the Web Advisory Committee launched https://webredesign.olemiss.edu/ to build transparency into the project and give community members a way to provide feedback. Phase 1 of the redesign began this month. The current site, which was last redesigned in 2013, will remain operational until the new site launches sometime in 2022. |
| Speech Language Pathologists at USM urge expert help for long-haul COVID | |
 | Speech and Language professionals at the University of Southern Mississippi are urging people with long term coronavirus symptoms to seek expert help. An estimated 10 to 30 percent of people who are infected with COVID 19 experience long-haul symptoms according to speech-language pathologists at USM. Symptoms can range from brain fog and fatigue to cardiovascular problems. Steve Cloud with the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences says they can evaluate symptoms. "We have audiologists in the department who can determine possible causes for vertigo. People who have concentration and memory difficulties, we can work on their cognitive or thinking skills," said Cloud. Cloud says long haul COVID can be debilitating. Lisa Williams of Columbia, says she contracted coronavirus in March of 2020, while in the hospital. The 49-year old says she was already at risk due to obesity and chronic illnesses that include asthma. Williams says COVID 19 left her unable to walk. "They taught me how to walk again. I'm not walking without assistance still. I've been walking with a walker. I have to have someone behind me," said Williams. Williams says she's been suffering with tremors as she awaits tests for brain activity. Sixty-eight year old Suzie Foote of Jackson, says she was completely healthy when she caught the virus at a Thanksgiving gathering. The retired nurse developed double pneumonia and since then, has been suffering with exhaustion and brain fog. "I was just completely out of gas and I had no motivation to move which is highly unusual again. But now I'm back trying to jumpstart my physical activity and it's working," said Foote. |
| Person of the Day: Howard Brown Jr. | |
| Jackson State University recently named alumnus Howard Brown Jr. as its new chief financial officer and vice president for business and finance. Brown previously served as deputy executive director for the Mississippi Legislative Budget Office and assumed his positions at JSU on Monday, May 3. In his roles, of which he also serves as a member of the president's cabinet, Brown is responsible for managing JSU's business and finance divisions and has oversight over the university's operating budget and financial affairs, including budgeting and forecasting, financial planning, accounting and controller functions, and investment management. Brown has worked for the state LBO for more than 25 years, coordinating with the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and all members of the Mississippi Legislature to formulate a $22 billion state budget. As the organization's deputy executive director, he managed 30 employees who performed fiscal and policy analyses and provided information technology support to 300 legislators and their staffers. Born in Greenwood Miss., Brown graduated from Amanda Elzy High School and enrolled in Delta State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting in 1995. He earned his master's degree in business administration from JSU in 1998. Brown first joined the LBO as an intern in 1995 while still a student at DSU. |
| EMCC Construction Skills program helps inmates build on future | |
| The seven inmates of the Clay County Detention Center enrolled in the newly created Construction Skills program at East Mississippi Community College's West Point-Clay County Center are hoping the training will help them land good paying jobs upon their release. "It is a great opportunity to learn a new trade and make some good, honest money," said Rodderick Walker, a West Point resident who is among the inmates taking the class. "It is a way to break the cycle and teach you something other than what you have been doing." All of the inmates are trustees at the detention center who are nearing release and were convicted of nonviolent offenses. They attend class three days a week and will graduate June 17. The classes, which are offered free of charge, are being funded through the Mississippi Workforce Enhancement Training Fund. EMCC Vice President of Workforce & Economic Development Dr. Courtney Taylor said future opportunities for inmate training are possible. "We are working with several local and state partners to provide more training for incarcerated and recently released individuals," Taylor said. "These training programs allow participants to transition into good jobs where they can actually earn a good living once they are released. We are grateful to Sheriff Scott and the MDOC for allowing the inmates to take the class." |
| Auburn University hosts Korean culture classes over the summer | |
| This summer, for the months of May, June and July, Auburn University will be home to a variety of classes surrounding carious aspects of Korean culture. Every semester, the Korea Center-King Sejong Institute at Auburn University, located in the Office of International Programs, offers Korean language classes and culture classes. Among these, there are options for both credit and non-credit courses. With the help of a grant from the King Sejong Institute Foundation in South Korea, the university will now be able to offer six Korean culture classes over the course of the summer. The first class took place on May 22 in the Korea Center at Foy 244. The class focused on Hanbok, a traditional Korean dress. There, students learned about the historical significance of Hanbok, as well as the five colors- otherwise known as Obangsaek- that are used in various parts of Korean culture, including Hanbok. The class went from 10 a.m. until noon, with students created dolls dressed in Hanbok from Hanji, traditional Korean paper. To complete the experience, students were allowed to try on Hanbok and take pictures in their attire around Auburn's campus. "We also strongly encourage Auburn students to take our courses to gain more intercultural competency, which is one of the Korea Center's missions," Dr. Seungheui "Ellie" Lee, Deputy Director of the Korea Center, said. "We sincerely hope these courses can help Auburn students and the community build more empathy and awareness of different cultures." |
| Should LSU mandate the COVID vaccine? Here are the legal issues that complicate it | |
 | LSU faculty members are pushing to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for the campus community ahead of the fall semester. But despite wide support among professors and student government associations, some observers say the proposal ventures into legally nebulous territory. Hundreds of LSU staff this past week rallied behind a Faculty Senate proposal that would see Louisiana's flagship college join a growing number that have made similar requirements. Faculty leaders say the mandate would protect the campus and broader community's most vulnerable from coronavirus. They also say it would help students grappling with increased depression by curbing potential disruptions viral outbreaks could cause next fall. "We're hoping that students will be driven to get vaccinated," said Inessa Bazayev, an LSU music theory professor and member of the committee that brought the proposal forward. "That's the only way we can return to normal. The way things stand currently, we'll have to engage in a lot of cumbersome mitigation policies." The latest figures provided by LSU show that about 70% of faculty are fully vaccinated, compared to 26% of students. School leaders say the actual number of inoculated students is likely higher since the data is self-reported, vaccines are widely available off-campus and the spring semester ended earlier this month. |
| Electric scooters are coming to the U. of Florida | |
| With limited parking lots and established decal zones, University of Florida students often struggle to bring their vehicles to campus to attend classes. "It's so hard to find parking for cars on campus; it's not even worth it to drive to school with a car," Amanda Feijo, a 21-year-old economics and sustainability major, said. This summer, however, students will have an alternative method of transportation. The city of Gainesville plans to introduce electric scooters, or e-scooters, throughout UF and surrounding areas this month. E-scooter companies Bird, Spin and Veo will be allowed to install small fleets of scooters available for rent. Spin will deploy 200 scooters, which will cost $1 to unlock and $0.25 per minute to ride. They will be available to rent from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. There will be virtually enforced parking areas and operating restrictions for e-scooters on campus. Xilei Zhao, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, focuses her research on micromobility. She said the positive environmental impacts of e-scooters are notable. While e-scooters have many advantages, Zhao said curbside management may be difficult. "Some people are not parking e-scooters properly. They readily park e-scooters on pedestrian lanes. A lot of people are complaining about that aspect," she said. Zhao also said safety may be an issue. She said many people don't wear helmets when using scooters, and she encouraged UF students to stay safe on their rides. |
| Howard U. hopes to "put a major dent" in Hollywood's diversity problem | |
| Howard University is reestablishing its College of Fine Arts as a stand-alone school within the university, and it just announced that it will name the college after actor Chadwick Boseman, who fought to preserve it when it was absorbed into the larger university two decades ago. There's been a lot said about the pipeline problem in Hollywood. Could having a dedicated fine arts school at a historically Black university make a difference? People of color make up just over 40% of the U.S. population, and, in 2020, actually a proportionate number of the actors in films, including lead roles. "We saw tremendous progress for people of color in front of the camera," said Darnell Hunt, a dean at UCLA and co-author of the school's annual Hollywood Diversity Report. That's the good news. But, "behind the camera, the progress isn't as remarkable," Hunt said. "People of color make up just over a quarter of film directors and writers," and only about 7% of film industry senior executives. "The executive suites continue to be primarily run by white men. They're the ones making decisions about what gets greenlighted, the type of budget, who's going to direct, and it has this trickle-down effect." This is a huge problem to tackle, and Howard University President Wayne Frederick said one school can't fix it alone. "But we definitely are going to try to put a major dent in that problem," Frederick said. Howard has a fine arts program already, but Frederick says with a dedicated school, it can attract more funding, expand enrollment and start new programs. |
| Colleges beg President Biden to save international student enrollment | |
| A steadily growing pipeline of cash for U.S. colleges and universities from international students was abruptly cut off with the pandemic. Now higher education institutions are looking to the White House to shore up a besieged visa process to bring those lucrative students back. Students from abroad often pay the full sticker price on tuition and fees, making them desirable to admit. But when the pandemic closed borders, canceled flights and shuttered buildings, that cash flow halted. Education groups are looking at President Joe Biden to restore it. American colleges and universities lost billions of dollars when the pandemic scattered their students and turned off new applicants. Now, their fall semesters are still uncertain as they don't know yet how much international student enrollment they can get amid a Covid-rattled U.S. bureaucracy. "When you add in other factors of community development, they're innovators and creators, it could be quite a disaster long term if they can't get in," said Elizabeth Goss, a Boston-based immigration attorney who specializes in obtaining student visas. Biden has eased Trump-era travel bans and will allow students on visas to study online if campuses close for Covid-19 outbreaks, but higher education advocates are urging him to loosen restrictions around student visas to ease the process of getting to the United States. |
| An Evangelical Battle of the Generations: To Embrace Trump or Not? | |
| For years, there was an adage around Liberty University that if God split Jerry Falwell in half, you would have his sons Jerry and Jonathan. Jerry Jr. inherited his father's desire to be a force in American politics, and his post as Liberty University president, while Jonathan inherited his father's gift for evangelical uplift and became pastor of his church. Now, 14 years after Jerry Falwell Sr. died and nine months after Jerry Jr. was ousted in a scandal, Liberty is enmeshed in a debate that could have profound implications for the nation's religious right: Whether it should keep nurturing Jerry Jr.'s focus on politics and maintain its high-flying role in the Republican Party, or begin to change its culture and back away from politics, an approach increasingly favored by younger evangelicals. As part of their discussions, the Liberty trustees are considering naming Jonathan Falwell as the university's chancellor -- an important and highly symbolic post -- in order to maintain the Falwell family connection but not their political baggage, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Donald Trump looms large over the university's dilemma. Liberty's ultimate path will influence the greater evangelical world, which is having its own reckoning with the post-Trump Republican Party. |
| Senate confirms geneticist Eric Lander as President Biden's science adviser | |
| The Senate has confirmed geneticist Eric Lander to be President Joe Biden's chief science adviser, one of the last unfilled Cabinet posts in the Biden administration. Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, was approved by a voice vote Friday to serve as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, a position Biden has elevated to Cabinet rank. Lander, who also is a mathematician and molecular biologist, was lead author of the first paper announcing the details of the human genome, the so-called "book of life." His nomination was delayed for months as senators sought more information about meetings he had with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide. Lander also was criticized for downplaying the contributions of two Nobel Prize-winning female scientists. At his confirmation hearing last month, Lander apologized for a 2016 article he wrote that downplayed the work of the female scientists. At the hearing, he also called Epstein "an abhorrent individual.″ Lander said in a statement Friday that Biden's elevation of the science post "made clear that science and technology will be central to solving the nation's most urgent challenges," including health, environmental quality "and justice for all Americans.″ |
| President Biden's budget outlines proposals for science agencies and humanities endowment | |
 | President Biden detailed his ambitious plans for science and technology, and his more modest plans for the humanities, in his detailed budget proposal released Friday. Most of his education plans were released in April, when he proposed billions more in spending on Pell Grants and support for minority-serving colleges. In the plan released last week, Biden proposed $52 billion for the National Institutes of Health for the 2022 fiscal year, which is a 21 percent increase over what Congress allocated for 2021. The agency would use the additional funding on its spending on research related to COVID-19. "As researchers make stunning progress on treatments and vaccines to combat COVID-19, the long-term health impacts remain unclear," said the NIH budget document. Biden requested $10.2 billion for the National Science Foundation, which is a $1.7 billion -- or 20 percent -- increase from the 2021 funding level. NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan praised the request, most of which will provide $9.43 billion, an increase of $1.55 billion above the 2021 enacted level, to support research across science, engineering and technology. Biden proposed $177.55 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities for fiscal year 2022. The request is a 6 percent increase over NEH's FY 2021 appropriation. The 6 percent increase may not seem large, but it is a contrast to the four years in a row of President Trump proposing to eliminate the humanities endowment. |
| Research and development ambitions will test bipartisanship | |
 | As partisan disagreements over infrastructure and a national commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol dominated headlines last week, Congress and President Joe Biden inched closer to a historic boost in U.S. research and development eyed by Republicans and Democrats as a needed counter to China's quest for technological dominance. And while the progress wasn't without its own share of political hiccups --- an eleventh-hour border wall amendment here, a declaration of Biden's budget as "dead on arrival" there --- there was still evidence that Washington is heading in the direction of major spending boosts to gain a cutting edge in fields like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced energy. On Friday, Biden proposed a total of $171.26 billion across the federal government for research and development in fiscal 2022, an increase of 9 percent over the enacted level. Meanwhile, the Senate moved closer to passing sprawling science and technology legislation that would not only authorize spending on research and development to the tune of $100 billion over the next five years, but also protect U.S. intellectual property from Chinese spies and hackers and invest in STEM education and workforce development at home. Republicans praised the bipartisan process. “We did this through regular order,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “It may not be pretty, it may not be the most efficient process ever devised by the minds of man.” |
| APLU Statement on President Biden's Budget Proposal | |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today released the following statement regarding President Biden's budget proposal. "We appreciate many of the critical investments President Biden's FY2022 budget proposal makes in higher education and research. The president's budget calls for essential investments that would help millions more Americans attain a college education while increasing funding for research that yields lifesaving therapies and lifechanging innovations. ... The request's proposed historic increases for federal research agencies will foster innovation and fuel long-term economic growth. As examples, the proposal makes historic investments in the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, establishing new programs to speed discoveries from the lab to consumers and patients. We also appreciate many of the increases to critical agricultural research programs that enhance food security and health while advancing environmental sustainability and economic growth. Federal investment in science and technology is a cornerstone of U.S. economic leadership and these investments will help the U.S. to lead in key sectors such as health, technology, and manufacturing. We appreciate many of the investments the proposal would make in higher education and research. These investments are core to promoting economic growth and achieving broadly shared prosperity." |
| Process for filling board vacancies is gray area or black hole for state government | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: In 1996, former Gov. Kirk Fordice said the debate over whether to confirm the four white males he appointed to the Mississippi college board should not be a black and white issue but a matter of competence. After Sens. Gray Tollison and Grey Ferris voted with the African American members of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee to block those appointments, then-Sen. Tommy Robertson of Moss Point ventured to the Capitol press room to proclaim it was not a black and white issue, but "a gray issue" -- alluding to the first names of the swing vote senators. Later that year, Fordice appointed four new members: two white males, a white female and an African American male. He called a special session where the four were confirmed. The four did not try to serve prior to the special session. And the governor did not try to seat the four and let them serve unconfirmed until the next regular session. Fordice was adhering to what appears to be the letter of the law, ensuring the appointees were confirmed by the Senate before they began serving. But instances of gubernatorial appointees serving on the college board and other boards and commissions prior to Senate confirmation occur regularly. It is another gray issue. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State baseball earns No. 7 seed in NCAA tournament; Starkville Regional begins Friday | |
| When Tanner Allen was a freshman at Mississippi State in 2018, the Bulldogs made it to Omaha without playing a single postseason game at Dudy Noble Field. MSU battled back from the brink of an early exit in the Tallahassee Regional, beat Oklahoma twice to advance and took two of three games from Vanderbilt to make the College World Series. Three years later, Allen is a senior hoping for a third run to TD Ameritrade Park. And this time around, he and the Bulldogs have earned themselves an easier path. Mississippi State (40-15, 20-10 SEC) received the No. 7 national seed when the NCAA tournament field was announced Monday, meaning the Bulldogs will be hosting games at Dudy Noble Field in both the Regional and Super Regional rounds. "We just want an opportunity to go on the journey to Omaha," Allen said. "We got it today, and luckily, the journey to Omaha goes through Starkville. We're excited to host it." That journey begins at 2 p.m. Friday when the Bulldogs open the Starkville Regional against No. 4 seed Samford (35-22, 20-10 Southern Conference) at Dudy Noble Field. No. 2 VCU (37-14, 13-3 Atlantic 10) will square off with No. 3 Campbell (35-16, 28-9 Big South) at 7 p.m. Friday. But even though none of the Bulldogs' opponents bring much name recognition into Starkville, none will be a pushover in the double-elimination regional. "There's no easy wins this weekend," Allen said. "We're going to have to earn every single one of them." |
| Mississippi State baseball earns No. 7 national seed | |
 | The road to Omaha runs through Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State was named the No. 7 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA baseball tournament on Monday morning. That means Dudy Noble Field will host both a regional tournament and super regional series if MSU advances. The Bulldogs, who are 40-15, will be the No. 1 seed in Starkville and host No. 2 VCU, No. 3 Campbell and No. 4 Samford in a double-elimination tournament. Their regional matches with No. 10 seed Notre Dame, which is hosting No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Central Michigan. "Our kids deserve this," head coach Chris Lemonis said of the seeding. "They've had a great year. They've went on the road and played great teams. They've played a great non-conference schedule. They've played a great SEC schedule and they're ready to play in front of their own fans." Mississippi State and Samford will open the regional with a matchup at 2 p.m. on Friday. VCU and Campbell will play at 7 p.m. Despite the win earlier this year, Lemonis is not overlooking anyone this weekend. "Every team had mid 30s to upper 30 wins," Lemonis said of MSU's regional. |
| Mississippi State baseball earns No. 7 national seed in NCAA Tournament | |
| The road to the College World Series goes through Starkville. Mississippi State baseball earned the No. 7 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs will host the Starkville Regional this weekend, and a potential Starkville Super Regional will be played at Dudy Noble Field the following weekend if MSU makes it out of the regional round. Mississippi State (40-15) will welcome VCU (37-14), Campbell (35-16) and Samford (35-22) in the Starkville Regional. MSU and Samford will get things started Friday at 2 p.m. CT (ESPN3). The Starkville Regional has been paired with the South Bend Regional. That means should Mississippi State and No. 10 overall seed Notre Dame win their respective regionals, they'll match up against each other in the Starkville Super Regional with a trip to the CWS on the line. This marks the second-straight postseason and the 15th time in program history in which Dudy Noble Field has been a host site for an NCAA Regional. Mississippi State has a record of 42-18 in NCAA Regional games played in Starkville. The Bulldogs blew by the field in the 2019 Starkville Regional and swept Stanford in the Starkville Super Regional the next week to punch the program's 11th all-time ticket to Omaha. |
| Ally Ewing wins LPGA Match Play, beating Sophia Popov at Shadow Creek | |
| Ally Ewing won the LPGA Match Play on Sunday on another long, hot afternoon at Shadow Creek, beating Sophia Popov 2 and 1 for her second tour victory. Ewing won the difficult par-4 14th with a 60-foot birdie putt to take a 2-up lead and closed out her German rival with a double-bogey halve on the par-3 17th in the final event before the U.S. Women's Open next week at Olympic in San Francisco. "I feel like I was limping in, really," Ewing said. "Just kind of really got fatigued out there. Needless to say, Monday through Wednesday leading up to a major championship, I'm going to have to find a way to prepare and get some rest." The 28-year-old former Mississippi State player won her first tour title in October in Florida at Reynolds Lake Oconee, playing under her maiden name of McDonald. On Sunday, she won on her first anniversary of her wedding with Bulldogs women's golf coach Charlie Ewing. "Second-coolest thing to happen to us on May 30th," Charlie Ewing said. "I had a lot of trust in her, so I felt like I kept it together a lot better than if I would've been playing. A lot of fun watching her. I'm really proud of her." |
| Oxford Regional field set as Ole Miss named No. 12 National Seed | |
| Ole Miss knows its path to get back to the College World Series for the first time in seven years and it will take getting through a stacked Oxford Regional and then a trip to the desert. The 2021 NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket was revealed on Monday, putting the Rebels as the No. 12 National Seed and paired with No. 5 seed Arizona and the Tucson Regional. Ole Miss is hosting its third straight regional and 10th since 2004. Before Ole Miss can begin packing their bags for a Super Regional out West, they will first have to get past the Oxford Regional and Southern Mississippi, Florida State and Southeast Missouri State. "This team has this unique feel about them. A unique vibe where there's a subtle confidence in them, said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "They just want to play. I don't think there was a lot of drama to it. They were anxious to see who the opponent was. ...They're worried about what's in their dugout, which is a good thing." The Rebels (41-19) are the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 SEMO (30-20) at 7 p.m. CT on Friday in the first round of the double-elimination bracket. The Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament this year for the fourth time and this is their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. |
| Southern Miss baseball earns No. 2 seed in Oxford Regional | |
 | Southern Miss baseball won't have to travel far to open the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles (37-19) will open play in the Oxford Regional on Friday against Florida State (30-22). Ole Miss was selected as the No. 12 overall seed in the tournament and is the top seed in the regional. The Rebels (41-19) will open against Southeast Missouri State (30-20). Southern Miss was among the 20 finalists to be an NCAA Regional host, but back-to-back walk-off losses to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament dashed their dreams. The Oxford Regional is matched up with the Arizona Regional for the Super Regional round. If both Ole Miss and Arizona win their regionals, it is likely that Ole Miss will travel to Tucson for a three-game series with a spot in the College World Series at stake. Southern Miss ranks No. 24 in the RPI. The Golden Eagles went 22-9 in Conference USA play. Florida State ranks No. 45 in the RPI and went 18-13 in ACC play. Seminoles slugger Matheu Nelson batted .332 with 22 home runs. Southeast Missouri State won the regular season and postseason OVC titles. |
| USM community comes to the aid of former coach Corky Palmer | |
 | Scott Berry's weekly visits with Corky Palmer aren't the same as they used to be. Palmer suffered a stroke following neck surgery in August 2020 and has been battling back ever since. Berry sat down with Palmer last week at Landmark Nursing Home, just before Southern Miss baseball's trip to the Conference USA tournament. And while the visits are different, the questions remain the same. Palmer wants to know all about the Golden Eagles. "We talked about all the old teams that we've had," Berry said. "We even talked about umpires. He gave me my first real job when I moved here from Missouri in 1990. We've remained really, really close friends since that. That relationship built really, really quick." A relationship that turned into a lot of wins for Southern Miss, including a trip to the 2009 College World Series. The Golden Eagle faithful have joined forces to raise money for Palmer to go toward medical expenses. There is also an account set up at BancorpSouth Bank in Hattiesburg where folks can donate to the "Corky Palmer Fund." In just a few short weeks, the Black & Gold crew has raised nearly $60,000. |
| Danny Kannell, Georgia's Scott Stricklin take issue with Alabama baseball making NCAA tourney | |
 | Nine SEC teams are headed to the NCAA baseball tournament, but Georgia isn't one of them. Bulldogs coach Scott Stricklin isn't happy LSU and Alabama are in over Georgia, and he isn't alone. "I'm really disappointed," Stricklin told Rivals.com. "I'm disappointed for our players, our program -- it was one of those things where I thought we were going to get in over LSU," Stricklin said. "I honestly felt that. We had the same (SEC) record, our RPI and strength of schedule were in the same territory. We beat them head-to-head on a neutral site field, beat their No. 1 starter in what felt like a must-win game. They treated it that way and we did, too, and we won. I feel like, and I'm not alone, other coaches in the league felt it was Georgia, LSU and Alabama." Meanwhile, Danny Kanell - never won to champion the SEC - took exception with the Crimson Tide making the tournament for the first time since 2014. "The SEC gets such favored treatment due to the top-25 rankings," he tweeted. "It's unreal how well they market teams in ALL sports and it always gifts them chances for titles. The latest example?? Pitt baseball was 17-12 vs, top 50 Bama was 8-17, but Bama gets in. Unreal. SEC, y'all." Alabama will begin regional play against No. 2 seed NC State on Friday at 2 p.m. CT from Louisiana Tech's Pat Patterson Park. |
| Paul Mainieri braced for the end. Then the LSU Tigers got a shot at the NCAA tournament. | |
| They gazed at the projector screen inside a team meeting room, the one with championship trophies lined along the back wall, waiting to know if they had a chance to win another one or if their season would end. The NCAA tournament selection show had already lasted half an hour Monday morning, and only one sliver of the bracket remained unannounced. Some of them leaned back. Others sat on the edge of their seats. Many put their hands over their mouths. And then finally, LSU appeared on the screen as one of the 64 teams in the postseason field. The players screamed and clapped as they rose from their seats. Some pumped their fists. Others hugged. "All we needed was an opportunity," junior pitcher Landon Marceaux said, "and today, we were fortunate enough to get an opportunity." LSU was selected as the No. 3 seed in the Eugene regional, where the Tigers were paired with No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 4 Central Connecticut State. "I thought we deserved to be in, and evidently, so did the committee," coach Paul Mainieri said. "I'm glad we're getting the chance to play." The Tigers had waited for almost a week to know if their season -- and Mainieri's career -- ended with a 4-1 loss to Georgia in the Southeastern Conference tournament. As other teams snatched automatic bids, shaping the postseason field, Marceaux said the players held onto hope. They didn't have anything else. |
| Tim Corbin was highest paid coach in Omaha when Vanderbilt won 2019 national title, tax records show | |
 | Two years later, it turns out Tim Corbin was the highest-paid coach at the 2019 College World Series, which his Vanderbilt team won as the most recent national champion. Corbin was paid $1.2 million in base salary and $234,500 in bonuses that year, university federal tax returns show. His pay was higher than Arkansas' Dave Van Horn and Louisville's Dan McDonnell, who each earned $1.1 million and advanced to the 2019 College World Series. Corbin, the three-time national coach of the year, has transformed Vanderbilt into a college baseball powerhouse. Since his tenure began in 2003, the Commodores have reached the College World Series four times, won two national titles and put together numerous No. 1-ranked recruiting classes. Vanderbilt, technically, is the defending national champion because the 2020 season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite having only a few players remaining from that title team, the Commodores are contenders as a No. 4 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Corbin's current pay is unavailable, but his team will start another hopeful run to Omaha this week as host of the Nashville Regional. Vanderbilt will play Presbyterian on Friday (6 p.m., SEC Network), while Georgia Tech and Indiana State are also in the Nashville Regional. Corbin started his career as Presbyterian head coach from 1988-93, and now he's taking Vanderbilt to an SEC-best 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament. |
| Name, image and likeness laws vary by state. A closer look at those going into effect July 1. | |
| An increasing number of states are headed toward laws allowing college athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness, beginning July 1. Meanwhile, it appears decreasingly likely that Congress and the White House will have a federal equivalent by then. That means serious conflicts lie ahead for the NCAA, even if it follows through on its strong indications that its rules on the issue will change July 1. These conflicts wouldn't just be between the states' laws, they also would be between those laws and the association's prospective new rules. In addition, among the six states already set for implementation on July 1, there are at least two in which public schools and private schools in the same state appear to be facing different implications. Mississippi's law includes three provisions that are stricter than both current NCAA rules and its proposed rules. Schools can "impose reasonable limitations on the dates and time that a student-athlete may participate in endorsement, promotional, social media or other activities related to" NIL deals. The NCAA does not address this, although its current rules do prohibit athletes from missing class time to participate in certain media or promotional activities. The state is prohibiting athletes from having an NIL deal before the date on which they enroll at a college. In general, the NCAA's proposed rules provide for the prospect of athletes having deals anytime they have started classes for the ninth grade. |
| Illinois college athletes could sign endorsement deals under bill passed by state lawmakers | |
| Illinois college athletes would be able to hire agents and sign endorsement deals starting this summer under a measure state lawmakers passed early Tuesday. The move comes as the NCAA has signaled it would support allowing student athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, although the organization has yet to act in changing its long-standing bylaws that prohibit student athletes from receiving compensation in any form for playing sports. A number of state legislatures have passed or are considering bills to allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals, while the NCAA has urged Congress to pass a law that would apply uniformly across the nation. It appears unlikely that Congress will act before July 1, when laws in several states are set to take effect. The Illinois legislation, sponsored by a pair of lawmakers who played college football, now moves to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk. If he signs the bill into law, student athletes could begin signing agents and endorsement deals on July 1. "The spirit of this bill is we want to make sure we're not only allowing these young people autonomy over their name, image and likeness, but also giving the institutions the opportunity to protect them, because we know we live in a pretty unscrupulous world," said Rep. Kam Buckner, a South Side Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House and played football at the University of Illinois. |
| State, Ole Miss will host regionals, and Southern Miss heads to Oxford | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: Baseball's NCAA Division I Regionals were announced Monday and, as usual, will have a strong Magnolia State flavor in the 64-team field. Mississippi State earned a No. 7 national seed and will host the Starkville Regional beginning Friday. Ole Miss earned a No. 12 national seed and will host the Oxford Regional beginning Friday. Among the teams playing at Oxford is Southern Miss. The first day matchups: At Starkville, top-seeded Mississippi State will play No. 4 seed Samford at 2 p.m., while 2-seed Virginia Commonwealth, entering with the nation's longest winning streak, will play 3-seed Campbell at 7 p.m. At Oxford, 3-seed Florida State will play 2-seed Southern Miss at 2 p.m., followed by top-seed Ole Miss vs. 4-seed Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m. There were no huge surprises where the Mississippi teams were concerned. What became clear when the brackets were announced Monday morning was that Southern Miss lost out on its chance to host its own regional when the Eagles were defeated twice by Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament Saturday. Tech, not USM, will host an NCAA Regional at Ruston, La. ... Samford, State's first-day opponent, won the Southern Conference championship and is no stranger to the MSU Bulldogs or Southeastern Conference fans. Samford lost a 10-2 midweek decision to State on March 16. That was one of 10 games Samford played against SEC teams. Samford lost nine of those, but was competitive in several and defeated Auburn 6-1 late in the season when Samford won 11 of its last 14 games, including three straight in the league tournament. |
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