| Thursday, January 6, 2022 |
| MSU students selected for nationwide meat science program | |
 | Four Mississippi State students were among 30 chosen nationwide to participate in a recent training conference for college students entering the meat science industry. The MSU students traveled to Smithfield, Virginia, for the Smithfield Foods INTEGRATE program, where they worked closely with other meat science students to expand their view of industry careers. MSU student participants are Joseph Mangano, Maliq Holmes, Chelsie Dahlgren and Virell To. Both Mangano and Holmes work at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station's Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory under Associate Professor Derris Devost-Burnett, in MSU's Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. Dahlgren and To work as student researchers assisting both Associate Professor Thu Dinh in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Professor Wes Schilling in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion. Burnett, Dinh and Schilling encouraged all four students to apply and assisted them during the process. Scott Willard, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences also assisted with their travel. |
| Yarbrough chosen as International Fire Chiefs Association state director | |
| Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough said his goal when he became chief in 2015 was to improve Starkville's fire ratings. Fire ratings allow firefighters to estimate the fire danger for a given area from Level 1, low, to Level 5, extreme, and those ratings impact home insurance rates. For many years, Starkville sat at a Level 4 fire rating, but after some improvements and changes to the department, SFD gained a Level 3 rating in May 2020. "This was something I set out to do when I first became chief, so that for sure was my proudest moment," Yarbrough said. Yarbrough, who has served the Starkville Fire Department for 26 years, was recently chosen as the state director of the International Fire Chief Association. Selected by a group of fellow Mississippi fire chiefs, Yarbrough will be the first chief from Starkville to hold this position, as well as the first Black fire chief from Mississippi to serve as state director. Being an advocate for diversity and inclusion, Yarbrough said he takes pride in getting to be the first Black director for Mississippi and plans to bring forward ideas and initiatives to make the fire sector a more inclusive environment. Mayor Lynn Spruill said she is proud of Yarbrough for not only representing Starkville, but also being the first Black Mississippian to hold the position. She said he knows he will do a wonderful job, and the city is delighted and proud of him. |
| Nine-year-old shot and killed | |
| A shooting on Santa Anita Drive on Wednesday claimed the life of a 9-year-old, according to Starkville police. Alsang Kemp died at OCH Regional Medical Center, Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt confirmed. A police press release said officers responded to OCH at about 8:31 p.m.. The victim was shot inside a vehicle on Santa Anita Avenue. Officers earlier Wednesday night had received a shots-fired call to Brookville Garden Apartments on Everglade Avenue. Kemp was in the vehicle with someone associated with the Brookville Garden incident, police said. Police have no suspects in the active investigation, but the press release said the department will increase police presence in north Starkville -- near the apartment complex and Santa Anita Avenue. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151. |
| MDOT deals with $400M annual gap in funding needs | |
| The biggest challenge facing the Mississippi Department of Transportation continues to be funding, MDOT Executive Director Brad White told the Columbus Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon. White was named executive director on July 1, 2021. A native of Simpson County, White served as chief of staff for the Mississippi Department of Audit, U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Cindy Hyde-Smith and Gov. Tate Reeves. He was also assistant to Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall from 1999-2005. MDOT has about 2,600 employees and an annual budget of around $1.4 billion. Funding has been one of the agency's major challenges for years, he said. In spite of the need to both build new transportation infrastructure and maintain what the state already has, funding has been flat for the last 10 to 15 years. "About 10 years ago the transportation commission voted to move away from capacity projects, such as turning two lanes to four lanes," he said. "Most of the funds go to rehabilitation and protection of the existing system. Even with that, we had about a $400 million a year gap in our funding needs (for roads)." Despite the perception that the federal infrastructure bill passed last year is a stimulus-type bill, that is not the reality, White said. Instead, the $3.6 billion set aside for Mississippi was given to the Federal Highway Administration to be spent in the state over the next five years. |
| State agency moves forward to privatize four state parks in north Mississippi | |
 | The day-to-day operations of four parks in north Mississippi could be managed by a for-profit organization by the end of the year. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks on Wednesday published a request for proposals on its website asking outside vendors to manage the day-to-day operations of Hugh White State Park in Grenada, John Kyle State Park in Sardis, John P. Cossar State Park in Oakland and Wall Doxey State Park in Holly Springs. The push by the agency to privatize some of the parks comes after a bitter legislative fight last session over concerns that state parks are designed for the public to freely use -- not to help a company make a profit. Sen. Neil Whaley, chairman of the House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee, last year authored legislation to privatize the management of some of the state's public parks and give others away to local governments. The bill was then changed to form a study committee to evaluate the parks system, but that bill was ultimately quashed in the House of Representatives. But the department's annual funding bill gives it the authority to contract with outside organizations to privatize the management, so it currently does not need legislative approval to partner with a private organization. "I'm disappointed in this (proposal)," Whaley, R-Potts Camp, told the Daily Journal on Wednesday. Whaley prefers any decision on privatization of state parks be decided by the Legislature. He said he is exploring options to remove the department's ability to privatize parks without legislative approval. |
| Christian world marks Epiphany with series of celebrations | |
 | Christians around the world on Thursday marked Epiphany, known as Three Kings Day for Catholics and the Baptism of Christ for the Orthodox, with a series of celebrations. Pope Francis used a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to decry consumerism, parades were held in Spain the night before, and Orthodox believers watched swimmers plunge into icy waters despite the pandemic to retrieve crosses. Francis encouraged people to shake off consumeristic "tyranny" and crises of faith in lives and societies and instead find the courage to work for justice and brotherhood in societies dominated by what he called the "sinister logic of power." The Catholic feast day of Epiphany recalls the visit of three Magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus, and their sense of wonder at the encounter. In his homily, Francis urged people to move past the "barriers of habit, beyond banal consumerism, beyond a drab and dreary faith, beyond the fear of becoming involved and serving others and the common good." He said that "we find ourselves living in communities that crave everything, have everything, yet all too often feel nothing but emptiness in their hearts." In remarks from an Apostolic Palace window overlooking St. Peter's Square, Francis later also noted holiday celebrations by other Christians and praised various Epiphany traditions. |
| A season of joy -- and caution -- kicks off in New Orleans | |
| Vaccinated, masked and ready-to-revel New Orleans residents will usher in Carnival season Thursday with a rolling party on the city's historic streetcar line, an annual march honoring Joan of Arc in the French Quarter and a collective, wary eye on coronavirus statistics. Carnival officially begins each year on Jan. 6 --- the 12th day after Christmas --- and, usually, comes to a raucous climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which falls on March 1 this year. Thursday's planned festivities come two years after a successful Mardi Gras became what officials later realized was an early Southern superspreader of COVID-19; and nearly a year after city officials, fearing more death and more stress on local hospitals, canceled parades and restricted access to the usually raucous Bourbon Street. This year, the party is slated to go on despite rapidly rising COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant. "It was certainly the right thing to do to cancel last year," said Dr. Susan Hassig, a Tulane University epidemiologist who also is a member of the Krewe of Muses, and who rides each year on a huge float in the Muses parade. "We didn't have vaccines. There was raging and very serious illness all over the place." Now, she notes, the vaccination rate is high in New Orleans. While only about 65% of the total city population is fully vaccinated, according the city's statistics, 81% of all adults are fully vaccinated. And the overall percentage is expected to increase now that eligibility is open to younger children. And, while people from outside the city are a big part of Mardi Gras crowds, Mayor LaToya Cantrell's anti-virus measures include proof of vaccination or a negative test for most venues. |
| As omicron floods Mississippi, doctors again urge masks in schools | |
 | School children are again at the center of discussion as COVID-19 cases have surged recently in Mississippi, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. Pediatrician Dr. Anita Henderson said there's no counting them out of omicron's wave. "In some cases, we've had a whole family of six test positive, so that's why we're seeing the highest numbers that we've ever seen throughout the entire pandemic," she said, adding that recent holiday get-togethers are to blame. "Based on the sheer number of cases, we are concerned that we will see that translate into hospitalizations later." Pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations were already on the rise Wednesday, the day the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 6,592 cases. It's the highest one-day count since the virus came into the state in March 2020. On Monday, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, with the state's only pediatric hospital, had 11 young COVID-19 patients. Two days later, on Wednesday, the center had 17 pediatric patients, four were in the intensive care unit. Creeping child COVID-19 hospitalizations have happened before. When the COVID-19 delta variant first came into Mississippi over the summer, overwhelming hospital systems and spreading infection like wildfire, children weren't spared. In August, 30 children were hospitalized at UMMC with the coronavirus. From July to September, six pediatric patients died from the virus' complications. |
| Mississippi's governor says no mandates as coronavirus cases surge | |
 | The seven-day rolling average for coronavirus transmission is at an all-time high, and there has been a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 related hospitalizations. Governor Tate Reeves says he will not issue statewide mandates nor request additional federal healthcare workers to aid hospitals at this time. "At this time we don't have any plans to extend the state of emergency," says Reeves. He continued, saying that the state has not received substantial shipments of monoclonal antibody treatments from the federal government. Governor Reeves says one reason may be because most monoclonal antibodies are not as effective against the omicron variant. He says "We need more testing from the federal government. We need more monoclonal antibodies allocated from the federal government and that's what we've been begging them to send us much to no avail for the last 10 days." More than 240 nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the state have reported outbreaks of the coronavirus, meaning at least one resident tested positive. Long-term care residents are the most highly vaccinated demographic in the state, and experts say this has helped to prevent the most severe outcomes. Bruce Kelly, owner of The Madison Health and Rehab, says all of his residents are fully vaccinated. Kelly says "I think the vaccine has been crucial in preventing it from spreading. And to help prevent severity if they do come down with COVID-19, so we've been excited for the vaccines." |
| CDC recommends Pfizer COVID booster for kids as young as 12 | |
 | Adolescents age 12-17 should receive a a Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot five months after their initial series of immunizations, the CDC announced Wednesday. "It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. "This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations." The announcement came hours after a panel of CDC advisers voted 13-1 in favor of the recommendation. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for teens. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration also authorized the use of a Pfizer-BioNTech booster in adolescents, while also shortening the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose from six months to five. In a statement Tuesday, the CDC's Walensky urged eligible Americans to get a COVID booster as quickly as possible. "As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue to update our recommendations to ensure the best possible protection for the American people," Walensky said. |
| Omicron surge vexes parents of children too young for shots | |
| Afternoons with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as an omicron variant-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases makes every encounter seem risky. For Maine business owner Erin Connolly, the most wrenching decision involves Madeleine, her 3-year-old daughter, and Connolly's mother, who cares for the girl on the one day a week she isn't in preschool. It's a treasured time of making cookies, going to the library, or just hanging out. But the spirited little girl resists wearing a mask, and with the highly contagious variant spreading at a furious pace, Connolly says she's wondering how long that can continue "and when does it feel too unsafe." Connolly, of West Bath, said she worries less about Madeleine and her 6-year-old vaccinated son getting the virus than about the impact illness and separation would have on the grandparents. But she's also concerned about her vaccinated parents contracting breakthrough cases. Although health experts say omicron appears to cause less severe disease and lead to fewer hospitalizations, its rapid spread indicates that it is much more contagious than other variants. Nearly 718,000 COVID cases were reported Tuesday, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Omicron is currently the culprit in more than 90% of U.S. cases, a dizzying rise from less than 10% two weeks ago. "The sheer volume of infections because of its profound transmissibility will mean that many more children will get infected," Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday at a White House briefing. |
| Mounting omicron infections force businesses to scramble, threatening economic recovery | |
 | The omicron coronavirus variant is slowing the economic recovery, making worker shortages for already-shorthanded employers more severe and leading consumers to pull back from spending on restaurants, hotels and airlines that have been battered by two years of pandemic upheaval. Since it was first detected in southern Africa late last year, the highly contagious coronavirus variant has sparked restrictions on business activity in several countries. In the United States, major airlines this week canceled thousands of flights, while public transit systems in New York and Washington curtailed service because of staffing shortages. Professional sports schedules were upended and corporations such as American Express, Goldman Sachs and The Washington Post have shelved their January return-to-office plans. Omicron's fallout, which is likely to worsen before it eases, shows that the recovery remains vulnerable to the coronavirus's unpredictable trajectory. The growing toll of sick workers --- Capital Economics says more than 5 million Americans are in quarantine --- is hammering employers that already were struggling to secure enough labor. Yet even as pandemic fatigue deepens, there are hopes that omicron will prove to be a punishing but short-lived squall. "The mood in the market is that it's not going to be that big a deal economically," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. macro strategist for TD Securities. "The hope is it'll be over in a month." |
| Lawmakers discuss State Capitol safety protocols following Lt. Governor's positive COVID test | |
 | Wednesday morning, Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann's office announced he's tested positive for the virus. He tested after learning he was exposed. But he's fully vaccinated and boosted and isn't experiencing any symptoms. Still, it's got people talking around the State Capitol. Word travels fast in those halls. "Seems like everyone's a little afraid of the COVID right now... not showing up," said Senate Pro Tempore Dean Kirby Wednesday morning after the roll call. Within the last two days, we had asked both the Lt. Governor and Speaker about any added protocols there may be in light of the rising case numbers. Monday, the Lt. Governor said he had been in touch with State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and was monitoring the virus numbers and developments closely. He mentioned a handful of precautions they anticipated putting in place. "Those may stiffen as we see what happens over the next few weeks," said Hosemann. Tuesday, we asked the Speaker about protocols. "No, we are not implementing anything unusual," said Speaker Philip Gunn. "We plan to proceed normally here on our end of the building. And we'll continue to watch and just see what happens." "I think that we've all tried to do what's best for us," said Senator Scott DeLano. "And, individually, we take our own precautions, a lot of us have had COVID. Once already, I personally have had COVID, a second time just headed over Christmas break. I've had my antibodies, I feel really good. "I was really impressed with, with how my body reacted to all the precautions that I had taken prior to getting it in December," continued DeLano, who is vaccinated. |
| Mississippi House poised to vote on congressional remapping | |
| The Republican-controlled Mississippi House is expected to vote Thursday on a plan to redraw the state's four congressional districts. The proposal was unveiled last month. It expands the territory of the state's only majority-Black U.S. House district because the 2020 Census showed the district -- the 2nd -- lost population during the previous decade. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson has held the 2nd District seat since winning a 1993 special election. The district stretches through the Delta and into the city of Jackson. Thompson said he wanted to expand the district but still keep it relatively compact by taking in more of the densely populated Jackson metro area -- a plan also favored by the state NAACP. Instead, the plan moves four sparsely populated southwestern counties -- Franklin, Adams, Wilkinson and Amite -- into the 2nd District from the 3rd. The Mississippi House Rules Committee gave the redistricting plan the first layer of approval Wednesday, sending the plan to the full House for more debate. The Republican-controlled Senate will also have to approve the plan. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said he likes the proposed new congressional districts. Candidates face a March 1 qualifying deadline to run for the four seats. |
| House expected to vote on new congressional districts Thursday, Dems to challenge | |
| The Mississippi House of Representatives is expected to vote on and pass a bill Thursday redrawing the state's four congressional districts, top lawmakers in both parties said. The bill passed the House Rules Committee without issue Wednesday afternoon, and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said it would reach the floor Thursday morning. Gunn said he has the votes to approve the bill as written. Once through the house, it's expected to easily pass the senate as well. House Democrats are planning to offer an amendment to the bill, but are aware it will most likely fail, House Minority Leader Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, said. Democrats are taking issue with how Mississippi's Second Congressional District will be drawn. The district, held by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, is set to expand greatly in territory. Democrats, including Johnson and Thompson, are in favor of a version of the Second District the NAACP drew. Instead of adding the four southwestern counties, the district would gain all of Hinds County and part of Madison. Johnson said part of the reason Democrats are offering an amendment they know will fail is to establish their opposition on the record, should the final maps be challenged in court. "There have been very few times these plans haven't ended up in court," he said. "So to that end, it's important to make a record of where we stand." |
| Biden Assails Trump Over Jan. 6 Riot, Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election Results | |
 | President Biden placed blame squarely on former President Donald Trump and his supporters for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, using the first anniversary of the attack to assail the former president's attempts to undermine the 2020 election results. Mr. Biden's remarks, from the Capitol's Statuary Hall, represented his most pointed rebuke of his predecessor, saying Mr. Trump's "bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He can't accept he lost." The president accused Mr. Trump of spreading a "web of lies about the 2020 election," pointing to his false claims of election fraud and his attempt to block the certification of the election by Congress that day. Mr. Biden didn't mention Mr. Trump by name, referring to him throughout the speech as the former president. Mr. Biden credited law enforcement members, including the Capitol Police, for saving the rule of law. "Our democracy held," he said. Ahead of the anniversary, federal and local officials said they hadn't identified any credible threats tied to the attack. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that despite the lack of specific threats, the department was operating "at a heightened level of vigilance." In the backdrop is a rise in threats aimed at members of Congress. The U.S. Capitol Police said it logged roughly 9,600 such threats last year, up from almost 4,000 in 2017. "There has been a huge wave of threats against public officials across the country," said Sen. Angus King (I., Maine). "Violence is bubbling below the surface." |
| Congress faces delays in speedy push for Jan. 6 accountability | |
 | One year out from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the members of Congress who have pushed for accountability for more than just the rioters still have to contend with a federal justice system that moves at a much slower pace than politics. Key congressional subpoenas from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack are tied up in court challenges. Civil lawsuits from Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson and Eric Swalwell against former President Donald Trump and others, related to the violence from that day, are only now about to have a first hearing next week. And a sweeping Justice Department criminal investigation of the riot seen more than 725 people arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the past year, but given no sign that Trump or his political allies are targets in connection to the violence. Lawmakers might want to just be patient for this year because the justice system takes time, experts say. Many of the pieces are coming together for possible major developments in all of those areas in 2022, in part because of the speed with which the House Jan. 6 select committee is conducting its investigation. Democrats are concerned the court challenge may stretch beyond the 2022 midterm elections, when their party might lose control of the House, and with it the committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack. |
| They stormed the Capitol. Now they're running for office. | |
 | The Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol is remembered as one of the darkest and most shameful episodes in American history. But at least 57 individuals who played a role in that day's events -- either by attending the Save America rally that preceded the riots, gathering at the Capitol steps or breaching the Capitol itself -- are now running for elected office. Rather than disqualifying them from public service, the events of Jan. 6 appear to have served as a political springboard for dozens of Republicans who will be on the ballot this year for federal, state and local offices. It's difficult to state with precision just how many of those who participated in the rally on the Ellipse, marched to the Capitol or stormed the building will be on the ballot in 2022 -- in many states, candidate filing deadlines are months away. But a POLITICO review of Department of Justice case reports, social media posts, news accounts and interviews with attendees found that last year alone, 11 Jan. 6 protesters were elected to offices ranging from state legislature to city council to school board. This year, more than two dozen are running for Congress, state legislature or statewide office -- including at least two protesters who actually entered the Capitol. At least five Jan. 6ers are gearing up for gubernatorial races, among them Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator and a leading voice in the national movement to discredit the 2020 election results. At least three candidates this year face charges related to the Jan. 6 riots. Few of them express any contrition for their involvement in a day that ended up with an assault on the nation's temple of democracy, 140 injured police officers and more than 700 arrests. The Jan. 6 candidates expect campaign opponents will associate them with the worst violence of the Capitol attack. Teddy Daniels, who is running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 8th District, said he and other candidates feel they've been unfairly labeled as seditionists, insurrectionists and traitors. |
| Trump maintains grip on GOP despite violent insurrection | |
| As a raging band of his supporters scaled walls, smashed windows, used flagpoles to beat police and breached the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn a free and fair election, Donald Trump's excommunication from the Republican Party seemed a near certainty, his name tarnished beyond repair. Some of his closest allies, including Fox News Channel hosts like Laura Ingraham, warned that day that Trump was "destroying" his legacy. "All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough," said his friend and confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader who worked closely with Trump to dramatically reshape the judiciary, later denounced him as "morally responsible" for the attack. But one year later, Trump is hardly a leader in exile. Instead, he is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and a leading contender for the 2024 presidential nomination. "Let's just say I'm horrendously disappointed," said former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a longtime Republican who now serves on the advisory committee of the Renew America Movement, a group trying to wrest the party away from Trump's control. "His ego was never going to let him accept defeat and go quietly into the night," she added. "But what I am surprised by is how deferential so many of the Republican elected officials" have been. |
| Democrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6 | |
 | In the year since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a handful of Democrats, constitutional scholars and pro-democracy advocates have been quietly exploring how a post-Civil War amendment to the Constitution might be used to disqualify former President Trump from holding office again. Calls for Congress to take steps to strip Trump of his eligibility, which reached a crescendo in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, have since decreased. But those who remain engaged on the issue say discussions about applying Section 3 of the 14th Amendment have been ongoing. "If anything, the idea has waxed and waned," said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional expert at Harvard Law School. "I hear it being raised with considerable frequency these days both by media commentators and by members of Congress and their staffs, some of whom have sought my advice on how to implement Section 3." An analysis by The Hill found that around a dozen Democratic lawmakers have spoken either publicly or privately over the last year about how Section 3 of the 14th Amendment might apply to those who engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6. Among those whose offices have spoken recently with Tribe are Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who sits on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee; Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War, says that officeholders who "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same" are disqualified from future office. |
| Former President Jimmy Carter warns U.S. democracy in peril | |
| On the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, former President Jimmy Carter, in a strongly worded op-ed piece for The New York Times, decried renewed efforts to thwart American democracy. "Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss," Carter wrote. "Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late." Carter wrote that each of the four former living presidents last January, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, condemned the actions of "a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians," who "stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power." "There followed a brief hope that the insurrection would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy," Carter wrote. "However, one year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems." Carter served as president from 1976 until 1980. But he wrote that as early as 1962 "a ballot-stuffing county boss tried to steal my election to the Georgia State Senate." A judge invalidated the results and Carter won the general election. But it sparked him. "Afterward, the protection and advancement of democracy became a priority for me," Carter wrote. |
| MUW spring semester delayed due to COVID | |
 | The spring semester for some schools will be delayed because of the rise in Covid cases over the holidays. One school in particular is the Mississippi University for Women. Students will go back to school a little later than usual this spring semester. This is to reduce the spread of Covid and keep them safe. MUW will start the spring semester on Jan. 18. They were supposed to begin on Jan. 6, but Covid is playing a big part in the delay. "We spent countless hours looking at health safety protocols, reading guidelines provided by various regulatory agencies such as the CDC and the Mississippi Department of Health," Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Scott Tollison said. Everyone on campus is required to wear masks and classes will follow social distancing protocols. Tollison said approximately two-thirds of students have face-to-face classes. Covid vaccines and boosters are available to students on campus. The school is expecting to see growing numbers of cases once students return, but they are doing everything to reduce that number. |
| Jackson State among 3 public Mississippi colleges to delay start, go virtual due to COVID-19 | |
 | Students at three public colleges in Mississippi will have a delayed start or begin virtually as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge around the state. Classes at the Mississippi University for Women will now begin Jan. 18. Mississippi Valley State University students will have online-only classes starting Monday and return to in-person learning Jan. 18. Jackson State University officials announced Saturday classes will take place virtually for the first two weeks of the semester, which begins Monday. In-person classes will resume on Jan. 24. Students are set to resume classes at Delta State University on Monday. Classes at Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and Alcorn State University will begin Jan. 18. The University of Southern Mississippi will begin its spring semester Jan. 19. |
| Most colleges starting semester as planned as COVID surges | |
| As COVID-19 cases reach a record high in Mississippi, some colleges are delaying or moving classes online while most will start the spring semester as planned. Mississippi University for Women has pushed back its semester start-date to Tuesday, Jan. 18 from Jan 6. Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University will start classes virtually this Monday, Jan. 10. JSU will hold online classes for two weeks, and MVSU will stay virtual for one week. In a letter to the campus community, MVSU President Jerryl Briggs wrote that moving classes online will give MVSU "additional time to further enhance safety measures in all buildings and classrooms." "I want to remind you NOT to let your guards down," Briggs wrote. "COVID-19 concerns and challenges are not over yet and we must continue to do all we can to keep yourselves and our campus as safe as possible." For students moving back into the dorms, MUW and JSU are going to require proof of a negative PCR test. MUW says it will offer free rapid COVID tests on Jan. 17, the day that residence halls are now scheduled to open. Alcorn State University is starting classes as scheduled on Jan. 18 and says it will extend "protocols that require masks indoors and outdoors regardless of vaccination status." At Delta State University, the "administration has indicated plans to re-evaluate protocols for all DSU students, staff and faculty sometime next week," Brittany Davis-Green, the communications director, wrote in an email to Mississippi Today. |
| Bill of the Day: Rep. Shanks seeks college campus free speech protections with FORUM Act | |
 | Freedom of speech on college campuses has been a hotly debated topic across the nation over the past few years. Certain university officials have attempted to stifle conservative-minded voices and restrict right-leaning organizations from engaging in public discourse on higher education campuses. State Rep. Fred Shanks (R) has authored a bill that would make sure the playing field is level in Mississippi. HB 164, titled the "Forming Open and Robust University Minds (FORUM) Act," seeks to prohibit Mississippi institutions of higher learning from denying religious, political or ideological student organizations a benefit or privilege available to another student organization, or otherwise discriminate against such an organization based on its expression. The bill would require Mississippi colleges and universities to develop and make available materials explaining the policy to its campus staff and students. It further requires those institutions to submit an annual report detailing the course of action taken to implement and comply with this policy. Rep. Shanks' bill outlines the penalties for colleges and universities that violate this Act, noting that a person or student organization may file a lawsuit within a year of the offense against that state institution of higher learning and its employees acting in their official capacities, responsible for the violation and seek appropriate relief, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, monetary damages, reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs. |
| Is Mississippi really removing civil rights history from its teaching standards? | |
| In recent months, conservative lawmakers and leaders alike have vowed to ban critical race theory from being taught in Mississippi's public schools. So when a Twitter user pointed out in late December that the Mississippi Department of Education had quietly proposed changes to the state's social studies standards, many expressed their dismay at the new language. For example, an objective for fourth grade teaching on civil rights that previously said, "Name important people of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Mississippians. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, James Meredith, Fannie Lou Hamer, Charles Evers, etc." would now say, "Identify important figures of the modern Civil Rights Movement including Mississippians." An eighth grade objective that reads, "Examine the Southern resistance to Reconstruction reforms, including: Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, Ku Klux Klan, etc." would change to "Analyze southern resistance to Reconstruction reforms." In Mississippi, public schools follow standards that outline learning objectives and subject material by grade level. Social studies standards are broken into five categories described as strands: history, civics, geography, economics, and civil rights. At a Dec. 16 meeting for the state Board of Education, members approved the first step in revising the standards. It was approved in a block without discussion, a standard practice from the board on this kind of item. The 309-page document has many changes like this across the strands, which remove specific names or descriptions for broader, more vague terms. There are also verb changes, like swapping "describe" to "determine how," or "explain" to "contrast." |
| Florida's President Resisted Conflict. And Became an Emblem of College Leadership in Polarized Times. | |
 | Announcing his plans on Wednesday to step down as president of the University of Florida, W. Kent Fuchs invited an examination of a leadership legacy that has become emblematic of the college presidency in a polarized age. Fuchs, who is beginning his eighth year as president, said in a videotaped statement that he planned to resign from the post in about a year, when a successor is named. His tenure will no doubt be remembered as one that coincided with the university's rising national prestige, but also for a series of cascading political controversies tied to the pandemic and academic freedom. Covid-19 has challenged college presidents nationwide, but its politics have been particularly acute in Florida, where conservative lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, have opposed vaccination and mask mandates. In August, during the Delta-variant surge, Fuchs told faculty members that he was powerless to mandate masks in campus buildings, a policy that he said would run afoul of state rules. Forced to ignore the university's own medical experts on a matter of public safety, Fuchs appeared in his remarks both to accept and to starkly define the limits of his presidency -- one in which he, as a state actor, is increasingly hemmed in by assertive politicians and their appointees to the university's and state system's governing boards. |
| UF President Kent Fuchs announces plans to step down, become professor | |
 | University of Florida President Kent Fuchs, who led the university to top-tier preeminence but whose administration has been mired in controversy in recent months, announced Wednesday that he will step down and transition to professor about a year from now. Fuchs, 67, became UF's 12th president in January 2015. He told UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini in August that he would like to transition from president to professor, according to the announcement from UF. They agreed Fuchs will continue as president until a successor is appointed, which is expected to occur by early 2023, according to UF. The timing of Fuchs' departure as president aligns with his long-stated plans. "When I was appointed in 2014, I was asked to make three commitments to the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors," Fuchs said in a video released Wednesday morning. "First, that I would work to raise the stature of UF to be among the nation's top 10 public universities. Second, that UF would launch and complete a $3 billion fundraising campaign. Third, that UF would not increase its tuition while I served as president. Those promises were made and those promises were kept." Fuchs has been a popular figure on campus, known for April Fool's Day pranks and an affable, humorous touch on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. Before coming to UF, Fuchs was provost and dean of engineering at Cornell University. |
| As omicron surges, U of Florida students return | |
| Under January's chilly, gray morning sky and blanket of fog, the trampling footsteps and race for parking for thousands of students returning for spring semester classes could be heard at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Like similar terms over the past two years, students starting classes Wednesday faced the looming threat of COVID-19. This time around, the highly infectious omicron strain is spreading. Cases have skyrocketed around Alachua County and Florida in recent weeks. Hospitalizations are rising once again, and testing demand is high. UF and SF, largely sticking with their plans from the fall 2021 semester, have COVID-19 precautions and procedures in place to help limit infections, but continue with classes in person and without vaccination, universal testing or masking requirements. Most students, but not everyone who spoke with the Gainesville Sun on Wednesday, said they were satisfied with their schools' efforts and looking forward to the weeks ahead of studying and socialization. Hanna Duggins, a 19-year-old freshman from Gainesville, is another student taking in-person classes at UF. The viola performance major said she was really excited for the start of the semester on Wednesday and is planning to push herself to try new things. "I'm looking forward to all the music that I get to play," Duggins said. She is also considering joining intramural tennis. |
| U. of Kentucky employee who broke into 860 dorm suites over winter break has been fired, charged | |
 | A University of Kentucky housing employee has been fired after they broke into approximately 860 residence hall suites and stole items left behind by students over the winter break, the university said Wednesday. Kristian Lowe, a contracted employee with Greystar, was fired and criminally charged with burglary, trespassing and possession of a deadly weapon (brass knuckles, according to police), and was arraigned in Fayette County Court on Tuesday, according to a police report. An investigation by the UK Police Department is ongoing. Multiple UK students reported cash and electronics missing when they returned to their dorms, according to the police report. One student reported a missing safe and damaged jewelry. Camera footage from the dorms showed Lowe in multiple rooms on Dec. 29, pushing a cart. He "did not have a legal reason to be in that residence" based on his job assignments, according to the police report. He told police another employee had entered multiple rooms with him. Lowe had approximately $1,303 in his coat pockets when he was interviewed by police on Jan. 3. UK said the break-ins affected about 1,650 students, and the university is "working to ensure appropriate remuneration as quickly as possible for any items stolen." Impacted students have been sent directions on how to fill out a form for any items that have been stolen. "First and foremost, we are here to support our students, their safety and their security," said UKPD Chief Joe Monroe. "The technology now in place in new, high-tech residence halls allowed us to detect unwarranted activity much more quickly than we would have been able to do in older halls that depended upon locks and keys for entry and access." |
| College students say working long, stressful hours during labor shortage not worth the money | |
 | Carley Transano was so stressed at work, she quit on the spot. Her manager at a clothing store in Columbia kept scheduling her for shifts at times when she had classes at the University of Missouri -- even asking her to participate in Zoom class meetings in the store's back room so she could process shipments while listening to the lecture. "I was like, 'this isn't working out... It's not worth the money,'" Transano, an MU junior, said. "It's not worth the stress that it's putting on me, and it's not worth how it's affecting my grades." With MU students and employees preparing to return to campus for spring classes, businesses still haven't found any easy answers to the labor shortage that has gripped Missouri and the rest of the nation. Many stores have slashed their hours and persuaded employees to work longer shifts. Many MU students say work conditions are so stressful they'd rather forego the spending money and focus instead on succeeding in their classes. Ashley Wier, a senior at the university, began working at a campus dining hall in October 2020, and she quickly noticed issues with staffing. The majority of people hired would stop showing up after just one shift, requiring the remaining employees to put in extra work, she said. |
| Clemson University classes remain in person with mask mandate amid rising COVID-19 cases | |
| Clemson University announced that classes will remain in person when the spring semester begins Wednesday, Jan. 12. Earlier this week the university announced that it will be reinstating a mask mandate in response to the rising COVID-19 cases. Masks are required inside all university buildings statewide except when alone in spaces such as private workspace, classrooms or housing rooms or when eating or drinks. They must be placed back on when no longer actively eating or drinking. Infection rates throughout the fall semester remained low which led to the university lifting the mask requirements, although testing requirements and frequency will for students and faculty remain the same. Two weeks ago the university announced that through sequencing, 10 positive COVID-19 samples confirmed to contain the omicron variant. COVID-19-related developments, including any updated policies or procedures, will be shared with faculty, staff and students by email, posted on social media and the COVID-19 updates page. |
| Colleges resuming in-person classes amid Omicron | |
 | Colleges across the country that are pivoting to remote instruction and delaying the start of the spring semester may have caught the headlines, but they are in the minority. The vast majority of institutions are returning to in-person learning as scheduled. According to data from the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, nearly 90 percent of colleges and universities are welcoming students back to campus. Likewise, 98 percent will start on time, per data from a sample size of 502 institutions. "There are a good number of institutions bringing students back on schedule," said Rylie Martin, assistant director of the College Crisis Initiative, or C2i. "Many are maintaining COVID mitigation strategies from the fall semester, which means having indoor masking mandates, requiring either re-entry testing once students get back to campus or testing prior to coming back." Martin added that vaccine mandates or incentives to get vaccinated are also common. Dr. Preeti Malani, a professor and the chief health officer at Michigan, said that colleges are in a much different place now than when the pandemic first hit the U.S. Vaccines, mitigation strategies and the benefit of hindsight helped drive the university's decision. "In March of 2020, medical and public health aspects were the only consideration; other issues -- equity issues, learning issues and economic issues -- were secondary," Malani said. "Now we're two years into this. We've learned a lot about how to run a campus during a pandemic. We've become creative, innovative and also nimble. We don't know what next week and the week after are going to look like, but we can monitor very closely; we can continue to communicate." |
| Multiple HBCUs receive bomb threats | |
| At least eight historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats Tuesday afternoon and evening. No suspicious packages or explosives were found as of Wednesday. Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Xavier University in Louisiana reported bomb threats Tuesday afternoon. More threat reports followed around 5 p.m. at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluffs, Prairie View A&M University in Texas and North Carolina Central University, and Florida Memorial University reported a bomb threat around 7:30 p.m., according to university emails and statements shared on Twitter. Norfolk State University in Virginia received a threat in the evening but did not specify a time. Spelman College tweeted Wednesday that the campus Department of Public Safety and the Atlanta Police Department responded to a bomb threat to one of its buildings, the Manley College Center, on Tuesday, making it the eighth HBCU affected by the rash of threats. "After a thorough search, no devices were found and the building was secured," the tweet read. Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation say they are aware of the incidents. Students and alumni from the affected HBCUs have been expressing concern on social media that multiple college were targeted. GeColby Youngblood, a second-year master's student at North Carolina Central, said he was on his way to campus to return library books when he received an emergency alert on his phone. He returned to where he lives, about 10 minutes from the Durham campus, and saw on social media that other HBCUs were experiencing similar threats. Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor at Wake Forest University and host of the National Public Radio program The Takeaway, similarly noted the history evoked by the bomb threats, which was fresh in many minds after the death Sunday of Maxine McNair, the last surviving parent of one of the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham, Ala., church bombing. |
| Government encouraged to step up on college accountability | |
| What is the best way to encourage better educational and career outcomes for college students? One idea popular now is to publicly release information on student outcomes for different colleges or their programs. The U.S. Department of Education does this through its College Scorecard, which in recent years has been adding program-level data. The theory behind this line of thinking is that students will stay away from low-performing colleges, so the forces of supply and demand will push poor performers to improve or close. But some argue this competitive market is unlikely to ever take shape. The federal government has the responsibility to create a system that would hold colleges accountable and improve outcomes for students, according to an article published recently by the Brookings Institution. Colleges must meet certain criteria to receive federal student aid, something prospective students could interpret as a benchmark of quality. Instead, the requirements mean little for student success rates, and the bar colleges need to clear is shockingly low, the article's authors argued. Information without context won't serve the students who need it the most, they wrote. |
| Scholars describe how Jan. 6 affected their work | |
| Institution after institution condemned the attack on the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6 as "incomprehensible," "odious" and threatening "the future of our Republic." Colleges and universities also affirmed their commitment to promoting civic engagement, civil dialogue and other democratic values amid the assault. Yet a year later, the memory of Jan. 6 has become hazy or receded altogether on many campuses. Nancy MacLean, William H. Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University, said she's been "stunned and saddened, frankly, at how relatively little attention higher education has paid to the events of Jan. 6 between the week after the attack, when there were many grave public statements, and now." Certain professional associations are holding events to commemorate the anniversary, including one online today from the Organization of American Historians, where MacLean is speaking. But "I'm not seeing anything near the attention the crisis calls for from college and university administrations," she said. Colleges and universities do face other urgent challenges, of which COVID-19 is only one. But MacLean said she also suspected that many institutions see growing authoritarianism on the political right as a "partisan matter" to be avoided, lest they upset governing boards and donors. Even if institutions aren't speaking out about Jan. 6 anymore, scholars including MacLean say their work was profoundly affected by the insurrection and that they're determined to keep the lessons of that day alive. |
| APLU Statement on One-Year Anniversary of January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol | |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. "Today we remember the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol building last year as lawmakers worked to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. That day marked a grave assault on our democracy, but also demonstrated the resilience of our nation as lawmakers returned later that night to certify the results of the election. Today we recognize and honor those who fought to defend the Capitol, including officers who were injured or died as a result of the attack, and all those who worked in the Capitol that day and continue to grapple with psychological trauma. We must remember the day as we work to prevent it from happening again. U.S. public universities have a foundational role in strengthening our democracy so it can endure and thrive. Public universities must continue their work to be pillars of free inquiry and vigorous debate that instill the value of civil discourse in their graduates. The vigorous and civil debate of a variety of ideas and viewpoints is at the heart of public universities' mission to educate graduates who strengthen our democracy. Today, that work is important as ever." |
SPORTS
| Save The Date: 2022 Super Bulldog Weekend | |
| Mississippi State athletics announced Tuesday that the 36th annual Super Bulldog Weekend, a Bulldog spring homecoming tradition, will be held April 14-16 on the MSU campus. National Coach of the Year Chris Lemonis and his defending National Champion Diamond Dawgs will host Auburn at Dudy Noble Field for a three-game SEC series April 14 (Thursday), April 15 (Friday) and April 16 (Saturday). Game times and television information will be announced later. Head football coach Mike Leach's 2022 Bulldogs will play the Maroon and White Game on April 16 (Saturday) in Davis Wade Stadium. Admission is free. Kickoff time and television information will be announced later. Led by 2018 SEC Coach of the Year Matt Roberts, the men's tennis program will take on Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. CT Saturday (April 16) at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The Bulldogs will also host Kentucky at 1 p.m. CT Sunday (April 17). For more information on Mississippi State Athletics, follow on Twitter (@HailState), on Facebook (/hailstate) and Instagram by searching for "HailState." |
| Diamond Dawgs Continue to Earn Preseason All-America Honors | |
| Mississippi State's Landon Sims and Logan Tanner continue to rack up accolades prior to the 2022 season after the duo were named to Perfect Game's Preseason All-America teams, the publication announced Wednesday (Jan. 5). Sims earned first-team accolades, while catcher Logan Tanner was a third-team selection on Perfect Game's preseason list. In December, Sims and Tanner also earned first and second team preseason All-America honors, respectively, by Collegiate Baseball. In 2021, Sims was a consensus first-team All-America selection and earned All-SEC honors after helping lead State to a national championship. The right-hander was 5-0 on the year with 13 saves in 25 appearances on the bump. He recorded a 1.44 ERA in 56.1 innings of work, while striking out 100 and only walking 15 batters on the season. Tanner was named to the All-SEC Newcomer team last season after batting .287 with a team-high 15 home runs, 13 doubles and 53 RBI. He slugged .525 and registered a .382 on base percentage in 67 appearances for the Diamond Dawgs. The 2022 season gets underway on Feb. 18 when the Diamond Dawgs host Long Beach State in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. |
| MSU women seek first SEC win at Alabama | |
| The Mississippi State women will try to break into the SEC win column tonight at 6 at Alabama. The game will be live-streamed through SEC Network-plus. The Bulldogs (9-4, 0-1 SEC) are coming off an 80-68 loss at No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday. Four MSU starters scored in double figures in the loss, but the Bulldogs got only six points off the bench. Alabama (10-3, 1-1 SEC) defeated Auburn 56-53 in Tuscaloosa on Sunday. The Crimson Tide is 9-1 at home. Alabama is led by senior 5-foot-9 guard Brittany Davis with 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. MSU's Rickea Jackson leads the SEC with 20.7 points a game. She had 14 at South Carolina. |
| Two Mississippi State women's basketball assistant coaches test positive for COVID-19 | |
| Two assistant coaches have tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Mississippi State women's basketball's game against Alabama on Thursday, interim coach Doug Novak said. Novak said he wasn't able to say which particular assistant coaches tested positive, but he noted how one was leading the opposing scouting report on the Crimson Tide, momentarily throwing a wrench in preparations. The two assistants join director of basketball operations Ashley Morris and video coordinator Daniel Segal as positive cases in recent days, thinning the backroom staff for the Bulldogs. While two players tested positive and missed practice time around Christmas, Novak said no players have since tested positive, so the Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1 SEC) coach expects a full complement of players available against Alabama (10-3, 1-1) on Thursday (6 p.m., SEC Network+). "All those positions matter. To every program, not just ours," Novak said. "You think, we only need our leading scorer. We only need this, we only need that. But there's a lot of pieces that make a program work, and some of these people are so good and they've been around here for a while, that we take them for granted, cause we don't have to know the ins-and-outs of things, cause they've always taken care of you. And then they're gone for a trip, and it makes life interesting, and maybe it was a good thing for those people, for us to know how much we value them and how much we appreciate what they do. Maybe we were taking them for granted; I don't anymore." |
| Rickea Jackson Named to Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball's Rickea Jackson was named to the 2021-22 John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch list, the organization announced Wednesday evening. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on performances during the 2021-22 season thus far. The list comprises 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport's most prestigious honor. Jackson has had an impressive start to the 2021-22 season averaging an SEC best, 20.7 points per game that rank 14th nationally. The junior from Detroit is ranked second on the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg), second in blocked shots (17) and third in steals (12). Jackson recently surpassed the 1,000-career point milestone at Mississippi State in the Bulldogs' win over Jackson State on Dec. 19. On the year, Jackson has scored in double-figures in all 12 games she has played in. She became the first play since Jordan Danberry to record at least 10-straight double-digit scoring games with her streak. Highlighting her double-digit performances was a 40-point scoring barrage against McNeese State on Dec. 1. Jackson scored 40-points on 10-of-26 shooting to set a career-high in points scored while also becoming the first Bulldog to score at least 40-points in a game since Teaira McCown back in 2017. Her 40-points scored ranks as the 10th most points scored in a game in program history and are the 5th most points scored by any player this season. State will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs' next home contest will be Sunday, Jan. 9, when they host Vanderbilt. Tip-off against the Commodores is scheduled for 6 p.m. |
| USM sport management collaborates with Pelicans on ticket sales | |
 | During the fall 2021 semester, students in the University of Southern Mississippi Sport Management program got a taste of the real world. The group collaborated with National Basketball Association's New Orleans Pelicans in a sport marketing class that allowed undergraduate students to be involved in the sport sales process. Chris Croft, assistant professor of Sport Management, and Jesse Nantz, New Orleans Pelicans premium sales account executive, organized the experiential learning opportunity. "Since ticket sales are one of the top avenues to gain entry in the sport industry, we thought it would be beneficial for our students to gain real-world experience in selling game tickets," Croft said. "We were excited to get back to having full fans at Pelicans' games this season and working with Professor Croft's sport marketing class again," Nantz said. "This was the second time the Pelicans were able to work with Southern Miss students and both sides were eager and able to learn and build upon the last experience." |
| Reports: Texas A&M hires Ole Miss' DJ Durkin as defensive coordinator | |
 | Texas A&M has hired Ole Miss' D.J. Durkin to replace defensive coordinator Mike Elko, according to multiple reports. Durkin spent the last two seasons with the Rebels as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He also served as defensive coordinator at Florida (2013-14) and Michigan (2015). Durkin is considered one of the nation's best recruiters. He was Rivals' recruiter of the year in 2012 while at Florida. He has helped sign eight top 25 classes, including five in the top 10, according to the Ole Miss website. Durkin was head coach at Maryland from 2016-18, going 10-15. He went 6-7 in his first season, doubling the program's victories from the previous season. He also signed back-to-back recruiting classes ranked in the top 30 for the first time in school history. But Durkin was fired without cause following the death of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair, who suffered a heatstroke during practice. Durkin was a consultant with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in 2019 before returning to the college ranks. Ole Miss didn't play A&M in 2020 because of COVID-19, but the Rebels beat the Aggies 29-19 this season. Ole Miss held A&M scoreless in the first half with the Aggies' longest drive covering just 24 yards on five plays. A&M ended the game with 378 yards and threw a pair of interceptions. Ole Miss went 10-3 this season, ending with a 21-7 loss to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. "The way our defense played tonight, D.J. has probably got a lot of opportunities," Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said after the game. |
| How the latest COVID-19 spike will impact the rest of the 2021-22 college basketball season | |
| The cancellations, postponements and team pauses that have permeated college basketball in recent weeks have yielded to a new round of questions for the sport. One year after the coronavirus pandemic produced the most unusual season (and postseason) in the modern era, the rise of the COVID-19 omicron variant has caused the game's stakeholders to revisit many of those same 2020-21 questions. Will teams and leagues be able to play something resembling full schedules? Will conference tournaments be played? What are the implications if those answers are "no," and what will the consequences be for an NCAA tournament that was expected to proceed as normal in 2022? Which leagues have had the most issues, and is there a consensus within the game on how best to move forward? As those questions continue to be raised, we looked at the biggest issues for college basketball, and the most significant questions being asked as the game attempts to resume in the coming days and weeks. |
| In New COVID-19 Guidance, NCAA Updates Definition of Fully Vaccinated to Include Booster | |
| The NCAA medical advisory group is changing its definition of a fully vaccinated individual as someone who has received the COVID-19 booster shot if they are eligible, sources tell Sports Illustrated, a significant move that will trigger a rush from universities to get their players and staff boosted. The new definition only applies to previously vaccinated individuals who are eligible for the booster. Athletes are eligible if they are within two months from getting the single shot Johnson and Johnson; five months from the last Pfizer shot; and six months from the last Moderna shot. Athletes who are not eligible for the booster but are vaccinated are still considered fully vaccinated. Those athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days are also immunized and receive the benefits of a fully vaccinated athlete. The new protocols are only recommendations or "considerations," NCAA documents say. Conferences and schools can choose whether to follow them or create their own guidelines based on their local health department guidance. The latest changes are part of the NCAA medical advisory group's new re-socialization guidelines expected to be released to schools on Thursday. The new protocols are a response to the surging omicron variant. |
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