Thursday, February 3, 2022   
 
Mississippi State University Extension Service hosting Master Gardener training
The Mississippi State University Extension Service will be offering Master Gardener training and certification beginning March 15 through May 15. Registration for the class will be open through Feb. 28. The cost is $125. Topics for the online and self-paced 40-hour class will include basic botany, soils, ornamental plants, fruits and nuts, vegetables, lawns, plant diseases, entomology, weed science, plant propagation and invasive plants. "Volunteers help extend the educational arm of the university to the public by providing horticultural information based on university research and recommendations," a news release from the MSU Extension Service said. "The Master Gardener Volunteer program is a great way to gain horticultural expertise at a low cost, meet other avid gardeners, share gardening experiences, get connected to the community and belong to a well-respected and educational organization." Currently, Warren County has 49 active members, and their volunteer projects include maintaining the Heritage Garden in the Vicksburg National Military Park; maintaining the Butterfly Garden at the playground on Catfish Row and disbursing horticulture information each week at the Vicksburg Farmers Market. For more information or to register for the spring 2022 training, call 601-636-5442 or visit http://msuext.ms/mg.
 
Spring Master Gardener opens registration for online training class
Spring Master Gardener has opened registration for its' training class. Registration will run through Feb. 15, 2022. Online classes will be held online from March 15th through May 15th. Through this program, individuals are trained and certified in consumer horticulture and related areas. In exchange for 40 hours of educational training, individuals are required to return 40 hours of volunteer service within one year of their training. This service should help county Extension offices with horticulture projects that benefit their local communities. After the first year, volunteers are required to return 20 hours of volunteer service and to attend 12 hours of educational training to remain certified as Master Gardeners. Continuing education is offered to encourage long-term commitments. Most certified Master Gardeners serve five to seven years. The Master Gardener approach helps the local Extension office reach a broader audience than is possible with only one or two agents. It also provides the local office a way to serve the public and, at the same time, develop a supportive clientele group. Volunteers help extend the educational arm of the university to the public by providing horticultural information based on university research and recommendations. For more information, call the Lafayette County Extension office at 662-234-4451 or Assistant Professor and Extension Expert Dr. Jeff Wilson, jeff.wilson@msstate.edu.
 
Massive winter storm dumps ice, freezing rain and up to 18 inches of snow across US
A massive winter storm brought freezing rain and record-breaking snow Thursday, creating dangerous conditions as it trekked from the South through the Northeast. Schools were closed, flights were canceled and power was knocked out in some areas as more than 100 million people were under some form of a winter weather alert, according to the National Weather Service. From the Rockies to the Northeast, the storm was expected to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to millions through Friday evening. Parts of the Midwest and Northeast could see up to 18 inches of snow while up to an inch of ice was possible in isolated areas around Kentucky and Tennessee, according to Weather Service forecasts. More than 3,800 flights were canceled Thursday, according to the tracker Flightaware.com. More than 117,000 customers in Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee had already lost power, according to Poweroutage.us. "It is a slow-moving storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told USA TODAY. "Such a long duration storm not only makes travel difficult over a long period of time, but it also allows the freezing rain to accumulate up to around 1 inch in some areas which can cause power outages." Ice storm warnings were in effect for areas in eastern Arkansas and Missouri, western Kentucky and Tennessee and northern Mississippi.
 
Mississippi weather: Icy roads reported, severe storms possible Thursday
There are reports of ice accumulation on roads and bridges in Coahoma and DeSoto counties in north Mississippi Thursday, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. A strong arctic like cold front will bring multi-hazards to the region. Freezing rain and drizzle will be possible through this evening across the Delta while severe weather including flash flooding, will be possible, the National Weather Service in Jackson said. MEMA recommends drivers stay off icy roads unless it is an emergency. Strong thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts and tornadoes were possible Thursday in parts of Mississippi and Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center said. During last year's winter weather there were five fatalities due to slipping on ice or ice-related vehicle crashes.
 
Former SPD officer indicted for felony pleads down to misdemeanor assault
A former Starkville police officer who previously was indicted for felony aggravated assault has pleaded guilty instead to misdemeanor simple assault. Gary Wheeler fired his service weapon into a car during an attempted traffic stop and wounded Zyterrious Gandy, who was 19 at the time, in three places on June 3, 2017. An Oktibbeha County grand jury's felony indictment in 2018 reads Wheeler showed "extreme indifference to the value of human life." Wheeler entered a guilty plea Jan. 26 to simple assault -- negligently causing serious bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months in jail, all of which are suspended, six months unsupervised probation and a $300 fine. The Mississippi Attorney General's Office prosecuted the case, including presenting it to the grand jury for the felony indictment. Chief of Staff Michelle Williams said Wednesday that after reviewing the evidence presented and due to the MBI investigation, the office felt a plea of simple assault was in the best interest of justice. She also said it is not uncommon for aggravated assault charges like this to be changed to simple assault. After Gandy allegedly robbed the Sprint Mart at the intersection of Highway 12 and South Montgomery Street in Starkville, an early morning pursuit followed involving several officers. Officers attempted a traffic stop in the South Wedgewood Road area, according to previous reporting from The Dispatch, and Gandy backed into a patrol car. Wheeler fired into Gandy's car after Gandy attempted to drive away. Gandy was soon captured after attempting to flee on foot.
 
Cadence Bank unveils its new logo
Cadence Bank last week introduced its new logo, which it said was a key component of its new brand identity following the successful merger of BancorpSouth and Cadence. The new logo "celebrates the combination of legacy" of both banks, which completed their merger in October 2021. The new Cadence Bank "indicates the company's continued commitment to seeing its customers and communities prosper. It is the first of several elements to be announced as part of the company's long-term brand strategy and identity. Said Dan Rollins, chairman and CEO of Cadence Bank, "Both of our legacy companies have rich histories of serving our customers and communities. Our new logo will build upon our respective legacies and carry us forward on our growth path. "We're confident this new logo, as well as the other elements of our brand identity, celebrates our pasts, conveys who we are today and moves us into the future as a combined company." The logo's design visually combines the Cadence name with a modernized interpretation of a tree, which is a nod to legacy BancorpSouth's tupelo gum tree logo from the bank's origin in Tupelo.
 
Rising commodity prices suggest more inflation is on the way
If you thought the price of food and rent have gone up, try taking a gander at commodity prices. Arabica coffee bean futures finished 2021 more than 75% higher and are still climbing. Cotton is at a 10-year high, roughly. The trouble with commodities is that they go into just about everything we buy. And some of them get into our minds as well. Soybeans are up 13% year over year, according to Thomson Reuters. Aluminum's up 54%. Anhydrous ammonia fertilizer is up over 200% over 2020's average. A lot of this comes down to what we've been buying for the last two years -- a lot of random stuff. "The pandemic resulted in a substitution of goods for services," said Craig Pirrong, a finance professor at University of Houston. Producers weren't ready because at the beginning of the pandemic, they cut back. "So when we had that cut in production capacity and then all of a sudden we get this increased demand, you put those two things together and you get price rises," Pirrong said. Commodity prices tend to move a lot faster than prices in the rest of the economy. "Commodity prices will be a leading indicator of the inflation rate in the U.S.," Jian Yang, a professor finance at University of Colorado Denver, said. According to Yang, the commodities prices signify that there is more inflation to come in 2022, though it won't be quite as crazy as last year. One of the biggest movers of all in commodities has been energy. West Texas oil is up 61% year over year, Dutch natural gas is up 325%. And these numbers, more than any other, register with people. And when people expect more inflation, more inflation can happen.
 
Mississippi House and Senate at odds over tax plans
On Tuesday, the Mississippi Senate proposed a $446.6 million tax relief package. The move comes a little less than a month after the House of Representatives passed its own tax reformation plan, entitled the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022. House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, said the Senate plan "pales in comparison to the transformative tax reform that Mississippi needs." Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, is worried about creating a hole in the budget, comparing total elimination of income tax to a lost ship. Following Harkins' take on HB 531, Lamar told SuperTalk Mississippi that their plan is not destined to break the bank. "We're not idiots," Lamar said. "We didn't roll out this bill that's going to break the state. In the bill that the House passed, we have allowed at least $300 million to grow state government, to pay our teachers, to pay our state employees, all of those sorts of things that we have to do." Also according to Lamar, serious negotiation is unlikely as the two plans are so far apart. "There is a chasm between the House plan and the Senate plan," he said. "They say 'tax cut, tax cut, tax cut.' That is a code for 'we don't want to eliminate the income tax.' That's code for 'we don't want transformational change in this state.'" While the House bill passed with an overwhelming vote, the Senate's plan will go before the Finance Committee in the coming weeks.
 
Mississippi governor signs law allowing medical marijuana
Mississippi is legalizing medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation Wednesday and it became law immediately. It could be months before the first marijuana dispensaries open. "There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis," Reeves wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. "There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings." The new law will allow patients to buy up to to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day, up to six days a week. That is about 3 ounces per month. It sets taxes on production and sale of cannabis, and it specifies that plants must be grown indoors under controlled conditions. Reeves said because of the reduction from 5 ounces a month in the initiative to 3 ounces a month in the new law, "there will be hundreds of millions of fewer joints on the streets because of this improvement." The new law prohibits the state from providing economic development incentives for the cannabis industry. The law gives cities and counties 90 days to opt out of allowing medical marijuana facilities, for growing or selling. But, people in those communities could petition for an election to overrule local officials' decisions and allow them.
 
Gov. Tate Reeves signs law establishing medical marijuana program in Mississippi
Mississippians with serious medical conditions will soon be able to receive medical marijuana in the state. Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday evening signed a bill into law that will allow people with certain medical conditions to get certified by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or optometrist to receive medical cannabis. "I have made it clear that the bill on my desk is not the one that I would have written," Reeves said on social media. "But it is a fact that the legislators who wrote the final version of the bill made significant improvements to get us towards accomplishing the ultimate goal." After previously threatening to veto the legislation if lawmakers didn't tweak certain portions of the bill, it was unknown if the first-term GOP governor would sign the bill into law, veto the legislation or let it become law without his signature. But state lawmakers overwhelmingly voted last week to pass medical marijuana basis, solidifying a veto-proof majority in both chambers. "I am thrilled that the Legislature did the right thing and made a way for thousands of suffering patients to have access to medical marijuana," said Dr. Matt Wesson, retired ophthalmologist in Tupelo. "This is going to be life-changing for so many individuals and families across our great state." Reeves' signature bookends a long chapter in state politics marked with twists and turns.
 
Gov. Tate Reeves begrudgingly signs Mississippi medical marijuana program into law
Saying he still has concerns about it -- and would have written it differently -- Gov. Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act into law Wednesday afternoon ahead of a midnight deadline. In a long Facebook post Wednesday, Reeves said he "committed to supporting the will of the people" who had passed a medical marijuana referendum only to have it overturned by the state Supreme Court. But he still doesn't like it and has concerns it could lead to increased recreational marijuana use "and less people working." "I have made it clear that the bill on my desk is not the one that I would have written," Reeves wrote. "But it is a fact that the legislators who wrote the final version of the bill (the 45th or 46th draft) made significant improvements to get us towards accomplishing the ultimate goal." The bill calls for the state Department of Health to begin accepting applications, registering and licensing ID cards and practitioners within 120 days. After 120 days, the department is required to begin licensing and registering cannabis cultivation facilities, processing facilities, testing facilities, research facilities, disposal and transport operations. After 150 days, the Department of Revenue is supposed to begin licensing and registering dispensaries, within 30 days of receiving applications, or within 30 days after the initial 150 days, whichever is the later date. The law requires all medical cannabis used in Mississippi to be grown and processed in state, so the earliest availability of it to patients is still months away, likely late this year.
 
Bill would privatize alcohol distribution in Mississippi
The distribution of alcohol in Mississippi could become privatized under a bill passed by House lawmakers. Finance leadership is sharing how this change could affect businesses and Mississippians. House Bill 512 would remove Mississippi's Alcoholic Beverage Control as the sole source of alcohol in the state. It would replace the state's current warehouse with privately owned and certified wholesalers. Republican Representative Trey Lamar authored the bill. He says the current warehouse system under the Department of Revenue has been inefficient at delivering products to stores across the state. "And I don't believe the taxpayers want to see us put another fifty to sixty million dollars into that warehouse to fix it up when we really don't need to be in the business anyway," says Lamar. "States around us are not in the business of warehousing products, and so with that said it's past time for us to move on to a another way of doing things." Lawmakers say the bill would allow for a larger variety in alcohol products, expanding beyond the limitations of the state's current warehouse system. But the measure would not allow residents to order alcohol directly from out-of-state distributors. Lamar says this bill would not undermine the state's ability to tax alcohol sales, and says the new warehouses could create jobs for Mississippians. "There's an industry right now in Mississippi that doesn't exist because the government doesn't allow it to exist. We would remove that prohibition and then the private sector would flood that industry," says Lamar. "And so you'll be talking about millions in capital investment, hundreds of jobs, if not a thousand plus jobs eventually when this industry is fully turned over to the private sector."
 
Lawmakers seek solutions to Mississippi liquor distribution problem
Lawmakers are at odds over Mississippi's liquor distribution woes, with the House wanting to privatize everything and the Senate looking to build a new warehouse and contract out distribution services. Built in 1983, the state-owned liquor and wine distribution center and warehouse in Madison is in need of serious repairs and cannot keep up with demand. Retailers have reported wait times on orders exceeding three weeks. The House voted 112-2 Wednesday to close the state warehouse and allow for private companies to manage the state's distribution system. The warehouse employs about 100 workers, according to information from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, has pushed for the privatization of the state warehouse for years. He said if distribution is privatized, the state will continue to collect tax revenue from alcohol sales. Liquor and wine sales generated more than $100 million in revenue for Mississippi's general fund in the 2020-21 fiscal year, according to figures from the department of revenue. Senate Finance Chair Josh Harkins told the Clarion Ledger in October the state warehouse needed to be addressed. His committee approved a bill Jan. 27 to construct a new warehouse and to allow the Mississippi Department of Revenue to contract out distribution services. The full Senate has not voted on it yet. Although the House overwhelmingly supports privatization, Lamar told his colleagues he expects the issue to end up in conference.
 
With a strong vote of support, Outdoor Stewardship bills pass the Mississippi House
On Wednesday, the Mississippi House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills that would establish a dedicated conservation fund in the state, diverting already existing revenues to the effort. Supporters say the legislation would bring incredible investments to Mississippi's natural resources and allow the state to compete for additional dollars to enhance those parks, provide clean water, and make other quality of life improvements. State Rep. Scott Bounds has championed this effort for nearly five years. He joined Y'all Politics on Thursday to discuss the bills now pending in the State Senate for consideration. Similar bills did not make it through the process in 2021 but Bounds is hopeful they will meet with approval this session.
 
Who will manage Mississippi's parks next year? Senators put forward three different ideas
Some lawmakers want to change who oversees Mississippi's state parks, but there's no consensus of who that might be. The Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee, led by Sen. Neil Whaley, R-Potts Camp, has passed three different pieces of legislation that would transfer the management of state parks system out from under the main umbrella of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. "There's no denying that our parks are in a dilapidated shape," said Whaley, who authored the three bills. "This is a way for us to improve them. One of my main priorities for this committee to look at is improving our state parks." One proposal put forward is to create a new state parks division within the MDWFP and allow that division to oversee the state parks system. Under this proposal, the state parks division would have its own director, who would be appointed by the governor. Another option is to transfer state parks to the tourism division currently housed in the Mississippi Development Authority, the state's economic development agency. The third proposal is to house the state parks in the Mississippi Department of Tourism, which does not yet exist. The Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to create the new department. Whaley said he favors creating a new state parks division at MDWFP and letting it take over the parks operations. But he put three different options forward to give lawmakers different options to consider as the legislative session continues.
 
Bill designed to reduce catalytic converter thefts in Mississippi
You don't usually see catalytic converters on vehicles when you're driving down the road, but they are a hot commodity for the thieves. Catalytic Converters are packed with precious metals. Coast Transit Authority Executive Director Kevin Coggin is all too familiar with how valuable the devices can be. He had one worth $1,100 stolen off his personal RV parked in his driveway. "I was angry," said Coggin. According to Coggin, catalytic converters are also routinely stolen off of CTA contracted private vehicles, but he doesn't place the blame only on the thieves. "If somebody is coming in constantly with catalytic converters selling them to the scrap yard and they're not operating in a car junkyard or a muffler shop, where are they getting all these catalytic converters from," Coggin said. State Senator from Long Beach Mike Thompson recognizes how often the thefts are happening. To make it harder for those thieves to sell the catalytic converters, Thompson has introduced a bill that would require anyone selling the equipment to provide an ID and VIN number from the vehicle the catalytic converter was removed from. Thompson said a similar bill was passed last year in Alabama and is having success in reducing the thefts. Coggin is hoping the same will happen in Mississippi. "Eliminating or diminishing the market to sell a stolen converter, I think is definitely a big deal," Coggin said. The Senate bill did move out of committee but will still need to pass the Senate, House and then be signed by the governor before becoming law.
 
Bill would help Mississippi welfare recipients create savings accounts
A bill pending in the state Senate would provide a $2-to-$1 match for Mississippi welfare recipients to help them create savings accounts. "Of the 100 most un-banked communities in the country, 17 are in Mississippi," said Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, co-author of Senate Bill 2634 along with Sen. Chris Caughman, R-Mendenhall. Horhn said the program, similar to ones being run by a majority of other states, would be funded up to about $1 million with federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money, with the goal of helping people get off welfare. Horhn said it would help poor families create savings accounts, provide them with financial literacy training -- which would be required for the program -- and that the savings would not affect their eligibility for TANF benefits. He said it would only apply to people with net incomes of less than $10,000, and at most only about 3,700 people would qualify. "I believe this is a wise use of resources and helping people with financial literacy and helping them to become financially stable," Horhn said. "Forty other states are doing this, and they are seeing people being moved off the welfare rolls." But passage of the measure out of Senate committees brought philosophical and political debate. The bill was passed from committee with a "reverse repealer," meaning it could not be passed into law without much more debate and changes.
 
Vaccine mandate, business incentive reform bills survive crucial first deadline in Legislature
The first big deadline for the Legislature was Tuesday and hundreds of bills didn't clear the initial milestone. Bills were due Tuesday to pass committees for a potential floor vote in the originating chamber. Any bill that didn't pass committee by Tuesday evening was dead for the session. Among the bills that survived the great winnowing was one that would ban the teaching of critical race theory, another that would prohibit vaccine mandates by state and local governments, a big reform of the state's business incentive program and another that would allow some municipal utilities to extend broadband service to rural areas. The next big deadline of the session will be February 10, which is the deadline for floor votes from the originating chamber. Another key deadline is March 1 for committees to approve bills from the opposite chamber for floor votes. SB 2113 would ban the teaching of critical race theory and was authored by State Sen. Michael McClendon, R-Hernando. The bill passed on a 32-2 vote on January 21 after black senators walked out in protest before the vote. The bill, which has been transmitted to the House, forbids the teaching that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior or that individuals should be adversely treated based on those same criteria. The bill does lack an enforcement mechanism. Both versions of the FORUM (Forming Open and Robust University Minds) Act died without a floor vote. Both bills would've protected freedom of speech rights for student organizations and provide legal remedies for those whose rights were compromised. HB 164 was sponsored by state Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon and HB 375 was sponsored by state Rep. Stacey Hobgood-Wilkes, R-Picayune.
 
Brandon Presley nets over $400,000 in campaign cash from bipartisan donors
Brandon Presley, amid speculation that he is eyeing a run for governor, has netted almost $475,000 in campaign donations within the last year. Combined with previous donations, the three-term utility regulator from north Mississippi is sitting on approximately $519,000 in cash on hand in his public service commissioner campaign account. State law requires candidates running for office to list the names and employers of anyone who makes a campaign donation greater than $200. Candidates don't have to disclose the names of any donors whose contributions are less than $200. Presley so far has not set up a campaign account for a run for governor, and the only campaign account he has maintained is for public service commissioner. Kimberly Simoes, an attorney who lives in Nettleton, donated the largest amount to Presley's PSC campaign account last year at $50,000. But one of the more notable aspects of the Nettleton Democrat's campaign donations over the past year is that it includes donations from several GOP donors as well. House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican from Clinton, has also been rumored to be considering a gubernatorial run in the Republican primary. Gunn this past year received around $655,000 dollars this past year in contributions, and has around $1.03 million in cash on hand. If Presley or Gunn were to run against Gov. Tate Reeves, they would still face a massive war chest from the current governor, who received $2.4 million in donations and is currently sitting on $4.8 million in cash on hand.
 
Mississippi Democrats respond to Sen. Roger Wicker's SCOTUS comment
Mississippi's top elected Democrats are denouncing U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker's racist comments about President Joe Biden's plan to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. "Sen. Wicker's statements regarding president Biden's desire to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court are shocking, appalling and downright resentful of Black women and racial progress," Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, said. House Minority Leader Robert Johnson III, D-Natchez, called Wicker's comments unfortunate. "I don't know him to be a racist and don't think he is, but that was a racist statement," said Johnson, who served in the Mississippi Legislature with Wicker. Wicker said Biden's nominee would be the beneficiary of affirmative action. "The irony is that the Supreme Court is at the very same time hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota," Wicker said Friday in an appearance on conservative radio station SuperTalk. Simmons said he would have labeled Wicker's comments misogynistic if it weren't for Wicker's vocal support of Justice Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. In 2020, Wicker said Barrett would "prove an inspiration" to his daughters and granddaughters. Johnson said Wicker's comments appear to be a response to attempts to change the status quo of power in America. "Nobody ever questioned whether or not you're going to nominate a white man, because they're presumed to be qualified," Johnson said. "But if you suggest that we need to try to at least think about somebody Black, somebody who's a Black woman, that somehow that's some doing something extra?"
 
FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL: State economy to receive infusion of $4 billion
The passage of the federal infrastructure bill is good news for all of Mississippi. The state will receive more than $4 billion in infrastructure improvement programs over the next five years. These funds will be used for projects that include bridge replacement and repair; road and highway upgrades; drinking water and wastewater improvements; and airport, port, and rail improvements. Banks will not be directly involved in the disbursement of these funds but will be involved with the overall economy. As U.S. Senator Roger F. Wicker puts it, "This law will have a major impact on our state, because strong infrastructure benefits every sector of our economy. Roads, bridges, railroads, ports, and airports move people and products through the economy." Sen. Wicker says he wants to give Mississippians and job creators every reason to stay and build their lives in the state. "This package provides the resources we need to repair and expand our transportation infrastructure, while also making new long-term investments in broadband internet, drinking water, wastewater, and flood control projects that will create jobs and keep Mississippi communities safe," he said. His priority as Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee will be to oversee the administration of this funding to ensure that Mississippi and the rest of the country are able to make the most of this hard infrastructure investment. Also, Mississippi is well-positioned to compete for additional funding from several new federal grant programs, according to Sen. Wicker.
 
USCIS director: Federal immigration funds 'critical' to agency
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou put out a plea Wednesday to Congress for more funding to help the immigration agency tackle lengthy visa backlogs and processing times that have kept applicants in limbo for months or longer. During a stakeholder briefing, Jaddou acknowledged mounting visa delays, which have caused individuals applying to receive and renew visas and work permits to wait months, some losing their jobs in the meantime. "Let me be very clear. Our processing times are too long. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it," said Jaddou, who was confirmed to her post in July. She emphasized the issue "is critically important to me and my colleagues," adding that everyone who applies for an immigration benefit with USCIS "​​is entitled to a timely decision, be it yes or no." Congress passed an emergency funding law in 2020 that allowed USCIS to collect higher fees for fast-tracked processing and offer the service on more types of applications, which the agency has yet to fully implement. Later that year, Congress gave the agency nearly $128 million in its fiscal 2021 spending bill. Jaddou also previewed an upcoming agency regulation to raise immigration application fees. USCIS, which is primarily fee-funded, is the Homeland Security agency responsible for adjudicating requests for green cards, asylum and U.S. citizenship. It previously attempted to raise its fees under the Trump administration, including by adding a first-ever asylum application fee, but the rule was struck down in court.
 
Biden says IS leader killed during US raid in Syria
The leader of the violent Islamic State group was killed during an overnight raid in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, President Joe Biden said Thursday. The raid targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took over as head of the militant group on Oct. 31, 2019, just days after leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died during a U.S. raid in the same area. A U.S. official said he died as al-Baghdadi did, by exploding a bomb that killed himself and members of his family, including women and children, as U.S. forces approached. The operation came as IS has been trying for a resurgence, with a series of attacks in the region, including a 10-day assault late last month to seize a prison. U.S. special forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border, an area dotted with camps for internally displaced people from Syria's civil war. Biden said in a statement that he ordered the raid to "protect the American people and our allies, and make the world a safer place." He planned to address the American public later Thursday morning. The Pentagon did not initially identify the target of the raid. "The mission was successful," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement. "There were no U.S. casualties."
 
Graham defends opposition to Jan. 6 pardons after Trump calls him a 'RINO'
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday defended his stance against offering pardons to Jan. 6, 2021, defendants a day after former President Trump called him a "RINO," an acronym that means "Republican In Name Only." "I stand with the police officers who protect our streets, federal courthouses, and the United States Capitol against rioters. They deserve our respect and support and I will not second-guess the decisions they made under dire circumstances," the senator said in a statement. However, he emphasized that Americans needed to have a unified voice against "politically motivated violence." "All Americans are entitled to have a speedy trial and their day in court, but those who actively engage in violence for whatever political cause must be held accountable and not be forgiven," Graham said. The remarks from Graham follow comments that Trump made during an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday night. Trump was responding to an interview that Graham did last weekend on CBS's "Face the Nation" in which he called it "inappropriate" to offer pardons to the defendants of the Jan. 6 riot -- an idea floated by Trump at a rally. "You talked about the potential, if it's appropriate, of pardoning some of the January 6ers," Newsmax's Rob Schmitt asked the former president. "Lindsey Graham said a couple days later, he thinks that's inappropriate. What do you think?" "Well, Lindsey Graham's wrong. I mean, Lindsey's a nice guy, but he's a RINO. Lindsey's wrong," Trump said. The remarks are surprising from Trump, given that Graham is considered one of the former president's closest allies in the Senate
 
Trump considered blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters before he left office
In the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump seriously considered issuing a blanket pardon for all participants in the Jan. 6 riot, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Between Jan. 6 and Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump made three calls to one adviser to discuss the idea. "Do you think I should pardon them? Do you think it's a good idea? Do you think I have the power to do it?" Trump told the person, who summarized their conversations. Another adviser to the former president said Trump asked questions about how participants in the riot might be charged criminally, and how a uniform pardon could provide them protection going forward. "Is it everybody that had a Trump sign or everybody who walked into the Capitol" who could be pardoned? Trump asked, according to that adviser. "He said, 'Some people think I should pardon them.' He thought if he could do it, these people would never have to testify or be deposed." The people who spoke with Trump were granted anonymity to describe their discussions frankly. The previously unreported conversations show that Trump wasn't simply musing when he told supporters at a Texas rally last weekend that he would consider pardoning people prosecuted for their role in the Jan. 6 attack if he runs for president again in 2024 and wins. Even in the immediate aftermath of the riot, Trump was expressing sympathy for those involved and weighing how he could shield them from legal consequences.
 
Biden Administration Forms Cybersecurity Review Board to Probe Failures
The Biden administration has formed a panel of senior administration officials and private-sector experts to investigate major national cybersecurity failures, and it will probe as its first case the recently discovered Log4j internet bug, officials said. The new Cyber Safety Review Board is tasked with examining significant cybersecurity events that affect government, business and critical infrastructure. It will publish reports on security findings and recommendations, officials said. Details of the board will be announced Thursday. The board, officials have said, is modeled loosely on the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates and issues public reports on airplane crashes, train derailments and other transportation accidents. The new panel's authority derives from an executive order that President Biden signed in May to improve federal cybersecurity defenses. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an interview that the cyber board was intended to draw solutions to future problems from past cybersecurity crises, rather than casting blame where shortcomings are identified. "It is not a regulatory authority, it is not a board that is searching for or focused upon accountability or fault," Mr. Mayorkas said. "We are going to be looking at ourselves, we are going to be looking at one another, and that really underscores the purpose of this board -- to not focus on fault." Officials said the new board was necessary to combine the expertise of government officials and private-sector researchers to study high-profile cybersecurity episodes and share comprehensive findings with the public.
 
North Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its Internet
For the past two weeks, observers of North Korea's strange and tightly restricted corner of the internet began to notice that the country seemed to be dealing with some serious connectivity problems. On several different days, practically all of its websites -- the notoriously isolated nation only has a few dozen -- intermittently dropped offline en masse, from the booking site for its Air Koryo airline to Naenara, a page that serves as the official portal for dictator Kim Jong-un's government. At least one of the central routers that allow access to the country's networks appeared at one point to be paralyzed, crippling the Hermit Kingdom's digital connections to the outside world. Some North Korea watchers pointed out that the country had just carried out a series of missile tests, implying that a foreign government's hackers might have launched a cyberattack against the rogue state to tell it to stop saber-rattling. But responsibility for North Korea's ongoing internet outages doesn't lie with US Cyber Command or any other state-sponsored hacking agency. In fact, it was the work of one American man in a T-shirt, pajama pants, and slippers, sitting in his living room night after night, watching Alien movies and eating spicy corn snacks---and periodically walking over to his home office to check on the progress of the programs he was running to disrupt the internet of an entire country. Just over a year ago, an independent hacker who goes by the handle P4x was himself hacked by North Korean spies. P4x was just one victim of a hacking campaign that targeted Western security researchers with the apparent aim of stealing their hacking tools and details about software vulnerabilities. He says he managed to prevent those hackers from swiping anything of value from him. But he nonetheless felt deeply unnerved by state-sponsored hackers targeting him personally -- and by the lack of any visible response from the US government. So after a year of letting his resentment simmer, P4x has taken matters into his own hands.
 
First woman law school dean at Ole Miss has had major influence on legal education
Susan Hanley Duncan, the first woman to become permanent dean of The University of Mississippi School of Law, had an interesting and varied career prior to moving to Oxford. She has done a lot of work in the field of protecting children from pornography, has taught in five foreign countries, done studies on gender inequities in the legal education community, and is involved in trying to address the bullying of children on the internet. She is president of SCRIBES, the American Society of Legal Writers, and does site accreditation visits for the Association of American Law Schools. Her major influence on the field of legal education led Business First to recently name Duncan as one of the top 20 people to know in the field of education. Duncan, a native of Louisville, Ky, grew up watching her attorney father, John "Jack" Hanley, in the courtroom and the office. Her mother, Jean Hanley, a teacher, was also a big influence. "I wanted to make a difference and felt being a lawyer would allow me to help other people," Duncan said. "I know my dad had a lot of fun being a lawyer and my mother enjoyed teaching. I combined the best of both careers, and got to be a teacher in the area I love, the law." While some people she meets are surprised she is the law school dean, Duncan has been delighted by the response from the community. "People have been so welcoming," Duncan said.
 
Giving Back: The Floyd Sulser family helping Ole Miss students considering law degrees
One way to build a successful career in the legal profession is to start by laying a firm foundation based on business knowledge. This formula worked for Floyd Sulser Jr. during his higher education journey at the University of Mississippi in the late 1960s and early '70s. A half-century later, he and his family believe this same educational path still works for today's generation of Ole Miss students. That's why they created the Floyd Sulser Family Scholarship Endowment with a gift of $30,000 in 2019 and recently enhanced this scholarship with another gift of nearly $28,000. The endowment is designed to encourage and assist UM business majors who want to attend law school. "Having a degree in business certainly helped me establish my law practice," said Sulser, of Ridgeland. "My bachelor's degree in business administration provided me with an understanding of business transactions, accounting and economics, which has proven to be invaluable during the many decades I've practiced law." This scholarship encourages business majors to expand the career avenues available to them by continuing on to law school, said Ken Cyree, dean of the business school. "Having a multidisciplinary educational background with business and law degrees not only ensures graduates stand out from other professionals getting started after college, it also expands their skill sets and enables them to have a potentially greater, more effective impact on their community," Cyree said.
 
Inside Mississippi's only class on critical race theory
Brittany Murphree was born and raised in Rankin County, Mississippi, one of the most Republican counties in one of the most Republican states. She went to Northwest Rankin High School where she was the president of the school's chapter of Teenage Republicans of Mississippi. She interned for Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, and her parents voted for Donald Trump twice (she did too, one time). At the University of Mississippi Law School, where Murphree is now in her second year, her friends are mostly conservative white people. In early January, Murphree shocked them all when she announced that one of the courses she was taking this semester was "Law 743: Critical Race Theory." "Why would you take that class?" her dad vented on the phone. "It's the most ridiculous concept." "Brittany, that class is just gonna make you feel so guilty about being white," some of her classmates warned. "You're gonna get canceled." Their tone was teasing, but Murphree thought they sounded genuinely worried. Still, Murphree wanted to know what the "hotly debated topic" was really about. "Law 743: Critical Race Theory" is the only law class in Mississippi solely dedicated to teaching the high-level legal framework. To Murphree, the class seemed like an opportunity --- one she might not get again. "I'm either gonna completely agree with this, or I'm gonna be able to say, 'No, this class is terrible,'" she told her friends. "The best way to have an opinion about this class is literally to take it."
 
USM, GenSea partner to teach students about STEM jobs
The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and GenSea are partnering to teach Mississippi high schools students about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. GenSea will host interactive field trips for Mississippi high school students at USM's training and research facilities on the coast. Additionally, GenSea and USM scientists will hold paid internships for students who are interested in the fields. Some of the fields student can learn about are shipbuilding, oil exploration, robotic marine exploration tools and renewable resources.
 
Northeast Mississippi Community College announces $350,000 Howard L. Newby Memorial Scholarship Endowment
The Northeast Mississippi Community College Development Foundation announced the Howard L. Newby Endowment Scholarship, established through a $350,000 gift, on Wednesday morning. The endowment will fund eight to 10 two-semester scholarships per year for Tippah County students who completed two years of classes at the Tippah Career & Technology Center in Ripley. To be eligible, students must have an "A" average for the two years they were enrolled and be planning to pursue a career using the skills learned during their time at the center. "We are truly grateful for this scholarship endowment given to us by Mr. Newby," Patrick Eaton, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the Northeast Development Foundation, said. "His gift of scholarships will help many students for years to come." The endowment's namesake, Newby, died in Sept. 2019 at age 78. He was a Northeast Mississippi Junior College alumnus and strong believer in education. Newby served as director of the Tippah Career & Technology Center for 25 years. He began his career as an educator in 1966, teaching various technical skills at Joe Cook Junior High in Columbus.
 
Why Sonny Perdue's push to become chancellor is gaining steam
It seemed safe to assume that Sonny Perdue's chance to be the next leader of Georgia's higher education system would fizzle the moment his first cousin challenged Gov. Brian Kemp. Instead, the opposite has happened. Sonny Perdue's chances of being the next University System of Georgia chancellor have dramatically improved since David Perdue entered the contest -- thanks in part to the support of Kemp's administration. After months of gridlock, Kemp has restocked the 19-member Board of Regents with several allies who could back Sonny Perdue as chancellor. A formal interview said to be scheduled for later this month will jumpstart the process. How this drama has unfolded has baffled some political insiders who figured the governor would immediately sink Sonny Perdue's candidacy. While the Regents have the final say on who leads the system, the governor has immense influence over the process. Kemp and his inner circle have instead intensified their behind-the-scenes push for Sonny Perdue, the first Republican governor in Georgia history who wielded his political influence to help Kemp win the state's top jobs. It also shows how the formidable Perdue political network -- one that helped elect Sonny Perdue to two terms as governor in the 2000s and David Perdue to the U.S. Senate in 2014 -- is not as cohesive as it once was. After the AJC first reported Sonny Perdue was under consideration to lead the 340,000-student system last year, internal turmoil ground the selection process to a standstill. A regional accrediting agency threatened sanctions, a search firm abruptly quit and confusion reigned. Faculty and student backlash followed, as critics accused Kemp of politicizing the process to benefit a fellow Republican who had no direct experience in academic administration.
 
College Completion Rates on the Rise
The national six-year completion rate for students who started college in 2015 reached 62.2 percent, according to a new report out today from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That's an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the fall 2014 cohort and 1.5 percentage points over the 2013 cohort. "Students who started college six years ago have been completing degrees and certificates at higher rates than in recent years," Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said in a statement. "This broad measure of performance for higher education as a nationwide system, including transfers among two- and four-year schools of all kinds, shows long-term improvements for students and colleges alike, gains that took hold mostly in the pre-pandemic period." This year marked the third year in a row that the national completion rate exceeded 60 percent. The report tracks enrollment and completion outcomes for all students who entered higher education for the first time in fall 2015, enrolling full-time or part-time at more than 3,600 two-year and four-year institutions, through June 2021. The increased completion rates held across all types of institutions. The second-largest gain was among students at public four-year institutions, whose completion rate was 69 percent, or one percentage point higher than last year's.
 
'This Is Not New': Unsettled by Threats, HBCUs Reflect on a Long History of Racist Intimidation
Fisk University was preparing to host a civil-rights address in its gymnasium when police and fire officials suddenly ordered everyone to evacuate. Someone had called in a bomb threat, and the crowd of nearly 4,000 was left waiting. It took about 45 minutes to clear the building, and no bomb was found. When he finally took the stage, Martin Luther King Jr. told the audience not to lose hope, The Nashville Banner reported on April 21, 1960. "No lie can live forever. Let us not despair. The universe is with us," he said. King was visiting Fisk to offer encouragement to students from historically Black colleges and universities who had been conducting sit-ins to end racial segregation at restaurants in downtown Nashville, part of a larger series of lunch-counter sit-ins across the South in 1960. During the civil-rights era, HBCUs served as "seed beds for activism" and agency among Black people, said Jelani M. Favors, a historian and professor at North Carolina A&T State University. These institutions offered "an unwritten curriculum" that "was fueled by the idea of creating race consciousness as a counternarrative to the dominant ideas of white supremacy that sought to teach Black children and Black youth," Favors said. As Black History Month began, dozens of HBCUs across the country were swarmed with bomb threats for two days in a row. These followed a series of similar threats made in early January. The FBI has identified six persons of interest who are suspected of making the latest round of threats, "which appear to have a racist motivation," NBC News reported.
 
New Bomb Threats Evoke Past Fears
Historically Black colleges and universities across the country continue to receive bomb threats as part of what federal law enforcement agencies characterized as a connected series of hate crimes. The threats, the latest of which occurred Tuesday, have been made on three separate occasions -- on Jan. 4, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 -- and have prompted affected colleges to either lock down or evacuate their campuses, direct students to shelter in their dorms or elsewhere, and move classes online. A few colleges even went so far as to relocate students to hotels. The frequency and expanse of the threats, coming at a time when campuses have already been disrupted by the pandemic and the continued reverberations of the racial justice protests of 2020, as well as the recent high-profile court trials of police and civilians charged with murdering unarmed Black men, have left students and the leaders of these colleges reeling. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University in Maryland, is concerned about the mental health and emotional well-being of his students after Morgan State was among the more than a dozen HBCUs that received bomb threats Tuesday. "My initial concern was the fact that my students were getting the message, once again, that this society hates them because of the color of their skin," he said. Though no explosives were found on the campuses this week and all-clear notices were issued, much like after a similar spate of threats in early January, the threats rattled students, parents, faculty and staff members, and prompted a groundswell of support from local, state and federal policy makers.
 
Six Juveniles Are Persons of Interest in Threats to Historically Black Colleges
The F.B.I. has identified six juveniles as persons of interest in a series of bomb threats that targeted historically Black colleges and universities, a law enforcement official said on Wednesday. The bureau said it was investigating the threats as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes. The bureau made the announcement during a week in which at least 17 historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats, prompting administrators to temporarily cancel in-person classes and lock down buildings. The F.B.I. said its joint terrorism task forces were leading the investigation, which was "of the highest priority" and involved more than 20 field offices across the country. "Although at this time no explosive devices have been found at any of the locations, the F.B.I. takes all threats with the utmost seriousness and we are committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating these threats," the F.B.I. said in a statement. The development that six juveniles had been identified as persons of interest was reported by NBC News earlier on Wednesday. The authorities have so far not described any of the threats as credible. Bomb threats in general are on the decline. The F.B.I. reported 818 bomb threats in 2020, a decrease of 25 percent from 2019, and the lowest number in five years.
 
Analysis: 'Divisive Concepts' Bills Target Higher Ed in 2022
State legislation prohibiting the teaching of so-called divisive concepts is increasingly directed at higher education, not just K-12 schools, according to a new analysis by PEN America. PEN, which tracks what it calls educational "gag order" bills throughout the year, says that just 26 percent of state bills proposed in 2021 explicitly addressed public colleges and universities. Three of the 10 states that passed bills into law addressed higher education. Yet already in 2022, 46 percent of "gag order" bills filed address colleges and universities, according to PEN. As of Jan. 24, there were 38 higher education–focused bills under consideration in 20 states. PEN's analysis also flags state legislators' "bolder and more creative" efforts this year at censorship, "creating all manner of new rules about what can be taught in college classrooms and how such restrictions should be enforced." Under Mississippi's proposed HB 437, for instance, professors would be prohibited from teaching or assigning materials that include the idea that "the State of Mississippi is fundamentally, institutionally, or systemically racist" or that "racial equity ... should be given preference in education and advocacy over racial equality." The time is "now for faculty and higher education advocates to fight back against this wave of educational gag orders," PEN urges. "These gag orders for higher education -- part of a recent coordinated political attack against professors -- would have a disastrous effect on the tenets of free inquiry, free expression and critical thinking. If these 38 alarming, unconstitutional bills become law as proposed, they would each as well threaten academic freedom across numerous disciplines."
 
Despite lawsuits, state making strides on mental health
Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: Wendy Bailey, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, came by the Northside Sun and gave me an earful about what's going on with mental health in Mississippi. I much appreciated her visit and taking the time to add to my knowledge base about mental health public policy in our state. It's a huge issue and one that is mired in considerable controversy. I wish more public officials would do what Wendy did. I see my job as a journalist as trying to explain in understandable terms complex public policy issues so readers can become better voters and better citizens. A knowledgeable electorate and citizenry is crucial to social and economic progress. It's my experience that the overwhelming majority of people in public service are committed, well-intentioned people trying to do the right thing. Wendy Bailey is a good example. She is grappling with a huge issue. One out of five Mississippians will battle serious mental illness at some point in their lives. Managing these unfortunate and usually temporary mental breaks appropriately is vitally important to the well being of our state.


SPORTS
 
PREVIEW: Women's Basketball Heads to Auburn Thursday
Following back-to-back decisive home victories last week, the Mississippi State women's basketball team will again hit the road for a matchup against Auburn. This will be the only regular season meeting between the two programs this season. Auburn leads the all-time series, 35-25, with a dominant edge when the game is played in Auburn, 20-8. The last meeting between the two programs was in Starkville on Feb. 23, 2021. The Bulldogs walked away with the victory, 81-68. Mississippi State enters the contest on a nine-game winning streak. Auburn enters Thursday with an overall record of 9-11 and a 1-8 record in the SEC. Their lone SEC victory to date was last Thursday when they upset No. 4 Tennessee, 71-61. The Tigers are averaging 64.6 ppg and allowing just 62.6 to opponents. They shoot 39% from the field, the same as their opponents, and 27% from behind the arc. They are led by Aicha Coulibaly, who averages 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. She also has 45 steals and 31 assists to her credit this season. Following its road trip to Auburn, Mississippi State will be home for two games next week. On Thursday, Feb. 10, the Bulldogs will host Florida at 5:30 p.m. before hosting Ole Miss on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m.
 
Auburn women welcome Mississippi State Thursday
The Auburn women's basketball team returns to the court at Auburn Arena Thursday night as they host Mississippi State at 7 p.m. CT. The first 500 fans at the Scholarship Entrance can pick up a free DeWanna Bonner replica jersey t-shirt. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com and at the Auburn Arena ticket office on gameday. Auburn looks to bounce back after dropping an 81-66 decision at Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon. The Tigers mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, cutting a 27-point deficit to as few as 12 in the final minutes, but were unable to overcome a hot start by the Commodores. Mississippi State comes in having won two straight, including a 20-point win over Texas A&M Sunday. The Tigers seek their first win over the Bulldogs since 2014; last season, Auburn couldn't hold onto a halftime lead in Starkville as they fell 81-68. Thursday's game can be seen on SEC Network + with JJ Jackson and Hall-of-Famer Joe Ciampi calling the action. SECN+ is available via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. Auburn's Johnnie Harris will be facing Mississippi State for the first time as a head coach. She spent eight seasons as associate head coach at MSU, helping lead the Bulldogs to a pair of national championship game appearances and two SEC titles. Auburn assistant coach Ketara Chapel and director of player development Savannah Carter both played for Harris at MSU.
 
Mississippi State's Novak shares thoughts on future with team, fans support
Mississippi State women's basketball has overcome hurdles this season. That has been the story of the program since October, when Nikki McCray-Penson stepped down as head coach and continued as injuries, transfers and COVID-19 cases have shaken up Doug Novak's interim tenure. Through it all, MSU finds itself firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble in ESPN's projections at 13-7 overall, 4-4 in conference play and a 7 p.m. Thursday matchup at Auburn (9-11, 1-8) on deck. Novak's ability to balance MSU's obstacles -- the latest being a torn ACL for starting forward Denae Carter -- and keep a once-nationally prominent program afloat has garnered attention on social media. Some fans commend the work Novak has done and hope MSU hires someone who can continue the upward trajectory after a 10-9 record last season. Others want Novak to retain the full-time job. There are even fans vouching for Novak as SEC coach of the year. For Novak, tomorrow isn't in his vision. "My goal every day is get to breakfast," Novak said. "And if I can get to breakfast, I've got a shot at getting to lunch. If I can get to lunch, I have a shot at coaching these girls in practice. And then I've got a shot at dinner with my family. With all the other stuff coming in on the outside, I have no time to think about anything else. And that's more than enough for me to think about at this time." Those words echo what he said when he was introduced as interim head coach in October, where he stated there was no "endgame" with his accepting the role a month after being named an assistant on McCray-Penson's staff.
 
Mississippi State announces Title IX 50th anniversary initiative
Mississippi State announced Wednesday it is launching a year-long campaign for the 50th anniversary of Title IX -- a law passed in 1972 which prohibited schools and other education programs from discrimination based on sex. The initiative, which is in conjunction with the SEC, launched on Feb. 2 -- National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Mississippi State started by recognizing various female athletes on social media with video features, which will continue throughout the year along with former female athletes, coaches and others who have helped with Title IX. MSU will release written pieces along with video and digital content. MSU's initiative will run through the Bulldog Club -- which will raise funds specifically for State's women's teams. The athletic department is also partnering with Collegiate Licensing Company for its upcoming "Powered by Her" campaign. MSU will host a reunion for the school's female alumni at an athletic event while also organizing a "Title IX Celebration Round-Up" at a football tailgate for current and former women's teams this upcoming season. State athletes will receive Title IX apparel and jersey patches from the SEC as well.
 
Mike Leach on college football's recruiting, transfer landscape: 'It's a mess'
The college football landscape is changing, and Mike Leach isn't a fan. The Mississippi State coach has long expressed his gripes with the transfer portal, his uncertainty around name, image and likeness rules and his displeasure with social media. And on Wednesday, as National Signing Day concluded, Leach took issue with the recruiting cycle -- most notably, that the early signing period in December all but eliminates the need for a second one in February. The Bulldogs signed just two players out of high school Wednesday, three-star receivers Zavion Thomas and Kaydin Pope. The bulk of the class, however, came in December. "There's been so much happening with this signing periods, NILs and portals and everything that I think it's fair to say it's a mess," Leach said. "I think that at some point we're going to have to sort it out so it's not just a series of explosions all over the place as far as recruiting goes. They used to start out saying, 'Well, we're going to do this so you don't have to be at it all year.' Well, now they've insured you're at it all year." Part of the reason Mississippi State signed just two players Wednesday, too, is because Leach tends to keep a few scholarship slots open to ensure his program can add a piece after spring practices conclude, because a new batch of players tend to enter the portal then. "You don't want to hold too many scholarships that you waste them, but you don't want to just hand them out to anybody," Leach said.
 
Two signing days, NIL, portal: Mike Leach shares thoughts on various recruiting trends
Mike Leach took his seat inside Mississippi State's media center located on the north end of Davis Wade Stadium and looked out at the local reporters ready for a press conference following Wednesday's National Signing Day. The last time Leach spoke in a formal setting such as this came following MSU's Liberty Bowl loss on Dec. 28. Had he missed any of the faces? "Yeah," he said with a smirk. "Well, I'll tell you the new way they do recruiting, you get to have a lot more press conferences. At the rate that this portal stuff is going, we'll probably have a couple more." Immediately, the tone was set for what February signing day now looks like. The transfer portal has become king following the early signing period in December. Mississippi State signed 18 newcomers on Dec. 15. That was normal. But as Leach sat down on Wednesday and started reading the names of the eight signees listed in front of him -- starting with Zavion Thomas and ending with Kaydin Pope -- it was a sign of how much college football has changed. Both players above are three-star receivers. They're also the lone high school players on the list.
 
The walkout song for Mississippi State's Landon Sims won't change, but the timing will
It's a combination for which Mississippi State fans are classically conditioned to expect dominant results. Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" blares from the Dudy Noble Field speakers as Landon Sims takes the mound. Typically, it results in a bad evening for the opposing hitters – and a save for Sims. The combination of walkout song and pitcher won't change this year as Mississippi State looks to defend its national title. The expectations won't shift either. But the timing will, as Sims prepares to move from his spot at the end of the bullpen to starter. "It's a new challenge here," Sims said. "It's a pretty special spot to be in." While coach Chris Lemonis and Sims said the rotation has not been finalized ahead of MSU's season-opener on Feb. 18 against Long Beach State, the expectation is for Sims to be the Friday night arm. It's not a move that surprised Sims or State's coaching staff. Though all his appearances in his first two seasons at MSU came out of the bullpen, Sims had starting experience in high school which they felt could translate at the collegiate level. That's why this offseason it wasn't the staff approaching Sims about the move or vice versa. The decision came from mutual conversations over time, and they felt now was the time -- particularly with MSU losing its weekend rotation from last season. "There's gonna be some growing pains there, but he is ultra-talented and as good a competitor as you'll find," Lemonis said. Sims said his offseason regimen didn't change much, but the addition of a changeup has been his priority.
 
Men's Tennis Hosting Rare Thursday Twin Bill
Mississippi State men's tennis will host a businessperson special inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion. The 19th-ranked Bulldogs will welcome Memphis at noon followed by North Alabama at 4 p.m. for a rare Thursday afternoon doubleheader. MSU is off to a 3-1 start to the season and posted a 1-1 showing during ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Bulldogs defeated Arkansas 4-1 last Saturday before falling to Kentucky in the finals, 4-2. State comes into Thursday's doubleheader riding a 10-match winning streak against Memphis, including a 4-2 victory in Starkville last season. The Bulldogs lead the series 18-13 overall with the Tigers' last victory coming in 1986. Memphis is also 3-1 on the young season and is coming off a 4-0 loss at top-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Tigers have posted wins over Jackson State, at Northwestern and against Western Michigan this year. Memphis features a pair of ranked singles competitors in No. 88 Jeremy Taylor and No. 112 Oscar Cutting along with the 30th-ranked doubles duo of Taylor and David Stevenson. Mississippi State won its only meeting against North Alabama 7-0 last year in Starkville. The Lions remain winless at 0-4 and were defeated 6-1 at UAB on Sunday.
 
Jackson State pulling out of Southern Heritage Classic in 'clear breach' of contract, says Fred Jones
Jackson State football will no longer participate in the annual Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis against Tennessee State, according to event founder Fred Jones. Jones said JSU informed him it would be terminating the agreement for the remaining three years on the contract Tuesday night. The contract wasn't set to expire until 2024. "As far as right now, they said they want to terminate the agreement," Jones said. "That's all we have right now. There will be a response back from us to the lawyer later today." The letter terminating the agreement was obtained by WJTV in Jackson and posted to Twitter on Wednesday. The letter was sent from JSU general counsel Edward Watson and addressed to Jones. JSU and TSU have met 28 times since the Classic began Sept. 8, 1990, with Tennessee State leading the series 17-11. Jackson State won last year's meeting, the first between coaches Deion Sanders and Eddie George, 38-16, and the game is typically one of the biggest events on both schools' schedule. Tennessee State called Jackson State's decision to pull out of the classic "an insensitive and irresponsible act" that has far-reaching implications beyond football in a statement from TSU president Glenda Glover. The cancellation comes less than a week after Jackson State reached a three-year agreement to play in the SWAC Classic, a new in-conference showcase at Birmingham's Legion Field starting next season. JSU also is scheduled to play in the Orange Bottom Classic on Sept. 4 against Florida A&M for the second straight season.
 
Ole Miss National Championship golf team honored at State Capitol
The National Championship-winning Ole Miss women's golf team was honored at the Mississippi State Capitol on Wednesday. The team toured the Capitol and met with the state's top lawmakers, including Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann and Governor Tate Reeves. Reeves signed a proclamation marking February 2, 2022, as "2021 National Champion Ole Miss Rebels Women's Golf Day." The governor tweeted: I am proud to proclaim today 2021 National Champion Ole Miss Rebels Women's Golf Day! When it comes to being great role models, this group of talented young women are at the top of the leaderboard! @OleMissWGolf #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/AXWss7apZ2 --- Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) February 2, 2022
 
'Athletics Competition Arena' to be discussed at Alabama system board of trustees meeting
When the University of Alabama system board of trustees meets Thursday and Friday, it will discuss an item of interest to Alabama basketball and gymnastics fans. According to the meeting agenda, the physical properties committee will present an item on "the Athletics Competition Arena." Then it will be formally voted on by the full board Friday. Here's the official wording of the item on the agenda: "Consideration of Resolution approving the preliminary project scope and budget and amendment of the Campus Master Plan for the Athletics Competition Arena at UA (Stage I)." This could signify further steps in building a new facility for Alabama basketball and gymnastics, which has been a frequent topic of discussion. In an interview with The Tuscaloosa News last week, Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne said all options are still on the board, whether it be renovations to Coleman Coliseum or a new building. Byrne said he knows people want to see a shovel in the ground, and he and coaches Nate Oats (men's basketball), Kristy Curry (women's basketball) and Dana Duckworth (gymnastics) are included in that. "At the same time, too, we have processes that we have to go through as a university through our board of trustees that we are very respectful of," Byrne said. The Crimson Standard, a capital initiative for Alabama athletics, originally called for "extensive renovation and modernization" for Coleman Coliseum. The arena opened in 1968.
 
Recruiting wars: A&M's Fisher says rumors are 'garbage'
After Texas A&M added yet another blue-chip prospect to the highest-rated recruiting class in college football Wednesday, coach Jimbo Fisher went off about rumors that booster-funded endorsement deals were fueling the Aggies' success. "There is no $30 million fund. There is no 10 million, there is no five million. This is garbage," Fisher said. "It pisses me off." College football's traditional signing period opened with most of the heavy lifting having already been done in mid-December. Texas A&M came into the day with the top-rated class in the country, according to 247 Sports' composite rankings. Southeastern Conference rivals and national title game participants Alabama and Georgia were Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Then Shemar Stewart, one of the most highly regarded players in Florida, picked the Aggies over Miami to give Texas A&M's class the best score the website has ever handed out. Stewart is the seventh five-star prospect in Texas A&M's 2022 class. While no one has publicly put their name on allegations of improper recruiting by Texas A&M, internet message boards have run wild with speculation. Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday lamented the lack of detailed rules regulating NIL payments to college athletes. "It's basically like dealing with different salary caps," Kiffin said. "We now have a sport that has completely different salary caps and some of these schools are five- or 10 times more than everybody else of what they can pay these players. I know nobody uses those phrases but that is what it is. I joked the other day that I didn't know if Texas A&M was going to incur a luxury tax in how much they paid for their signing class." Fisher did not name any coaches specifically, but he added: "I'll tell you what, I know how some of those guys recruit, too. Go dig into that."
 
UGA Athletic Board meets still basking in glow of football national championship
Things were a little different when the Georgia athletic board got together on Wednesday afternoon. A national champions logo was adorned to a lectern in the meeting room of the Georgia Center. School president Jere Morehead noted it was the first winter board meeting following a football national title in 40 years. "I have not set foot on the ground since Indianapolis," said alumni board member Sam Holmes, vice chairman of CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm, referring to the site of the Bulldogs triumph over Alabama on Jan. 10. Near the end of the meeting of less than an hour, athletic director Josh Brooks presented Morehead with a No. 1 Georgia football jersey that he said he plans to frame proudly. The school will be presenting football coach Kirby Smart a reworked deal in the not too distant future, Brooks said after the meeting. "We're in a situation where you've got a coach that wants to be here, an administration that wants him to be here," Brooks said. "It's just working through the process. It's not something we put a hard timeline on but we're in active talks. Talks are going well." As for the other most high-profile Georgia team, men's basketball, there was no mention of the team or its struggles this season during the meeting. Fourth-year coach Tom Crean's team is 6-16 and in last place in the SEC at 1-8 after Wednesday night's 99-73 home loss to Arkansas. Crean, who is 47-65 overall at Georgia and 15-48 in the SEC, is working on a six-year contract worth $3.2 million annually that will have two years remaining after this season.
 
NCAA surprise leaves states rethinking college athlete pay rules
As the NCAA considered new rules last year to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness, state legislatures raced to implement their own laws to protect students and give their local colleges and universities a leg up in recruiting new talent. But the NCAA surprised legislators in June by suspending existing rules that governed an athlete's ability to profit off their fame. Now, some states are reconsidering the legislation they passed just months ago. "Ahead of any determination by the NCAA, we wanted to get something. Our expectation was they were going to let state law prevail," said Alabama state Rep. Kyle South (R), who sponsored his state's version of a name, image and likeness bill. "The NCAA actually switched paths and adopted skeleton rules that were less limiting than what our state law was." South has now introduced a measure to repeal his original bill. He said any rules implemented by a state would, by definition, be stricter than the NCAA's hands-off approach, putting colleges in his state at a disadvantage when recruiting athletes like Suni Lee, the American gymnast who went to Auburn after winning gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Legislators worry that athletes who want to profit off their fame while in college will opt to attend schools in states that have no name, image and likeness law, putting their own states at a disadvantage. "When the NCAA stepped away from it, if you didn't have a state law, you had an advantage," said Florida state Rep. Chip LaMarca (R). "There's a gap in comparing the rest of the states to Florida." The NCAA's surprise decision to vacate their rule left schools and states scrambling to adapt, said Helen "Nellie" Drew, director of the University of Buffalo School of Law's Center for the Advancement of Sport. "Everybody was anticipating that there was going to be some sort of comprehensive approach from the NCAA, which never happened," Drew said in an interview. "Everybody's operating in a vacuum."



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