| Wednesday, March 23, 2022 |
| A large solar storm could knock out the power grid and the internet -- an electrical engineer explains how | |
 | Mississippi State University's David Wallace writes for The Conversation: On Sept. 1 and 2, 1859, telegraph systems around the world failed catastrophically. The operators of the telegraphs reported receiving electrical shocks, telegraph paper catching fire, and being able to operate equipment with batteries disconnected. During the evenings, the aurora borealis, more commonly known as the northern lights, could be seen as far south as Colombia. Typically, these lights are only visible at higher latitudes, in northern Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. What the world experienced that day, now known as the Carrington Event, was a massive geomagnetic storm. These storms occur when a large bubble of superheated gas called plasma is ejected from the surface of the sun and hits the Earth. This bubble is known as a coronal mass ejection. The plasma of a coronal mass ejection consists of a cloud of protons and electrons, which are electrically charged particles. When these particles reach the Earth, they interact with the magnetic field that surrounds the planet. This interaction causes the magnetic field to distort and weaken, which in turn leads to the strange behavior of the aurora borealis and other natural phenomena. As an electrical engineer who specializes in the power grid, I study how geomagnetic storms also threaten to cause power and internet outages and how to protect against that. |
| Extension hosts Magnolia Beef & Poultry Expo | |
 | Beef and poultry producers across Mississippi will have an opportunity to learn about the latest issues facing their industries and see new products and equipment on April 14. The 2022 Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo will take place at the Charles Waldrup Agricultural Complex in Raleigh from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Mississippi State University Extension Service is cosponsoring the event with Community Bank of Raleigh, Mississippi Farm Bureau, First Financial Bank, Insul-Pro Plus, Pro Flow Motorsports, and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of each participating county. The expo will host educational sessions, and the trade show will feature tractors, farm equipment, pharmaceutical distributors, feed distributors, livestock trailers, ATVs, trucks and poultry equipment. Seminar topics include construction practices to reduce poultry house insurance, solar power in the poultry industry, and beef cattle castration methods and pricing differences. Door prizes will also be offered. The inaugural Charles Waldrup Memorial Agriculture Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating high school senior continuing his or her education within the field of agriculture. This free event is open to the public. |
| MSU researchers develop rice resistant to major disease | |
 | Mississippi State University researchers announced the development of a high-performing rice variety that may be an "insurance policy" for growers. Scientists in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently unveiled a new rice variety, Oryza sativa L., named "Leland." The MAFES rice breeding program, made possible through funding from the Mississippi Rice Promotion Board, develops distinctive varieties for the southern U.S. to assist Mississippi farmers. Others leading the multiyear breeding effort to develop the conventional, long-grain rice include Tim Walker, former research and extension professor, and Dwight Kanter, retired research professor. The early-maturing, lodging-resistant variety, with high-yield potential in the Mississippi Delta, also has a broad-spectrum gene for resisting blast disease caused by a fungus. Blast is considered the most prevalent rice disease not only in the U.S. but worldwide and has become increasingly important. "CLHA02," or the Clearfield rice variety counterpart to Leland, will be maintained by the MAFES rice breeding program at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. MSU has applied for plant variety protection for Leland, and it will be sold by variety name as a class of certified seed. |
| Aging, limited food shopping options can impact nutrition | |
| Unique nutritional needs require older Americans to pay special attention to how they stock their pantries to ensure they are consuming enough of the right foods. "Healthy nutrition is essential across the life course, but in older adults, its importance shifts some," said David Buys, Mississippi State University Extension Service health specialist. "Many older adults don't get enough calcium, fiber, potassium, and vitamins D and B12. So, it's important to pay attention to these nutrients because they can impact our likelihood of getting osteoporosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers." Many times, life stage changes, including diminished physical ability to eat, difficulty cooking, and living on a fixed income, contribute to undernutrition. "Sometimes as we age, we begin to lose our sense of smell or taste, and our ability to chew and swallow can fade," Buys said. "There are a variety of factors that can affect what and how people eat as they get older, including living alone after the death of a loved one and medications that can change the way foods taste, make one's mouth dry or reduce a person's appetite." When these challenges are coupled with limited food shopping options, nutrition can take a hit. And it's not just the loss of access to a wide variety of fresh foods that can cause people nutritional problems. "When a community loses their grocery store, we sometimes think of that as detrimental because of the loss of fresh fruits and vegetables, a meat department, and a hearty dairy selection. But for older adults, the loss of the deli with hot, prepared food can also be a challenge," Buys said. |
| Mississippi Hills awards more than $300,000 in grants | |
 | The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area awarded a record $301,485 through its annual Community Grants Program. The grants were announced Tuesday at Blue Mountain College. Since 2016, MHNHA has awarded $1.292 million in grants. MHNHA had $305,550 available to award, and based on the recommendations of its independent grant review committee, the board of directors approved 34 requests to 28 organizations from 17 counties. The Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area is one of only 55 National Heritage Areas designated in the U.S., and one of only three in the state. The Alliance includes all or parts of 30 counties bordered by Tennessee, Alabama, Highway 82 and Interstate 55. This year's Northeast Mississippi recipients include: Oktibbeha County -- Starkville CVB, $20,000 to develop exhibit space in the lobby of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership office building, which is located in downtown Starkville and serves as the city's welcome and visitor information center. The CVB is partnering with MSU Libraries to feature artifacts from each of the library's four museums: the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, the John Grisham Room, and the Charles H. Templeton, Sr. Music Museum. Information about the museums will be prominently displayed to encourage visitors to explore these attractions. And: Mississippi Heritage Trust, $5,000 to provide supervised internships for college-level students in the field of historic preservation, in particular those undertaking coursework in the Historic Preservation Masters of Fine Arts program in the College of Art, Architecture and Design at Mississippi State University. |
| Possible tornado damages Oktibbeha, Clay | |
| The National Weather Service in Jackson is sending a team to assess damage from Tuesday storms in Oktibbeha and Clay counties to officially determine whether they produced a tornado. A severe thunderstorm front that rolled through the Golden Triangle starting at about 1:30 p.m. felled trees and caused some damage in the area, according to county emergency management directors. That included two trees that fell on the Mississippi State University campus, Oktibbeha EMA Director Kristen Campanella said. One of those trees fell behind the Chapel of Memories and landed on three vehicles, with limbs damaging two others. The other tree fell next to the Cobb Institute across Hardy Boulevard in front of Middleton Hall. No injuries were reported. Nicholas Fenner, with NWS, said meteorologists began tracking the rotation of the storm on radar in Oktibbeha County and it picked up around the MSU campus before picking up steam in Clay County and heading into Monroe County toward the Mississippi-Alabama state line. Clay County EMA Director Torrey Williams reported even though there were no injuries, there is damage to personal property, homes and businesses across the eastern part of the county. There are also some properties in West Point that have damage from the storm. |
| College research teams deployed to Central Mississippi to study tornado genesis | |
 | Multiple research teams from the University of Alabama Huntsville and other colleges from across the country, were out collecting data ahead of Tuesday's storms. The teams were spread across Central Mississippi using radar and profiling instruments to collect data based on elements like the wind, the atmosphere and precipitation. Joshua Huggins, Adam Weiner and Melissa Gonzalez-Fuentes made up the team that set up in the Macon area scanning for rotation and conversion signatures to better understand how the winds change and ultimately, form into a tornado. "The data that we're collecting here is going to be data researched by students and by researchers at laboratories," Weiner says. "The purpose of this is to better understand what goes on before we see tornado genesis in these linear storms. And before we see severe weather, as the environment changes, perceiving these could impact how severe weather occurs or where it occurs." The goal is to use that information to increase the lead time for tornado warnings and better anticipate the location of severe weather. Huggins says they are constantly monitoring how close the storms are and the teams have evacuation routes set in place. He says the research teams are equipped with two trucks so that they can drive out of the storm’s path while leaving the radar to collect more data. |
| Storm chaser group stations in Starkville for Tuesday's weather | |
| As heavy rain and winds blew through the Golden Triangle Tuesday, a group of storm chasers stationed at the Quality Inn in Starkville stood ready to observe any tornadoes a severe front might produce. Storm chasing is an activity people have engaged in for decades as a way to understand why particular weather events occur. Through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Severe Storms Laboratory field campaign PERiLS (Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms), a group of about 25 researchers from the University of Illinois and North Carolina State arrived in Starkville Sunday to find out how and why tornadoes form within lines of thunderstorms like the ones that blew through the Golden Triangle Tuesday. Rotation was reported in Oktibbeha County that moved into Clay County and caused storm damage in both, according to the National Weather Service. "Sometimes these lines of thunderstorms are common to the southeast United States in March, April and May," said Jeff Trapp, a professor in the University of Illinois Department of Atmospheric Sciences and one of the operation's leaders. "We don't know a whole lot about why tornadoes form in these lines of thunderstorms, so that's why we're here." Starkville was the first stop on the researchers' tour of analyzing tornadoes. |
| Mississippi mostly spared as storms move through South | |
 | Mississippi escaped the storms that moved through the South on Tuesday resulting in two tornadoes touching down in New Orleans and knocking out power to thousands. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a press statement Wednesday that it is working with multiple counties to assess damage after the severe weather, including tornadoes, hail, damaging winds and flash flooding impacted the state on Tuesday. "Currently, two injuries (Holmes, Copiah) have been reported due to yesterday's storms," according to the statement. "Multiple fallen trees/limbs were reported across the state, impacting roads and creating power outages." As assessments continued Wednesday morning, 12 counties were reporting damage to homes. "We anticipate that number to change through the damage assessment process," the statement said. "We encourage residents that sustained damage to their homes to report it to their counties using MEMA's self-report tool," MEMA's press statement said. "As a reminder, this is not an application for financial assistance but information-gathering purposes." MEMA is providing tarps and UAS (drone) assistance to requesting counties |
| 'Widespread damage' after tornado rips through New Orleans, surrounding area; 1 dead | |
 | Search and rescue crews worked into Wednesday morning in the New Orleans area after a large tornado struck parts of the city and the surrounding suburbs, killing at least one person and tearing apart homes, officials said. The tornado ripped through the city's Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish, which borders it to the southeast. St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann said at a Tuesday night news conference one person was confirmed dead from the tornado and several others were injured. "We have widespread damage," added St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis. Photos and video from Tuesday night showed the massive twister in the city. "Large tornado on the ground in New Orleans! Take shelter now!" the National Weather Service office in New Orleans tweeted around 7:30 p.m. The tornado spawned in a larger storm system that struck the South earlier this week and continues to move east. After moving through the New Orleans area, the storms continued their march east and caused damage in parts of Alabama. The National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama, tweeted Tuesday night a confirmed tornado touched down in the town of Summerdale and was moving toward Robertsdale. Further north in Toxey, the roofs of several homes were damaged in the storms, the Weather Service said. |
| Gov. Reeves declares March 22 as Agriculture Day in Mississippi | |
 | Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson joined Governor Tate Reeves as he signed a proclamation declaring March 22, 2022, as Agriculture Day in the state of Mississippi. "I'm honored to join Governor Reeves today as we recognize the contributions of agriculture that provide food, fuel, fiber and shelter to our communities," said Commissioner Gipson. "Agriculture, Mississippi's largest industry, makes an enormous impact on our economy and employs nearly one-fifth of our workforce. In 2021, the farm-gate value of agricultural commodities produced in Mississippi was $8.3 billion, setting an all-time high record." This designation of March 22 as Agriculture Day in Mississippi coincides with National Agriculture Day. National Ag Day was started in 1973 by the Agriculture Council of America as an effort to encourage every American to understand how food and fiber products are produced, to appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products, to value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy, and to acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry. Also, in conjunction with National Ag Day, Commissioner Gipson is excited to announce the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce is making funds available for schools and communities to plant gardens. |
| How might the beef industry diversify in the U.S.? | |
| While the price of beef at the grocery store has gone up, ranchers aren't necessarily seeing a cut of those profits. Four major companies control about 85% of the meatpacking industry in the U.S. Most ranchers raise cows on their land for less than a year. Then, they're sold into the feedlot system where they're fed grain to fatten them up for slaughter. Once the cow leaves the ranch, the rancher has no control over how that cow spends the rest of its life, where its meat ends up being sold -- or for how much. When Cory Carman took over her family ranch in northeastern Oregon, she knew she wanted to do things differently. Carman said she was determined to cut out the middleman and have her cows spend their whole lives in her care, eating only grass. But it took time for her to build her business. She started by taking her cows to a local butcher and selling the meat in shares to people in her community. Folks would buy a quarter of a cow or a half of a cow and store it in their chest freezers to eat throughout the year, instead of going to the grocery store and buying cuts of meat like most of us do. But Carman wanted to go bigger. |
| Cities, counties urge lawmakers to approve federal stimulus spending amid tax cut standoff | |
| The leaders of associations representing 299 cities and 82 counties in Mississippi are calling on lawmakers -- who are in a stalemate over tax cuts -- to move forward on spending billions in federal pandemic stimulus money that could help local governments with historic infrastructure projects. "The cities and counties of this state are ready and willing to start turning dirt and moving vital infrastructure projects forward through the use of (American Rescue Plan Act) matching grants," Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons and Choctaw County Supervisor Chris McIntire wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Monday. Simmons and McIntire are presidents of the Mississippi Municipal League and Mississippi Association of Supervisors, respectively. "However, we cannot do this without legislative approval," the two wrote. "We are concerned the federal government could start 'clawing back' some of the funds that have not been committed or spent ... The clock is ticking on these ARPA funds. We are concerned that if the Legislature waits until 2023 to address the ARPA funds, it could possibly jeopardize the use of some of the fund in Mississippi." The two said local governments might run out of time to plan, bid out and complete projects by the Dec. 31, 2026, deadline to have the money spent, particularly given supply chain and inflation issues. Mississippi is already behind the curve on spending the ARPA money. It is one of just four states, districts or territories not to have allocated substantial amounts of ARPA money to date, along with Idaho, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C., according to data collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures. |
| Historic teacher pay raise heads to Gov. Tate Reeves for approval | |
| Both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature voted to give the state's public K-12 teachers the largest pay raise in recent history and send the bill to the governor for consideration. The House voted 118-4 on Tuesday to pass House Bill 530. The Senate last Thursday voted 51-0 to pass the measure. The four representatives who voted against the pay raise are Chris Brown of Nettleton, Brady Williamson of Oxford, Dana Criswell of Olive Branch and Joel Bomgar of Madison. "This is a nonpartisan bill," House Education Chairman Richard Bennett said. "This is something that we've worked across lines to do." The bill would provide an average increase of about $5,100 to educators and include a new pay scale containing between $400 to $600 bumps each year, depending on the educator's certification level. The pay scale in years five, 10, 15 and 20 allows educators to receive between $1,200 and $1,350, depending on certification level. The teacher pay raise legislation has at times this year been marred by political infighting between the House and the Senate, and political observers feared the pay raise proposals would get killed as part of a political standoff over tax cuts grew more intense. Earlier in the session, the House killed the Senate pay raise bill without a vote. The Senate reluctantly passed the House version to keep a pay raise proposal alive. The House also snubbed the Senate earlier this month by sending over a compromise pay raise plan without directly consulting with the senators. Still, the decisions by the state's 174 lawmakers to agree on a pay raise plan is a consequential moment for the Magnolia State, which has long had some of the lowest teachers salaries in the nation. |
| Mississippi teacher pay raise bill headed to governor | |
 | A bill headed to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves would give the state's public school teachers their largest pay raise in years. The House voted 118-4 Tuesday to pass the final version of House Bill 530. Senators voted 51-0 to pass it Thursday. The bill would provide an average increase of about $5,100 -- a jump of more than 10% over teachers' current pay. Reeves, a Republican, has said he supports increasing teacher pay as a way to attract and retain classroom professionals. Mississippi has long had some of the lowest teachers salaries in the nation. Nancy Loome is executive director of the Parents' Campaign, a group that lobbies for policies boost public schools. In a mass email Tuesday, she praised lawmakers for sending the teacher pay raise bill to the governor. She also and urged people to call members of the House and Senate and ask them to defeat bills that would reduce or eliminate the state income tax. Loome wrote that tax cuts could "devastate" public schools. "It is absolutely critical that we not allow income tax cuts to wreck the school district budgets that are essential to pay the higher teacher salaries," Loome wrote. |
| Lawmakers pass largest teacher pay raise in Mississippi history | |
| The state House on Tuesday passed the largest teacher pay raise in state history -- one that kept growing as the House and Senate haggled -- on to the governor. "This has been like making sausage -- it's not pretty, but the end result is pretty good," House Education Chairman Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, said before the House voted 118-4 to send a $246 million teacher raise to Gov. Tate Reeves, who indicated he would sign it into law. The average annual teacher raise will be $5,140, and the raise will begin for the 2022-2023 school year. Starting teacher pay will increase from $37,123 to $41,638, putting Mississippi above the southeastern and national averages. Mississippi's teacher pay by several metrics is the lowest in the nation, and the state has struggled to recruit and retain teachers. The raise grew from about $210 million early in this year's legislative session to $246 million as the House and Senate haggled over details. The final bill includes annual step increases for teachers of at least $400 and larger pay bumps of $1,200 to $1,350 every five years -- a component Senate leaders pushed for. The raise will be implemented in a single year, as the House proposed, not over two years as in the original Senate plan. The bill also includes a $2,000 raise for teacher assistants. In a statement Tuesday, Reeves said, "In 2019, I made a commitment to the teachers of our state that, as Governor, I would relentlessly push to ensure that they get the pay raise which they have earned and deserve. I intend to fulfill that promise and greatly look forward to seeing this legislation arrive at my desk." |
| Mississippi educators will receive a pay raise | |
 | A bill to raise teacher pay in Mississippi is headed to the governor's desk after House lawmakers voted to adopt the measure Tuesday. Lawmakers have debated the legislation for months. House Bill 530, also known as the START Act of 2022, will raise the starting salary of teachers in Mississippi, as well as offer larger step increases based on experience. The final measure is a combination of both the Senate and House plans. Teachers from across the state gathered at the capitol throughout the session urging lawmakers to pass the legislation. Antonio Castanon Luna is Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Educators. "I see this as a down payment for our future. In the coming years we need to address what it would be to provide significant salary raises to the rest of the education community," says Luna. "Cafeteria workers, bus drivers, janitorial staff, additional education support personnel. Because we know that those individuals also impact our students' lives and ultimately their success." |
| Lawmakers consider bill to ban taking private property for private use | |
| Legislation is pending this session that is intended to prevent the courts from overturning a citizen-sponsored constitutional amendment passed in 2011 to prevent the government from taking private land for the use of other private entities. The legislation would put in general law the constitutional amendment that was approved by voters in 2011. The reason that is needed, officials say, is because of a May 2021 court ruling where the medical marijuana initiative that was approved by voters in November 2020 was ruled invalid by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Some question whether the 2011 eminent domain resolution preventing the taking of private property for the use of other private entities could be ruled unconstitutional just as the medical marijuana initiative was. "We felt we needed to make it clear to the Supreme Court that the legislative intent is to enforce the eminent domain constitutional amendment as it was voted on by the citizens," said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate. The Senate has passed a rules suspension resolution that would allow the Legislature to take up a bill to put in general law the same eminent domain language that was approved by voters in 2011. Presumably, if the Legislature acts, the Supreme Court will have no reason to rule against the language. The rules suspension resolution is pending in the House Rules Committee. Rules Chair Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, said he is studying the legislation and will make a decision in the coming days after talking to leadership about whether to pass it to the full House for consideration. |
| Mississippi unveils portraits of former Gov. Bryant and wife | |
| In his portrait unveiled Tuesday, former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant stands outside the state Capitol with his left hand on his hip and his right hand clasping his grandmother's Bible. Bryant said during a ceremony that his father's mother recorded family marriages and births inside the black leather cover of the holy book, and he used that Bible when he took his oaths of office. "I kept that on my desk every day as a (reminder) that I would live not for worldly acclaim or attention but I might do as Scriptures instructed -- that I might try the best I can to be a good and faithful servant," Bryant said. Republican current Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove were among the dozens of people who gathered inside the Capitol on Tuesday for the unveiling of portraits of Bryant and his wife, Deborah. Bryant, 67, is a Republican who was governor from January 2012 to January 2020. Before that, he served four years as lieutenant governor, 11 years as state auditor and five years in the state House of Representatives. His portrait will hang in the Hall of Governors on the first floor of the state Capitol, next to the portrait of his predecessor, Republican former Gov. Haley Barbour. Deborah Bryant's portrait will hang in the First Ladies Gallery of the Old Capitol Museum. Both portraits were painted by Katherine Buchanan of Brandon. |
| Dobbs: COVID vaccines, natural immunity rising | |
| More than 12,000 Mississippians have lost their lives to COVID-19. Vermont, on the other hand, has only lost about 600 total residents. While Vermont may be a less populous state, if Mississippi's per-capita death rate was the same, the state would only have lost 2,000 people, outgoing Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told Columbus Rotarians on Tuesday. Dobbs announced earlier this month his last day in the role will be at the end of July. "If we put it into context, during the Vietnam War, Mississippi lost less than 400 folks," Dobbs said. "This is really a big impact." While these deaths have proven to be a tragic situation for the state, he said Mississippi is in better shape now than it previously has been. Almost every Mississippian has some sort of immunity to COVID-19, Dobbs said, with the majority of citizens being vaccinated, the remainder having natural immunity and some people having a combination of both. While this immunity will help moving forward throughout the pandemic, Dobbs said it will not last forever. "The bad news with COVID, like other viruses, is that immunity is not long-lasting," Dobbs said. "It does wane. It doesn't go to zero, but you don't have strong, robust immunity." Dobbs said while he expects cases to rise slightly during the summer, he does not believe the state will see the same case explosive numbers or mortality rates. |
| 'We Can't Endure This': Surge in U.S. Shootings Shows No Sign of Easing | |
 | On Friday night in Louisiana, a seven-month-old baby was shot in the head, caught in the crossfire during a drive-by shooting. In Norfolk, Va., an argument early Saturday over a spilled drink escalated into gunfire outside a pizzeria, killing two people, including a young reporter for the local newspaper. Later that same day in the Arkansas farming town of Dumas, an annual car show and community event to promote nonviolence became a bloody crime scene after a gunfight broke out, killing one and injuring more than two dozen people, including several children. And in Miami Beach, where spring break revelers have descended, officials this week declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew after a pair of weekend shootings. All told, in a single weekend when the calendar turned to spring, there were at least nine mass shooting events -- defined by at least four people shot -- across the country, as well as many more with fewer victims. It was an ominous harbinger for the warmer summer months ahead, which is typically America's most violent time. The surge in gun violence in the United States that began in 2020 as the pandemic set in and continued through a summer of unrest following the murder of George Floyd, shows no sign of easing. James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metro State University in Minnesota and co-founder of the Violence Project, which researches mass shootings, said the types of shootings that occurred over the weekend in public spaces, like the one at the car show in Arkansas, grab people's attention because they took the lives of innocent bystanders. But, he said, they obscure the fact that the majority of the gun violence that plagues America doesn't affect strangers. It's more likely to be the settling of personal grudges or tit-for-tat gang shootings that have surged in cities like Los Angeles. |
| Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing veers into hot-button topics | |
 | Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday rolled unscathed through a marathon day of questioning for her nomination to the Supreme Court, as some of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spent time on outside issues peripheral to her qualifications. Jackson, under the bright lights of the committee room for hours and with few breaks, avoided the kind of misstep that might cost her votes among the Democratic caucus, which does not need votes from Republicans to confirm Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. It took nearly six hours before Jackson even shifted her tone a bit, when Sen. Ted Cruz held up some children's books related to critical race theory that are part of a curriculum at a private school at which Jackson sits on the board. The Texas Republican had been pressing her for about 15 minutes on what has become a staple of right-wing concerns, asking if Jackson agreed with one book being taught to children that "babies are racist." "Senator, I have not reviewed any of those books, any of those ideas," Jackson said with a firmer tone than any of her previous answers. "They don't come up in my work as a judge, which I am respectfully here to address." Jackson calmly answered questions about her judicial philosophy, experience, approach to cases and more. At other times in the hearing, among other questions about her legal views, Jackson sometimes became a sounding board as senators made points more adjacent to her legal work. |
| Jackson invokes her Christian faith, stays mum on specifics | |
| Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has put her religious faith front, center -- and vague. She's spoken strongly of the role of her faith in her life and career but hasn't gotten into the specifics of that commitment. Her beliefs have drawn some attention as she undergoes Senate Judiciary Committee hearings this week for her nomination to the Supreme Court. "I must also pause to reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment," Jackson told the committee on Monday, in words similar to her opening remarks after President Joe Biden introduced her last month as his nominee. "Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure." Jackson identifies as a nondenominational Protestant, she told the committee on Tuesday, when questioned by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Graham pressed, asking how often she attends church. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?" Jackson replied, "I am reluctant to talk about my faith in this way just because I want to be mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views." She said her faith is important but noted the Constitution prohibits any religious test for public office. Graham agreed and conceded she could be impartial -- but said he was trying to raise a comparison with what he deemed unfair treatment of a Republican nominee by Democrats. |
| In questioning Ketanji Brown Jackson, some GOP senators preview potential presidential campaigns | |
 | When Sen. Tom Cotton gave his opening remarks Monday at Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing, the Arkansas Republican delivered the kind of slashing attacks on Democrats that have become his trademark. He attacked the "lawlessness" of the Biden administration. He decried the "illegal aliens" who have "streamed across our border" under President Biden's watch. He referenced billionaire philanthropist George Soros as he slammed "progressive Soros prosecutors" who, he argued, have sparked "skyrocketing" crime. And then Cotton took the opportunity to do something else: lay out, at length, his personal vision for a perfect Supreme Court justice. Senators, of course, do not get to choose their ideal justices. But presidents do. For a handful of ambitious Republican senators, Jackson's confirmation hearing this week has served as an high-profile platform to prove their mettle to GOP voters who might someday see their names on a presidential primary ballot. These Republican senators include Cotton, who recently delivered a major policy address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and has made pains to adopt the toughest possible line on crime and immigration; Ted Cruz (Texas), the former presidential contender who on Tuesday sought to cast Jackson as an adherent of the controversial academic doctrine known as critical race theory; Josh Hawley (Mo.), who upended an otherwise sleepy confirmation by accusing Jackson of being unduly sympathetic to those possessing child pornography; and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), who made a political appearance in the early-primary state of New Hampshire last week. |
| Biden, Allies Aim to Project United Front Against Russia at NATO Meeting | |
 | President Biden and European allies are gathering for meetings in Brussels Thursday to project a united front as they announce new measures to target Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and escalating attacks on civilians. Mr. Biden, who is scheduled to land in Brussels Wednesday, plans to meet with leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union and the Group of Seven leading industrial countries to discuss deterrence efforts, humanitarian relief and the campaign of sanctions against Russia. The U.S. and EU imposed the biggest coordinated package of sanctions ever levied against a major economy in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and they have since expanded those measures. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that Mr. Biden would join allies in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening the existing sanctions. Mr. Sullivan didn't offer details on what he said would be a joint announcement Thursday. According to U.S. officials and documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Biden is preparing to announce sanctions on more than 300 members of the Russian State Duma as soon as Thursday. The sanctions will be announced in coordination with the European Union and members of the G-7, U.S. officials said. |
| War in Ukraine could make catalytic converters more costly | |
| Palladium is a rare and precious metal that's used in jewelry, dentistry, flutes and in the catalytic converters that are part of car exhaust systems. Russia is the world's biggest palladium producer, so after Russia invaded Ukraine, the price of the metal, like many other commodities, skyrocketed. Now it's back to normal -- at least, normal for 2022 -- at about $2,500 an ounce. It's still five times as expensive as it was just a few years ago. Avo Bagramyan, who runs Avo's Automotive in Los Angeles, said he's been getting a special kind of call recently, and a lot of them. "I'll get a phone call and someone will be like, 'Hey, I went to go start my car this morning, and it was very, very loud.' And right away, we can make the determination that, 'Hey, you know, it was a catalytic converter theft,'" Bagramyan said. Catalytic converters break down the most toxic parts of car exhaust. They cost up to a few thousand dollars, and thefts of the devices have risen dramatically. In 2021, State Farm Insurance said it paid $62 million for more than 32,000 stolen catalytic converters. That's 13 times more than in 2019, before the pandemic. "The converter is full of very small amounts of rhodium, palladium, platinum, all these precious metals that when you do break them down and recycle them and separate them, you know, it adds up," Bagramyan said. In a classic example of how interconnected the world's supply chains are, the price of palladium came down for a while last year because the semiconductor shortage meant car companies were building fewer cars and needed fewer catalytic converters. But then came the war, and Russia produces 40% of the world's palladium, so when there were fears that it would be cut off from the global supply, there was panic. |
| Get ready for 'hell,' UN food chief warns amid Ukraine shockwaves | |
| The head of the world's biggest food aid agency has a stark warning for European leaders: Pay more now to stave off global hunger or suffer a migration crisis later. Russia's war in Ukraine has sent a shockwave through international food markets, worsening the already dire problem of global hunger by disrupting supply and inflating prices. That risks tipping the poorest, most famine-ravaged regions of the planet into political chaos and creating an unprecedented migration crisis, according to David Beasley, the World Food Programme's executive director. In an interview with POLITICO, Beasley warned that Europe must donate more funding urgently or it will bear the brunt of the fallout. "We're billions short," he said. "Failure to provide this year a few extra billion dollars means you're going to have famine, destabilization and mass migration." Beasley's intervention will sharpen minds as EU governments draw up plans to address the food crisis resulting from the war, with a proposal expected as early as Wednesday. Russia and Ukraine are among the world's biggest producers and exporters of grain. The disruption caused by the war has a direct impact on countries that rely on these supplies in the Middle East and Africa. "If you think we've got hell on earth now, you just get ready," Beasley warned. "If we neglect northern Africa, northern Africa's coming to Europe. If we neglect the Middle East, [the] Middle East is coming to Europe." |
| Russia's prince of propaganda spins Putin's Ukraine war | |
 | Anyone wanting to know the Kremlin's worldview need only tune in to "News of the Week," a Sunday night talk show hosted by Dmitry Kiselyov, who warns his millions of viewers of the sobering specter that the U.S. is an imperial power, Ukraine is ruled by fascists, Europe is a decadent mess in swift decline and Russia has too many enemies to count. "The operation to clear Ukraine of Nazis continues," Kiselyov, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and light blue tie, informs his audience on state-run Russia-1. His nation's military strategy is "microsurgical ... and methodical," the TV host says in a staccato-style burst of sentences he has honed for years as Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief opinion shaper. "People like Kiselyov are not journalists," says Russian journalist Dmitry Kartsev. "They are propagandists." Kartsev heads the department of analysis at Meduza, a Russian-language online news portal operating from the Latvian capital, Riga, and working mostly for the audience in Russia. "Russians understand that this is propaganda, but they also believe that there is no free media anywhere at all, neither in Russia nor in the West, and [that] is one of the main achievements of the Kremlin's propaganda," Kartsev says. This is true in particular of those Russians who lean toward Putin but are not yet entirely convinced. "If everybody lies, they think, then we should support 'our son of a bitch,'" he explains. The role of TV has long been crucial in shaping Russian public opinion. Its influence has grown since the invasion of Ukraine and the silencing of alternative media sources. |
| As Russia Stalls in Ukraine, Dissent Brews Over Putin's Leadership | |
| In January, the head of a group of serving and retired Russian military officers declared that invading Ukraine would be "pointless and extremely dangerous." It would kill thousands, he said, make Russians and Ukrainians enemies for life, risk a war with NATO and threaten "the existence of Russia itself as a state." To many Russians, that seemed like a far-fetched scenario, since few imagined that an invasion of Ukraine was really possible. But two months later, as Russia's advance stalls in Ukraine, the prophecy looms large. Reached by phone this week, the retired general who authored the declaration, Leonid Ivashov, said he stood by it, though he could not speak freely given Russia's wartime censorship: "I do not disavow what I said." In Russia, the slow going and the heavy toll of President Vladimir V. Putin's war on Ukraine are setting off questions about his military's planning capability, his confidence in his top spies and loyal defense minister, and the quality of the intelligence that reaches him. It also shows the pitfalls of Mr. Putin's top-down governance, in which officials and military officers have little leeway to make their own decisions and adapt to developments in real time. The failures in Ukraine have started to create fissures within Russian leadership, according to Andrei Soldatov, an author and expert on Russia's military and security services. The top Russian intelligence official in charge of overseeing the recruitment of spies and diversionary operations in Ukraine has been put under house arrest along with his deputy, Mr. Soldatov said. Even Russia's defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, who vacations with Mr. Putin and has been spoken of as a potential presidential successor, has suffered a loss of standing, according to Mr. Soldatov's sources. |
| Putin, Biden Face a Dangerous Choice: How Does Russia Want to Lose? | |
 | Three weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as its underperforming military bogs down in the face of a world-inspiring defense effort, US president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin find themselves caught between the cautionary lessons of history and today's geopolitical realities. Almost nothing has gone according to Putin's earlier plans: Ukraine rallied against his military, inflicting horrendous losses and making it clear that Russia will never be welcomed into the former Soviet republic, and the world has united against Putin's government, inflicting an immediate economic toll that already poses the greatest threat to his ongoing leadership in two decades. Now Putin faces a dangerous question with destabilizing consequences for the West and the world beyond: How does he want to lose this war? What more of Russia's treasury, economy, and people -- and, not least of all, his own political power -- is he willing to risk to either grind down Ukraine or preserve his hold on the country he's led for nearly a quarter-century? Meanwhile, half a world away, Biden faces his own, fraught choice -- how to punish and defeat Russia without risking a war he's clearly chosen not to fight and hold the line on American aid in the face of popular and political pressure to escalate. For both presidents, the political calculations are informed by a half-century of geopolitical lessons reaching from the Cold War to Afghanistan to Libya. For Putin, the Ukraine war is quickly becoming an existential fight -- which increases the danger inherent in each step of Western escalation. Biden's job, it increasingly appears, is to allow Putin the time and space to lose the war without giving him an excuse to escalate it into World War III. |
| UM experts offer insight into potential Russian cybersecurity attacks | |
 | Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there have been fears of large-scale cyber attacks by Russian operators against the United States. On Monday, President Joe Biden and Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emergency technology, warned businesses in the United States to shore up their defenses against cyberattacks. As the U.S. began placing sanctions on Russia, reports began circulating that similar attacks were likely to hit the United States. USA Today and the New York Times recently published pieces about how Russian cyberattacks were likely to affect American businesses. However, Craig Morris and Kevin Riehle, professors in the University of Mississippi Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, say Russia is unlikely to attempt any large-scale cyberattacks against the United States at this juncture. "We didn't get what we expected, based on what Russia has done before," Morris, a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Air Force, said. "And you can take a look out there, Russia has a pretty good track record of using cyber, because cyber is not as dangerous as using military power." However, Riehle believes that Russia is currently avoiding venturing into cyber-based attacks against the United States and other countries involved in NATO because they are trying to avoid pulling more countries into the conflict. |
| Overby Center to celebrate 75 years of Mississippi High School Journalism | |
| Overby Fellow and Mississippi Scholastic Press Association director R.J. Morgan will lead a panel discussion with three former MSPA directors on Tuesday, Mar. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Overby Center. Beth Fitts, Robin Street and Charlie Mitchell will join Morgan on the eve of MSPA's 75th anniversary spring convention to discuss the organization's history, importance, and future in the Overby Center auditorium. "Dating all the way back to the 80s, those are the people who have pretty much run MSPA," Morgan said. "We should have a pretty good breadth of knowledge on stage." Started by founding chair of the journalism department Gerald Forbes in 1947 as the "University of Mississippi Press Institute," MSPA began as a two-day conference held in the spring semester with the goals of helping students improve their high school publications and attracting them to the University of Mississippi. Seventy-five years later, those goals remain unchanged. "MSPA is a chance to have a day where high school journalism students from all over the state can come together and get excited about what it is they do and communicate with other scholastic storytellers just like them," Morgan said. "They return home with some new skills, but also a newfound energy to finish out the school year." Morgan is an Overby Fellow and instructional professor at the university, as well as the current director of MSPA. He started as director in 2013 and has made many changes to improve MSPA, including the addition of a state-wide fall convention held at the University of Southern Mississippi and the reorganization of the annual Best of Mississippi contests to honor more students. |
| Holmes Community College hit hard by severe weather | |
| Holmes Community College in Goodman was one of several places across the state damaged by severe weather. "I haven't ever been through anything like this, so I can't even put it into words. It's my first tornado," sophomore George Carter said. Carter stays in one of two dorms at the college that had its roof completely torn off as a result of high winds. He and a number of others had no other choice but to clear out their rooms and find somewhere else to stay once the conditions calmed down. The president of the Community College, Jim Haffey, said just about every roof on campus got damaged. The dorms, athletic facilities, and cafeteria were hit the hardest. "I was riding around campus a little bit, and some of the students weren't taking it too seriously, and I saw their attitude change," Haffey said. "It was pretty intense." Haffey hopes to have half of the dorms back up and running by next week. Once that happens, he said it'll open up more space for the out-of-state students and athletes who don't have family and friends nearby to stay with. He said a little over 1,000 employees and students evacuated prior to the storms moving in, leaving just about 100 people on campus when conditions were at their peak. "It was a pretty horrifying experience for those that were still here but, luckily, the alerts went off, they listened to them, they sheltered, and they were able to stay safe," he said. Haffey said no injuries were reported and that students will likely either finish out the year virtually or at one of the other campuses. |
| Local Sorority Chapter Raising Scholarship Funds for Mississippi HBCUs | |
| Greenwood, Miss., native Jaylin Smith wanted to be part of a family experience when deciding what college to attend. She didn't want to go somewhere she would just be another student-identification number. She wanted to go to a school where people would know her as Jaylin R. Smith. Smith had options to become a Tougaloo College eagle or a Jackson State University tiger, but she chose to enroll at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, 10 minutes from her childhood home. She is now a graduating senior, double-majoring in mass communications and speech communications with a concentration in broadcasting, and she also serves as vice president for MVSU's student government association. While going through her emails, Smith saw a flyer about the Jackson (Mississippi) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. HBCU campaign, a fundraiser to raise $100,000 by May 31, 2022, for scholarships for five Mississippi HBCUs. The schools chosen -- Rust College, Tougaloo College, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University -- caught her attention. "You see a lot of the top HBCUs like Howard, Morehouse and Spelman receiving attention from donors. It's great. They deserve that, but there are other HBCUs that deserve that same attention, care and nurturing to be taken towards them," she said. |
| Mississippi Teacher Residency program deadline extended | |
| Teachers wanting to obtain a master's degree in elementary and secondary education that did not get a chance to apply for the Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR) program are in luck as the Mississippi Department of Education has extended the deadline to apply. The MTR program applications opened in February with a due date in March, but now applications can be submitted on a rolling basis. Depending on which happens first, registration will stay open until all 200 slots are filled or the qualifying universities close registration. Those who have already submitted their application will have priority acceptance into the program and Spring 2022 graduates are encouraged to apply. |
| Law student protests stifle speakers at Yale, UC Hastings | |
 | Two protests, two law schools, two controversial speakers. The difference? One event went ahead, despite repeated disruptions, at Yale Law School. The other, at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, descended into chaos: the speaker was unable to eke out more than a few words before students shut him down, chanting, clapping and banging on desks in protest. Both events were put on by the Federalist Society, a conservative group with chapters on college campuses. One event featured a poster with the Federalist Society logo and the motto "Debate. Discuss. Decide." But on both campuses, student protesters had already decided on their stance, leaving little room for debate or discussion. At UC Hastings, Ilya Shapiro -- who is currently on leave from Georgetown Law School over a controversial tweet -- was supposed to take part in a March 1 discussion on the Supreme Court replacement for retiring justice Stephen Breyer. At Yale, Kristen Waggoner, general counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative advocacy group, took part in a March 10 discussion on civil liberties that ultimately continued despite student interruptions. Now the fallout from both incidents has some in the legal world decrying the state of free speech at U.S. law schools and even warning against hiring the disruptive protesters. |
| Fewer People Are Getting Teacher Degrees. Prep Programs Sound the Alarm | |
 | As teacher dissatisfaction rates rise and concerns about teacher shortages intensify, colleges of education are sounding the alarm: Enrollment has been steadily declining for the past decade, and the pandemic has likely made things worse. The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education released its second comprehensive report of the state of teacher preparation on Tuesday afternoon, noting the many challenges facing the teaching profession---and some of the ways colleges are adapting. The report uses the most-recent federal data, which are from the 2018-19 school year, providing a benchmark on the status of teacher preparation before the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic. The downward trend has been consistent. Between the 2008-09 and the 2018-19 academic years, the number of people completing a teacher-education program declined by almost a third. Traditional teacher-preparation programs saw the largest decline -- 35 percent -- but alternative programs experienced drops, too. Even before the pandemic, surveys showed that concerns about pay and working conditions were deterring prospective college students from going into the teaching profession. Now, teachers are saying they're more stressed than ever amid staffing shortages and other consequences of the pandemic. Also, legislative and public efforts to curtail classroom discussions about race have led to intense scrutiny on teachers and their curricular choices. |
| Higher Ed Added More Than 9,000 Master's-Degree Programs in Less Than a Decade | |
 | Some 24.1 million people age 25 and older had master's degrees in 2021. That's a 51-percent increase from 2011, when 16 million people held the credential. The increase makes sense when you consider that, for several years, roughly 40 percent of college freshmen in the American Freshman National Norms survey said they planned to earn a master's degree. Even though the value of a master's-level education -- especially in certain fields -- has faced heightened scrutiny, demand for the degree hasn't abated, so much so that it's long been referred to as the new bachelor's degree. Since 2011-12, colleges and universities have added more than 9,000 master's-degree programs, data from the U.S. Department of Education show. A Chronicle analysis of more than 2,200 public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit colleges from 2011-12 to 2019-20 found that about 60 percent of those institutions saw growth in the number of master's programs they offered. Growth spanned institutions of all types and sizes, including bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and four-year special-focus institutions. Yale University increased its master's programs by 1.2 percent, while Gordon College, a small private institution in Massachusetts, went from having two such programs in 2011-12 to 25 in 2019-20, a 1,150-percent increase. About 160 colleges -- nearly all institutions with fewer than 5,000 students -- didn't have a single master's program in 2011-12, but had at least one by 2019-20. One institution, the online arm of Johnson & Wales University, ended up with 18 such programs. |
| Survey: Views on pandemic learning overwhelmingly negative | |
| Almost all learning experiences, whether inside or outside the classroom, were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from ExamSoft in partnership with the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. The one constant during the pandemic was that "change was the norm," the survey found. Titled "Pandemic Insights to Shape a Better Future," it analyzed responses from almost 800 individuals representing a variety of roles in higher education -- students, administrators, faculty and staff -- and a range of institutions. Its aim was not only to provide a high-level analysis of the pandemic learning environment, but also to inform the future of teaching and assessment, said Natasha Jankowski, co-author of the survey and a higher education and assessment consultant. "I really like to just look forward -- like, sure, we did a lot of stuff, there were a lot of changes and that makes really great info fact sheets," Jankowski said. "But what are we going to do? We've had conversations for years and so how are we going to learn from the pandemic and really try to move forward?" Almost half of the respondents said oral communication was the learning outcome most negatively impacted by the pandemic, followed by teamwork and civic engagement, which were named by more than 40 percent. Jankowski said the lack of oral communication made sense, given that many professors shifted to more written assignments, and teamwork understandably suffered because Zoom made collaboration difficult. But Jankowski was shocked to see that civic engagement took such a hit during the pandemic. |
| Many Student-Affairs Officials Are Considering Leaving the Field | |
| Many student-facing administrators are considering leaving higher education, thanks to a fraught political climate, limited resources, and a rapidly expanding set of responsibilities that are causing exhaustion and burnout. Colleges urgently need to take steps to keep them around. That's a key conclusion of a new report from Naspa: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education that aims to outline a road map for the field over the next five years. The report, written by a NASPA task force, includes results from a survey of student-affairs professionals. While 61 percent of survey respondents said they planned to keep working in student affairs for the next five years, about one-third said they weren't sure they'd stay in the field, and 25 percent said they didn't know if they'd recommend a career in student affairs. About 40 percent said their colleges weren't discussing changes in the student-affairs work force. One dean of students who participated in a focus group for the report pointed out that senior leaders are often working 80-hour weeks, and seem overwhelmed and undervalued. Why, the administrator asked, would early-career professionals want that future for themselves? Nearly all respondents said they expected to take on more duties in the next five years, particularly in the areas of social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion; online student communications and virtual student engagement; and crisis management. If administrators' existing workloads aren't redistributed, the report says, that will increase burnout even more. |
| South Dakota passes anti-CRT law; other states weigh bills | |
| Add South Dakota to the list of states that have passed anti–critical race theory laws impacting higher education. "No student or teacher should have to endorse critical race theory in order to attend, graduate from, or teach at our public universities," Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican and the legislation's chief architect, said in a statement upon signing it into law this week. "College should remain a place where freedom of thought and expression are encouraged, not stifled by political agendas." HB 1012, as the legislation is known, prohibits the South Dakota Boards of Regents and of Technical Education, or any institution under their control, from compelling students to "personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to divisive concepts." The new law also prohibits institutions from requiring students or employees to participate in any training that "teaches, advocates, acts upon or promotes divisive concepts." Idaho, Iowa and Oklahoma enacted anti–divisive concepts laws for higher education last year, when most state legislatures considering or passing such bills were focused on K-12 education. This year, however, some 20 states are considering bills targeting colleges and universities. Relatively few state bills mention CRT by name, but it's widely understood that this theory---or what experts say is a seriously distorted version of the theory---is what such legislation seeks to restrict. Indeed, CRT has become such a politicized issue that it's already a significant topic in this week's hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's historic nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. In any case, many bills echo a now-retracted Trump administration executive order prohibiting the teaching of divisive concepts in training for federal contractors. |
| Democrats press Biden to extend freeze on student loan payments | |
 | Democrats in Congress are pressing the Biden administration to extend the suspension of student loan payments before it's set to expire May 1 as they seek to avoid cutting off a pandemic-induced benefit in the middle of an election year. The federal student loan payments suspension has already been extended five times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since it began under former President Trump in March 2020. That means millions of people who owe student loans to the federal government haven't been required to make payments on their debt in two years, all while interest rates on those loans have been set to zero. But President Biden has yet to say whether he'll renew it again, after last extending it in December amid surging cases of COVID-19. The freeze on federal student loan payments has had more staying power than other popular federal aid programs designed to help people stay afloat during the pandemic. By contrast, the ban on evictions, enhanced unemployment benefits and expanded child tax credit have all lapsed over the past year. And the longer that millions of people have adapted to budgets that don't include monthly student loan payments, the harder it will be for Democrats to reinstate them. Dozens of Democrats are calling for an extension that lasts at least through the end of this year. |
| Student-Loan Freeze Saves Borrowers Nearly $200 Billion as Biden Considers Extension | |
| Around 37 million federal student-loan borrowers were spared $195 billion in loan payments since the government froze their payments at the onset of the pandemic, and many of them are likely to struggle with their debts when the moratorium is lifted, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Borrowers haven't been required to make payments on so-called direct federal student loans, and interest rates on those loans have been set at zero, since Congress passed emergency legislation in March 2020, a pause that has since been extended through May 1 and could be extended further. The bank found borrowers with a certain type of federal loan that is held privately, who didn't have their payments frozen or had it frozen only briefly by their banks, had a 33% higher delinquency rate on their nonstudent, nonmortgage debt since late 2020 compared with the direct federal borrowers who remained in forbearance. The authors said they expected federal borrowers who had their payments frozen to have similar trouble managing their debts when the freeze ends. The analysis comes as the Biden administration considers its next steps for dealing with the roughly $1.6 trillion federal student-loan portfolio. The administration is under pressure from many congressional Democrats and supporters who want the freeze extended beyond May 1 for what would be the fourth time under President Biden, and the sixth time since it was adopted. |
| Mississippi poultry producers got early lessons in global trade conflicts with Russia | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: Forget for a moment, if you can, the horrible human cost of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Set aside the sad visages of the dead and maimed, the displaced and suffering, and the millions of refugees facing catastrophe. Focus on how the war most immediately impacts you at this point -- in your purse or wallet or family budget. Consumers are getting lessons in global trade and economic policy, food insecurity, and how much we all rely on farmers worldwide for sustenance -- and all that knowledge is being earned on simple trips to the grocery store and the gas pumps. According to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, Mississippi's largest cash crop is poultry and egg production at a whopping $2.42 billion that fuels some 32,000 direct jobs and another 64,000 indirect/induced jobs among suppliers and other ancillary services. Generally, the chickens eat grain. Their farm-to-market journey from commercial poultry houses to the poultry processing plants includes transport on trucks powered by petroleum products. Russia has a globally relevant supply of oil and gas -- and a petrochemical infrastructure capable of supplying a substantial amount of the world's fertilizer. More than 25% of the world's grain trade is produced in Russia and Ukraine -- earning it the nickname "the world's breadbasket." With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a set of falling dominoes were set in motion that interjected uncertainty into global financial markets, the global food supply, the world's energy markets, and virtually any activity used in producing food suddenly became more expensive. Where does that reality leave us? What will be the impacts? |
SPORTS
| Diamond Dawg Gameday: Southern | |
| No. 30 Mississippi State (12-9) will host Southern (4-15) in midweek non-conference action at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 23, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville. Wednesday's home game against Southern will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The midweek contest will be carried on the Mississippi State Sports Network powered by LEARFIELD along with a live audio stream via HailState.com/plus. Mississippi State enters the weekend with a 12-9 overall record over the first 21 games of the season, including a 1-2 record in SEC play following the opening weekend of conference play at No. 10 Georgia. MSU 2B RJ Yeager led the Diamond Dawgs at the plate in the last five games after going 10-for-21 (.476 BA) with four home runs, two doubles and 15 RBIs. Yeager slugged 1.143 and posted a .500 OBP. Southern is led by head coach Chris Crenshaw, who is in his second season with the Jaguars. Southern enters the week with a 4-15 overall record on the season. Southern is 2-9 this season in road games. This week's contest will mark the fourth time MSU and Southern have met on the diamond in a series that dates back to 2018. Mississippi State is 3-0 all-time against Southern with the latest meeting coming during the 2021 season. The last time State hosted Southern was on April 6, 2021, when the Diamond Dawgs secured a 15-1 victory over the Jaguars. |
| Bulldogs Open Non-Conference Stretch At Memphis Wednesday | |
| Mississippi State begins a stretch of four consecutive non-conference games on Wednesday, March 23, when the Bulldogs travel to Memphis. First pitch against the Tigers is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. After two weeks of conference play, State (19-10, 4-2 SEC) is tied for second in the SEC standings, but MSU now faces a break from league games. Following Wednesday's game at Memphis, the Bulldogs will host Samford for a doubleheader before traveling to Middle Tennessee next week. The Tigers (12-17, 0-0 AAC) recently played MSU's next SEC foe, dropping an 8-4 ballgame to No. 14 Tennessee. MSU is the third SEC team that Memphis will face as the Tigers also took No. 8 Arkansas to extra innings on the first weekend of the season. State is coming off of a sweep of Ole Miss last weekend that saw the Bulldogs outscore the Rebels, 22-11. MSU has now won four of its last five SEC series dating back to last year with an 11-3 record in those games, including three series sweeps. Both teams will wear gold shoelaces to raise awareness of childhood cancer on Wednesday. Mississippi State will take a week off from conference play and return to Starkville for a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Bulldogs will welcome Samford for games at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. CT with both airing on SEC Network+. |
| Mississippi State pro day: Charles Cross stands out as Bulldogs try to bolster NFL draft stock | |
| Those inside the Palmeiro Center around 10 a.m. Tuesday were suddenly compelled to scuttle backward toward the building's side wall. Charles Cross was on the move. The Mississippi State offensive lineman -- all 310 pounds of him -- moved his practice partner seemingly at will during a drill at Tuesday's pro day, propelling an unfortunate soul protected by just a pad backward and to the left. Reporters, scouts and Bulldogs players quickly cleared out of the way. It was Cross' time to shine. "Personally, I believe I'm the best offensive tackle in the draft," the redshirt sophomore said. "... I feel like I'm the most athletic one." Cross did his best to prove it Tuesday, impressing scouts from across the NFL with his strength and agility for his size. He was one of five Mississippi State players to work out at the Bulldogs' pro day, joined by cornerback Martin Emerson, wide receiver Makai Polk, kicker Brandon Ruiz and punter Tucker Day. "I just felt great being here and putting on a show in front of my brothers," Emerson said. Plenty of Emerson's former teammates were in attendance Tuesday, including quarterback Will Rogers, wide receivers Jaden Walley and Austin Williams, running back Dillon Johnson, defensive end Jordan Davis and safety Jalen Green. The current crop of Bulldogs watched from the Palmeiro Center practice field as their former compatriots tried their best to bolster their professional stock barely more than a month before the NFL draft. |
| 'It made me smile': Mississippi State's NFL hopefuls return to Starkville for pro day | |
| The past three months for Mississippi State's NFL hopefuls have been filled with new norms: agents, scouts and a sea of people with their eyes on various athletic metrics. Tuesday's pro day was the latest on a list of pre-draft obligations for them, but it came with a return to something they know best. Five former Bulldogs were back in Mississippi State's facilities. Kicker Brandon Ruiz and punter Tucker Day showcased their skills outdoors before the NFL scouts shuffled inside Palmeiro Center to watch offensive lineman Charles Cross, receiver Makai Polk and corner Martin Emerson -- a trio of players who made their initial impressions earlier this month at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. It was the first time the players returned to Starkville since the end of Mississippi State's season. A plethora of teammates were back in their corner to support from the sidelines, including the likes of quarterback Will Rogers, defensive end Jordan Davis and receiver Jaden Walley. "It feels great just being around my brothers, getting to talk to everybody," Emerson said. "I love this campus. It's family-oriented... I just felt great being here, putting on a show in front of my brothers because we've all got the same dreams and goals. Just showing it's possible was great." |
| Deion Sanders follows through on vow to call out NFL teams that skipped Jackson State's pro day | |
| Deion Sanderssaid that he was going to call out the teams that didn't come to Jackson State football pro day on Monday. On Tuesday, he named each team that wasn't in attendance in an Instagram video. "Twenty-four teams. Twenty-four teams came to witness our kids yesterday in its entirety (Editor's note: 22 teams were reportedly at Jackson State's pro day Monday). And I appreciate you," Sanders said. "But, there's 32 teams in this Crayola box. Therefore, the Dolphins, the Broncos, the Texans, the Bills, the Buccaneers, the Ravens, the Panthers, the Browns, the Vikings, and the Eagles, where art thou? You could have sent somebody man. You could have shown up just a little bit." Sanders said he won't forget the teams that didn't show up. "I guarantee you that you're going to go to Mississippi State, and Ole Miss. I guarantee you, you're going to show up there," Sanders said. "I understand, you're saying they have more talent, I understand. Guess what? We're coming. We're coming. We're coming. And when we arrive, you better be here. Because our kids deserve it." Overall, Sanders said he feels the pro day was "phenomenal" except for the teams that weren't there. He wrote in his Instagram caption that he understands, but he doesn't condone the behavior of attending other in-state pro days while skipping his. |
| Joni Taylor leaving Georgia for Texas A&M to replace Gary Blair | |
 | Just days after wrapping up her seventh season as head coach of the Georgia women's basketball program, Joni Taylor is on the move. Taylor has accepted the same position at Texas A&M and is taking over for hall of fame coach Gary Blair, according to Georgia. "Joni Taylor informed me she has accepted the head coaching position at Texas A&M," Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said in a statement Wednesday. "I want to personally thank Joni for being a great ambassador at the University of Georgia. From her Beyond Basketball group and involvement in many community organizations to her team's successes on the court, her impact left a lasting impression on this program." In her seven seasons with UGA, Taylor put together a 140-75 record and a 64-49 conference record. The Alabama grad spent four years under Andy Landers in Athens from 2011-2015 before getting promoted to head coach once Landers retired in 2015. Taylor was named the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 21-7 record and a run to the SEC Championship game against South Carolina. Following Georgia's second round loss in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, Taylor signed a three-year contract extension that was set to run through the 2026-27 season. Per the contract, Taylor would have to pay back $1.3 million as a buyout. With the recent restructure, Taylor's base salary was $850,000 in 2021-22 and she made $150,000 in bonuses. Blair, who coached his 18th season in College Station before retiring, was paid $1,250,000, per a USA Today financial report. |
| Top colleges accused of violating Black athletes' rights | |
| A group that advocates for college athletes has filed a federal complaint that claims NCAA Division I schools are violating the civil rights of Black basketball players and major college football players by prohibiting compensation. The National College Players Association announced Tuesday it had submitted a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights in the Education Department. The NCPA says NCAA rules prohibiting schools from compensating athletes disproportionately impacts Black students. "I believe it's important to first acknowledge the reality of the business that is college football," Stanford football player Elijah Higgins said in a statement through the NCPA. Citing a 2018 study by the University of Southern California's Race and Equity Center, the complaint said "Black men were 2.4% of undergraduate students enrolled at the 65 (Power Five conference) universities, but comprised 55% of football teams and 56% of men's basketball teams on those campuses." The NCPA claims that relative to the revenue generated by their sports, Division I football players and men's and women's basketball players have been denied tens of thousands of dollars in compensation annually. The group has also pushed for college athletes to receive employee status, a step university officials largely oppose. |
| Gov. Ron DeSantis proclamation: Florida swimmer who lost to trans athlete is 'rightful winner' | |
| Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a proclamation Tuesday declaring Sarasota native Emma Weyant the "rightful winner" after she lost to a transgender opponent in the NCAA 500-yard women's freestyle swimming championship event. The governor's proclamation adds to the controversy surrounding the women's collegiate swimming championship. Weyant is an Olympic silver medalist who graduated of Riverview High School and now swims for the University of Virginia. She lost last week to Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete in any sport to win a NCAA Division I championship. Thomas's dominance in collegiate women's swimming has amplified a fierce debate about transgender athletes, one that Weyant is now drawn into. Weyant did not respond to a voicemail or text message Tuesday. DeSantis signed legislation last year prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women's sports at the high school and college levels in Florida. "Florida rejects the NCAA's efforts to destroy women's athletics, disapproves of the NCAA elevating ideology over biology, and takes offense at the NCAA trying to make others complicit in a lie," DeSantis said in Tuesday's proclamation. |
| Russian Olympians face backlash after Vladimir Putin rally | |
| Russian Olympic athletes who participated in a rally supporting President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine are facing a backlash, with one losing a sponsorship deal and facing a disciplinary investigation. Medalists from cross-country skiing, gymnastics, figure skating and swimming gathered on stage at the Luzhniki Stadium on Friday as part of the concert and entertainment program around Putin's speech. Olympic champion swimmer Evgeny Rylov is under investigation for attending the event, the sport's governing body told The Associated Press. Rylov has also lost his endorsement deal with swimwear manufacturer Speedo because of his involvement in the pro-Putin rally. Speedo added it will donate the remainder of Rylov's sponsorship fee to UNHCR, the United Nations agency caring for refugees. Most of the athletes, including Rylov, were pictured wearing jackets with a "Z" on the chest at the rally. The letter isn't part of the Russian alphabet but has become a symbol of support for Russian troops after it was used as a marker on Russian armored vehicles operating in Ukraine. The event was held on the anniversary of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, with patriotic songs and praise for troops and Russia-backed separatists. |
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