Monday, March 28, 2022   
 
Buzzbassador has raised just under $1 million for influencing marketing software
The idea for influencer marketing software product Buzzbassador was born from the same thing all great startups are: a problem. As college students in the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, Calvin Waddy, Shelby Baldwin and Brandon Johns' first entrepreneurial venture was an online apparel store that -- to their surprise -- quickly found traction, selling to over 9,000 customers worldwide. Their recipe for success included one main ingredient: influencer marketing, a booming advertising method where brands promote their products through social media users with a significant audience of engaged followers. The problem they faced? As influencer campaigns scale, so do their required management -- and for small businesses and teams, this can be a huge strain. Soon the daily recruitment, communication, payments, affiliate revenue attribution and many more influencer-related tasks overwhelmed the trio's business operations. The founders searched for solutions, but when they were not satisfied with what the market had to offer, the idea for Buzzbassador was born: "Why don't we just create our own solution?" Today, Buzzbassador is a full-service IRM (influencer relationship management) platform that has helped more than 3,000 eCommerce businesses in a wide range of industries and verticals drive sales and brand awareness from social media influencers. As of 2022's Q1-end, the company, Rocketing Systems Inc. -- now run by COO Baldwin and CEO Waddy -- has raised just under $1,000,000 from angel investors, which has powered Buzzbassador in helping its merchants generate over $6.5 million in sales from the over 70,000 influencers who use the platform. The company received help from the E-Center's VentureCatalyst program, which is a four-tier process that includes pitching the business concept to gatekeeper review panels at the end of each stage. The first is made up of students with successful companies and the final evaluation is by outside venture capitalists like Wade Patterson, founder of the Bulldog Angel Network.
 
Residents near county lake frustrated by lack of improvements
Daniel Gadke recalls his first year living on the banks of Oktibbeha County Lake in 2015. With people swimming and kayaking in the lake, he said the atmosphere proved to be a positive influence in the county. "Our first year out here was awesome," Gadke said. "There were things happening, community events, people would bring their kayaks and pontoon boats. I'm hoping for that again." Then in 2016, everything changed. Due to slope failures and high water levels, the county significantly lowered the water level at the lake to stop its dam from potentially collapsing. In January 2020, more was drained after County Engineer Clyde Pritchard warned the dam was in imminent danger of breaching. Because of the drainage, residents and visitors alike have not been able to recreationally use the lake, something Gadke said saddens him due to his kids not getting to enjoy leisurely activities right outside their window. "One of the reasons we moved out here was to build on the lake and take advantage of the opportunities it has," Gadke said. "It was really exciting at the time, and of course it's been super disappointing over the last few years that the lake has been drained." Lifelong Oktibbeha County resident Ryan Taylor had a similar experience. After several years of living in the county, he and his wife finally bought a house on the lake because he said that is where he knew he wanted to retire one day and give his grandchildren a place of enjoyment, something Taylor cited as a "dream come true." "When all of this happened -- I can't even explain the feeling -- but we invested a lot into our house and thought that we're going to have a place where we can retire and then all of a sudden that's taken away from you," Taylor said.
 
Genuine MS showcases the state's products on a global scale
Through the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce's Genuine MS program, products grown, raised, crafted and made in the state are finding buyers all over the world. Shoppers browsing the website will find everything from tea to timber, watermelons to wildflowers and citrus to Christmas trees. The impressive variety offered by the state's farmers, crafters and entrepreneurs is on display across social media. Genuine MS is attracting a growing number of members and customers, and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson says that soon there will be more ways to find and buy those sought-after Mississippi items. The Agriculture Department's marketing team got to work developing the Genuine MS guidelines, membership qualifications and branding in 2015, and the website was officially launched in July 2018, the year Gipson became commissioner. "We have had a lot of good success," he said, adding that while COVID-19 interrupted commerce everywhere, the pandemic brought more people to shop online. And as word about Genuine MS spreads among communities across the state, more members are signing up. There are approximately 250 Genuine MS members, including 40 published associate members, and Gipson said "it's growing in every corner of the state."
 
Rising wheat prices may not yield bounty for U.S. farmers
This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an inquiry into "competition concerns" in the markets for seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural supplies. Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top wheat producers, and because of the war, the price of that commodity has skyrocketed. But that doesn't mean American farmers are cashing in, wheat farmer Nicole Berg said. "I have double, triple fertilizer costs. Or fuel costs. Then you gotta just grow the crop," she said with a chuckle. Berg heads the National Association of Wheat Growers. Between drought conditions and rising business expenses, she said, "I'm not sure the price of wheat is staying in pace with my yield, my input costs." Part of what's driving up the price of farm supplies and equipment is market consolidation, according to Phil Howard, who studies food systems at Michigan State University. "Whether you look at seeds, chemicals, farm machinery, just four firms control 40% of the global market for all of those," he said. The USDA's inquiry stems from a broader order from the Joe Biden administration to promote competition in the U.S. economy.
 
Avian flu is infecting U.S. poultry flocks. It could affect the price of chicken, too
Ready for more bad infectious diseases news? There's an outbreak of bird flu making its way into U.S. poultry flocks. If the virus continues to spread, it could affect poultry prices -- already higher amid widespread inflation. The price of chicken breasts this week averaged $3.63 per pound at U.S. supermarkets -- up from $3.01 a week earlier and $2.42 at this time last year, the Agriculture Department says. The latest data from the USDA show 59 confirmed sites of avian flu across commercial and backyard flocks in 17 states since the start of the year. That figure includes chickens, turkey and other poultry. Whether the 2022 avian flu will affect the price of eggs and poultry depends on how widespread it becomes, says Ron Kean, a poultry science expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. "In 2015, we did see quite an increase in egg prices," Kean told Wisconsin Public Radio. What's the risk to humans from this bird flu? Not much so far, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can't get avian flu from eating poultry or eating eggs that are properly prepared and cooked, the USDA explains. The chance of infected poultry entering the food chain is extremely low, the agency says, because of its food inspection program and avian flu response plan.
 
Farmers, Activists, Investors Fight Over Treatment of Pregnant Pigs
In West Liberty, Iowa, Mike Deahr houses his 3,000 breeding pigs in small enclosures that keep them from turning around and interacting with others for the first 28 days of their 115-day pregnancy. Whether those enclosures represent the best way to safeguard hogs' health or the mistreatment of vulnerable animals is at the center of a debate over how pigs in the $43 billion U.S. pork industry are housed. The state of California, animal-welfare groups like the Humane Society of the United States and billionaire investor Carl Icahn are pressing fast-food giants like McDonald's Corp., meatpacking companies and hog farmers like Mr. Deahr to provide pregnant hogs more space. Sows are aggressive animals, said Mike Paustian, a sixth-generation farmer just off Interstate 80 in Walcott, Iowa. The stalls prevent them from fighting each other and stop larger sows from stealing food from smaller ones. They can also prevent accidents if a worker gets between two fighting pigs, he said. The National Pork Producers Council, a Washington-based lobbying group representing hog farmers, filed a lawsuit in June 2020 in federal appeals court in San Francisco saying California can't regulate how pigs in other states are bred. The Supreme Court is weighing whether to hear the case. Despite rising wholesale pork prices, higher feed, labor and material costs have weighed on hog farmers over the past few months, said Lee Schulz, a livestock economist at Iowa State University. Iowa producers have faced three straight months of unprofitability, according to estimates from Iowa State University.
 
Mississippi lawmakers pass largest-ever state income tax cut
Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the nation with perpetually underfunded schools and struggling rural hospitals, had its largest-ever tax cut passed by lawmakers Sunday. The Republican-controlled state House and Senate voted by wide margins to pass a bill that would reduce the state income tax over four years, beginning in 2023. The bill goes to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. He has indicated he will sign it into law. "This affects every Mississippian that gets up and goes to work," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Flowood, said Sunday. Supporters say a significant tax cut could spur economic growth and attract new residents to Mississippi, which was one of three states that lost population during the decade before the 2020 Census. Opponents say reducing the income tax would mean less money for schools, health care, roads and other services, especially hurting Mississippi's poor and working-class residents. Harkins said the tax cut would reduce state revenue by $185 million the first year. By the final year, the figure would be $525 million. The state-funded portion of the budget is nearly $7 billion.
 
Mississippi lawmakers pass the largest tax cut in state history
The Mississippi Legislature in a bipartisan vote with very little debate on Sunday passed the largest tax cut in state history. House Bill 531 now goes to Gov. Tate Reeves, who is expected to reluctantly sign it into law, although he had been adamant that lawmakers eliminate, not just cut, the state personal income tax. "Moving to a flat four percent income tax puts more than $500 million in recurring dollars back in taxpayers' pockets and makes Mississippi one of the most competitive in the nation in terms of income tax rates," said Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. Hosemann has for two years thwarted Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn's effort to phase out the income tax while raising sales taxes. Hosemann and Senate Republican leaders said they wanted more prudent, studied tax cuts instead of overhauling tax structure during uncertain economic times. Gunn vowed to continue to push for income tax elimination, but said the cuts passed Sunday are "a key first step." For an issue that has dominated the last two state legislative sessions, the measure was passed quickly and quietly Sunday. The House passed it in less than three minutes with no questions asked on the floor and a round of applause after the vote. House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, said: "This will go down as the largest tax cut in the history of the state. It sets us on a path toward eliminating the Mississippi individual income tax within a reasonable time period."
 
Speaker Gunn wants to slash state taxes. He also wants to create a new tax in Clinton.
While Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn has been passionately leading the fight to abolish the state's individual income tax, he also wants a new tourism tax in his home city of Clinton. Gunn filed House Bill 1747, which would allow the city of Clinton to levy a new 2% tax on restaurants that would go toward promoting tourism, parks and recreation in the city, but only if approved by local voters in that city. Tourism tax legislation is fairly common in the Capitol, and several municipalities around the state already have such a tax, including Tupelo. However, Gunn's efforts to win his home city the opportunity to raises its taxes came as he's pushing lawmakers to eliminate Mississippi's income tax, something that drew comment from a Northeast Mississippi lawmaker. "I find it ironic that he's trying to cut taxes in the state, but he wants to raise taxes in Clinton," said Sen. Chad McMahan, a Guntown Republican. After passing the House 109-7, Gunn's local and private legislative came before McMahan for consideration. McMahan chairs the Senate committee that must consider local and private bills. McMahan told the Daily Journal that he initially decided skip over Gunn's bill on Thursday because he hadn't heard from the speaker about the legislation. Then, Gunn did call McMahan on Friday and asked him to consider passing the legislation. McMahan followed through. Gunn told reporters on Friday that local and private bills are "a different animal" from elimination of the state income tax, which accounts for around one-third of the state's general budget.
 
Mississippi reveals redistricting for state House and Senate
Mississippi legislators on Sunday unveiled plans to redraw the state House and Senate districts to account for population changes revealed by the 2020 Census. The House has 122 districts, and the Senate has 52. Republicans hold wide majorities in both chambers, and the redistricting plans are unlikely to change that. The next elections for four-year terms are in November 2023. Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby of Pearl said Sunday that the Senate redistricting plan keeps the same number of Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning districts as now. About 62% of Mississippi residents are white, and about 36% are Black, according to the Census Bureau. In the Senate, most of the territory now represented by Republican Sen. Melanie Sojourner of Natchez and Democratic Sen. Albert Butler of Port Gibson were combined into a single majority-Black district. Kirby said a new majority-white district was created in Rankin and Smith counties, near the Jackson metro area. "Nobody got exactly what they wanted," Kirby said. In the House, districts now represented by Democratic Rep. Tommy Reynolds of Charleston and Republican Rep. Chris Brown of Nettleton are being absorbed into surrounding districts because their areas had stagnant population. One new House district is being created in DeSoto County in the northwestern corner of the state, and one new one is being created in coastal Harrison County.
 
Two north MS House districts removed in newly proposed legislative map
Mississippi lawmakers adopted new legislative districts for themselves that drastically altered two House districts in north Mississippi, but preserved Republican dominance in both chambers of the Capitol. The joint redistricting committee on Sunday voted to approve new maps that redrew Rep. Chris Brown, R-Nettleton, and Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, out of their current districts. Brown is the representative for District 20, which encompasses Itawamba, Lee and Monroe counties. That district was absorbed into different counties to make up for population loss in that area and used to create a new district in DeSoto County, meaning that Northeast Mississippi will lose a seat in the House. Brown told the Daily Journal that he would not run for re-election in 2023, which he informed House leadership about earlier this year. "I feel like 12 years is long enough," Brown said. "I've enjoyed my time here, though." Reynold has served for over 40 years and is an institution at the Capitol. He is the representative from District 33, which contains portions of Grenada, Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties. He was noncommittal on Sunday when asked if he would run for re-election or retire from state politics. "I have the best grandchildren in the state," Reynolds said. "I'm going to consider all options, but I have some family considerations to think about."
 
Republicans make few changes to legislative maps during redistricting
The number of Mississippi's majority Black legislative districts will remain the same under the redistricting plan unveiled and approved Sunday afternoon by the Joint Redistricting Committee. The maps still must be approved by the full membership of the Mississippi Legislature. While some key changes were made in the maps approved Sunday afternoon, the 52-member Senate will maintain 15 Black majority districts and the 122-member House will keep 42. According to the U.S. Census, the state's Black population is 38%, while the white population is 59%. There was little debate Sunday afternoon as the plans were approved in committee. That could change as the proposals are debated before the full chambers and members have more time to ascertain how the changes impact their re-election efforts and the partisan makeup of the Legislature. Longtime Rep. John Read, R-Gautier, said his district did not change greatly, and he wasn't sweating it regardless. "In my district, they can't go south, because you hit water," Read said. "You can't go east, because you hit water ... Mine has been shrinking, shrinking in number of square miles, but it's still the same percentages. But it doesn't matter -- you just have to get out there and run, knock on doors. They either send you back, or you stay home."
 
Buddy's Law getting a second chance in Mississippi Legislature
A new plan of action is in the works to try and keep Buddy's Law alive. Buddy's Law is named for a for a dog who narrowly survived after authorities say he was severely burned by a 12-year-old in April 2021. The law, which passed the Mississippi Senate unopposed earlier this year, would mandate psychological assessments and treatment for youths who torture animals. The bill failed in the House earlier this month, sparking outrage and disbelief among animal advocates throughout the state. Now, a group of Mississippi senators have added Buddy's Law onto another bill in hopes of keeping it alive. If the amendment is approved, Buddy's Law would become part of Senate Bill 1065, which pertains to hunting and trapping nuisance animals, as well as the importation and release of wild hogs. The amendment would incorporate Buddy's Law, which only pertains to domesticated dogs and cats. It also lays out penalties for anyone found guilty of animal cruelty and specifically orders that any child found guilty in youth court of animal cruelty be ordered to receive a psychiatric evaluation and counseling or treatment, and the child's parents be ordered in contempt if the mandate isn't followed. The amendment to the bill was co-authored by Sen. Angela Burks Hill, who was one of the main proponents and writers of the original Buddy's Law. Other authors listed on the amendment include Sen. Neil Whaley, Sen. David Parker, Sen. Kevin Blackwell, and Sen. Michael McLendon.
 
Mississippi could soon sing a new song (or three): New state song considered
Mississippi could soon be singing a new song -- or three. The legislature is considering a bill to replace the state's official song, "Go, Mississippi," which was adopted in 1962. The original bill, House Bill 1487, proposed replacing the current song with "One Mississippi," written in 2016 by Mississippi musician Steve Azar for the state's bicentennial. The House overwhelmingly approved the measure. The Senate, however, voted in favor of an amended version of the bill with three official songs, because "the extensive history and diversity of the State of Mississippi require the designation of three official state songs that can be sung with pride and affection." The Senate wants Mississippi's official songs to be "One Mississippi," "Miss the Mississippi and You" by country legend Jimmie Rodgers and "Crossroads" by Delta blues pioneer Robert Johnson. The two different proposals to replace "Go, Mississippi" are now being considered by a conference committee.
 
Mississippi's medical weed money may be too risky for state's banks
Mississippi's medical marijuana businesses may take off like a high-powered rocket by the end of the year, but unless the state's banks put out a welcome mat for them, the new industry will be generating tens of millions of U.S. dollars with nowhere to put them. The reason for the soon-to-be homeless currency: Refusals by lawmakers in Washington and Jackson to legally allow Mississippi banks to accept deposits from state-licensed medical marijuana businesses. Marijuana's longtime federal classification as a drug prohibited under the Controlled Substances Act is a main obstacle to statutory changes. A change in congressional direction could convince the Mississippi Legislature to let state-chartered banks and credit unions accept cannabis-business deposits, a move lawmakers rejected in killing a 2021 bill to allow financial services to the medical marijuana industry. That option is still alive in the proposed federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, passed by the U.S. House in April 2021 with strong bipartisan support. The measure is in the Senate, still awaiting consideration by the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The stalled action could mean Mississippi's medical cannabis businesses will go live by year's end having to decide whether to stash their cash somewhere in the state or send it out in armored trucks to out of state banks that will accept it. In Mississippi, some banks are expected to take deposits from medical marijuana companies, said Gordon Fellows, president and CEO of the Mississippi Bankers Association, in an email. But until Congress gives financial institutions safe harbor, the risks are high, Fellows said.
 
State health officials sounding alarm on 'gas station heroin'
It's been described as "gas station heroin" -- a drug that people of all ages can legally buy at the local convenience store. And while only a handful of people in Mississippi have gotten sick from using the substance in recent years, state health leaders are sounding the alarm. The Mississippi State Department of Health recently released a Health Action Network (HAN) Alert on tianeptine. The drug, which is marketed to do everything from treat anxiety to help opioid addiction, is typically sold under names like ZaZa, Tianna, and Red Dawn. And it's legal in Mississippi. Officials discussed the drug at Friday's Mississippi State Medical Association COVID-19 briefing. "We've been seeing it probably the last five years, but a trickle," said Dr. Daniel Edney, deputy state health officer. Edney urged people to avoid the substance, saying it could be especially hard on those with a predisposition to addiction and those with a history of opioid abuse. "If you're taking more than what should be recommended, then you're going to be activating those new opioid agonists too much. And if you have the predisposition -- the genetic disposition for addiction -- that's enough to activate you," he said. "And people won't stay on tianeptine... They'll soon go on to pain pills or heroin and fentanyl."
 
Alcohol-Related Deaths Spiked During the Pandemic, a Study Shows
Almost a million people in the United States have died of Covid-19 in the past two years, but the full impact of the pandemic's collateral damage is still being tallied. Now a new study reports that the number of Americans who died of alcohol-related causes increased precipitously during the first year of the pandemic, as routines were disrupted, support networks frayed and treatment was delayed. The startling report comes amid a growing realization that Covid's toll extends beyond the number of lives claimed directly by the disease to the excess deaths caused by illnesses left untreated and a surge in drug overdoses, as well as to social costs like educational setbacks and the loss of parents and caregivers. Numerous reports have suggested that Americans drank more to cope with the stress of the pandemic. Binge drinking increased, as did emergency room visits for alcohol withdrawal. But the new report found that the number of alcohol-related deaths, including from liver disease and accidents, soared, rising to 99,017 in 2020, up from 78,927 the previous year -- an increase of 25 percent in the number of deaths in one year. That compares with an average annual increase of 3.6 percent in alcohol-related deaths between 1999 and 2019. Deaths started inching up in recent years, but increased only 5 percent between 2018 and 2019. The study, done by researchers with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health, was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on Friday. Young adults ages 25 to 44 experienced the greatest increases in alcohol-related deaths in 2020, rising nearly 40 percent over the previous year, according to the new report.
 
Biden approval rating falls to record low in NBC News poll
President Biden's approval rating has reached a new low, according to an NBC News poll released Sunday. Biden's overall approval rating declined to 40 percent in the survey, which found that 55 percent of respondents did not approve of how he is doing as president. In a January NBC News poll, Biden's job approval stood at 43 percent, while 54 percent did not approve of his performance. Seven out of 10 Americans questioned in the new poll expressed low confidence in Biden's ability to handle the ongoing conflict between Russia, Ukraine and other Western nations, the poll found, and 8 in 10 worry the tensions will result in higher gas prices for Americans and lead to nuclear war. The same survey found Republicans held a 2-point advantage when asked which party should control Congress following this fall's November midterm elections. The poll comes on the heels of Biden's emergency trip to Europe to meet with world leaders about the escalating conflict in Ukraine. The poll was conducted March 18-22 among 1,000 adults and has margin of error of 3 percentage points.
 
Biden finds no respite at home after returning from Europe
With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia's aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them. His comment that Russia's Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" -- an assertion that his aides were forced to quickly clean up -- overshadowed his larger message of solidifying the western coalition that's confronting Moscow. It punctuated another frustrating moment for an administration that's struggled to regain its footing -- and the American electorate's support -- in the face of an ongoing pandemic, escalating inflation and an increasingly complicated foreign policy crisis that raises the specter of nuclear conflict. Although he's forged a united front to punish Russia with sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, polls show Americans feel no better about his leadership as the bloody war continues. Meanwhile, Democrats are in danger of losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections, leaving Biden with limited opportunities to advance a progressive domestic agenda that remains stalled. The president is on the verge of securing the confirmation of the first Black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the U.S. Supreme Court, yet there's no clear path forward for him to fulfill other campaign promises around voting rights, criminal justice reform and fighting climate change. While polls show that Jackson is broadly supported by Americans, it hasn't helped improve Biden's standing with voters less than eight months before the midterms, which Republicans hope to frame as a referendum on the president.
 
How nine ad-libbed words from Biden about Putin sparked a global uproar
During his presidential campaign, President Biden often reminded his audience about the heavy weight that the words of a president can carry. "The words of a president matter," he said more than once. "They can move markets. They can send our brave men and women to war. They can bring peace." They can also, as Biden discovered on Saturday, spark a global uproar in the middle of a war. With nine ad-libbed words at the end of a 27-minute speech, Biden created an unwanted distraction to his otherwise forceful remarks by calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be pushed out of office. "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden said. It was a remarkable statement that would reverse stated U.S. policy, directly countering claims from senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who have insisted regime change is not on the table. It went further than even U.S. presidents during the Cold War, and immediately reverberated around the world as world leaders, diplomats, and foreign policy experts sought to determine what Biden said, what it meant -- and, if he didn't mean it, why he said it. Biden's line was not planned and came as a surprise to U.S. officials, according to a person familiar with the speech who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. White House officials were adamant the remark was not a sign of a policy change, but they did concede it was just the latest example of Biden's penchant for stumbling off message. And like many of his unintended comments, they came at the end of his speech as he ad-libbed and veered from the carefully crafted text on the teleprompter.
 
U.S. Officials Rush to Clarify Biden's Comment on Russia's Putin
President Biden's remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power" reverberated in the U.S. and abroad, as Washington's allies sought to remain united behind Ukraine without drawing Moscow into a broader conflict. Speaking in the Polish capital of Warsaw on Saturday, Mr. Biden appeared to issue his strongest condemnation of Mr. Putin to date. "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Mr. Biden said at the conclusion of his speech. The remark -- which Moscow dismissed -- marked an escalation in Mr. Biden's verbal attacks on the Russian president, after previously calling him a butcher and war criminal. It is also the latest example of his penchant for going off script, overshadowing his intended message and prompting White House aides to walk back his words. Administration officials and Democratic lawmakers said Sunday the off-the-cuff remark was an emotional response to the president's interactions in Warsaw with refugees -- some of whom had fled violence in Mariupol, a Ukrainian southern port city that has seen weekslong Russian bombardment and attacks on civilians. Mr. Biden's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amplified the same point Sunday to reporters in Jerusalem. "We do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia, or anywhere else, for that matter. In this case, as in any case, it's up to the people of the country in question, it's up to the Russian people."
 
The hard truth behind Biden's cyber warnings
The Biden administration has offered ominous warnings about looming Russian cyberattacks. But another reality is equally foreboding: The U.S. may have too many targets to defend them all. The roster of potential cyber victims critical to American life includes banks, power companies, food manufacturers, drugmakers, fuel suppliers and defense contractors -- all of which have fallen victim in recent years to hackers from Russia and elsewhere. So have government bodies ranging from local police departments to the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Security experts have expressed the most worry about hacks on the energy and finance industries. However, each of the nation's crucial sectors is at risk in some way. "We should consider every sector vulnerable," said Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, during a three-hour call this week with around 13,000 participants from multiple industries on the Russian hacking threat. "In some ways, we should assume that disruptive cyber activity will occur." Inevitably, some attack will break through if an adversary like Russia puts enough resources behind it. President Joe Biden warned this week that Russian cyberattacks on American companies were "coming," citing "evolving intelligence" that Vladimir Putin was considering using his nation's cyber abilities against targets in the United States. Those warnings came amid a scramble by CISA and other agencies to urge businesses and other potential targets to harden their defenses, along with continued calls from Congress for tougher deterrence against Russian hacking. Attempting to fill that gap, Biden warned Putin during a summit meeting last summer that "we will respond" if Moscow attacks the United States' critical infrastructure. But "critical" covers a ton of territory.
 
Without Russia, science going solo on world's woes, dreams
Without Russian help, climate scientists worry how they'll keep up their important work of documenting warming in the Arctic. Europe's space agency is wrestling with how its planned Mars rover might survive freezing nights on the Red Planet without its Russian heating unit. And what of the world's quest for carbon-free energy if 35 nations cooperating on an experimental fusion-power reactor in France can't ship vital components from Russia? In scientific fields with profound implications for mankind's future and knowledge, Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is causing a swift and broad decaying of relationships and projects that bound together Moscow and the West. Post-Cold War bridge-building through science is unraveling as Western nations seek to punish and isolate the Kremlin by drying up support for scientific programs involving Russia. The costs of this decoupling, scientists say, could be high on both sides. Tackling climate change and other problems will be tougher without collaboration and time will be lost. Russian and Western scientists have become dependent on each other's expertise as they have worked together on conundrums from unlocking the power of atoms to firing probes into space. Picking apart the dense web of relationships will be complicated.
 
Women business owners, UM leaders advise a new generation
Women in Leadership, a new graduate student organization at the University of Mississippi, recently observed Women's History Month with a panel discussion and luncheon to allow business women to lead and build their reputation as women in their respective fields. The organization strives to inspire women by giving them opportunities to connect with others who value diversity and advocate for one another. It is open to any female studying at the graduate level. "As women, we are all here to support one another. It takes a village to be successful at anything," said Kate Newman, owner of Style Assembly, a women's clothing boutique just off the Oxford Square. "It's about finding a way around the barrier in anything you do." "It's not about the problem you are facing, it's about what you are doing to solve it." The Ole Miss observance traces its roots to 1978, when educators in Santa Rosa, California, planned and executed a local celebration referred to as Women's History Week. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women's Day. The March 9 panel included some of Oxford's most successful businesswomen in leadership positions: Timber Heard, founder and CEO of Talitha Kumi Jewels; Erin Holmes, associate professor of pharmacy administration at the UM School of Pharmacy; Kate Newman, owner of Style Assembly; Catherine Hultman, operations coordinator for the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union; and Tonyalle Rush, associate vice president for student services and enrollment management at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
 
MPI and USM host a business startup competition
The Mississippi Polymer Institute and University of Southern Mississippi partnered Saturday, hoping to discover the next big thing. Nine local entrepreneurs gathered to present their ideas for a groundbreaking product for a panel of judges Saturday evening, with three finalists being invited to participate in a state-wide competition. Along with the invitation, each of the finalists will receive a $7,500 grant to help with start-up costs, enrollment into a 12-week curriculum and a mentorship. "A lot of these folks are small, they're financing things with their money. So $7,500 brought in from outside money will be very helpful to them," MPI assistant director Robert Thompson said. "The main benefit of winning is the 12-week program in Jackson that they'll go through to help them grow their business and continue on, hopefully, making them more likely to succeed." Hattiesburg was one of seven hosts Saturday for an event. All finalists will be invited to Jackson for the next round of competition.
 
MCC, William Carey sign partnership
For the second time, a partnership between Meridian Community College and William Carey University was solidified by the signing of a memo of understanding (MOU) this week. MCC President Thomas Huebner and WCU Executive Vice President Ben Burnett, and Associate Vice President for Health Programs Janet K. Williams signed an agreement to afford MCC students the opportunity to transition to healthcare programs at William Carey University. "I'm excited about this. I think it will open doors for our students and us," said Huebner. Burnett noted that more than 45 percent of WCU first-time students are community college students. "It's important to us to embrace community colleges. Mississippi cannot afford to exist in higher education matters without the community college system," said Burnett. "We are interested in improving the lives of the people of Mississippi," Williams added. "Our priority is to make sure those in Mississippi go to the professional programs, increase their education levels to fulfill their dreams."
 
U. of Alabama wins free speech lawsuit brought by sidewalk preacher
An Alabama preacher who wishes to "spread the good word" on a college campus sidewalk must use the University of Alabama's permit process, an 11th Circuit judge wrote Friday. In an opinion, Judge Robin Rosenbaum upheld the university's position that a sidewalk in Tuscaloosa is a limited public forum. In 2016, Rodney Keister, a traveling minister, and a companion set up shop in the middle of campus to preach and distribute literature, but were asked to move. Keister chose a new spot on a sidewalk off University Avenue, but was told again by police officers that he could not preach there without a permit. Keister first complained about the policy in 2017, but his complaint was rejected by the district and appellate courts. On his second trip to the 11th Circuit, Keister argued that the city of Tuscaloosa owned the sidewalk, and so the university policy didn't apply. The court disagreed. Rosenbaum wrote that since the university had always maintained and provided security for the area, the sidewalk was a limited public forum, and Keister should have given several days' notice and applied for a permit to speak there. The university's policy at the time -- one which has since been updated -- was "reasonable," the judge wrote," and was constitutional. The university updated its free speech and protest policies in 2020 to include "reasonable time, date and manner restrictions that are viewpoint-neutral."
 
Louisiana's public colleges end remedial coursework
Louisiana's public colleges will no longer ask students to take remedial English and mathematics courses for which they won't earn credit following a state regent board policy change. Instead, students who need assistance in these areas will be directed into for-credit classes and receive more academic support, which the regents said will bolster retention and graduation rates. In early results from the 2020-21 academic year, first-year students enrolled in the new version of math classes passed more than half of the time, compared with only 11% who took the noncredit remedial course. Colleges in swaths of the U.S., cutting across the political spectrum from Florida to California, have moved to eliminate remedial courses. In making the change in Louisiana, the regent board cited similar successes in Georgia and Tennessee. Louisiana was one of seven states in 2020 to receive a $300,000 grant from the Education Commission of the States, a policy organization, to retool its remedial courses. "Today's action by the Board is a great example of putting our Master Plan objectives into play," board Chair Collis Temple III said in a statement Wednesday. "Addressing barriers to student success, like passing college-level math, gets us closer to our goal of doubling the number of credentials in our state by 2030 and at the same time saves our students time and money."
 
What a new partnership with industry leader Tombras means for U. of Tennessee's advertising and PR school
When Joseph Mazer thinks about what makes him nervous as dean of the University of Tennessee's College of Communication and Information, it always comes back to student opportunity. Mazer wants to make sure that every student in the college has access to meaningful connections that expose students to real-world experiences, whether that's through internships, hands-on classroom experiences or networking. Now, because of a one-of-its-kind industry partnership with a world-class Knoxville agency, students in the college's advertising and public relations programs are guaranteed to get a taste of the real world before graduating. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Tombras are coming together to expand and enhance the College of Communication and Information's advertising and public relations school. "This vision, and this gift, actually makes me less nervous, because I know that we are going to be providing those opportunities to students so that they could move through and excel," Mazer said in an exclusive interview with Knox News. The new name is a first for the university. While UT has some academic colleges named for prominent Tennessee figures -- the Haslam College of Business, for example -- this is the first school within a college to be named.
 
Texas A&M students help Bryan-College Station residents during 40th annual Big Event
Carol and John Murphy said they were grateful for the help they received Saturday morning from 10 Texas A&M University students who volunteered four hours to clean the couple's windows and work on their flower garden. The 10 students were among another 13,000 who served almost 2,000 Bryan-College Station residents during the 40th annual Big Event, a day students give back to the community they engage with during their time at A&M. All of the students gathered at Kyle Field on Saturday morning where Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher kicked off the event with a pep talk that set the Aggies off into work. "It is great to get back to normal after these last two years," Fisher said. "There are a lot of folks out there that we don't know that need our help each and every day, and you will never know the impact you will have on someone until you get out there. ... Y'all spread that A&M spirit." The Murphys have participated in Big Event since 1996, and in their retirement they enjoy helping and volunteering in the community any way they can. John, 80, an A&M alum, said his favorite part about Big Event is meeting the students. "A few years back we had 16 Brazilian students who helped us and they were outstanding and so helpful," he said. "We have met some super outstanding and hardworking people, and it has been a lot of fun."
 
Ukrainian students at the U. of Missouri resilient after a month of Russian war in their homeland
Irynka Hromotska's sister started high school in Poland this week, while Vlad Sazhen received communication from a friend in Mariupol about horrific conditions he is enduring there under Russian bombardment. Both are Ukrainian students at the University of Missouri. Hromotska, 26, is a first-year graduate student in photojournalism and a Fulbright Scholar. Sazhen, 19, studies aerospace engineering as an exchange student. The Russian invasion of their country began a month ago this week. According to news reports, a Ukrainian counter-offensive had pushed the Russian military farther away from the capital of Kyiv. Hromotska's sister turned 16 three days before the start of the war and hasn't yet celebrated the birthday, Hromotska said. Her mother and sister have arrived in Poland traveling from their home in Lviv, among hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees there. "My sister just two days ago started school there" in Poland, Hromotska said. "At least she's going to have some structure, which is good." She and her family are confident of a Ukrainian victory in a war she described as a battle of light against darkness. Hromotska, with other Ukrainian "Fulbrighters" in the U.S., has begun a "Stand With Ukraine" fundraiser for humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
 
Retirement plan for U. of Missouri System employees faces $315 million shortfall
The University of Missouri System is $315 million short in the total amount of money that will be owed to future retirees on its pension plan. Members of the UM System Board of Curators are considering ways to solve the problem, including encouraging some participants to opt out of the benefits. Curators held a special meeting Friday to discuss ways to increase investment returns to pay for employee pensions, citing the latter as "the largest liability" for the UM System. The board will meet again in April and may vote on proposed changes to the pension plan. On Friday, curators briefly heard proposals to offer cash-out options, allowing participants to take out their benefits immediately. Another proposal would provide employees on the pension plan with an option to opt out, putting them on a defined contribution plan similar to a 403(b) plan. MU officials stressed that the concern is over future retirees' payments, not payments owed to former employees who are already retired. The employee pension plan has been closed since 2019, meaning nobody hired after that year is eligible for the plan. However, according to documents used in the meeting, paying out the pension is still the largest financial responsibility for the university system.
 
Two-year construction trades programs see spike in enrollment
It's a typical school day for Lisa Alaniz -- she and her classmates stand in a warehouse-like room, cutting wood and piecing together the rafters of a shed. They're students at Texas State Technical College working toward an associate's degree in construction. "I did [high school] online because that's when the pandemic hit," says Alaniz, 21. "And I just realized online school is not for me. Like, I'm very, very bad at computer work." Alaniz didn't want to spend her days trapped in an office, either. She wanted to pursue something more hands-on, which is what led her to the program here in Waco, about 100 miles south of Dallas. Since the pandemic began, more than a million students have held off from going to college, opting to work instead. Two-year public schools have been among the hardest hit -- they're down about three-quarters of a million students. Skilled-trades programs are the exception. Across the country, associate's degree programs in fields like HVAC and automotive repair have seen enrollment numbers swell. The heightened demand for students with a two-year degree or a certificate in skilled trades comes at a time when many prospective students are rethinking the value of college. For some students, graduating from a skilled-trades program could mean securing a high-paying job without taking on too much debt.
 
COVID called on colleges to offer more from campus tours
A little over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, high school senior Olivia Broderick got her acceptance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and knew she'd need a campus visit to solidify that all-important college decision. While formal in-person tours were still on hold, she and her parents were on a plane from Boston, headed to Madison, within a week. "The weather was bad. It was spring -- it was raining; it was so gloomy. I loved it!" says Broderick, now a freshman at the institution, recalling her self-guided campus tour of the lakeside campus that has a city bordering another side. Her mom pointed out that liking the university on a bad-weather day was a sure sign of it being the right choice. Today, official tours have resumed at Madison -- except for residence hall interiors -- and Broderick works for the admissions office leading them. "I get really excited and I always say I never had a tour of campus," she notes. Many students coming to campus for the first time "are just taking it all in," Broderick says, comparing that to an admitted students' day tour, where students tend to have "more specific questions, because they're actually truly considering coming." On any tour, while walking between stops, Broderick will make a point of talking individually to different students, asking where they're from and inviting questions. She estimates that 90 percent of questions come during such moments with the one-on-one feel. "That's the main thing you don't get with the virtual tours." The earliest iterations of virtual campus tours, and third-party provider options for development assistance, date back to the mid-1990s, but COVID-19 renewed the importance of being able to show off a college campus when a traditional tour is unavailable.
 
Pandemic caused many Black and Latino students to cancel their college plans, study says
Many students' education plans were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and new research reveals how Black and Latino students were disproportionally impacted. Almost a third of Black and Latino students cancelled their plans to continue their post-secondary education, a much higher rate than white students. A new report published by the Latino Policy & Politics Initiative at University of California, Los Angeles, used Census Bureau data to understand how the coronavirus pandemic impacted American households. The results found that during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and even a year later, many students of color planned to cancel all their plans for postsecondary education. Before the COVID-19 vaccines were available, almost 11 percent of Latino students planned to cancel their postsecondary education plans in the Fall of 2021, compared to only 6.4 percent of the total population. Black students were 10 percent more likely to cancel their postsecondary plans, compared to only 5.5 percent of Asian students and 5.4 percent of white students. The report explained the COVID-19 vaccine rollout did cut the share of students who planned to cancel their postsecondary education plans by more than half across all racial and ethnic groups. However, though fewer students of all races cancelled their education plans -- racial gaps in educational disruption remained.
 
A plan to inject social equity into Carnegie's classifications
The Carnegie classifications are an enduring institution in higher education, but they're about to undergo a facelift that could be dramatic. A recent episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed's news and analysis podcast, explored news that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching had chosen the American Council on Education to help it remake and run the main system we use to differentiate among types of colleges and universities. Tim Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation, and Ted Mitchell, president of ACE, discussed the partnership and why the time is right to refresh the classifications. The conversation explored their plan to add a significant focus on whether and how much colleges and universities contribute to social mobility and racial equity, potentially by creating an entirely new classification that would sort institutions by the degree to which they're engines of mobility and equity. A second conversation included Brendan Cantwell, an associate professor and coordinator of the higher, adult and lifelong education program at Michigan State University, about the potential unintended consequences of focusing too much on social mobility in college rankings.
 
Military academies prepare to welcome parent-cadets for first time
A provision quietly passed in the sweeping defense spending bill in December will for the first time allow cadets at U.S. military academies to have children. Since the 1950s, military policy has barred cadets from being a parent, with violators facing the threat of expulsion and the repayment of school loans. With the provision in the defense bill, President Biden now has until the end of the year to implement a new policy affirming parental rights at the Merchant Marines, Air Force, West Point and Naval academies. But the Pentagon has indicated that students who drop out after having a child would still have to repay the student loans, a thorny issue that some cadets are furious about. Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and an expert in U.S. defense policy, said the decision to allow cadets to become parents comes at a time when the military is still grappling with a high degree of sexual assaults against women. O'Hanlon said if a female cadet is sexually assaulted and becomes pregnant, "are we basically telling her she has to have an abortion?" "The existing policy at a minimum is too draconian and perhaps just wrong-headed altogether," he said. "It's almost an anti-family kind of policy." The change was the result of rare bipartisan collaboration between Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
 
Rank-and-file legislators have no influence in budgeting process because they gave it away
Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Conferencing, the strange period of the legislative session, has begun -- a time when rank-and-file members have little chance of influencing the process and especially the budgeting process. As the budget conferencing process starts, legislators are sitting on an unprecedented revenue surplus of more than $2 billion, but most members will have little say in how those funds are spent. Conferencing occurs when three members from each chamber -- House members appointed by Speaker Philip Gunn and Senate members named by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann -- meet to hammer out differences in legislation. The meetings normally occur behind closed doors. During conferencing, rank-and-file members cannot offer amendments to the proposals like they can earlier in the session. In addition, there is tremendous pressure for legislators to approve the compromise to keep the legislative train on the tracks. After all, the session is scheduled to end April 3, and sending a bill back for additional negotiations risks the possibility of delaying the end of the session. Rank-and-file legislators, at least, have the option earlier in the process to have influence over most general proposals because they can offer amendments to the bills both in committee and on the floors of the House and Senate. Those rank-and-file lawmakers, though, do not have unencumbered options to offer amendments to budget bills -- the bills that fund state agencies and services. In reality, they have virtually no ability to exert influence over the budgeting process. Members gave up that right in 2012 when Republicans took over both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since the 1800s.


SPORTS
 
Dawgs Fall Short in Series Finale
No. 30 Mississippi State (15-10, 3-3 SEC) dropped the series finale, 6-2, to Alabama (14-11, 2-4 SEC) on Sunday (March 27) at Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State won the series over Alabama with walk-off wins on Friday and Saturday. State jumped out in the first to take an early lead of 1-0 but Alabama quickly scored a run in the second to tie the game. Alabama extended their lead in the fourth, sixth and ninth innings to secure the win. Cade Smith (4-1) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs -- all earned -- on six hits and seven strikeouts through six innings of work. Brooks Auger came in at the start of the seventh inning allowing no runs and no hits with two strikeouts through 2.1 innings on the mound. Cam Tullar entered in the ninth followed by Jackson Fristoe who allowed one hit with one strikeout. Alabama's Grayson Hitt (2-0) earned the win for the Tide while Antoine Jean (1) picked up the save. Mississippi State will take on the Memphis Tigers in a midweek match up on Tuesday, March 29, at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
Eric Mele hoping to take Mississippi State special teams out of the spotlight
Before the end of his media session Saturday, Mississippi State special teams coordinator Eric Mele made sure to say his piece. Mele spent the 2006 season as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Saint Peter's College -- now Saint Peter's University -- in New Jersey. On Friday night, Saint Peter's upset Purdue to become the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight of the men's NCAA basketball tournament. So Saturday, Mele made sure to shout out the Peacocks and highlight their "unbelievable run" -- despite long odds. The school's home gym holds just 3,200 people and has barely that many students. "All of the stories about the resources and facilities are true," Mele said. In just two weeks, Saint Peter's has catapulted itself into the spotlight. Mele, meanwhile, is trying to stay out of it. Last year's Mississippi State special teams unit gained notoriety for its bottom-of-the-pack performance in several key areas, notably field goal kicking. In his first year as the Bulldogs' special teams coordinator -- a role he held at three other schools -- Mele is now tasked with turning around Mississippi State's unit. Three days and two practices into the spring, at least, he's pleased with the results. "It's been great," Mele said of the competitions at both kicker and punter. "It's a good environment for those guys to push each other to see who's going to win these jobs."
 
Eric Mele embracing chance to clean up flawed Mississippi State special teams unit
Eric Mele knows the importance of special teams, and it's not just because he's a short guy who made his way up through the third phase of the game. And it's not because he's coached it at three previous stops. Mele was on Mississippi State's sidelines last season coaching running backs, and he saw the potential the team left unfulfilled due to flaws on its special teams. He saw the foolish roughing the kicker penalty which cost State a chance against LSU. He saw the infamous punt return Memphis had to beat MSU. He saw the plethora of missed kicks, particularly the three which cost MSU a chance at Arkansas. Mele knows Mississippi State could've been a nine-win team if its special teams were more effective. That's why he embraces the staff reshuffling which put him in charge of special teams. "That's great to have film that we can coach off of and correct some things we control to help the outcome of the game," Mele said. "That's what special teams does. Nobody notices when you go through and have a clean football game. But they will notice some of those mistakes and those errors."
 
Nobody is hyping Mississippi State football. Fine, let me do it
Columnist Blake Toppmeyer writes for USA Today Network: You wouldn't know it from Mississippi State's performance in the Liberty Bowl, and you wouldn't know it from those "too early" preseason rankings, but the Bulldogs are quietly positioned for success in Mike Leach's third season. Bowl games have an outsized influence in prognostications for the following season, and not many teams fared worse than MSU in its 34-7 bowl loss to Texas Tech. Not many teams were as short-handed for their bowl as MSU, either. Opt-outs and COVID-19-induced absences sidelined a swath of Bulldogs, so I don't consider that result a useful measuring stick for what MSU can achieve in 2022. ... The Sporting News in January compiled nine national media outlets' early top-25 rankings for 2022. Not a single publication ranked Mississippi State. What am I missing? I see a team that's stocked with experience, coming off a 7-6 season and was a blown call away from beating Memphis and finishing with eight victories. The transfer portal is college football's shiny new toy. Coaches' ability to add plug-and-play transfers means a team's depth of returning starters doesn't carry the weight it used to. Nonetheless, experience and program familiarity still should count for something, and the Bulldogs return eight starters on each side of the ball. MSU brings back more production from last season than any other SEC team, according to metrics compiled by ESPN's Bill Connelly.
 
Former Mississippi State receivers coach Dave Nichol dies at age 45
Former Mississippi State receivers coach Dave Nichol died Friday. He was 45. In a statement, MSU head coach Mike Leach said Nichol had a sudden battle "with a number of health issues." The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported it was a battle with cancer. "He made everyone around him a better person and impacted everyone he met with kindness, loyalty and friendship," Leach wrote. "He meant a lot to me as well as countless others, and I will forever be grateful to have had him in my life for the last 22 years... Dave is gone way too soon. We have lost an amazing friend, coach and all-around great guy. Rest in peace, my friend. We miss you already." Nichol spent two seasons at Mississippi State on Leach's staff before leaving this offseason to coach at Southern California. He was part of Leach's staff for four seasons at Washington State and three years at Texas Tech.
 
New Mississippi State women's basketball coach Sam Purcell adds assistant coach to staff
Mississippi State has hired Gabe Lazo as an assistant women's basketball coach, MSU announced Friday in a news release. Lazo, whose most recent assistant coaching stops were at George Washington and Stony Brook, will join first-year MSU coach Sam Purcell's staff in Starkville. "Gabe brings an unbelievable work ethic and great energy to my staff," Purcell said in a news release. "He has developed players at every level of basketball and has built key relationships with people all around the world. Those relationships that he has built at the AAU and high school levels and those at the college level will allow us to recruit the best student-athletes to Mississippi State." Stony Brook went 28-3 in 2020, but the NCAA Tournament was never played due to COVID-19. In 2021, Lazo helped guide the Seawolves to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. George Washington went 13-18 this year, in Lazo's only season there. Lazo, who is from Miami, was an assistant at Florida International for two years. Before that he was a high school varsity girls coach at John A. Ferguson High School in Miami. He was named Miami Herald Dade County Coach of the Year three times.
 
Softball: Purvis Shines As State Sweeps Samford Doubleheader
Addison Purvis hadn't hit a double in 2022 entering Saturday's doubleheader with Samford, but she drove three on the day to lift Mississippi State to a pair of 2-1 victories. Purvis had a hand in all of MSU's scoring across the two games. In Game 1, it was her hits before being replaced by pinch runners that scored, and in Game 2 she delivered a two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth. "At the end of the day, it was good for us to feel some pressure," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We haven't had a lot of come from behind victories, so to be able to do that and stay composed in the late innings was big. Especially, Addison Purvis, she had a great day and a great week for us at the plate. I loved her approach all game long." Samford (15-14, 0-0 SoCon) scored first in both ballgames. In the first game of the day, the visiting Bulldogs scored an unearned run in the first. An error allowed the leadoff batter to reach, and a second error later in the frame allowed her to score. In Game 2, it was a solo homer to lead off the top of the fourth that put them in front. Mississippi State (22-10, 4-2 SEC) responded well in both contests. In Game 1, Purvis doubled, and Phoebe Florian pinch ran at second. Madisyn Kennedy drove her in with a single one batter later. Then in the fifth, things were oddly familiar as Purvis singled and was replaced on the bases by Aquana Brownlee. Brownlee scored the winning run on a double from Kennedy. The second game of the day was won after Chloe Malau'ulu and Paige Cook were walked and hit by a pitch in front of Purvis' third double of the day. Mississippi State hits the road for a long trip next week. The Bulldogs will spend five days in the state of Tennessee beginning with a midweek matchup at Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. CT. That game will air on C-USA.tv. The Bulldogs then resume conference play at No. 14 Tennessee on April 1-3.
 
Soccer: MSU Wins Spring Season Home Opener
For the first time in five months, the Mississippi State soccer program competed in front of its home fans. In their first of two home games slated for the 2022 spring campaign, the Bulldogs defeated the Jackson State Tigers Saturday afternoon. Similar to its first spring matchup against the UAB Blazers, several different Bulldogs found the back of the net. On the other end of the field, MSU's defensive line preserved the shutout. "It was great to play in front of our home fans and let them see the progress this group has made so far this spring," head coach James Armstrong said. "We scored some good goals from multiple, different goalscorers and took another step forward today." Mississippi State will hit the road next weekend (Sat., April 2) in a matchup against Arkansas State. The third spring game for the Bulldogs is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff. For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateSOC" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
 
Track & Field: Thirteen Bulldogs Set New PR's on Final Day of Bulldog Relays
The final day of the Al Schmidt Bulldog Relays ended with a bang for the Mississippi State track and field program. MSU saw six first-place finishes and 28 top-five finishes. Thirteen Bulldogs also set new personal bests, and JavU's DJ Jónsson, Tyriq Horsford and Franck DiSanza swept the top three spots on the men's side. Navasky Anderson, Ava Weems and Mary Beth Woodward each ran to new personal bests in the men's and women's 1500-meter race, respectively. Samuel Smith shortened his time in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Teammates Jeremiah Pierce and Jhordyn Stallworth extended their shot put throws, en route to first-place finishes. Both Jada Grant and Aley Woodberry both extended their women's long jump marks. Jordan Barrow shrunk his time in the men's 100-meter dash. Trent Zelden extended his mark in the men's javelin. Rosealee Cooper and Shayla Felder shortened their time in the women's 200-meter race, finishing first and second, respectively. Teammate Okheme Moore also set a new personal best in the men's race. MSU will begin its four-week road trip next week, heading to Baton Rouge (Sat., April 2) for the Battle on the Bayou – hosted by LSU. All four road meets coming up for the Bulldogs will be hosted by an SEC school (LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, Alabama).
 
Former Bulldog Chad Ramey Wins Corales Puntacana Championship
Chad Ramey, Mississippi State men's golf alum, has won the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship on the PGA Tour. The Fulton, Mississippi-native shot four consecutive birdies on the back nine of the final round to take home the victory at 17-under overall. Ramey had his best round during the second day where he secured a score of 7-under 65, going bogey-free for all 18 holes. Overall, Ramey carded 21 birdies and an eagle throughout the event. He maintained a driving accuracy of 78.57 percent with an average driving distance of 290 yards. He shot even par for 44 holes, and won the event with a one-stroke lead. Ramey, a rookie in the PGA Tour field, has only started in 16 career Tour events to date. This marks his first career win on the Tour. Ramey's journey has been quite an impressive feat. After turning pro in 2014, he earned his Tour card in 2021. With today's win, Ramey now has a two-year exemption. For more information on the Bulldogs, follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "HailStateMG."
 
Holmes Community College begins rebuild after receiving heavy damage from recent tornadoes
From the water tower, it's the perfect view. It's easy to tell why the president's house is just down the gravel path. A bird's eye view of Holmes Community College sits right where the school's lineman training center is. For athletic director Andy Wood, Thursday was his first time taking in the view since the storms ripped through. Goodman was in the center of the latest natural disaster to come through the heart of the state. And the path the tornadoes took through Holmes' campus can be seen from where Wood was standing. The trees beyond the baseball field stood no chance, and neither did the center field fence. The tornado ran past the third base dugout and toward the first base dugout of the adjacent softball field. The dugout roof stood no chance, but somehow the press box behind home plate looks untouched. Past it, the new weight training facility has just a broken window to show for. But it's clear the tornado made its way by because, down the same path, destruction reigned again. A tall task is ahead for those in the area, but the cleanup started immediately and a complete recovery is coming quicker than some may expect. With it being such an isolated disaster, aide came immediately. Holmes' parking lots are filled with repair trucks. Tree repair came first and electric help came soon after. Schools from across the state, Mississippi State and Ole Miss included, have offered help. Luckily for the athletic facilities, insurance will cover most everything, Wood says.
 
Tennessee baseball sweeps Ole Miss, primed for No. 1 ranking
Tennessee baseball could be the nation's No. 1 team when national rankings update Monday. No. 5 Tennessee (23-1, 6-0 SEC) swept No. 2 Ole Miss (16-6, 2-4) in a dominant showing in Oxford. "I think that is what we came in here to do -- to go to business out there," closer Redmond Walsh. "Every game, we are never satisfied. ... Coming into (Sunday), we just knew that two wasn't going to do it for us, we had to get three." Tennessee's 6-0 start to SEC play is its best since it started 8-0 in 1966. Tennessee stuck with its slugging ways to start the series. The Vols hit five homers Friday, adding to their nation-leading total of 64. UT didn't homer again in the series, however, turning to a hit parade Saturday and timely hitting Sunday. Tennessee had 17 hits Saturday to score 10 runs. "Pleased to see it more than anything," Vitello said. "Coach (Josh) Elander wants to be aggressive. Everybody on offense wants to be aggressive. ... I think we have a lot of different ways we can produce." Senior Redmond Walsh recorded save No. 19 of his career Sunday, striking out four in 1 1/3 innings. He trails Todd Helton on the career saves list. Helton had 23 saves.
 
Why Vanderbilt decided to change its logos in controversial rebrand
Vanderbilt vice chancellor for communications and marketing Steve Ertel and athletic director Candice Lee knew that there would be a strong reaction to the university changing its logos. If there wasn't a reaction, Lee said, she would've been concerned as it would have been a sign that people didn't care. The controversial rebrand began with new chancellor Daniel Diermeier, whose area of research is reputation in business and politics. Diermaier felt that the university had not articulated a clear vision for what its identity was. As part of the quest to solidify the university identity, Ertel said, they noticed that the V symbols and logos used all over campus were different and wanted something more cohesive. At the same time, Lee spoke about someone at the SEC women's basketball tournament who was unfamiliar with Vanderbilt's old "star V" logo. As part of the rebrand, Vanderbilt wanted to be able to "own" the gold V similar to Harvard with the H. According to Lee, the hope is that the new logos would become more recognizable not just on their own but because the new logo is a symbol of increased investment and resources from the university. At a school where the athletics department has often been at odds with the university administration, Lee said it was important for the school to have the same logo for the university and athletics to signify the two areas coming together under one roof. Lee sad merchandise sales with the current logos lagged behind the rest of the SEC, signifying that it may be time for a change.
 
U. of Memphis charged with multiple Level I violations as part of NCAA's investigation
The scope of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process investigation into the University of Memphis athletic department appears to extend beyond simply how the men's basketball program handled former player James Wiseman's eligibility status, according to documents obtained by The Commercial Appeal through an open records request. Memphis is facing at least four Level I and two Level II violations, according to an amended notice of allegations it received on July 9, 2021. Level I and Level II violations are considered the most serious of the NCAA's four-level violation structure. The amended notice of allegations outlines seven separate violations in total, which are reported to have occurred between May 2019 and February 2021. It includes violations of NCAA clauses related to lack of institutional control, head coach responsibility and failure to monitor. It alleges coach Penny Hardaway "failed to demonstrate that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance within the men's basketball program." Hardaway is charged with involvement in one Level I violation and two Level II violations, the specifics of which are redacted. The university's response to the Complex Case Unit's amended notice of allegations also made reference to accusations levied against its football program. The school contended in its response that the football program has not been charged with any violations.
 
Members of Congress to host virtual summit in hopes of stoking momentum for NCAA reform
Members of Congress are planning to host a virtual summit with college athletes and advocates next week in hopes of stoking momentum for NCAA reform. The summit, scheduled to take place Wednesday in the lead-up to this year's Final Four weekend, will include a trio of panels moderated by Democratic senators and representatives with active NCAA-related legislation proposals. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) will lead a discussion on the importance of allowing college athletes to organize and collectively bargain. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Massachusetts) will moderate a panel on gender equity and Title IX. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) will focus on the need to protect the safety and well-being of college athletes. This meeting comes on the heels of a period of landmark changes in college sports including the opportunity for athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness for the first time and a Supreme Court ruling that cast serious doubts about the NCAA's amateur status. More than a half dozen members of Congress have introduced bills during the past two years designed to reshape the NCAA in a variety of ways, but so far none has made significant progress toward becoming law.



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