| Thursday, May 12, 2022 |
| VIDEO: MSU Professor of Finance compares current inflation crisis to crisis in 1970s | |
 | VIDEO: MSU Professor of Finance Dr. Tom Miller Jr. joined WTVA 9 News TODAY to talk about the current inflation crisis and how it compares to the previous crisis in the 1970s. |
| This day in Mississippi: Johnny Cash arrested in Starkville | |
 | Almost 60 years ago, country music legend Johnny Cash was arrested in Starkville under charges of public drunkenness and indecent exposure following a performance at Mississippi State University. The singer was seen rummaging around in a Starkville resident's garden with a handful of dandelions and daisies, recalling the memory before singing "Starkville City Jail" to inmates at the San Quentin Jail four years later. "You wouldn't believe it, one night I got in jail in Starkville, Mississippi for picking flowers. I was walking down the street... and uh, you know, going to get me some cigarettes or something. 'Bout two in the morning, after a show. I think it was. Anyway, I reached down and picked a dandelion here and a daisy there as I went along, and this car pulls up. He said, 'Get it the hell in here boy, what are you doing?' I said, 'I'm just picking flowers.' Well, thirty-six dollars for picking flowers and a night in jail. You can't hardly win can ya? No telling what they'd do if you pull an apple or something... I'd like to get back at the fella down in Starkville, Mississippi... that still has my thirty-six dollars." In 2007, Cash was ceremonially pardoned by then-Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan who returned Cash's $36 to his daughter, Kathy Cash. |
| Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District adds new classroom, 20 spots to pre-k | |
 | The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District added 20 more seats to its pre-kindergarten early learning collaborative with an extra classroom at Sudduth Elementary for next school year. The SOCSD board of trustees unanimously approved expanding the Starkville Oktibbeha Early Learning Collaborative to include pre-k classrooms at Sudduth and West Elementary, including the extra classroom at Sudduth. Previously SOELC serviced children between Emerson School and Head Start, and now with the program expanding to include students at Sudduth and West, there will be a total of 260 children impacted in the new school year. The district will have 13 total SOELC classrooms. There will be seven at Emerson, five at Sudduth, and one at West. "The early learning collaborative has expanded each year (since the state of Mississippi awarded SOCSD with the program in November 2016) with Title I dollars," Assistant superintendent Anna Guntharp said. "This upcoming (school) year will be the first time that the early learning collaborative is being expanded to Sudduth and West. Prior to that, the Sudduth and West pre-k program was funded solely through Title I. It still will be funded this way, but we're able to add an additional pre-k classroom at Sudduth through using (early learning) collaborative funds." Pre-k at SOCSD is available to children who turn 4 by Sept. 1 of that school year, and the SOELC is free to parents. |
| Former Starkville firefighter charged with embezzlement | |
 | An Oktibbeha County man surrendered himself to authorities Monday on a felony charge of embezzlement: fraud committed in public office. Starkville police spokesman Sgt. Brandon Lovelady said Clarence Parks, 45, turned himself in on May 9 following an investigation that involved both internal and external complaints. At the time of the incidents, Parks was an employee of the Starkville Fire Department. Following his arrest, Parks was released on a $5,000 bond. If you have information, please contact the Starkville Police Department at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151. |
| Farmers feeling the pressure as fertilizer prices remain high | |
| A local business owner says he knows local farmers who are being forced to leave the business as fertilizer prices remain double what they were a year ago. Brad Ivy owns Tupelo Farm and Ranch Supply and said that with the price of fertilizer being so high and supply being low, both livestock and crops are being directly affected for farmers across the nation. President Joe Biden toured an Illinois farm and announced on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, a new plan to try and bolster American farmers so that they can help lower food prices for Americans and contribute to feeding those around the globe affected by food shortages. First, 681 new counties will now be eligible for Double Cropping Insurance. Second, the Biden administration will continue working to streamline the process of applying for Precision Agriculture technology for farmers -- technology that helps them precisely and more efficiently distribute fertilizer and seeds to reduce costs and maximize crop yield. And third, the president is doubling his investment into domestic fertilizer production -- a needed move after Russia closed off such a substantial fertilizer exporter in Ukraine. |
| With 2 months left in fiscal year, Mississippi state revenues on pace to meet or exceed revised $6.875 billion estimate | |
 | During this year's legislative session, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee revised its Fiscal Year 2022 state revenue estimates by nearly $1 billion dollars to more accurately reflect the state's fiscal position. Now, the April collections report from the Legislative Budget Office shows that Mississippi state revenues are on pace to meet and perhaps exceed those increased estimates, as state revenues could approach the $7 billion mark. The FY 2022 Sine Die Revenue Estimate adopted in 2021 was $5,927,000,000. On March 25, 2022, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee revised the FY 2022 revenue estimate upward from $5,927,000,000 to $6,875,200,000, an increase of $948.2 million. According to their April report, the FY 2022 year-to-date actual collections are $251 million above the year-to-date FY 2022 revised revenue estimate. Total revenue collections for the month of April FY 2022 were $229,133,983 or 28.66% above the sine die revenue estimate. Fiscal year-to-date revenue collections through April 2022 are $1,120,028,593 or 23.23% above the sine die estimate. Fiscal year-to-date total revenue collections through April 2022 are $590,213,736 or 11.03% above the prior year's collections. |
| State GOP gives Rep. Jason White fundraising platform | |
| House Speaker Pro Tempore Jason White is headlining two fundraisers this weekend on the Gulf Coast, raising the prospect that the Holmes County lawmaker could have his sights set on a higher legislative position, namely speaker of the House. White, R-West, is the chief lieutenant in the House and has backed several of House Speaker Philip Gunn's policy initiatives, such as changing the state flag and slashing the state income tax. It's notable that White, who represents a House district in central Mississippi, is the star of fundraisers far away from his district. The events beg the question: Is White laying the groundwork for a future bid for the most prominent role in the 122-member House. The first of the fundraisers is an inaugural golf event on May 15-16 at the Fallen Oak Golf Course at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. The cost to participate in the golf event is $10,000 per foursome. The second event is a fundraiser at Mississippi GOP Chairman Frank Bordeaux's house in Gulfport. The event can range from $250 to $1,000 for a person to attend. Bordeaux told the Daily Journal that Republican leaders across the board have traditionally helped each other with fundraising efforts, and the public shouldn't read too much into White's role at the fundraiser. "Jason and I have become very good friends, and he's been helpful to me," Bordeaux said. "I want to be as helpful to him and the Republican leadership in making sure that we're attracting and electing good conservative Republicans in the House." |
| State Senator's truck stolen at Fondren restaurant parking lot | |
| A state senator says his truck was stolen while he was enjoying a meal at a Fondren restaurant. Tuesday night, thieves broke into and stole Sen. Kevin Blackwell's white GMC Sierra as he and other lawmakers were eating supper at Walker's Drive-In on North State Street. "I arrived at 5:30, I left around 9. When I walked out, I discovered my vehicle wasn't there," he said. "Another vehicle was in its place." Blackwell, of Southaven, said he contacted the Jackson Police Department and OnStar to track the vehicle, but as of Wednesday afternoon, it had not been found. This is not the first time this year that lawmakers were victims of crime in Jackson. In April, a state senator said he was one of eight people who had a vehicle broken into at Char. In February, Rep. Brent Powell said his truck was stolen from the parking lot of the Thailicious restaurant in the 3000 block of Old Canton Road. It was later used in the theft of a convenience store in Gallman. Also, Rep. Shane Barnett had his truck broken into at the Homewood Suites in Fondren in January. Powell said he and Barnett have not been contacted by the police since the incidents occurred. Blackwell said surveillance from Walker's captured the incident. Suspects broke into the vehicle around 6:10 p.m. "They pulled up alongside one of the other senator's vehicles, sat there for a second, and backed up to mine. They got out, hit the lock with a screwdriver-like device, got in, and in 15 seconds they were gone," he said. "Unfortunately it happens," he said. "Unfortunately, it happens too often in Jackson." |
| Mississippi leaders lay out plan to combat crime as fentanyl overdoses surge on Coast | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves announced a new initiative in Biloxi on Wednesday that will expand law enforcement resources to combat violent crime and curb drug overdoses on the Coast. The expansion of the mobile enforcement team detail is comprised of different divisions of the Dept. of Public Safety, Reeves said, and is a joint effort between state, federal and local officials and was first launched in Jackson. "The operation has already lead to 60 arrests, the seizing of 45 illegal weapons and tens of thousands of dollars in cash," Reeves said. Reeves would not give specifics of how the initiative aims to reduce crime, citing the need to "preserve the integrity of the operation." Crosby Parker, district attorney for Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties, said the program will increase resources to local law enforcement agencies and police districts. "This is going to be a force multiplier. It will enhance what we already have in place," Parker said. "The plan is to cover the Coast at different times over the next couple months," said Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi DPS. One of the reasons cited for bringing the program to the Coast was the presence of fentanyl overdoses. "So far, the southern region of Mississippi has seen the highest portion of fentanyl overdoses in our state," Reeves said, who blamed the overdoses on the Biden Administration's border policies. |
| Civil rights attorney signals possible lawsuit over new legislative districts that dilute Black votes | |
| Veteran civil rights attorney Carroll Rhodes of Hazlehurst said Tuesday that talks are ongoing over whether to file a lawsuit challenging the 174 state legislative districts for diluting the voting strength of Mississippi's minority population. Rhodes, who has been involved for decades in efforts to ensure Black voters have opportunities to elect candidates of their choice, said the NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and others are still debating whether to challenge the redistricting plan approved by the Legislature during the 2022 session as unconstitutional. "There are additional districts to be created for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice," Rhodes said Tuesday during a virtual media presentation by multiple attorneys involved in redistricting litigation throughout the country. During the 2022 session, the Mississippi Legislature enacted a "status quo" redistricting plan, Rhodes pointed out. Under the plan, 42 of the state's 122 House districts are majority African American, while 15 of the 52 Senate districts have majority Black populations. During the media presentation, Rhodes said the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the redistricting plan approved by the Legislature for the four U.S. House districts is ongoing. No one is certain whether the three judge federal panel that is hearing the congressional lawsuit will rule before the 2022 election. |
| Mississippi judge may become first Black chair of U.S. Sentencing Commission | |
| President Joe Biden nominated a Mississippi judge to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The bipartisan agency was created during the Reagan administration to "reduce sentencing disparities and promote transparency and proportionality in criminal sentencing." Biden announced his seven choices Wednesday, including Judge Carlton W. Reeves. Reeves has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi since 2010. Reeves was also chosen as the chair of the organization. If confirmed, he would be the first Black chair in history. Joining Reeves on the commission is Claire McCusker Murray, Laura Mate, Luis Felipe Restrepo, Claira Horn Boom, John Gleeson and Candice C. Wong. Biden's nominees must next be confirmed by the Senate and would serve a six-year term. |
| Restaurant, small-business aid bill vote expected next week | |
 | The Senate is likely to vote next week on a $48 billion small-business aid package to help restaurants and bars, buses and ferries, gyms, minor league teams, live event support companies and border-region businesses that saw big revenue losses during the pandemic, the measure's authors said Wednesday. The main goal of the bill from Senate Small Business Chairman Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., and Mississippi GOP Sen. Roger Wicker is to backfill the Restaurant Revitalization Fund for the roughly two-thirds of applicants who didn't get any grant money under the initial $28.6 billion program. It would provide $40 billion to do that, while a House-passed version had $42 billion. The other $8 billion in the Senate bill would be divided among select industries: $2 billion each to gyms and live event servicers, like companies that provide staging, lighting, sound and casts for theaters; $2 billion for transportation service providers like buses and ferries; $500 million for minor league sports teams and $1.4 billion for small businesses located near land ports of entry that were closed due to the pandemic. Wicker said while the vote timing is not nailed down, "there's a distinct possibility that it could be voted on as early as Monday." Cardin and Wicker have waxed optimistic for weeks about their ability to get 60 votes for the measure. But they both acknowledged Wednesday they're still not yet there and probably won't be able to firm up whip counts until Schumer officially schedules the bill for floor action. |
| Soaring food prices worry lawmakers as global hunger rises | |
 | Skyrocketing food prices are alarming lawmakers, who worry about the mounting impact on U.S. consumers and rising hunger around the world. On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported an annual leap of 9.4 percent in food prices as of April, representing the largest 12-month increase since 1981. Republicans jumped on the latest inflation data to sharpen their attacks against President Biden, whom they blame for inflation across the consumer spectrum. Wednesday's numbers are "more bad news for workers and local businesses," Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the ranking member of the chief tax-writing committee in the House, said in a statement. Democrats, meanwhile, pointed out that inflation is not just a problem for America but is affecting countries the world over. Globally, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported last week that food prices have jumped nearly 30 percent since last year. At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday on global food security and the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said the international community is now facing "one of the worst food crises in the world in decades, certainly in the lifetime of any of us," with significant domestic implications. United Nations World Food Program Director and former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley told the committee that the war in Ukraine "is already causing 'collateral hunger' all over the world." |
| Senate Democrats' imaginary majority | |
 | Every day, it seems, brings another reminder of the severe limitations of Democrats' illusory majority in a 50-50 Senate. First Democratic leaders tossed Covid relief from a Ukraine aid bill at the behest of Republicans who were threatening a filibuster. Then the party entertained giving the GOP a politically volatile vote on reversing the Biden administration's border policy. And Wednesday showed there isn't even a majority in the Senate for Democrats' preferred abortion rights bill. Not to mention that the party's signature climate and tax reform bill hasn't moved an inch in months after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) tanked the last iteration -- still-rising inflation isn't helping its revival. And though there's a flurry of bipartisan discussions on issues from immigration to energy to electoral vote certification, none are showing signs of imminent breakthroughs. "It's a majority that comes and goes. Sort of like the tide," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). "I don't know exactly what I expected, but I certainly expected a little bit more clarity." Now nearly 16 months and running, it's by far the longest 50-50 Senate in history. And Democrats have had great success confirming President Joe Biden's nominees, punctuated this week by installing a new FTC commissioner who gave Democrats the majority and the first Black woman on the Federal Reserve Board. But on a day-to-day basis, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's job is an excruciating grind based on whether any of his members have Covid, if Republicans are feeling cooperative and where a handful of Democrats stand. |
| Justices to meet for 1st time since leak of draft Roe ruling | |
 | The Supreme Court's nine justices will gather in private for their first scheduled meeting since the leak of a draft opinion that would overrule Roe v. Wade and sharply curtail abortion rights in roughly half the states. The meeting Thursday in the justices' private, wood-paneled conference room could be a tense affair in a setting noted for its decorum. No one aside from the justices attends and the most junior among them, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is responsible for taking notes. Thursday's conference comes at an especially fraught moment, with the future of abortion rights at stake and an investigation underway to try to find the source of the leak. Chief Justice John Roberts last week confirmed the authenticity of the opinion, revealed by Politico, in ordering the court's marshal to undertake an investigation. Roberts stressed that the draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated in February, may not be the court's final word. Supreme Court decisions are not final until they are formally issued and the outcomes in some cases changed between the justices' initial votes shortly after arguments and the official announcement of the decisions. That's true of a major abortion ruling from 1992 that now is threatened, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, when Justice Anthony Kennedy initially indicated he would be part of a majority to reverse Roe but later was among five justices who affirmed the basic right of a woman to choose abortion that the court first laid out in roe in 1973. A major shift in the current abortion case seems less likely, at least partly because of the leak, abortion law experts and people on both sides of the issue said. |
| Russia says Finland's NATO plan 'definitely' a threat; Europe welcomes bid | |
 | Finland's leaders announced Thursday that they would seek NATO membership for the Nordic nation in response to Russia's war on Ukraine, which would be a tectonic shift in the military alliance and Europe's security order. The Kremlin said Finland's accession would "definitely" pose a threat to Russia's security and warned against a NATO expansion near its border. The Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would have "to take retaliatory steps ... to stop the threats that arise." The green light from Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin is the first step toward a formal application from a country with a long-standing military nonalignment. Sweden is considering a similar move, and Washington has said it would strongly support both. NATO and European leaders welcomed Finland's announcement Thursday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said its inclusion would strengthen both the country and the Western alliance, promising a "smooth and swift" process. On the battlefield, Ukraine said its troops were pushing back Russian forces around the second-largest city of Kharkiv, as airstrikes hit the Chernihiv region further north. |
| The Hidden Race to Protect the US Bioeconomy From Hacker Threats | |
 | A new partnership between the cybersecurity nonprofit Bioeconomy Information Sharing and Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC) and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which works on emerging research with US government agencies, is highlighting the need for more resources to better secure biomedical, bioindustrial, and biomanufacturing entities. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked regular people around the world to think about the logistics of vaccine development and production in a tangible and immediate way. But the so-called bioeconomy is silently embedded everywhere, from breeding programs used in agriculture to the development of biofuels. And as industry after industry faces a reckoning about the state of their cybersecurity defenses, researchers are increasingly realizing that the bioeconomy is vulnerable. During the pandemic, for example, Russia, China, and other state actors raced to hack vaccine makers and distributors for intelligence gathering, in a scramble that US officials warned could have been disruptive. "A lot of the bioeconomy is small companies; that's the real lifeblood of American biotech," says BIO-ISAC cofounder Charles Fracchia. "Imagine if Moderna got hacked four years ago, even with some totally non-sophisticated malware, or they faced a ransomware attack. Small companies can go bankrupt really easily, and then we lose the work they're doing for the future. I'm very grateful that APL understood the mission of the BIO-ISAC and joined as a founding member. They want to help." |
| Columbus Mayor visits MUW's Speech and Hearing Center | |
 | The next time Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin goes on a listening tour he should be able to hear what folks have to say. Gaskin visited the Speech and Hearing Center on the campus of Mississippi University for Women for a hearing screening Wednesday morning. May is National Better Hearing and Speech Month. It's a time to raise awareness about communication disorders and the roles of audiologists and speech language pathologists. Many Americans have some form of hearing loss and may not even realize it. "As many as 15% of school-age children can have an unidentified hearing loss, and as many as 18% of adults can have unidentified hearing loss. Often times we are very good about going and getting our eyes tested each year, but people don't always think about getting their hearing tested," said Kathy Shapley, Department Chair. The W's Speech and Hearing Center provides a wide array of testing and treatment services for Speech, Language, and Hearing issues. |
| USM student holds lantern decorating fundraiser for research in Japan | |
 | Students at the University of Southern Mississippi were able to take a break from finals Wednesday morning, by decorating Japanese-inspired lanterns to raise money in support of research this summer. USM graduate student Miranda Noland will be making her way to Hiroshima in August for her thesis research. She said this opportunity to go overseas is something she holds close to her heart. "This is also a very personal issue to me because I'm a third-generation Japanese American. So, for me to be able to go to Japan and to do this research, is a dream. This is a lifelong dream, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it," said Noland. Each lantern created will be taken to Japan to be released during the 2022 Hiroshima Lantern Floating Ceremony. "I want to explore the ways memories, heritage and identity and history are viewed through the visitation of museums and prominent memorials, particularly those that are associated with the Second Word War," said Noland. |
| 'She hit us like a meteor': Auburn voice professor honored by Harvard as one of nation's best | |
 | An Auburn University voice professor has received one of the nation's highest honors in music education. In April, during Harvard University's "Lift Ev'ry Voice: Celebrating the Music of Black Americans" concert, Harvard Arts presented Rosephanye Powell with the Luise Vosgerchain Teaching Award. This award is given to "individuals who display selfless commitment, artistic conscience, a constant renewal of approach to subject matter, ability to motivate in a positive and creative way, a sincere interest in the development of the whole person and the ability to present musical knowledge in a way that is applicable to other disciplines," according to the Office for the Arts at Harvard. Powell now joins the list of Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award winners that includes "Ivy League professors, orchestra directors and internationally acclaimed performers," according to a release from Auburn University. She received the award in Sanders Theatre at Harvard University after she conducted her work "To Sit and Dream" with text by Langston Hughes and "Quiet Revolutionary," which she composed for Harvard University in honor of Eileen Southern. Andrew Clark, Director of Choral Activities for the Department of Music at Harvard University, described Powell's work as the "closest he's ever felt to being in divine presence," the release said. |
| Will a More Open Search Produce a Better President at Oregon State? | |
 | After being chosen in a closed search process, F. King Alexander didn't last a whole year as president at Oregon State University. Now, the university's Board of Trustees is taking a different approach to appoint his successor. Alexander resigned under pressure in March 2021 after an investigative report raised questions about whether he had dealt appropriately with sexual-misconduct allegations against the football coach as president of Louisiana State University. The Oregon State board named Alexander president in December 2019, after considering four finalists who were not named publicly. Finalists met only confidentially with a "stakeholder group" of 25 members that included a handful of faculty members and students. To find their next president, Oregon State's board is making the search more open by announcing a group of finalists who will visit campus later in May for public forums. The new approach comes in response to concerns the board heard from the campus and community after the previous search, said Julie Manning, a member of the board and chair of an ad hoc committee created to advise the board on the search process. Searches without any public vetting have become more common in higher education but are still in the minority, said Roderick J. McDavis, managing principal of AGB Search, a higher-ed-executive search firm, and former president of Ohio University. |
| Innovative solution to deferred maintenance costs in Nebraska | |
 | The University of Nebraska system has an $800 million problem. That's the cost of its backlog of capital renewal projects on 900 buildings across the system's four campuses, which include roof repairs, waterline maintenance and whole buildings in need of renovation or replacement. It's a daunting sticker price for a public higher education system, especially in a cash-strapped state like Nebraska. But system officials have partnered with state legislators to come up with an innovative solution, hashing out a deal that would yield more funding and cover 40 years of maintenance costs. The system took advantage of record-low interest rates during the pandemic to make the first of two planned state bond purchases, each worth $400 million, and successfully sold the first tranche to finance long-delayed repairs and renovations. By 2030, Nebraska plans to purchase another $400 million in bonds for the same purpose. The goal is to use the bond sales to address as much of the capital renewal backlog as possible in the next decade, rather than going to the state every five or 10 years to fund urgent needs. University of Nebraska system CFO Chris Kabourek said that before the bond sale deal, they were taking a "shotgun approach" to deferred maintenance funding. "Every 10 years we'd do some projects, but we still had this giant deferred maintenance backlog," he said. "So we started having conversations about taking a broader, more strategic long-term view to address this." The money will fund the construction of modern buildings and facilities, including a state-of-the-art music education center to replace a 70-year-old structure on the Lincoln campus, which Kabourek hopes will attract eyes. But much of the funding will go toward what he calls "unsexy" projects, like rewiring buildings, updating HVAC systems and repairing roofs. |
| Inside a health center struggling with the college mental health crisis | |
| Heidi Schmitt, a therapist at the University of Iowa, sat in her swivel chair and pulled on her snow boots: Time to move. It was just after lunch on a gray day this spring, but already Schmitt had seen one student suffering from panic attacks; another struggling to connect with peers after two years of pandemic-induced isolation; and a third who was having a hard time adjusting to college. She'd just finished preparing for a workshop on tolerating distress scheduled for the evening and was about to cross campus for another workshop she leads, on mindfulness. Such is the life of a campus counselor, at a time when the demand for mental health care seems limitless, and colleges are stretching to meet it. On college campuses nationwide, the number of students seeking services increased by an average of 30 percent between 2009 and 2015 -- more than five times the average rate of enrollment growth -- and has continued to climb since then. At the University of Iowa, the number of clinical service hours provided by its counselors rose by nearly 90 percent in the 10 years preceding the pandemic. Caseloads dipped in 2020 as students scattered to their homes and colleges struggled to serve them across state lines. But on many campuses they're already starting to spike again, as the stress, grief and isolation that many students have experienced over the past two years rise to the surface. Once upon a time, college counselors functioned more like life and career coaches than therapists, supporting students through the often-tricky transitions to college and the workforce. They dealt mostly with coming-of-age challenges: loneliness, academic stress, uncertainty about the future. No longer. |
| COVID-19 Pandemic Exacerbates Mental Health Issues for Black Students | |
| Nearly three in four students surveyed for the Fall 2021 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment reported experiencing moderate or severe psychological distress. Data from a Healthy Minds survey the same year found 34% of respondents of college students surveyed struggle with anxiety, and 41% with depression. The surveys indicate the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the social isolation it forced and the lack of access to on-campus providers during remote learning, exacerbated this reality for many of today's college students. But for Black college students in particular, the outcomes are even more bleak. "From my perspective, we're in a crisis," says Tia Dole, executive director of the Steve Fund and a clinician of 20 years who has specialized in working with young people of color and LGBTQ youth. "One of the things you used to hear as a clinician -- even 10 years ago -- was 'Black folks don't experience suicidality as much as others, Black folks don't experience eating disorders," continues Dole, who notes an alarming rise in suicide rates among young Black males. "If you add in intersectional identities like LGBTQ, then it goes up even higher." In addition to the stress of the pandemic, which had a disproportionately negative impact on Black families who were more likely to be front-line workers, and more likely to die from the virus, Black America also bore the additional toll of racism. |
| Medical education of abortion could be erased in red states | |
| A key piece of OB-GYN training -- how to perform an abortion -- could soon be stricken from medical schools' curriculum in states that make the practice illegal. A Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would not only affect patients but drastically alter medical education and force young doctors to find workarounds to develop a skill deemed essential by professional bodies. "The implications for our field are devastating," Kavita Vinekar, assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Axios. "The politicization of our field has made the public think of abortion as a very separate thing from reproductive care when really it's very much intertwined in what we do," Vinekar said. Abortion care is very much intertwined with miscarriage management, with pregnancy care, with overall reproductive care," she said. Abortion training isn't just for OB-GYN's. It's part of the training for family medicine, pediatrics and emergency medicine. Further cutbacks in training could limit treatment for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies, which comprise 1 to 2% of U.S. pregnancies, said Neel Shah, chief medical officer at Maven, a virtual women's health clinic. He has worked in emergency rooms for the last 15 years. These are not rare exceptions, Shah said. "If you live in a city and you're covering emergency rooms, someone is going to come in with an ectopic pregnancy almost every night. It is extremely common." |
| Rates on Treasury notes just went up. So will the cost of federal student loans. | |
| Every month, the U.S. Treasury Department auctions off bonds to fund the government's debt. It held one such auction Wednesday, selling 10-year Treasury notes at an interest rate of 2.94%. That's the highest the rate at auction has been in a while, and it affects not just the bond market, but lots of things, including how much it costs to borrow money for college. The federal government issues around $90 billion in student loans each year, and the interest it will charge in the near future stems directly from the yield at Wednesday's auction. Congress established a formula to tie student loan interest rates directly to the yield on the 10-year Treasury note back in 2013. "Prior to that, Congress just kind of made up an interest rate, believe it or not," said Jason Delisle, senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute. According to Delisle, after the 2008 housing crisis and recession, an interest rate that didn't change felt out of sync with the markets. "People were saying at the time, 'Why can't this work like mortgages?' So that was the idea," he said. "A 10-year Treasury plus about 2 percentage points, at least for undergrads, that's the system that gets you pretty close to what a mortgage rate is." In the current system, the interest rate for new federal student loans changes every July. For undergraduate loans, the government takes the yield from the May auction and adds about 2 percentage points. Graduate students and parents have a higher markup, and when the yield on the 10-year goes up, like it did Wednesday, it'll cost new borrowers more. |
| White House eyes digital divide with discount for low-income families | |
| Challenges persist to connect eligible families to broadband programs like ACP, said Doug Casey, board chair of the State Educational Technology Directors Association. It will take creativity at the local level to build relationships and partnerships with families to spread the word and get those who are eligible to sign up. From there, Casey said, localities can share their feedback to the federal level, because there's not a one-size-fits-all national approach. So far, 11.5 million of the estimated 48 million eligible households are benefittng from ACP, which is funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in November, the White House announcement said. The latest internet provider commitments mean eligible ACP families will often be able to receive high-speed broadband at no cost, President Joe Biden said in a news conference Monday announcing these improvements. While Casey remains optimistic about Biden's efforts to connect more families to broadband, he said he has seen similar efforts struggle in Connecticut. Casey is also the executive director of the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology, which the state General Assembly established to integrate technology into schools, libraries, colleges and universities. "When you give people free broadband and you're communicating to them and you think you've reached them, you still haven't," he said. "You need to tell them again and again and again from multiple points of view that this service is available and, more importantly, that it's valuable." |
| Black women carry higher student debt. They hope forgiveness can ease the burden. | |
 | Sherita Brown's parents both earned college and technical school degrees. Still, they could not afford to pay for her college education when the time came. So taking out student loans was inevitable for Brown, 40, who dreamt of becoming an optometrist. "I figured with the income I would make once I graduated that it would make up for the loans that I took out," she said. Brown worked her way through college and paid some of her expenses out of pocket, alongside her loans. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2010, she has paid her balance down to $130,000, from $200,000. At one point, Brown's student loans, both private and federal, went into forbearance, which prevented her from investing and even purchasing a home. Brown is among the millions of borrowers who could benefit from some form of federal student loan forgiveness, which Black voters overwhelmingly support and President Joe Biden endorsed during his presidential run. He has continued the pause on federal student loan payments during the pandemic that began under the Trump administration. While the extension may be a sigh of relief for many, it is only a temporary solution, particularly for Black student loan borrowers who are often forced to take on more debt to attend college. According to the Brookings Institution, Black borrowers' reliance on loans to pay for higher education has contributed to the widening racial wealth gap. Four years after graduating, Black college graduates owe an average of $52,726, compared to white students who owe an average of $28,006, according to a 2016 report by the think tank. |
SPORTS
| State Downs No. 18 LSU In Extras To Advance In SEC Tournament | |
| After seeing the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, Mississippi State battled back to win, 7-4, in nine innings against No. 18 LSU in the SEC Tournament. State (33-23) took an early lead on a two-run home run from Shea Moreno in the first inning. The Tigers (34-21) tied the game in the second on a two-run homer of their own. Speed and small ball scored two more runs for MSU in the third. "I'm just really proud of the way the team continued to fight out there," head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "We did a great job setting the tone early with Shea's homerun and Mia finding her way on base in front of her. The middle of the lineup did a great job of picking us up all day long. Annie Willis had another quality start and Kenley [Hawk] came in and held the line like she needed to. And what a great job by Aspen Wesley to come in with bases loaded, no outs and strike out the side and finish it off for us. A good team win, using people for defensive subs, pinch hits and different pitching appearances -- just an overall great team win." The Bulldogs will now meet No. 3-seed Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday, May 12. The game will air on SEC Network. |
| 'Let's just do it': Mississippi State softball rallies for extra-inning win over LSU in SEC tournament | |
| Mia Davidson knows the Mississippi State softball team missed plenty of opportunities in dropping its final regular-season series to LSU at Nusz Park. But when Sunday's comeback win over the Tigers set up a rematch Wednesday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Davidson and her teammates were ready. "Heck yeah," they figured. "Let's just do it." It took nine innings and plenty of twists and turns, but the Bulldogs (33-23, 10-14 SEC) did it in style in a 7-4 win to advance to the SEC tournament quarterfinals in Gainesville, Florida. After blowing a 4-2 lead to the sixth-seeded Tigers (34-21, 13-11 SEC) in the bottom of the seventh, 11th-seeded MSU rallied for a three-run ninth inning to knock LSU out of the event. Davidson hit a tiebreaking single down the left-field line, and Shea Moreno followed with an RBI single before Chloe Malau'ulu hit a sacrifice fly. "I think it really just speaks to the resiliency of them and their ability to continue to compete and attack and want to do it for the person to their left and their right," coach Samantha Ricketts said. The Bulldogs erased a 5-0 deficit to nip LSU 6-5 in the regular-season finale in Starkville. The win helped Mississippi State avoid a sweep, but it had other benefits. "I think it just really relaxed the offense," Ricketts said. Now we're just starting to be more on the attack and more aggressive, and it's the offense that we're used to seeing." Ricketts said MSU likes to be counted out, and it showed that Wednesday. "Nobody really expects us to win, so it's good for us to keep that confidence and to keep rolling," Moreno said. |
| Mississippi State takes down LSU in extras to advance in SEC Tournament | |
| Finally, the kill shot came for Mississippi State. Strangled by LSU's Ali Kilponen for most of the first game of the SEC softball tournament on Wednesday, the Bulldogs came alive for three runs in the ninth to earn a 7-4 extra-inning win and advance to the quarterfinals at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Kilponen, who pitched 13 innings against the Bulldogs in Starkville, was not the starter on Wednesday but had retired 14-straight by the time MSU got a two-out walk and single back-to-back in the eighth. But there were no runs. Finally, the Kilponen dam broke in the ninth with four-straight one-out hits, the last two RBI singles by Mia Davidson and Shea Moreno. Chloe Malau'ulu added a sacrifice fly, and the lead was 7-4. The Bulldogs (33-23) will face Tennessee this morning. |
| Women's Golf Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships | |
| The Mississippi State women's golf team secured a top-four finish in the Tallahassee Regional on Wednesday to punch its ticket to the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Bulldogs used a valiant team effort down the stretch to secure its place in the top four and advance to the final women's golf tournament of the season. Down the stretch in the final nine holes of the regional, the Bulldogs found themselves tied with No. 29 Miami for fourth place. State scored an even-par on the last six holes as a team to build a five-stroke cushion and secure the fourth-place finish needed to advance to the NCAA Championships. State concluded the three-day event by shooting a team score of 27-over par (891). With State's advancement to the NCAA Championships, head coach Charlie Ewing becomes the first Mississippi State women's golf head coach to advance to the championship rounds in their first full season as head coach. Ewing is also just the second coach to make the NCAA Championship Round in their NCAA Tournament debut. "I am excited that we earned ourselves the opportunity at this next level and secured a tee time at the NCAA Championship Round," Ewing said. "I am so happy for the players in the program that have been here for a long time and everyone who has dedicated themselves to set high goals and standards." |
| Long before Mississippi State, Chris Jans came face-to-face with Michael Jordan's Bulls dynasty | |
| It only took Chris Jans one season to earn a 50% pay raise from Elmhurst College. Working as an assistant basketball coach under Scott Trost, Jans impressed so much his salary jumped from $1,000 to $1,500. Even 30 years ago, that wasn't nearly enough to make ends meet. Jans, the new coach at Mississippi State, had to find side gigs to provide while living just outside Chicago. Illinois was battling a substitute teacher shortage, so Jans was a fit even with a degree in marketing and finance. He valeted cars on the weekends. He helped at basketball academies and stemmed his interest outside the court to help Elmhurst's football and baseball coaches with recruiting. "Not because I was a great recruiter," Jans said, "just because I had nothing to do and they knew I needed money." For a trailer park boy out of Fairbank, Iowa, Jans understood humble beginnings. And he understood the struggles that come with working up the coaching ranks. But he found an opportunity at Elmhurst, and coaching basketball in the Chicago area during the early 1990s was a strong start. Trost remembers the difficulty of finding an assistant. He had to find someone willing to live in the dorms and accept a minute salary. "To find guys who were hungry and willing to do that was tough at that time," Trost said. "But Chris separated himself." "I'm not surprised Chris is doing what he's doing," former Elmhurst player Grant Dietmeier said. "You could tell he was driver. You could tell he was passionate, love basketball, very focused, hard-working, very outgoing and likeable." |
| This Louisiana bill would loosen restrictions on LSU and athletes' endorsement deals | |
 | When the NCAA released additional guidelines on name, image and likeness this week, it tried to prevent payments to athletes from spinning farther away from their intended purpose. The organization warned boosters about using compensation as a recruiting inducement; authorized its enforcement staff investigate potential infractions; and established that donor collectives fell under the same rules. The announcement came as an amended bill that would reshape NIL in Louisiana continued to make its way through the Legislature. Senate Bill 250, which the House Education Committee endorsed Wednesday, would repeal sections of the original state law that limited how much schools can get involved. "These changes bring our environment closer in line -- almost directly in line -- with the NCAA guidance," University of Louisiana System president Jim Henderson told the House committee. "This will make it simple for us, and of course, it also protects student-athletes." The amendments, which were filed by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, strike language preventing university employees and entities such as the Tiger Athletic Foundation from facilitating deals. They also remove limitations on boosters, and they make NIL contract terms confidential. Players still cannot be paid to play because of NCAA rules, but the amended bill would allow TAF board members with businesses to pursue deals. It would also for schools to expand their involvement, helping LSU keep up with rivals who either have less restrictive state laws or no NIL legislation governing them at all. |
| ACC commissioner Jim Phillips proposes FBS move away from NCAA | |
| At a time when college athletics is undergoing major transition, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips wants industry leaders to consider another revolutionary idea. In a news conference at the ACC spring meetings Wednesday, Phillips suggested that FBS football be governed separately from the NCAA. "I'll just say this," Phillips said. "I think it's time to look at alternative models for football." To an extent, college football already is run distinctly from other NCAA sports in that its championship and bowl system are not under the NCAA umbrella, whereas the NCAA runs the championships for its other sports. His suggestion followed a comment made last week made by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith to ESPN that the 10 FBS conferences operate under the direction of the College Football Playoff. Asked if that was what Phillips had in mind, he responded, "I would say we've had a lot of conversations, I think, inside the ACC and outside the ACC of what you just described." The future of college sports already faces significant uncertainty as changes in athlete compensation and transfer rules have drastically altered the landscape. Further, the growing revenue gap between the SEC and Big Ten and the other power conferences (not to mention the five other FBS conferences) have raised concerns about the game's competitiveness and viability. |
| Former Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez criticizes NCAA over recruiting, boosters | |
| Count former University of Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez among those who are "very concerned" about boosters and the recruiting process in college sports. Alvarez discussed name, image and likeness (NIL) changes among several topics during his appearance Wednesday on ESPN Wisconsin's "Wilde and Tausch." "The NCAA gives us no leadership, and I sat in the room last week with 14 very, very disappointed and frustrated football coaches," said Alvarez, who now serves as special adviser for football in the Big Ten. "They want to know, what do we do in recruiting? "There are things written that you can't have an outside party involved in recruitment. You can't use enticements in the NIL to recruit somebody. Yet you read every day about different schools and different alumni putting all this money forward to recruit someone, and it's illegal. And so the coaches are saying, 'Do we do it and jeopardize -- if we get fired, do you get fired with cause? Or if we don't do it, we keep falling further and further behind?'" Alvarez said someone needs to emerge to watch over infractions. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors took steps earlier this week, unveiling "guidance" regarding NIL and recruiting that went into effect Monday. Alvarez also thinks there are schools currently tampering with student-athletes at other college programs, something he said cannot be allowed to continue. |
| Economic impact analysis: Bill designed to transform college sports in California will have massive implications for athletic budgets | |
| A bill designed to transform the economics of major college sports in California continues to move through Sacramento and faces a key upcoming vote in the Appropriations Committee. Senate Bill 1401, the "College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act," has been placed in the suspense file, a repository for legislation carrying significant fiscal impact, and could be voted on later this month. As law, SB-1401 would create a revenue-sharing arrangement between California universities and athletes in the money-making sports, football and basketball. Millions of dollars typically used to support athletic department operations instead would be placed in "degree completion funds." The requirements could place the California schools in the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences at a significant financial disadvantage, create Title IX complications and threaten the long-term viability of Olympic sports like softball, gymnastics and swimming. An analysis published by the Appropriations Committee prior to SB-1401 moving to the suspense file projected an economic impact of $34 million to $36 million annually for the University of California and $1 million to $9.3 million annually for the California State University. The bill's lead author is State Sen. Steven Bradford, who represents the 35th District (Carson, Inglewood, Long Beach, etc.) and helped create California's groundbreaking Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) law in 2019. But the quiet force behind the legislation is the National College Players Association, an athlete-advocacy group founded by former UCLA linebacker Ramogi Huma and supported by the U.S. Steelworkers. |
| John Daly, Charles Barkley share call with Donald Trump during Regions pro-am | |
 | John Daly's phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday doesn't appear to be as explosive as the last one. The golfer, who participated in the pro-am ahead of the PGA Tour Champions Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham on Wednesday, was seen headed to the tee box while on the phone with former president of the United States. In doing so, he handed the phone to former Auburn and NBA great Charles Barkley, who appeared to have a short conversation with Trump. "I would love to," Barkley said. "I would love to. I appreciate it, Mr. President." While we can't be certain what the exchange is about. It's pretty clear Trump is extending an invitation to the "NBA on TNT" analyst. It certainly isn't as controversial as the last call Daly had with Trump. In March, the PGA golfer posted a video of himself talking to Trump on a phone call with Trump, who told Daly that he "got along great" with Russia President Vladimir Putin. In the video posted on Instagram, Trump said he told Putin that he'd "hit Moscow" if Putin ever got out of line. At this point, Putin had invaded Ukraine. |
| Delaware AG asks for federal civil rights review after Delaware State bus incident | |
 | Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings says she is "deeply troubled" following the news of the stop and search of a bus carrying members of the women's lacrosse team of Delaware State University, a historically Black university, last month in Georgia. In a statement released Wednesday, Jennings called on officials in Georgia and at the U.S. Justice Department to investigate what members of the team say was racial profiling. "Like so many others, I'm deeply troubled by the actions that our Delaware State University Women's Lacrosse team and staff endured in Georgia this past April," Jennings said in the statement. In a letter addressed to the U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, Kristen Clarke, Jennings referred to the incident as "troubling" and one that is "deserving of your attention." t a news conference Tuesday, Liberty County Sheriff William Bowman said deputies had stopped several vehicles the morning of the incident, finding contraband on another bus that was stopped. Bowman emphasized that deputies were unaware of the race or gender of those inside the bus when it was pulled over. "At the time, or even the weeks following, we were not aware that this stop was received as a racial profiling," Bowman said. |
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