| Monday, May 23, 2022 |
| 'Why not us?' Mississippi State softball beats the odds to win Tallahassee Regional | |
 | Many teams play the "Nobody believed in us!" card after a big win in the postseason. Mississippi State softball is one of the few for whom that statement is true. The Bulldogs were given little to no shot to win the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, hosted by No. 2 overall seed Florida State. In a poll of five USA TODAY Sports experts, all five projected the Seminoles to win. Only one even mentioned another team: third-seeded South Florida. It was understandable. MSU struggled to close Southeastern Conference play. The Bulldogs lost home games to Central Arkansas, South Alabama and Furman early on. And Florida State was the hottest team in the country, winning 14 straight games. But the Bulldogs subverted everyone's expectations -- except their own. "I think it's just the mentality that this group has had," coach Samantha Ricketts said. "From the very first weekend out, it's been, 'Why not us? Nobody's going to pick us. Everybody's going to count us out. Good, we don't want anyone to pick us. It's us against the world.' They really bought into belief and knew that as long as everybody in that dugout -- all 24 -- are bought in, that's all we need." That led the Bulldogs to four consecutive wins at the Seminole Softball Complex, with the final two coming Sunday over the host team. MSU became the first school to ever eliminate a No. 2 overall seed in regionals and did so by coming out of the losers' bracket to stun Florida State. |
| Mississippi State University Staff Appreciation Day held Friday | |
 | Staff and support personnel at Mississippi State University finish the school year on a high note. MSU Staff Appreciation Day was held Friday at The Junction. MSU employees got a chance to unwind and enjoy the free food, including MSU ice cream, live music, games, activities, even a chance to win a few door prizes. University president Dr. Mark Keenum also presented this year's staff awards. |
| LaBiche recognized at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Nursing and accounting may seem an unusual pairing to most people, but not to Meridian resident Tricia LaBiche, recently named Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the Division of Business at Mississippi State University-Meridian. A highest honors graduate and Riley Scholar, LaBiche spent 18 years in the nursing field before she and her husband owned and operated his family's jewelry business in downtown Meridian. After returning to her nursing roots, the now 53-year-old also decided to return to school to study accounting. "When I graduated from Meridian High in 1987, I didn't know if I wanted to be a nurse or study accounting. I decided on nursing because I could do that locally, and it would take less time to finish. After my husband and I separated, I put my nursing degree back to work when I was hired at Home Instead, working with seniors who desire to age gracefully in their own homes," she said. While she immersed herself in her new job, LaBiche's 25-year-old daughter, who was finishing the Master of Taxation program at Mississippi State in Starkville, inspired her mom to return to school. "We would talk about her classes and what she was learning, and it really interested me, so I thought why not. My personal life was a mess but earning an accounting degree was something I could do for myself now that would also help position me for the future," LaBiche said. |
| North Star Industrial Park prepares for new industries | |
| Garan Manufacturing has been the sole occupant of North Star Industrial Park for a little more than a year, but the Golden Triangle Development LINK is looking to give Garan a few neighbors soon. Joe Max Higgins, chief executive officer for the LINK, said plans are to build nine and 10 buildings at North Star, located off Highway 389 in Starkville. Currently the LINK is working on finishing the slab for a 50,000 square-foot speculative building across from Garan, and the materials for that building arrived on site the week of May 9. "We've got $3.4 million in a grant from the state of Mississippi to do further enhancements to the park," Higgins said. "We're going to start clearing the trees and vegetation and knocking the hills off. We've got a 50,000 square-foot building that is expandable up to 100,000, and right next to it we're going to put a 100,000 square-foot building. In that park where Garan is on the north side, we envision there will be about four buildings of about 100,000 square feet down the south side and probably three or four on the north side. We also have the flat spot to develop, and we've actually got a company looking at it right now." Garan houses administrative offices, engineers and the company's information technology department at North Star. The location also specializes in making patterns and samples for the children's clothing the company as a whole sells, known as Garanimals. |
| Skyrocketing asphalt prices forcing tough decisions on area paving projects | |
| Joe Williams sat Wednesday at the board table during an Oktibbeha supervisors' work session grappling with limited options -- none of them particularly pleasant. Original estimates to pave 11 miles of Oktoc Road in his district were about $1.8 million. The low bid was a little more than $2.3 million, leaving a half-million gap between the amount the county had budgeted and what was needed for the job. Rejecting the bid and trying again would likely lead to an even higher price tag, as the prices of asphalt and other road building materials are rising fast with no signs of slowing. "What if we do seven miles instead of all 11?" the District 5 supervisor asked. But there were more problems. The Mississippi Legislature, during the 2022 session, committed $1 million to the project to go along with contributions of just more than $400,000 each from the Mississippi Office of State Aid Road Construction and direct county funding. The legislation, as written, dictated all 11 miles must be paved and the money spent by the end of 2023. Williams asked about changing the legislation, something board attorney and State Rep. Rob Roberson said is possible but difficult. After mulling it over, Williams concluded that if the legislation couldn't change, "We'll just let them have the funds back." District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, one of four supervisors at the work session, at first glared at Williams in disbelief. Then he moved to force Williams to pave all 11 miles and use funds from his county bond allocation -- borrowed money backed by local taxes from which each supervisor has been given presumed discretion over $1.3 million for paving projects in their district -- to cover the difference. Williams fought back ferociously. |
| New FedEx distribution center to open later this year | |
| A FedEx Ground distribution center at the Golden Triangle Industrial Park should be complete later this year, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins. The project will replace the two smaller buildings on South Frontage Road with a much larger distribution center. "I think they'll be done by late summer, maybe early fall," Higgins said. "They've got the exterior of the building about done, and everything is going well." The building is only about half of the total investment, Higgins said. "The guesstimate we had was about $25 million for the building, but then the stuff that goes inside is maybe a little more or a little less than that," Higgins said. "Conservatively I'm thinking $50 million in value." The project was announced in October 2021. The new distribution center is located on about 41 acres off of Charleigh Ford Drive, near Golden Triangle Regional Airport. LINK Vice President for Economic Development Meryl Fisackerly estimated it will be between 217,000 and 235,000 square feet. "To put that into perspective, the current facility is one building that's about 20,000 square feet and another that is 7,000 to 8,000," she said. "Combined, they're not even at 30,000 square feet." Higgins estimated the center will create upwards of a hundred jobs. "Conservatively, I'm going to say about 150 jobs," he said. "Realistically it'll probably be more like 200." |
| Mississippi changes how incarcerated people are taught job skills | |
 | New state laws approved by the governor will soon place a nonprofit corporation intended to give incarcerated people job training skills under the direction of the state-operated prison department, bringing the state more in line with the rest of the country. A pair of laws spearheaded by north Mississippi lawmakers would move the Mississippi Prison Industries Corporation, an outlier for training inmates, and streamline its services by putting it in the control of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. "The new changes under the new laws represent a gigantic step forward in achieving the goal of every inmate having a job and a place to go when they get out of prison," Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain told the Daily Journal in a statement. Mississippi was only one of two states in the country that did not use a tax-funded corrections department to provide inmates with job skills, according to a report released last year, and opted to use a nonprofit company instead. The nonprofit, MPIC, was responsible for generating its own revenue, which largely came from selling products such as grills created by prisoners. "We're basically turning it into a workforce training program as opposed to producing items and goods to compete with the free market and private industries," House Corrections Chairman Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, said during the legislative session. The laws will abolish the corporation's old board of directors and create a new board composed of the corrections commissioner, the director of the state's workforce development agency, a faith leader, a business leader and the director of the community college board. |
| MCIR: Mississippi prison population back on rise, thanks to flurry of parole rejections | |
 | Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation last year aimed at expanding parole eligibility, believing it could be a "net positive for Mississippi." But if 2022 represents a trend, the state could be headed back to the dubious distinction of being a world leader in incarceration. In September 2013, Mississippi had as many as 22,490 inmates behind bars. The state boasted one of the nation's highest incarceration rates, putting more people per capita behind bars than China, North Korea or Russia. In the years since, reforms and an aggressive Parole Board, headed by a veteran law enforcement officer, reduced the number of inmates to the lowest level in two decades. On Feb. 7, that population fell to 16,499. But with Reeves' new board chairman, a former Chevron executive he appointed in January, in charge, that trend has reversed itself. In just three months, the prison population has shot past 17,100. If this current trend continues, it would take only a year for Mississippi to top more than 19,000 inmates. Caring for that many more inmates would cost taxpayers an extra $51 million, based on the per-day cost computed by the state's legislative watchdog. Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, said the Department of Justice documented the low staffing levels inside the State Penitentiary at Parchman, which is suffering from grisly violence, gang control and other woes that the department says are violating inmates' constitutional rights. "In many ways, these problems are staffing problems," he said, and rising numbers of inmates will make it "more and more dangerous for those who live in prisons and those who work there." |
| Reeves sets special election to fill House vacancy | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday set a special election to fill a state House seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes, who resigned earlier this month. Williams-Barnes, 53, of Gulfport, took a job as Mississippi policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. She said the center supports many of the issues she has championed in office, including protection of voting rights and public education. She was first elected in November 2011. Williams-Barnes was chairwoman of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus from 2014 to 2017. She led several other Black lawmakers in boycotting the Southern Legislative Conference meeting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2017 to pressure Mississippi to get the Confederate battle emblem out of the state flag. Lawmakers voted to retire the old flag in the summer of 2020, as protests were happening in the state and nation over racial injustice after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The special election will be held July 19 to fill the rest of her term, which ends in January 2024, Reeves said in a news release. The qualifying deadline is May 30. |
| Over $4M corporate investment will create 360 jobs in Southaven | |
| An over $4-million corporate investment in Southaven is expected to create 360 new jobs. The e-commerce fulfillment and supply chain technology company Standvast Fulfillment will locate its operations in Southaven, and the company plans to start hiring immediately. The Mississippi Development Authority has certified Standvast for the Advantage Jobs Rebate Program, which is available to businesses that create new jobs that exceed the average annual wages of the state or county in which the company locates or expands. Standvast will lease space in Building 2 of Southaven Park 55. "I'm incredibly excited to celebrate this new fulfillment and distribution center from Standvast. Not only will this help to strengthen the healthcare supply chain, but this investment means 360 new jobs for Mississippians, which will have an extraordinary impact on the local community. Thank you to the entire Standvast team for bringing your company to Southaven. Welcome to Mississippi, and I look forward to working together," Gov. Tate Reeves said. |
| Biden: US would intervene with military to defend Taiwan | |
| President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, saying the burden to protect Taiwan is "even stronger' after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades. Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said "yes" when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. "That's the commitment we made," he added. The U.S. traditionally has avoided making such an explicit security guarantee to Taiwan, with which it no longer has a mutual defense treaty, instead maintaining a policy of "strategic ambiguity" about how far it would be willing to go if China invaded. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed U.S. relations with the island, does not require the U.S. to step in militarily to defend Taiwan if China invades, but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status in Taiwan by Beijing. Biden's comments drew a sharp response from the mainland, which has claimed Taiwan to be a rogue province. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to Biden's comments. "China has no room for compromise or concessions on issues involving China's core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity." A White House official said Biden's comments did not reflect a policy shift. |
| Biden outlines economic framework for US, Asian nations | |
 | President Joe Biden announced an economic framework involving the U.S. and a dozen other countries, including several members of a trade agreement the Obama administration could not get through Congress and from which the Trump administration withdrew. Administration officials touted the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity" as an alternative to traditional free trade agreements that focused on tariff reduction and market access, but resulted in economic loss for some U.S. industries and their workers. The administration said Monday the Indo-Pacific framework underscores the U.S. commitment to a growing region where China is a major competitor for influence. "The United States is deeply invested in the Indo-Pacific," Biden said at a news conference in Tokyo. "We're committed for the long haul, ready to champion our vision for a positive future for the region together with friends and partners, including the nations in this room and on the screen." He said the initial members and any additional nations that join the IPEF will all "share the same goal of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific that will deliver greater prosperity and greater opportunity for all of our children." The administration said negotiations will take place over an unspecified period of time to secure agreements among members on elements of the framework's four pillars: supply chain resilience; infrastructure, clean energy and decarbonization; tax and anti-corruption; and digital and emerging technologies. It is unclear if Congress would review or vote on any resulting agreements. |
| Rising Risk of Recession Creates New Headache for Biden | |
 | The Federal Reserve's efforts to slow inflation are raising the possibility of higher unemployment, a slower-growing economy and a recession, prospects that could create new headaches for the Biden administration. As the country heads into midterm-election season, much of the political discussion has centered around solid economic growth and robust employment versus the damaging impact of inflation. More recently, warnings about the prospect of an economic downturn -- which could come in 2023 according to some estimates -- have complicated the economic picture in a new way. Mr. Biden and his advisers are already grappling with inflation trending near a four-decade high, wavering consumer confidence and headwinds posed by Russia's war in Ukraine. Republicans lay blame for surging prices on the administration, saying it stoked inflation with pandemic-related stimulus then failed to counter it as prices rose. They have lambasted Mr. Biden and Democratic lawmakers ahead of this fall's midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress. "It is this president and his all-Democratic government who have drained American families' pocketbooks, and every poll shows our citizens understand that sad reality all too well," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) recently said on the Senate floor. Mr. Biden and his economic team have maintained the economy is well-positioned to withstand challenges, pointing to factors such as a strong labor market and unemployment trending near a 50-year low. They are deploying a strategy seeking to improve Americans' view of the economy, which could bolster confidence and help underpin consumer spending. |
| Americans keep spending despite record inflation squeeze | |
 | Despite high inflation, rising gas prices, deepening concern about the economy and rising recession risks, Americans keep spending money. Stocks have fallen sharply over the past week as Wall Street frets over a likely dip in consumer spending. Polls of consumer sentiment have fallen steadily -- along with President Biden's approval rating on the economy -- and a growing number of economists fear a recession could come as soon as next year. The combination of higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve and prices lingering at inflated levels is likely to take a chunk out of consumer spending as the year continues. Even so, Americans as a whole have powered through rising price pressures, shifting their purchases away from pricier goods and toward budget items and services. "April's solid spending growth won't likely change the Federal Reserve's decision to raise rates by 50 basis points in each of the next two meetings. Instead, it will help to alleviate some of the recession concern that might stem from increasing interest rates," wrote Tuan Nguyen, economist at audit and tax firm RSM, in a Tuesday analysis. The resilience of the U.S consumer is largely due to an unprecedented injection of fiscal and monetary stimulus since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. |
| What labor shortage? Some retailers now say they're overstaffed. | |
| One hallmark of the COVID economy has been a labor shortage, with employers saying they lack enough workers to operate at full steam. But in its earnings call this week, Walmart said overstaffing contributed to its profit decline last quarter. Amazon said something similar earlier this month. What's going on here? As a shopper, you may feel like the pandemic is over. Retailers? Not so much, because COVID outbreaks can still take down their workforce. "You know, in terms of staffing for that, it's challenging," said John Talbott, who directs the Center for Research and Education in Retail at Indiana University. Companies need extra employees when people call out sick. And they're still trying to figure out whether people will shop online or in stores and whether they'll keep using curbside pickup. This affects how companies hire, Talbott said. "And so you end up having some excess capacity that I don't think they would have expected." He said that, short term, overstaffing is a better option than missing sales. And it means some retailers are hiring more people part time, according to Alan Benson, who studies staffing strategies at the University of Minnesota. "Companies are going to be experimenting with more models of achieving greater flexibility, and that could very well be a long-term trend to come," he said. |
| Experts say Ukraine war shows we need a new way to feed the world | |
| Don't say you weren't warned. World leaders are scrambling to contain a food crisis spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but experts say that their response is gravely flawed as it repeats the failures of a broken model, setting countries up for similar crises in the future. They believe that as policymakers look to simply farm their way out of the crisis, they are over-relying on a few countries and a handful of companies to feed the world, leaving them ill-prepared for future shocks. More than a decade after the world emerged from the 2008 world food crisis -- similarly brought on by a combination of rising oil prices, drought and trade restrictions imposed by panicked governments, including Ukraine -- food experts are urging policymakers to rethink what we eat and how we grow it. In fact, they say that the West's response to the current crisis -- which includes allowing farmers to grow on protected land -- is already missing the mark, especially since farmers' heavy reliance on fertilizers and resource-intensive crops are adding to climate change. While the most vulnerable countries and humanitarian organizations like the World Food Programme do need emergency supplies in the short term, policymakers should focus on addressing the outsized role that a few big exporters play over the food security of low-income countries, said Sophia Murphy, executive director at the IATP, a U.S.-based think tank. |
| USM theatre students earn distinguished Lessac Practitioner Status, Awards | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi's (USM) Lessac Kinesensic training program, a rigorous one-year Lessac voice and training curriculum offered by Theatre's Master of Fine Arts in Performance degree, has announced its newest Lessac Voice and Body Practitioners. The group includes seven student practitioners who have completed the rigorous requirements to earn the distinguished designation. Among this year's cohort of new Lessac practitioners are the following students: Cody Alexander native of Hattiesburg, Miss.; Abigail Anderson native of Hattiesburg, Miss.; Tessa Anderson native of Hattiesburg, Miss.; Ellie Boykin native of Mobile, Ala.; Detalion Dixon native of Hattiesburg, Miss.; Camila Salas native of Quito, Ecuador; and Kevin Rains native of Jacksonville, Ala. In addition, two students were honored with the 2022 USM Voice and Speech Awards for embodying and using the Lessac work above and beyond ordinary classroom participation. The award recipients included Kevin Rains, recognized with the 2022 Arthur Award for excellence in voice and speech, and Cody Elsensohn, a native of New Orleans, La., recognized with the 2022 Sue Ann Park Award for being detailed-oriented, rigorous, and particularly adept at work connected to voice and speech training. |
| Harbin, Clemons earn Delta State's top faculty, staff awards | |
| Delta State University recently announced its 2022 outstanding staff and faculty award winners during the Spring 2022 Commencement Exercise May 5. The 2022 S.E. Kossman Outstanding Teacher Award was presented to Dr. Tomeka Harbin, chair and associate professor of management in the College of Business and Aviation. Craig Clemons, manager of Custodial Services and Event Management, received the 2022 H.L. Nowell Outstanding Staff Award. The S.E. Kossman Outstanding Teaching Award honors the memory of prominent Cleveland businessmen and civic leader, S.E. Kossman, who was a staunch supporter of Delta State. Harbin is the 40th recipient of this recognition and was presented with a cash award, a commemorative medallion and a plaque. In addition, her name will join past recipients on display in Kent Wyatt Hall. "I am truly honored and humbled by this award," said Harbin. Presented annually to an extraordinary staff member, the H.L. Nowell Outstanding Staff Award is named in honor of former Delta State staff member, H.L. Nowell, who exemplified dedication and concern for others during his 39-year tenure at Delta State. "It feels to receive this honor, and my heart is still filled with joy," shared Clemons. |
| Higher education leaders pleased with the amount of funding in next fiscal year's budget | |
| State higher education leaders are giving the "thumbs up" to the state budget passed last week at the Capitol. University of Louisiana System President Jim Henderson says lawmakers did 'amazing work" on crafting a budget that fully funds schools under his banner. He says there were a lot of fiscal resources available to legislators, but when you have a lot of available resources. "You have unlimited demands on those resources and I feel like they really prioritized higher education and talent development in Louisiana and our research and scholarship efforts are going to flourish because of this investment," said Henderson. Henderson says there is enough funding in the budget for the fiscal year that starts in July to provide faculty pay raises and to expand nursing programs at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and at Nicholls State in Thibodaux. He says there is also money needed for much-needed building updates and upkeep. "So these were much-needed investments that are going to improve our ability to deliver scholarship and research outcomes," said Henderson. Henderson says he's pleased that the level of funding for colleges and universities is sustainable for future years because lawmakers avoided using any of the tens of millions of one-time federal money to get it done. |
| South Carolina college tuition could increase if lawmakers can't agree on how much cash schools get | |
 | South Carolina college students face the possibility of seeing tuition rates increase even though lawmakers plan to provide money to public universities to keep tuition rates and fees frozen for the fourth straight year, one House budget writer said. A disparity in how much the House and Senate want to give to public colleges and universities to keep tuition rates the same is among differences budget writers need to work out when a conference committee begins meeting this week to finalize a spending plan. They have to try to bridge a gap in the proposed budgets, which are more than $1 billion apart. Both the House and Senate want to give the state's colleges and universities money to keep tuition rates frozen for in-state students at all public four-year and two-year institutions. It's the fourth straight year tuition mitigation is being included in the budget. If a college accepts the tuition mitigation money from the state, it must commit to not raising tuition for the year, even if the amount of money from the state is not enough to cover the school's growing costs. House Ways and Means Chairman Gary Simrill, R-York, said the Senate proposal would put colleges in a difficult positions of not having enough money to provide the tuition freeze. |
| U. of Florida's presidential search continues | |
| The University of Florida will host four listening sessions in the next two days as a part of the search for the next president. Faculty and students can provide input on qualities they want the presidential search committee and board of trustees to keep in mind Monday and Tuesday. The university hosted 11 of 15 listening sessions, all on Zoom; they started May 5, and the last one is on Tuesday. The Zoom link to the listening sessions can be found on UF Human Resources' website. UF President Kent Fuchs announced his resignation on Jan. 5 and the search for the next president officially began in March. Previous search processes were more subject to the public eye, but new legislature delays release of information identifying the potential candidates. UF students and faculty will only be able to research and meet with finalists 21 days before a new campus leader is chosen. Many southern colleges remain tight-lipped about the candidates being considered. The University System of Georgia changed its policy May 10 to reduce the role of faculty in presidential searches for all public institutions of learning in Georgia. Before, faculty of all 26 public institutions in Georgia were required to be the majority of committee membership in all institutions, but after the change in policy, there is no mandated number. The number of faculty that served on presidential committees across the nation fell from 94% two decades ago to 88% in 2021, and other public systems have decreased transparency to attract strong candidates, according to a 2021 American Association of University Professors report. |
| Local company places first at Texas A&M New Ventures Competition | |
 | With thousands of dollars on the line, six Texas companies had to impress a panel of judges with a 20-minute pitch and question-and-answer session at Thursday's Texas A&M New Ventures Competition. Local company FluxWorks LLC received the top prize of $35,000 for its magnetic gear technology, which has improved reliability and reduced maintenance cost compared to its counterpart the mechanical gear. Bryton Praslicka, president and CEO of FluxWorks LLC, said they are pursuing the free drone market due to sector growth. With its magnetic gear technology, Praslicka said the company plans to reduce drone noise by 83% and reduce CO2 emissions by having more electric delivery drones up and running. Praslicka said the competition is incredibly important for start-up companies like his and it goes well beyond the cash prize. One of the reasons the company entered the competition was to find more business leadership to join its team. "Being in a room full of experienced Aggies that have taken companies from an idea to a commercial product, getting that intangible wisdom from them, that mentorship from them, and just getting the judges' feedback has been incredible," Praslicka said. |
| U. of Missouri Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen cheers Russian departure from Kharkiv | |
 | The Russian military left his hometown of Kharkiv; Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO; and Thursday was international Vyshyvanka Day. University of Missouri Ukrainian student Vlad Sazhen wore a vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, on Thursday to celebrate. He spoke in Galena Residence Hall at MU. The day is a big holiday in Ukraine and he said he's sure everyone there was wearing them. "This is one of my favorite holidays" because everyone is colorfully dressed, Sazhen said. Kharviv, Ukraine's second-largest city and just 25 miles from the Russian border, has been bombed and shelled since the first day of the invasion. Now the Russian military is retreating, Sazhen said. Sazhen said Ukrainian soldiers are approaching the Russian border. "Knowing how heroic our soldiers are, they will be on the border very soon," Sazhen said. He said Russia will try to keep Ukrainian forces far enough from the border to prevent Ukrainian artillery from reaching into Russia. Sazhen's parents and sister and his girlfriend, Alina, and her family left Kharkiv for safer Poltava early in the Russian invasion. Alina's parents took advantage of the lull in fighting to make a quick trip back to Kharkiv while Alina stayed in Poltava, Sazhen said. Volunteers are working to clean up and repair the damage in Kharkiv, he said. "Ukrainian volunteers are so amazing," he said. |
| How Purdue U.'s Income-Share Agreement Confused Students | |
 | A Purdue University financial-aid program that promised to reshape the way students paid for college has come under national scrutiny from some consumer advocates and disgruntled borrowers. The program, originally dubbed "Bet on a Boiler" in 2015, was the first of its kind at a major university: An "income share agreement" that provided tuition aid to students in exchange for a small percentage of the student's future earnings. Seven years later, the program, now called "Back a Boiler," is managed by the university's nonprofit foundation and has provided some $21 million to about a thousand students, a fraction of the university's undergraduate enrollment of more than 35,000. But in recent months, the plan has attracted a wide range of critics, including some students who received aid and their parents. The Student Borrower Protection Center, a left-leaning watchdog group, has asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate whether the university is violating federal lawby promoting a loan program that it helps run. The department has also issued a reminder to colleges of their legal obligations when offering income-share agreements. A written statement from Tim Doty, a Purdue spokesman,denies that the university is breaking any laws and says that the university seeks to provide clear information to students about how the plan works and what amount they would be obligated to pay. Despite those disclosures detailing possible outcomes, some students who signed a contract for the program feel they were duped. |
| Attacks on new UW-Madison chancellor show how culture wars have come for college presidents | |
| Wisconsin Republicans who are heaping criticism on the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison -- a career academic -- reflect escalating rhetoric against self-governance and other established higher education practices, leadership experts say. This emboldened anti-academic movement has policy consequences in state houses and practical implications for those charged with making universities run smoothly, they say. Higher ed is being treated less and less as a public good. And likely, fewer prospective presidents are willing to step up to take these executive jobs amid the political squalls, especially at high-profile public institutions. Jennifer Mnookin, who is currently dean of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, was Monday unanimously named the 30th chancellor of Wisconsin's flagship public institution. She will begin her tenure Aug. 4, replacing Rebecca Blank, who will become president of top-ranked private nonprofit Northwestern University. By any measure, Mnookin is a mainstream academic with a strong curriculum vitae, having earned her Juris Doctor at Yale University and later a doctorate in social study of science and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Law deans are often attractive for presidential search committees because they're familiar with core executive responsibilities like regulatory affairs, fundraising and alumni relations. But almost immediately after Mnookin's appointment was made public, powerful Republican state legislators began denouncing her. |
| Fauci urges college grads to stand against disinformation | |
| Dr. Anthony Fauci urged graduates of Roger Williams University on Friday to fight what he called the "normalization of untruths," which has become a growing and more troubling problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and the face of the federal government's response to the coronavirus, was the commencement ceremony's keynote speaker but addressed students at the private Rhode Island college remotely because he had to attend a memorial service for a family member. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have experienced firsthand something that has troubled and saddened me -- a deepened divisiveness in our nation," he said. "Unfortunately, differences of opinion or ideology are propped up by deliberate distortions of reality to the point of fabrications, conspiracy theories, and outright lies." He told the students to apply the analytic skills they have learned during their time at the university to challenge and renounce untruths, which he called a threat to the nation. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases who has advised eight presidents, was one of four people to receive an honorary degree during commencement exercises at the school located in Bristol. |
| Dissecting affirmative action opponents' arguments before the Supreme Court | |
| The higher education world continues to closely watch a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could overturn race-conscious college admissions. Affirmative action proponents remain concerned the high court could ban the practice, as the justices' political makeup has swung to the right with former President Donald Trump's three judicial appointments. And in at least one past legal challenge, it was a surprise the Supreme Court preserved affirmative action. The current case challenges admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It's being brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a prominent conservative legal group. Recently, dozens of court briefs were filed in favor of doing away with race-conscious admissions practices. Specifically they support reversing Grutter v. Bollinger, the landmark 2003 case that allowed the University of Michigan Law School to use race as one factor in its admissions process. Court precedents only allow race to be used as a narrowly tailored admissions data point considered along with a host of other factors. The briefs were drafted by the likes of conservative Congressional representatives, think tanks and state leaders. Institutions and higher ed organizations that support affirmative action are expected to submit similar briefs in about a month. |
| Zelensky meets (virtually) with university leaders | |
 | Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, met virtually last week with presidents of members of the Association of American Universities. He gave an overview of Ukraine's position on the war instigated by Russia and also answered questions about Ukraine's interest in future partnerships with American colleges and universities. The address was also livestreamed to students at AAU institutions. Zelensky dedicated his talk to the students who were watching. He said all students face some key decisions: "Are you an actor or just an observer? Do you try to change anything or not?" These are life-changing decisions that shape students' character, he said. He spoke of how when students encounter hate, they will film incidents on their phones and post the video to Instagram or YouTube. But to really change hate, in some circumstances, he asks whether the students who recorded the hate actually stopped a hateful act from taking place. In Ukraine, he said, students and others have decided "to be actors." Patrick D. Gallagher, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, asked what American universities can do to support the students of Ukraine. "It is not easy to maintain education in our state now," Zelensky said. "We are intelligent people," and that means students want to be educated. He said during the pandemic, much was done in terms of online education, and some of that work has continued. But the central issue, he said, is that "many young people ... wanted to defend their country." Zelensky also stressed that "it is important for the students and researchers to come back" to Ukraine after the war. |
| Bobby Cleveland's greatest wish: Rename the Ross Barnett Reservoir | |
| Adam Ganucheau writes for Mississippi Today: No one did more for or deeply loved the Ross Barnett Reservoir than Bobby Cleveland. But those who knew Bobby best know something else: No one wished more that the name of Mississippi's most prominent lake would one day change. The longtime journalist and sportsman who passed away at age 67 in late April spent many hours deeply researching how to change the lake's current name -- an homage to former Gov. Ross Barnett, the stubborn segregationist whose racist biography from his time in office in the early 1960s reads longer than the lake is deep. ... Bobby, whose wit and humor shined perhaps brightest while blistering racist politicians over drinks with family and friends, didn't much like hearing that the name change would be tough. "He always said, 'If I can't change the name (of the reservoir), I can try to rebrand it,'" recalled Liz Cleveland, married to Bobby's brother and longtime sportswriter Rick Cleveland. ... Bobby died on April 28 after a terrible car accident. He had driven early that morning to volunteer setting up for a sunset concert that evening at Lakeshore Park -- right on the banks, of course, of The Rez. A legendary chef and storyteller, Bobby lived an accomplished life and left his mark on countless people. But one thing he never quite achieved was changing the name of the lake. Just a few hours after he died, hundreds of people began working to honor his goal in a way that even he probably wouldn't believe. Today, an online petition to rename the lake the "R.H. Cleveland Reservoir" has hundreds of signatures. Naming the lake for Bobby would surely be a more than fitting tribute to the man who gave his adult life to The Rez. |
| Redistricting gives Republicans chance to increase legislative super majorities | |
| Bobby Harrison writes for Mississippi Today: Republicans have a reasonable chance of increasing their much ballyhooed super majorities, at least in the Mississippi House, in the 2023 elections based on the redrawing of the legislative districts earlier this year. It might be more difficult for Republicans to increase their numbers in the Senate than in the House. Currently, 36 of the Senate's 52 members and 77 of the House's 122 members are Republican. Not so long ago, there was a belief that a Democrat had at least an even-money chance of winning a white majority Mississippi legislative district with an African American population of 35% or more. That most likely is no longer even money. Democrats have not been able to win statewide races in recent years even though the state's African American population is about 38%. Elections in Mississippi have become increasingly more polarized with white voters supporting Republicans and Black voters backing Democrats. Despite that polarization making Republican majorities near inevitable, the Republican leadership has not provided many opportunities to garner evidence of whether Democrats can still win in legislative districts with Black population of at least 35%, but less than a majority. They have not drawn many districts meeting that criteria. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State shocks Florida State to earn trip to first softball super regional | |
| Mississippi State is going to its first softball super regional. The Bulldogs topped No. 2 national seed Florida State 5-0 in the opener then 4-3 in the winner-take-all Game 7 of the Tallahassee Regional Sunday. Mississippi State trailed early in the second game but used a three-run fifth and the relief pitching of Annie Willis to keep its season alive. MSU will host Arizona in a best-of-3 series to determine a spot in the Women's College World Series. Dates and times are to be announced. After losing 8-0 at Washington in 2019 and 10-2 at Oklahoma State last year, the Bulldogs were eager to take the next step. Willis scattered six hits and two walks but gave up no runs in five innings of relief. Aspen Wesley pitched a complete game two-hit shutout as the Bulldogs won 5-0 to force Game 7. MSU coach Samantha Ricketts chose to go with the hot hand to pitch Game 2. The Bulldogs (37-25) took the lead in the fifth with three runs on four hits. Shea Moreno had an RBI single, and Chloe Malau'ulu had a two-run single in back-to-back at-bats. Brylie St. Clair, who had singled, and Mia Davidson scored on Malau'ulu's hit to make it 4-3. |
| Mississippi State softball upsets No. 2 Florida State, advances to host super regional | |
| Samantha Ricketts made her ambitions clear heading into the season: Mississippi State softball wanted to host postseason play. They were bold aspirations at the time. The Bulldogs were on an upward trajectory on the field and in the recruiting trails, but they were playing from behind in a conference loaded with talent. Earning a top-16 seed through the SEC grind would be difficult, especially for a program which had never done it before. Those goals appeared to be out of the picture when MSU was placed as a No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. Then, the Bulldogs made a magical run. After beating No. 2 Florida State (54-7) twice Sunday, Mississippi State (37-25) will be hosting a super regional in Starkville. Arizona (36-20), a No. 3 seed in the Columbia Regional, took down No. 15 Missouri on Sunday to advance. Game 1 is Friday (11 a.m., ESPNU) with Game 2 on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPNU) and Game 3 if necessary on Sunday. "It's just unreal," MSU pitcher Annie Willis said in her postgame interview with ESPN. "It's just something that we've dreamed of as a program. The fact that we get to be able to give Coach Ricketts this opportunity and the fans is just amazing." |
| History in Tallahassee: Mississippi State softball beats No. 2 Florida State twice, advances to first Super Regional | |
| Paige Cook barely had to move to catch the soft line drive to third base. For more than 24 hours, the Mississippi State softball team had played with its back against the wall. MSU faced one elimination game after another, the opponent only getting tougher. First Howard. Then South Florida. Then Florida State -- twice. But the Bulldogs had beaten them all. They baffled the Bison. Beat the Bulls. Stunned the Seminoles. An instant after making the catch for the final out, Cook spiked the softball onto the infield dirt. The celebration had begun. It could only be described as long-awaited catharsis for a Mississippi State program in need of moments like this. The Bulldogs (37-25, 10-14 Southeastern Conference) won an NCAA regional for the first time ever, and they did it in shocking fashion, beating No. 2 Florida State (54-7, 19-5 ACC) twice in a row on the Seminoles' home field. Game scores were 5-0 and 4-3. "To be able to go to our very first Super Regional, there's really not any words," Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. "It was a whole team effort." Ricketts' words rang true. The Bulldogs stayed defensively sound through five games, including the final four -- played over 25 and a half hours. Their pitching was dominant against one of the nation's best. And their mercurial offense came through in the clutch to seal a victory that will live as the program's finest. That last part could change next week. Not only did MSU advance to Super Regionals; the Bulldogs will be hosting them. |
| Florida State softball season ends after dropping back-to-back games to Mississippi State | |
| Another Florida State softball comeback appeared to be in the works. With her team trailing Mississippi State 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jahni Kerr singled up the middle and advanced Devyn Flaherty from first to third base. And as Flaherty beat the throw to third, Kerr reached second. The play gave the Seminoles two runners in scoring position with one out. At least until the umpires determined that Flaherty left first base before Bulldog pitcher Annie Willis released the ball. The ruling resulted in Flaherty being called out and Kerr returning to the batter's box for a do-over. Kerr still singled anyway. But with Flaherty in scoring position, FSU would have tied the game on Michaela Edenfield's ensuing single. The Seminoles instead went scoreless and stranded Edenfield and Kerr on first and second base, respectively, after a strikeout from Chloe Culp ended the inning. Missed opportunities like that sequence were a theme for one-seed FSU (54-7) in its stunning 4-3 loss to two-seed MSU (36-25) in game two of the Tallahassee Regional Final on Sunday. The Seminoles were eliminated from the postseason with the loss after falling 5-0 to the Bulldogs earlier that day. "That was a momentum killer for us for sure," FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. "There are small opportunities in games like this to take advantage of stuff. So when those keep getting taken away, you can definitely feel like things are deflating." Losing game one to MSU snapped FSU's 24-game winning streak in NCAA Regionals, the longest nationally. Falling in game two to the Bulldogs gave the Seminoles their first one-run loss this season after they started 11-0. |
| Times set for Starkville Super Regional | |
| Game times have been set for the Starkville Super Regional at Nusz Park. Mississippi State, in a softball super for the first time, will face Arizona Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 3. A third game, if necessary, would be Sunday at a time to be determined following Game 2. Tickets are on sale for Bulldog Club members today. Any remaining tickets will be available for the general public beginning Tuesday at 9 a.m. See HailState.com for more information. Cowbells will not be allowed inside the park for super regional games. |
| Mississippi State AD John Cohen confident in baseball coach Chris Lemonis' approach | |
| Chris Lemonis has two sides of John Cohen to talk to. There's Cohen the athletic director: the one who understands the importance of good baseball at Mississippi State. There's Cohen the former baseball coach: the one who understands how a bad season can occur. It's a perk no other coach at Mississippi State has. Not only does Cohen know what it's like being in Lemonis' shoes, but he knows what it's like dealing with a disappointing season in a place with supreme expectations. Fresh off their first national championship, the Bulldogs (26-30, 9-21 SEC) finished with a losing record and failed to qualify for the 12-team SEC Tournament. It's the worst season for Mississippi State since 2015, when Cohen was the coach. "He understands it a little bit -- where we're at and what we're doing," Lemonis said. "He's not happy. I hope he's not happy because he's not supposed to be." Lemonis has a major trophy, on display for all to see when entering Dudy Noble Field, in his back pocket. But that same trophy has elevated expectations for a fanbase already keen on high ones. Perhaps the biggest test for Lemonis, who had never had a losing season, sits in the coming months. "Chris has a plan," Cohen told the Clarion Ledger on Sunday. "He does such a great job of managing his program and managing the kids. He's going to manage that roster in such a way to get us back where we need to be. I'm fully confident in that." Lemonis rarely turned to injuries as an excuse, but he admitted losing pitchers caught up to State in the final weeks of the season. Mississippi State lost one of college baseball's premiere pitchers in early March when Landon Sims tore his UCL. Reliever Stone Simmons did so too in the same weekend at Tulane. Lemonis said the first thing he learned this season was a need for a strong bullpen. He doesn't think the relievers struggled due to a lack of talent, but instead he believes it was about establishing roles -- which changed throughout the season. |
| Deer hunting: Early velvet season for bucks set | |
| Deer hunters in Mississippi will have a chance to harvest a buck in velvet during the state's first early archery hunt in September. The season is set for Sept. 16-18. Russ Walsh, wildlife chief of staff for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, said those dates reach a balance between allowing bucks to reach their maximum antler growth for the year and giving hunters a chance to harvest them before they shed their velvet. "We feel like that mid-September range is going to capture that range; not too early, not too late, but just about right," Walsh said. "That mid-September would strike that balance." During the growth period, white-tailed bucks' antlers are covered with a velvet-like outer layer. According to the Mississippi State University Deer Ecology and Management Lab, as blood flow in the antlers is restricted due to hardening, the velvet layer dies and bucks rub it off on vegetation. That generally occurs before the opening day of the traditional archery season for deer which is Oct. 1 for most of the state and Oct. 15 in the Southeast Unit. The season came about during the 2022 Legislative session when lawmakers passed House Bill 1035, the Clarion Ledger reported. Author of the bill, Rep. Scott Bounds, R-Philadelphia, has said he introduced the bill in response to bowhunters. "It's an additional opportunity bowhunters wanted," Bounds said. "A velvet rack is a coveted rack by passionate bowhunters." |
| NIL deals: 'We're seeing just straight payments' | |
| Alabama football head coach Nick Saban alleged that Texas A&M is paying its players. Meanwhile, Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher has denied the claims, instead telling reporters to look into how Alabama runs its sport-dominating operation. While the public bickering between two college football giants provided a humorous offseason moment, their argument highlighted a much larger issue with the state of name, image, and likeness (NIL) in the NCAA. "There are some concerning trends," Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Finance. "We're not seeing name image and likeness activity -- we're seeing just straight payments. And I think it's important that we recenter ourselves on what's supposed to be happening here and the desire to keep that activity out of recruitment to benefit young people economically but to do so in a healthy way." Yahoo Finance spoke with Sankey and five NCAA Division I athletic directors about the state of NIL at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards on May 18. Their concerns and references to "chaos" rang true over the following 24 hours as Saban claimed Texas A&M "bought every player on their team," and Fisher suggested reporters "dig into" how Saban has been so successful throughout the years. The public display of displeasure with NIL policies comes as collectives, often organized by wealthy university donors, have taken over the NIL industry with direct payments to players regardless of what their name, image and likeness is worth. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
