| Wednesday, June 15, 2022 |
| 5 things to know about the Fed's interest rate increase and how it will affect you | |
 | Mississippi State University's Brian Blank writes for The Conversation: The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates for the third time this year, on June 15, 2022, as it seeks to counter inflation running at the fastest pace in over 40 years. The big question is how much it will lift rates. Before the latest consumer prices report on June 10, most market watchers and economists expected a 0.5-percentage-point hike. But now, more are anticipating a 0.75-point increase -- which would be the largest in nearly 30 years. The risk is that higher rates will push the economy into a recession, a fear aptly expressed by the recent plunge in the S&P 500 stock index, which is down over 20% from its peak in January, making it a "bear market." What does this all mean? We asked Brian Blank, a finance scholar who studies how businesses adapt and handle economic downturns, to explain what the Fed is trying to do, whether it can succeed and what it means for you. |
| Trial garden to be showcased in Crystal Springs | |
 | The Mississippi State (MSU) Extension Service will host a half-day horticulture event for gardeners in Crystal Springs on Tuesday, June 21. The First Day of Summer Field Day will feature several landscaping and horticulture seminars at the MSU Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station. Self-guided tours and guided walking tours of the ornamental trial gardens will be offered. Participants can vote for their top three favorite trial plants. Extension Service agents and researchers will deliver seminars about urban tree care, secrets to raised-bed gardening and low-maintenance landscape design. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged for program planning purposes. The program will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
| SOCSD adds new position to help students with dyslexia | |
 | A new opportunity for employment to help children with reading impairments was officially approved Tuesday at Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's regular board meeting. Trustees unanimously voted to create a certified academic language therapist (CALT) position to assist students with reading impairments, most commonly dyslexia. Assistant Superintendent Anna Guntharp, who has a focus on federal programs and special education, found funds for the position within the district's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II designation. The position will help give students a more focused approach to read proficiently. "(A CALT has) a particular skill set, which is to provide multisensory instruction for students with learning differences," Guntharp said. "It basically integrates auditory, visual and kinesthetic channels into a structured small group or one-on-one intervention. ... Our hope is to start with this one CALT who can really work with our students who have pronounced academic needs across the district. We have about 20 students at the moment diagnosed with dyslexia, but some of those students have a more pronounced academic need than others." Though the district will look to hire one CALT for the time being, there is a larger plan in place to send 14 teachers within the district to become CALTs beginning in the fall. By the end of their training in two years, they will only be six hours away from having a full master's degree, and there will be opportunities provided to those teachers to complete those six hours. |
| Tips on saving energy as air conditioning units work overtime in extreme Mississippi heat | |
 | Monday, 4-County Electric Power Association shared tips and strategies to cut down on electricity use to help balance out the high demand for air conditioning. "When we get extreme temperatures like we're seeing, you get record amounts of demand," says Jon Turner, manager of public relations and marketing for 4-County. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides power to over 9 million customers across the South, and throughout that coverage area this week, heat indices are expected to be in the neighborhood of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Turner says that while there is no threat to the power grid, they are asking their customers to take steps to make sure it stays that way. "We're asking folks to voluntarily do some things to help reduce the strain on the grid," he says. "That includes simple things like unplugging appliances, turning up your thermostat a little bit." Turner says that adjusting the thermostat when the home is empty can have a significant impact. "For God's sake, don't turn it off," he says. "If you can bump that thermostat up from 70 to 73 or 75, that'd be great." By using a ceiling fan, a person can also raise the thermostat up to four degrees without feeling a difference, according to Starkville Utilities. |
| Mississippi Lt. Gov. Hosemann speaks on modified school calendar | |
 | Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann made his way to Hattiesburg on Tuesday afternoon to discuss more classroom time for students and adjusting the school calendars. Hosemann said he has been pushing for more school districts to consider this type of calendar with nine weeks on and three weeks off. "Well in Mississippi we are doing 180 days a year and everybody pretty much knows that only is about half a year of education," said Hosemann. "To give our children really the expertise to compete we're talking about training young men and women to compete in a worldwide economy and the way to do this is by giving them the maximum amount of education. A lot of the schools in Mississippi are recognizing the needs for the education period." The lieutenant governor also said this can help mitigate the summer learning loss that students might have during the longer summer breaks. "We have been talking about that from Corinth all the way to Gulfport and everywhere in between from Meridian to Vicksburg and Jackson everywhere else," said Hosemann. "I think we need to economically advantage those school districts that make those decision so that there is not an economic barrier to make that decision." According to Hosemann, the state should anticipate legislation this year to encourage a modified school calendar and help the school districts financially. |
| State and local leaders discuss dispensaries, dollars at supervisors conference | |
 | Day Two of the annual Mississippi Association of Supervisors Convention at the Coast Coliseum began with a discussion on the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. Guest speakers Kris Jones with the Mississippi Department of Health and David Caldwell with the Mississippi Department of Revenue led a presentation. Jones stressed safety first. "They have to pass a number of testing processes to make sure that that product can safely be sold to a consumer," she explained. The two answered several questions from the crowd, like how much it will cost businesses to get rolling. "The actual fee is $25,000 with a $15,000 nonrefundable application fee that goes along with it," Caldwell said. "So, the dispensary will pay $40,000 on the front end and then $25,000 for each renewal." Later, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann was presented an appreciation award for state-wide funding approved last year, which is about $1 billion that will go to roads, bridges and more. State leaders spent the day connecting with county supervisors outside the office. "The legislators and supervisors work hand-in-hand to try to make Mississippi a better place, and what they do on the county level is vitally important for our citizens," Speaker of the House Philip Gunn told WLOX. |
| Mississippi leaders discuss criminal justice reform, education | |
 | Rankin County Sheriff, Bryan Bailey has one of the most successful non-violent offenders jail programs in the state, and state leaders are said it could serve as a model for other criminal justice programs in the state. "My first year that I was elected in 2012 God opened my eyes," Bailey said during the policy summit recently with local, national and municipal officials discussing ways to better the city of Jackson through education, public safety and workforce development. After reviewing the turn around rate for inmates Bailey created the Sheriff's Trustee Program for inmates to better prepare them for after their release from jail. "The program is joined together with the district attorney, judge and the sheriff's office," Bailey said. "All non-violent offenders are sentenced to the program to serve 1 to 5 years in the county jail." Bailey teamed up Hinds Community College through the Accelerate Recovery Program to provide financial literacy, GED and college courses for inmates to be prepared to become self sufficient after serving their jail time. "Education is important not only to inmates in the program but the city as a whole," Bailey said. "About 50% of people in the Rankin County jail will come back to jail if we don't continue to provide them with the tools needed to thrive outside of jail." Forest Thigpen, senior advisor for Empower Mississippi, a lobbying group that advocates for education issues, said jails are not just meant to punish inmates but to save them as well. "The proper roll for government is to protect public safety," Thigpen said. "Locking up more people to bring down the crime rate isn't working." |
| Grenada County to receive $5.3M for technology park | |
| The Grenada County Board of Supervisors is being awarded a $5.3 million grant by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to improve access to Grenada Technology Park North. The EDA's project will consist of a four-lane road that will grant commuters access to Grenada Technology Park North. In addition, the project is being met with $2.6 million in local funds with the goal of creating 800 jobs, retaining 1,100 jobs, and generating $60 million in private investments. "The leadership and people of Grenada County deserve credit for staying focused on infrastructure that will bring more jobs and growth to this area," Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) said regarding the project. "This latest EDA investment, along with local and state input, will reap benefits as the technology park becomes a base for more companies." Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) also touted the project being constructed by the EDA. "The EDA project will help roadway access to attract new businesses to the park. The work that EDA is achieving is amazing and phenomenal. This investment will give the businesses the growth that is needed," Thompson said. |
| Why Rural Internet Is Still Terrible, Despite Billions in Federal Spending | |
 | The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars on several rounds of programs to upgrade internet speeds in rural areas over the past decade. Despite those efforts, many residents are still stuck with service that isn't fast enough to do video calls or stream movies -- speeds that most take for granted. Many communities have been targeted for broadband upgrades at least twice already, but flaws in the programs' design have left residents wanting. Most U.S. households today have access to internet download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 10 Mbps, according to government data. Although the FCC's programs have made progress, some rural Americans still can't get 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds -- the level of service that was the federal standard in 2011. The broadband saga around Heavener, Okla., illustrates some of the problems. Heavener, with a population of around 3,000, is surrounded by cattle pastures and forested hills. Today some buildings on the main streets have good broadband service, but the internet deteriorates outside town, residents say. Much of the area, in Le Flore County, was slated for upgrades under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund in 2020 -- and some of those areas had already been part of prior programs. In 2012, the FCC launched a program called the Connect America Fund, which, in the words of the commission's then-chairman, "puts us on the path to get broadband to every American by the end of the decade." |
| Sens. Wicker, Hyde-Smith noncommittal on bipartisan gun safety proposal | |
 | Mississippi two U.S. senators -- Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith -- in recent statements vacillated on a new bipartisan gun safety proposal that seeks to curb the carnage stemming from repeated mass shootings. A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators announced on Sunday that they have struck a deal on narrowly tailored gun safety measures that has the potential to break a decades-long logjam in Washington over gun reform measures, according to the Associated Press. The proposal put forward by 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats would include enhanced background checks for firearm buyers under the age of 21, close a loophole on convicted domestic abusers from owning a gun and provide money for mental health resources. But in a deeply conservative state like Mississippi, any major gun reform measure would likely be a tough sell to the state's U.S. senators, both of whom are Republicans and have received endorsements from the National Rifle Association. Wicker, from Tupelo, told the Daily Journal in a statement that he looks forward to reviewing the proposed language when it comes out to see if there are "workable solutions to promote school safety and prevent gun violence" without infringing upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners. "As I have said before, I support efforts to step up enforcement of our existing laws and address the serious mental health challenges that lead to mass shootings," Wicker said. Chris Gallegos, spokesman for Hyde-Smith, said the state’s junior U.S. senator from Brookhaven would like to see the actual legislative language before commenting in detail. Still, she remained skeptical of the proposed framework. |
| State leaders react to bipartisan U.S. gun control proposal | |
| After a wave of unrelenting mass shootings and a cry for gun reform, a tentative deal is now being proposed in the U.S. Senate. A bill still has to be worked out and voted on, but the framework is sparking much debate. Mississippi Democratic Chairman Tyree Irving says the recent string of senseless mass shootings in this country is horrific and heartbreaking. So to hear that a bipartisan senate group has proposed the framework for gun safety reform in the country is good news. "We did not have any gun regulation in the early 90s, so it's been about 30 years," he said. "We have continued to have mass killings skyrocket." State Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Gipson says he is pleased to hear that both Republicans and Democrats are working together on solutions to combat senseless crime in the country. "I think that there are ways that the bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats can work across the aisle to find solutions without creating a political attack on one another," he said. "That is really what is missing in our country right now." The framework on the table addresses several issues, like school safety and support for students. It also focuses on mental health. Gipson agrees that all those steps are important. He is not for anything that will violate people's 2nd Amendment rights. |
| Jan. 6 committee delays Wednesday hearing, citing need to compile video evidence | |
 | The House Jan. 6 select committee postponed its Wednesday hearing, which was scheduled to examine the way in which Donald Trump used the waning days of his presidency to install Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general to perpetuate his voter fraud claims when others in the Justice Department refused and threatened to resign. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a member of the special panel, told MSNBC the committee's video team needs more time to compile video exhibits. "I think we're just firming up. There's no big deal," Lofgren told the network. Originally, there were supposed to be three hearings this week, but Lofgren said that proved to be too much work in not enough time. Putting together the video exhibits is an "exhausting exercise" for the staff of the committee, and having three hearings in one week is "too much," she said. "So we're trying to give them a little room to do their technical work is mainly it," Lofgren said. The panel said it intends to go ahead with a planned Thursday afternoon hearing that is slated to focus on Trump's unsuccessful pressure campaign on then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject Congress' count of the states' Electoral College votes. |
| With gas prices at $5 a gallon, Biden tells oil companies to cut costs for Americans | |
 | President Joe Biden told oil producers on Wednesday to immediately cut costs for Americans as gas prices exceeded $5 a gallon in some parts of the country. Biden in a Wednesday morning letter to the heads of top oil and gas companies said Russia's war against Ukraine is only partly responsible for the "sharp rise in gasoline prices" and asked them to work with his administration to increase the supply of gasoline to Americans. "There is no question that Vladimir Putin is principally responsible for the intense financial pain the American people and their families are bearing," Biden wrote "But amid a war that has raised gasoline prices more than $1.70 per gallon, historically high refinery profit margins are worsening that pain." It was the White House's latest effort to demonstrate to Americans that Biden, who lacks the authority to enforce the directive to oil executives, is working to reduce elevated levels of inflation. The annual inflation rate climbed by 8.6.% in May, according to the consumer price index report released last week. "I understand that many factors contributed to the business decisions to reduce refinery capacity, which occurred before I took office," Biden said. "But at a time of war, refinery profit margins well above normal being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable." |
| Biden approval rating drops for third straight week in Reuters-Ipsos | |
 | President Biden's approval rating has dropped for its third straight week, according to a new Reuters-Ipsos poll. The poll, which was completed on Tuesday, showed Biden's approval rating at 39 percent, with 56 percent of Americans disapproving of his job performance. A three-week decline for Biden's approval rating marks a tough month for the president with the cost of gas and goods surging for Americans. Biden's approval rating hit 39 percent last week in a Morning Consult poll, which was an all-time low at the time in that survey. Among Democrats, 74 percent approved of Biden's performance this week, down from 85 percent in August, according to the Reuters-Ipsos poll, which is dismal news for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections this fall. Among Republicans, 11 percent approve of Biden's performance, which has been consistent since August. The president is heading into the midterms contending with soaring inflation, as well as Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, multiple recent mass shootings and a pending Supreme Court decision likely overturning Roe v. Wade. |
| Wall Street rallies after dismal week as Fed decision looms | |
 | U.S. stocks are rallying Wednesday, on track for their first gain in six days, but more turbulence may be ahead when the Federal Reserve announces in the afternoon how sharply it's raising interest rates. The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher as investors ready for the Fed's rate hike, which most investors expect to be triple the usual amount and the sharpest since 1994. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 208 points, or 0.7%, at 30,574, as of 11:04 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.5% higher. Investments around the world, from bonds to bitcoin, have tumbled this year as high inflation forces the Federal Reserve and other central banks to swiftly remove supports propped underneath markets early in the pandemic. The fear is that too-aggressive hikes in interest rates will force the economy into a recession. Even if central banks pull off the delicate trick of slowing the economy just enough to stamp out inflation, without a recession, higher interest rates push down on prices for investments regardless. The hardest-hit have been the investments that soared the most in the easy-money era of ultralow interest rates, including high-growth technology stocks and cryptocurrencies. |
| Trump takes down his first impeachment victim: 5 takeaways from a big primary night | |
 | The first House Republican to vote for Donald Trump's impeachment and face a Trump-endorsed challenger in a primary paid the price for it in South Carolina. Maine set up a preview of a potential Trump-Joe Biden rematch in 2024. And a heavily Latino swath of southern Texas swung right. The midterm primary calendar has now worked through nearly half of the states, with primaries on Tuesday in South Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota and Maine. If we've learned anything from this year's primaries, it's that Trump isn't invincible. Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger both thumped Trump-endorsed challengers in Georgia. A handful of House Republicans who voted to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol survived in last week's primaries. And on Tuesday in South Carolina, Rep. Nancy Mace, despite her criticisms of the former president, was running ahead of her Trump-backed challenger. But if there's a limit to how severely a Republican can cross Trump, the other closely-watched House race in South Carolina appeared to lay it bare. Tom Rice, the representative who voted to impeach Trump and never backed off his criticism of him, lost his primary to Trump-endorsed state Rep. Russell Fry. For the remaining House candidates who voted to impeach Trump -- and who have not retired -- the result is foreboding. Rice and his family suffered through personal turmoil, death threats and hate mail, only to see a brutal loss to a Trump-backed foe. Few would want to follow his path. |
| Lawmakers Want Social Media Companies to Stop Getting Kids Hooked | |
 | Alexis Tapia opens TikTok every morning when she wakes up and every night before she goes to bed. The 16-year-old from Tucson, Arizona, says she has a complicated relationship with the social media app. Most of what flashes across her screen makes her smile, like funny videos that poke fun at the weirdness of puberty. She truly enjoys the app -- until she has trouble putting it down. "There are millions of videos that pop up," she says, describing the #ForYou page, the endless stream of content that acts as TikTok's home screen. "That makes it really hard to get off. I say I'm going to stop, but I don't." Scrutiny of kids, particularly teens, and screens has intensified over the past months. Last fall, former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower Frances Haugen told a US Senate subcommittee that the company's own research showed that some teens reported negative, addiction-like experiences on its photo-sharing service, Instagram. The damage was most pronounced among teenage girls. "We need to protect the kids," said Haugen in her testimony. Proposals to "protect the kids" have sprung up across the US, attempting to curb social media's habit-forming allure on its youngest users. A bill in Minnesota would prevent platforms from using recommendation algorithms for children. In California, a proposal would allow parents to sue social media companies for addicting their kids. And in the US Senate, a sweeping bill called the Kids Online Safety Act would require social media companies, among other things, to create tools that allow parents to monitor screen time or turn off attention-sucking features like autoplay. |
| Southern Baptists Adopt Plan to Address Sex Abuse, Elect New President | |
| Members of the Southern Baptist Convention adopted measures Tuesday aimed at preventing sexual abuse and elected as president a Texas pastor who backs the moves, as the convention grapples with its failure to address past abuse. At the evangelical group's sometimes contentious annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., pastors and other church members elected Bart Barber, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, who has said that addressing sexual abuse should be a top priority for the convention. Mr. Barber has rejected criticism from conservative pastors that the convention has swung to the left on social issues, but tensions were on display at Tuesday's meeting over how to address sexual abuse and the question of women serving in pastoral roles. Holding up yellow ballots throughout the hall, attendees passed two task-force recommendations: one to create a database of church leaders and others credibly accused of sexual misconduct, so that predators aren't able to move from church to church, and a second to form a new implementation task force to coordinate how abuse claims are addressed going forward. "The world is watching," said Brad Eubank, a pastor from Mississippi who said he was a survivor of sexual abuse and backed the measures. "Please let's start the healing process today." The country's largest and most influential evangelical denomination consists of roughly 13 million people at 47,000 churches. |
| After a spring surge, confirmed U.S. cases are leveling off | |
 | After a rise in known infections this spring, new coronavirus cases in the United States have leveled off in recent weeks, even as hospitalizations continue to inch upward and new Omicron subvariants rapidly circulate. The country is recording just over 105,000 new coronavirus cases a day, on average, a rate that has more or less held steady over the last month, according to a New York Times database. That figure is sure to be an undercount, as more people have turned to at-home testing, the results of which often go unreported. But other indicators are also showing signs of steadying: The number of patients hospitalized with the virus is still growing, but doing so slowly, with the average hovering for most of this week around 29,000. Deaths have stayed below 400 a day for several weeks. "We seem to be plateauing right now," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology and the inaugural director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University's School of Public Health, who is monitoring the spread of two new Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, which have been gaining ground in the United States. "What is a little unclear to me is whether BA.4, BA.5, is going to see another bump," she said. "But my best guess is we are not going to see another giant peak until possibly later in the summer for the southern states, and the fall and winter." The current outlook varies from place to place. |
| Legislative watchdog examines how to change IHL, UMMC without constitutional amendment | |
| Since the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees was created by constitutional amendment in 1943, Mississippians have used the ballot box only twice to edit the state agency that oversees all eight public universities. Now, with the ballot initiative weeded from the voters, a legislative watchdog has looked at how lawmakers might change the governing bodies that oversee Mississippi's universities, community colleges, and only academic medical center through state statutes and board policy changes, without a constitutional amendment. Last week, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) released a report on postsecondary governance in Mississippi and how it could be restructured. The report described the history, structure and function of IHL, the Mississippi Community College Board, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The 69-page report offered questions for lawmakers to ask before determining how, if at all, the state boards overseeing colleges and universities in Mississippi should be restructured. It made no urgent recommendations, because the committee found that "no standards for best practices exist" for reformulating postsecondary boards because no state has the same system. "Leaders should consider working with the existing postsecondary governance before significantly altering it," the report says. Lawmakers have discussed removing UMMC from IHL before, but the move would require an amendment to the state Constitution. But the report found it would be possible for IHL trustees to delegate more authority to UMMC by amending the board's policies and bylaws. |
| New student orientation begins at MUW | |
| Tuesday was the first day of orientation for first-time students at Mississippi University for Women. Transfer students engaged in in-person sessions introducing them to the offices of Housing and Residence Life, Student Life, the Student Success Center, and Financial Aid. With the help of orientation leaders, new students were able to get acquainted with each other while getting familiar with the campus. "It really sets the tone for students starting out their college experience here," said Libby Field, first-year experience coordinator. "It welcomes them to campus, Allows them to meet different offices on campus, and get a feel and a sense of belonging for the next few years here at the W." Wednesday, June 15th, freshman students will step onto campus for their orientation. There will be two more orientations in July (July 12th for transfer students and 13th for incoming freshmen) and an August 2nd orientation combining freshman and transfer students. |
| New director joins Ole Miss faculty to lead UM Student Media Center | |
| A new director soon will lead the University of Mississippi's S. Gale Denley Student Media Center, which includes The Daily Mississippian newspaper, campus television station NewsWatch, Rebel Radio and the Ole Miss yearbook. Larz Roberts joins the School of Journalism and New Media on June 24 as the new SMC leader. Roberts comes to Ole Miss from Arkansas State University, where he advised Red Wolf Radio and ASU-TV News. For the past 25 years, he has worked in student media and as a faculty member, teaching radio, television, online and print courses. "His students have won national, regional and state awards for their work, and Larz tells us that his goal is to help our students 'grow across platforms, think critically and gain practical experience,'" said Debora Wenger, interim UM journalism dean. Ole Miss students produce a newscast, but Roberts said he'd like to see them have an entire television channel to create a variety of television programs, telling stories from all over the area. "I'd love to see any student with a skill set or interest they can put to use in the media center use that opportunity to stretch their legs," he said. "Get practical, real experience with content they create added to their portfolios." |
| Students earn awards for essays as part of 'The Mississippi Everyday Heroisms Project' | |
| Four University of Southern Mississippi earned awards for essays celebrating everyday life in south Mississippi heroes. Created by Damon Franke, associate professor of English at USM's Gulf Park campus, designed "The Mississippi Everyday Heroisms Project" to nurture and gather narratives about southern Mississippi heroism from students, faculty and community members. The goal was to have the contributions permanently housed on the University's website. Franke said the that the project was inspired by author James Joyce's Ulysses and the film O' Brother Where Art Thou, both of which use Homer's adventures of Odysseus as a model for everyday modern life. "Hence, everyday heroes have analogs with myth, but they do not face the unrealizable expectations of superheroes," said Franke. "They are our doctors, our teachers, our police, our stay-at-home moms, our nurses, our scientists among many others." The writing contest featured USM students, who submitted narratives of resilience and regional true stories about everyday heroism. Judges for the writing contest included, Professors Rebecca Powell and Chris Foley in the School of Coastal Resilience, and Heather Miller, Office of the Provost. |
| UA-Fayetteville scholar arrested with Patriot Front members in Idaho | |
| The Fayetteville man arrested Saturday in Idaho with 30 others in a U-Haul box truck loaded with riot gear was a University of Arkansas history major who was awarded a scholarship last year for international study. Devin Wayne Center attended UA-Fayetteville from the fall of 2020 through the spring of 2022, said John Thomas, a university spokesman. Center isn't currently registered for the fall 2022 semester. Last year, Center was awarded the Stokely-McAdoo Family International Study Scholarship, Thomas said. But the $3,500 scholarship never posted to his account because the history department wasn't authorizing any study abroad travel at that time because of covid-19. The award is "for undergraduate history majors to pursue research and study opportunities internationally, excluding locations in North America," according to the UA's Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences. Center was among 31 men affiliated with the white supremacist group Patriot Front who were arrested near a Pride event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Saturday, according to police and court documents. All 31 were arrested on tentative charges of criminal conspiracy to commit riot, which is a misdemeanor. |
| Physician files complaint against U. of Florida for offering minority scholarship | |
 | A physician, and chair of an "anti-racist" organization, claims the University of Florida is discriminating against white people by offering a scholarship to minorities who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in the medical field. Stanley Goldfarb, chair of the antiracist organization Do No Harm, has filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education accusing UF's school of medicine and four other universities of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on a person's race, color, gender or national origin. The other schools are the University of Minnesota Medical School, University of Tulsa-Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Goldfarb targeted UF's Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Visiting Student Program, a four-week scholarship for fourth-year students who are interested in completing an externship in emergency medicine. Goldfarb said when it comes to medical school qualifications it's important to look at whether the applicant will be the best physician, not their background. "Prioritizing other characteristics undercuts the purpose of medical school and ultimately risks patient health," Goldfarb said. |
| Bill to Allow Transfer of College Savings to Retirement Funds | |
 | A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate Tuesday would allow families to transfer unused funding from college savings accounts, or 529 accounts, without being penalized. These accounts allow families to save for their children's educations by investing after-tax income into mutual funds, much like a Roth retirement savings account. Under current law, families whose children decide not to go to college or do not use all of the savings in the account are penalized for withdrawing any unused funds. "We should encourage parents to save for their family's future, while recognizing that they can't always predict what the future holds. Their child might not decide to pursue a higher education," said a sponsor of the bill, Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The College Savings and Recovery Act, also sponsored by Bob Casey, the Democrat from Pennsylvania, would eliminate these penalties and allow families to transfer funding in 529 accounts to a Roth IRA, where the money can be saved for their child's retirement. "An early start on saving for retirement can mean the difference between peace of mind and insecurity for retired Americans," said Casey about the bill. |
| Senate Bill Would Boost Funding for Civics Education | |
| A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate Tuesday would provide $1 billion to expand education programs and research in civics and history. The bill aims to help to close gaps among students across the nation in civics and history education. The Civics Secures Democracy Act would establish $150 million for competitive grants for colleges and universities to support civics and history education development and educator preparation. It would also provide $50 million for competitive grants for research that evaluates current civics and history education programs and an additional $15 million for a new fellowship program that recognizes educators in underrepresented communities and gives a stipend for a five-year commitment to teaching. "Continued neglect of civics education will further weaken both our democratic institutions and our economic competitiveness," said Sarah Bonk, founder of Business for America. "An investment in civics education produces a more informed and engaged citizenry, which leads to a more educated workforce, greater market stability, and better economic outcomes." The bill is sponsored by Senators Chris Coons of Delaware and John Cornyn of Texas and co-sponsored by Angus King of Maine, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. |
| A surprising week in Mississippi politics revolves around entrenched division, apathy | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: From the U.S. Capitol to rural polling places in Mississippi in midterm congressional primaries, it has been a week of surprises and political drama that revolved around both intense political division and at the same time political apathy. As jarring and difficult to watch as the video of the riots was, will these hearings dramatically change the hard divisions in our country? Or to Democrats and Republicans alike, do these hearings simply serve to validate prior distrust and dislike that has been fomenting in this country since the Florida recount over 20 years ago? First, the focus on the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol brought into dramatic focus the ongoing basic partisan and philosophical division in the country as the nation watched stark new footage of the insurgence into the seat of American government by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. ... Back in Mississippi --- with midterm elections voter turnout abysmally low --- the Fourth District Republican primary saw a remarkable tableau unfold. Incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo was rejected by almost 68% of the district's Republican voters and faces a runoff against Sheriff Mike Ezell. Remarkably, the other GOP challengers to Palazzo joined forces the next day to formally endorse Ezell in the runoff. ... And in the Third District, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Guest was forced into a runoff with self-proclaimed America First candidate Michael Cassidy -- a Maryland native who relocated to Meridian recently. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs Continue To Shine In Academic Progress Rates (APR) | |
| Following its 10th consecutive semester with a department GPA of 3.0 or higher, Mississippi State's varsity sports have once again turned in recording-breaking numbers in the NCAA's annual report of Academic Progress Rates, the association announced Tuesday. MSU exceeded the benchmark APR multiyear rate of 930 in all its intercollegiate sport programs. The Bulldogs averaged a rate of 981.7, and all programs surpassed the benchmark by at least 44 points. The NCAA combines APR scores for indoor and outdoor track and field. The public announcement of APRs returned after a one-year hiatus. This spring, the Division I Board of Directors approved the continual suspension of APR penalties for an additional year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it supported the public release of the APR data. Baseball, men's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, men's track and field, women's basketball, women's cross country, softball, women's tennis and volleyball each achieved a 1,000 single-year APR rate. Men's golf earned a program-best perfect 1,000 multi-year rate and made the biggest gain in APR, increasing by 20 points from the previous APR report in 2020 (2018-19 academic year). In addition, men's track and field (+18), men's basketball (+9), women's golf (+8), baseball (+7), women's track and field (+5), women's basketball (+4), women's cross country (+4) and soccer (+3) also saw improvements in APR multi-year rates. |
| SEC Network documentary offers plenty of color, few secrets on Mississippi State's College World Series title | |
| Tanner Leggett spent plenty of extra hours at Dudy Noble Field. Alone, sometimes in the dark, the Mississippi State infielder did his best to learn to hit the one pitch he couldn't handle very well. "Nobody ever knew that Tanner Leggett stayed after practice to hit sliders, but he would do it all the time and work on it," former MSU outfielder Tanner Allen said. And when Leggett came up with a man on second in the bottom of the ninth inning of MSU's College World Series bracket final against Texas, he smashed a hanging slider into left field to walk off the Longhorns and send the Bulldogs into the CWS championship series. "I tell everybody I think it's the biggest swing in Mississippi State history," coach Chris Lemonis said. Leggett's extra work -- and its impact on the Bulldogs' championship-winning season -- was revealed in the documentary "Banner Year: The Story of Mississippi State's First National Title," which premiered Tuesday evening on the SEC Network. |
| Clegg Earns Second Straight First Team Academic All-American Honor | |
| Ford Clegg, the back-to-back SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was once again named a First Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA on Tuesday. He was the only men's golfer in the nation to earn first-team recognition and one of just four to be recognized on the first, second or third team. Only 12 Division I student-athletes were repeat selections on the Division I first, second or third teams. Clegg graduated in May with a degree in finance while posting a cumulative 4.0 GPA. To be eligible, student-athletes must be sophomores or older and boast at least a 3.3 GPA. They must participate in at least 50 percent of their teams' competitions and be a starter or significant contributor as a reserve. "What an incredible accomplishment it is for Ford to be named a First Team Academic All-American for the second straight year," head coach Dusty Smith said. "His accomplishments in the classroom and on the course speak for themselves. We constantly talk about striving for excellence in everything we do in our program, and this is a great example of doing just that. Ford means a lot to our golf program and University, and we certainly do not take him for granted." Clegg was named a Presidential Scholar in every semester of collegiate career. He has maintained leadership in the classroom and on the course, being named team captain this year. Mississippi State has earned 11 CoSIDA Academic All-American honors since the 2017-18 academic year. Clegg joins MSU football's Austin Williams (First Team) and softball's Mia Davidson (Second Team) as 2021-22 honorees. He was the first Bulldog to be recognized in the sport of men's golf last year. |
| No angst about college athletes cashing in at 1st NIL summit | |
| Almost a year into the NIL era in college sports, there has been much angst about booster-funded collectives, million-dollar quarterback recruits and the need for federal legislation to regulate how athletes monetize their fame. Nick vs. Jimbo, in fact, has been the story of the spring. At the College Football Hall of Fame this week, the inaugural NIL Summit included none of that. "Everybody has their own experience in NIL," said Leah Clapper, a University of Florida gymnast and entrepreneur. "A lot of the things that are in the news are those big stories of these huge deals or collectives swooping up players from universities and all of these crazy things that are happening -- and in my experience, that's not what's happening." The summit is actually an example of the disjointed nature of this new world where college athletes can be compensated for use of their names, images and likenesses. Unlike the Southeastern Conference meetings in Florida two weeks ago, no one was stressing about NIL at the summit. Hundreds of athletes attended the summit, many with representatives from their schools. Missing from the three-day event was anyone from the NCAA and representatives from the major conferences. The number of athletic directors from more than 350 Division I schools in attendance could be counted on one hand. |
| Paul Finebaum calls Texas A&M's email to SEC about Nick Saban 'petty, petulant and unprofessional' | |
 | Paul Finebaum called emails from Texas A&M president M. Katherine Banks and athletics director Ross Bjork to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey "petty, petulant and unprofessional." The ESPN analyst, who appeared Tuesday on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" on WJOX 94.5-FM on Tuesday, reacted a day after emails between the parties as for Alabama coach to be fined and even suspended after comments he made about the Aggies' recruiting practices were published. "It's extremely disappointing if you're a believer in the SEC, where you have 14 schools - about to be 16 - and everyone tries to work together and air grievances in a gentlemanly way as opposed to schoolyard running to the principal and telling on your classmate," Finebaum said. "But I will say this, and you guys are welcome to disagree, but those who know (Texas A&M AD) Ross Bjork are not surprised. This is how he operates. He's a grievance-oriented administrator. If he heard something on this program he didn't like, instead of calling you guys ... he would go over your head and try to find the highest authority that he could make a formal complaint to. That's apparently what he did here." |
| Construction of Auburn's new Football Performance Center 70 percent complete | |
| Construction of Auburn's new Football Performance Center is approaching the homestretch. The $92 million, state-of-the-art facility that will house the Tigers' football program is now 70 percent complete, according to the university's June facilities report. The Football Performance Center is expected to be completed in September, though the football team is not expected to officially move in -- transferring over from the current Athletics complex -- until after the 2022 season. Auburn's new Football Performance Center, located on a 12-acre site that previously housed the old Hutsell Track, will be 233,400 square feet, of which 138,100 square feet will make up the Football Operations Building. The facility will include two full-size outdoor practice fields, a 95,000-square foot indoor practice facility, a 25,000 square foot weight room, players' locker room, a players' lounge called "The Huddle," a barbershop, two recording studios, a flight simulator and team meeting rooms. The facility will also house offices for coaches and football administrators, serve as the new home to Auburn's sports medicine and nutrition programs, the equipment department -- which athletics director Allen Greene last year described as more of a "laboratory" for associate athletics director Dana Marquez and his staff -- as well as a 50-person hydrotherapy plunge pool, an indoor teaching lab and laundry space. |
| Sources: NCAA Enforcement Begins Attempted NIL Crackdown With Miami Inquiry | |
| The NCAA's plan to explore name, image and likeness deals is no longer an idle threat. The governing body of college athletics has launched an inquiry into the University of Miami serious enough that enforcement staff members visited the Coral Gables campus last week to conduct interviews, most notably with billionaire UM booster John Ruiz. NCAA investigators spent at least two days in Miami prying into NIL deals, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated. Contacted Tuesday morning, Ruiz confirmed that he spoke to NCAA enforcement staff members last week in what he termed a general "interview." "I'm extremely comfortable with what we are doing. I have nothing to hide," Ruiz tells SI. "It went super well. The NCAA is trying to wrap their hands around this sudden change of environment. They're trying to figure out how the landscape is working." NCAA staff members interviewed others in Miami as well in what is believed to be the first serious inquiry into a college athletic department since the association lifted rules last July that once prohibited athletes to earn compensation from their likeness. Last fall, several schools received inquiry letters from the NCAA, but this is a new string of more serious examinations from the organization. Ruiz, an ardent supporter of UM athletics whose three children attended the school, surged into the national conversation around NIL this spring with public and brazen social media posts regarding a bevy of deals he's struck with athletes, most of them who compete for Miami. |
| Title IX: Icons warn of complacency amid law's success | |
| Some of the giants of women's basketball say if not for Title IX, doors would not have been open for them to blaze trails to Hall of Fame careers on and off the court, but sound complacency alarms when it comes to the future of the law. Coach Marsha Sharp takes it a step farther when talking about the significance of Title IX. "I think the Title IX legislation, you could say is the most impactful piece of information in the 20th century," said Sharp, who guided Sheryl Swoopes and Texas Tech to the 1993 national championship. "And I know the Civil Rights piece was really huge, but you impacted half our population. With Title IX, you gave opportunities across the board to women. And it was really an amazing time to watch the growth in sports." A 2003 inductee, Sharp joined 2008 Hall of Famer Debbie Ryan and a pair of recent inductees -- Debbie Antonelli and Carol Stiff -- in speaking with The Associated Press about the 50th anniversary of the landmark legislation. Stiff, a basketball player/coach turned TV executive, called Title IX priceless. "I don't know where we would be today without Title IX," Stiff said. The icons of the game also agree more work remains even after 50 years. "There's a lot of battles, but we're not fighting them," said Ryan, who coached Virginia to three straight Final Fours. "And that's one of the problems. I think because of the money that's come into the game, it becomes harder for a coach to kind of put themselves out there. And I think even though they know who's going to win, they just don't do it as much." |
| Men, women split on equity gains since Title IX, poll shows | |
| Ask a man about gender equality, and you're likely to hear the U.S. has made great strides in the 50 years since the landmark anti-discrimination law Title IX was passed. Ask a woman, and the answer probably will be quite different. According to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the National Women's History Museum, most U.S. adults believe the country has made at least some progress toward equality for women since 1972. That's the year Congress passed Title IX, a one-sentence law that forbids discrimination based on sex in education. But there are sharp differences in opinion over just how much headway has been made and in what facets of life. Some of the widest divisions are, perhaps unsurprisingly, between men and women: 61% of men say the country has made a great deal or a lot of progress toward gender equality, while 37% of women said the same, according to the poll. Women were more likely to point to only some progress -- 50% held that view --- while 13% said the country has made just a little or no progress. "We've fought a lot, we've gained a little bit, but we haven't really gained equality," said Brenda Theiss, 68, a retired optician in Vinemont, Alabama. Progress that started in the '70s seems to have stalled, she said, with continued wage gaps and battles over women's reproductive rights. |
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