| Tuesday, June 21, 2022 |
| Wheat acreage begins rebound as prices soar | |
 | Climbing market prices for wheat are beginning to earn growers' attention in Mississippi. The state's wheat acreage is trending back up after several years of historic lows, and this year's crop quality also shows promise. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects the average price in 2022 for wheat to be $10.75 per bushel, which is more than double the 2020 price of $5.05. The average price last year was $7.70 per bushel. Two separate, simultaneous elements are driving prices up: the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and a drought in one of the largest wheat-producing regions in the U.S. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has had a huge impact on global and U.S. markets. Combined, these countries contributed 30% of the global wheat export market before the invasion. The USDA projects Ukraine will account for only 5% of global exports in 2022, which is half of its normal wheat shipment. "This war has caused a major shift in the global wheat markets," said Will Maples, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. "Ukraine is projected to see nearly a 40% reduction in output. The total amount of this production is dependent on how long the conflict continues. Meanwhile in the U.S., crop quality west of the Mississippi River is compromised by a dearth of rainfall. |
| Relentless heat wave to intensify in South this week | |
 | A stubborn and unrelenting dome of excessive heat and humidity is languishing over the Lower 48 for the third calendar week in a row, bringing record temperatures and heat index values pushing 110 degrees in spots. Heat advisories and excessive-heat warnings blanket the northern Plains, a prelude to even more intense heat pushing into the South and Southeast. More than 55 million Americans are predicted to face triple-digit highs this week, and overnight lows could remain in the upper 70s to lower 80s in spots. That will contribute to heat stress that could be dangerous for vulnerable populations. The National Weather Service is calling the combination of heat and humidity "extreme." The heat, which was swelling through the Plains and Upper Midwest on Monday, is predicted to peak in the South and Southeast between Wednesday and Saturday, when high temperature records could be threatened between Central Texas and the western Carolinas. The spiking temperatures could brew fire weather concerns amid a developing "flash drought," with scant rainfall anticipated to pose a problem for farmers. Most of the Deep South, the South and the Mississippi Valley will peak at about three degrees warmer than Monday's highs on Tuesday. Nashville and Tupelo, Miss., are predicted to hit 99 degrees. On Wednesday, the worst of the heat wafts into the Southeast, accompanied by stifling humidity. There are no immediate signs of the heat relenting. Instead, the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center continues to forecast odds of above-average temperatures through the end of June and perhaps into July. |
| Mississippi farmers struggle to keep crops, animals healthy as heat bears down | |
| Mississippi farmers are struggling to keep their crops and animals alive and safe as the extreme heat bears down. Gale Martin's family has been raising cattle on a huge stretch of land in Brandon for over a century. Martin said the recent stretch of intense hot weather is putting stress on the crass and the cattle looking for any way to beat the heat. "It's like all of us; if we go to the ballpark, we're not going to go stand in the middle of a ballpark. We want to stand under the tents, or the shade trees. Well, cows do the same thing. They want to be cool as much as they can so they're spending more time in the shade, less time out actually trying to eat the grass," Martin said. "When (the cows are) not eating grass, you're not putting weight on the cattle, and that's how we sell our cattle is by the pound price per pound." Martin said the hundreds of cattle that roam over 1,000 acres of grassland don't have enough green grass to graze on because they haven't gotten enough rain. Martin said if his cattle can make it through this week, it will give him a greater chance of making a bigger profit once he takes the animals to market later this year. Martin said he lost one cow last week. He's unsure if it was heat-related. |
| MDAH receives grant from Nissan Foundation to support field trips to the Two Mississippi Museums | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Nissan Foundation for the William Winter Education Endowment. The money is to be used to support field trips to the Two Mississippi Museums. "We are grateful to the Nissan Foundation for their support of our field trip program," said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. "School children are one of our most important audiences. The foundation's generosity will help more students experience what Governor William Winter called the state's largest classroom." The funds will cover admission, travel and on-site lunches for students. "We're proud to award MDAH a grant for the unique programming it's offering community members at a time in our history when conversations about race, ethnicity, bias, education and solutions are at the forefront," said Chandra Vasser President of the Nissan Foundation and Nissan's first ever Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum -- Two Mississippi Museums -- are located at 222 North Street in Jackson. |
| Congressman Palazzo hits the campaign trail in the Pine Belt | |
 | Incumbent Congressman Steven Palazzo hit the trail in the Pine Belt on Monday, where he visited several businesses and industries in Jones County and met with his constituents in the area. The congressman said he's grateful to have served the people in South Mississippi for the past 10 years and is looking forward to serving them in the future. Palazzo faces a GOP Primary Runoff on June 28 against his challenger, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell. On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, Mississippi held congressional primaries and while Palazzo garnered 32% of the vote, it wasn't by a majority forcing the runoff against Ezell who came in second place with 25% of the vote. "Law enforcement and legislating are two different things," Palazzo said, "I've got 12 years of legislative experience, and before that, I was a Marine Corps veteran of the Gulf War." "I'm the only candidate with a proven conservative voting record. There's a war going on in our country where our secular and progressive liberals are attacking our faiths, attacking our families, and attacking our freedom. I've been on the front line fighting them for 10 years." |
| Economists look past the Fed to fight inflation | |
 | Economists are looking beyond the Federal Reserve and thinking outside the box of monetary policy for ways to fight inflation. With gas prices soaring, they are focusing largely -- though not exclusively -- on the energy industry and are increasingly coming up with ideas on how to bring down prices for consumers that cross the traditional liberal-conservative divides. Larry Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under former President Clinton and director of the National Economic Council under former President Obama, over the weekend called on lawmakers and the Biden administration to increase domestic oil production as a means of battling inflation, a stance that puts him in conflict with environmentalists and many Democrats who want to see the U.S. use less oil due to its contribution to global warming. Speaking to NBC, Summers echoed one of the most frequently repeated Republican talking points on Capitol Hill regarding inflation, calling for "an all-in, more energy supply approach that emphasizes freeing up fossil fuels in various ways in the short run." Summers qualified his recommendation by saying that over the longer run the U.S. economy should be "making, with government support, the ultimate pivot to renewables." Increasing domestic oil production, along with bringing down pharmaceutical drug prices and getting rid of some of the former President Trump-era tax cuts, would "take pressure off the Fed, would bring down the inflation rate, would operate to restore confidence, and would, I think, be a very positive contribution," he added. His comments came as inflation that's at a 40-year high is spooking average consumers and markets alike. |
| Jan. 6 Committee to Examine Trump's Push to Alter 2020 Election Results | |
 | Donald Trump's efforts to pressure state legislators and election officials to alter results of the 2020 presidential election will be in the spotlight at Tuesday's hearing by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the events leading up to it. "We will show evidence of the president's involvement in this scheme," Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), a committee member, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "The system held because a lot of state and local elections officials upheld their oath to the Constitution," said Mr. Schiff, who according to committee aides will handle much of Tuesday's presentation and questioning of witnesses. The hearing, the fourth in the committee's latest round of public testimony, will focus on Mr. Trump's attempts to interfere in the Georgia election in the weeks following the Nov. 3, 2020, vote. The select committee plans to show evidence that Mr. Trump was made aware that his false claims of election fraud risked causing violence, according to committee aides. On Jan. 2, 2021, Mr. Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn election results that gave the state's electoral votes to Joe Biden, asking him to "find 11,780 votes." Mr. Raffensperger and another top Georgia election official, Gabriel Sterling, are expected to testify at the 1 p.m. ET hearing, marking another day of testimony by senior Republicans as the committee presents its case that Mr. Trump incited a mob to attack the Capitol by claiming the election was stolen. |
| Pence accuses Biden of 'squandering' gains | |
 | Mike Pence attacked President Joe Biden and his administration on Monday for what he called "squandering" gains made to the economy under former President Donald Trump, stoking speculation that the former vice president may make a run for the White House in 2024. "The truth is, the American dream is slipping further and further out of reach every day for more families. Our economy is not serving the American people the way they should," Pence said, blaming "runaway inflation" caused by Biden's economic policies. He pointed to rising gas prices and shortages in baby formula as symptoms of "a growing economic crisis that is unlike any other in our history." Pence spoke to a sold-out crowd of 350 members of the University Club of Chicago in the Loop on Monday, a week ahead of the Illinois primary election on June 28. The former vice president also made fundraising stops for Republicans in the Midwest state. At the University Club, Pence kept his remarks focused on the Biden administration and the economy and didn't take questions from reporters. The 40-minute speech that had a whiff of campaign rhetoric drew polite applause from the crowd. |
| Supreme Court Declines to Hear Bayer Appeal on Roundup | |
| The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a bid by Bayer AG to end thousands of lawsuits alleging its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, potentially costing the German conglomerate billions of dollars in legal settlements. Bayer has been mired in Roundup litigation since acquiring Monsanto, the product's original owner, in 2018. The German conglomerate, which maintains that Roundup is safe, has earmarked $16 billion to deal with litigation over the herbicide. Last year, Bayer asked the high court to invalidate a $25 million jury verdict in favor of Ed Hardeman, who says decades of using Roundup on his Northern California property caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer. Bayer expressed hope in early June that the Supreme Court would hear the case and reverse the Hardeman decision. If the decision is left standing, a Bayer spokesman said in an email, "it would undermine the ability of companies to rely on official actions taken by expert regulatory agencies and to meet today's pressing food security and environmental challenges." Last month, Bayer's stock fell 6.2% the day after the Biden administration recommended the Supreme Court decline to hear Bayer's appeal. That move by the U.S. Justice Department appeared to diminish the chances of the court hearing the case. |
| EU: Blame Russia, not sanctions, for global food crisis | |
 | The European Union's top diplomat said on Monday he has written to all African foreign ministers to explain that the bloc's sanctions on Russia are not responsible for the looming global food crisis, and pledged to work out ways for exports of food and fertilizers to reach their continent. The EU has not banned exports of Russian food or fertilizers to non-EU nations as part of its sanctions package. Earlier this month, the chairman of the African Union, Senegal's President Macky Sall, told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the fighting in Ukraine and Western sanctions had worsened food shortages, and appealed to other countries to ensure grain and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine aren't blocked. "Russia is blockading Ukrainian exports," Josep Borrell said after a meeting of EU Foreign Affairs ministers. "Not us. Russia is destroying ports, and destroying food stocks, destroying transport infrastructure." Russia's war against Ukraine has been preventing some 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain from getting to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. Borrell said it is "a deliberate attempt (by Russia) to create hunger in the world," adding that the Kremlin's attempt to blame Western sanctions for the crisis was just "propaganda." |
| Young U.S. children will start getting vaccines on Tuesday, but hurdles remain | |
 | Parents who experienced more than two years of anxiety may feel some relief on Tuesday, as much of the United States begins administering coronavirus vaccines to children younger than 5, allowing babies and toddlers to more safely explore the world. "We're very excited," said Rachel Lumen, a lawyer in Kent, Wash., and the mother of Athena, who is almost 3, and Ozette, who is 7 months old. "The faster it happens, the faster we're able to get out there." Last week, after multiple delays, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children as young as 6 months, expanding immunization to almost all Americans. "It marks an important moment in the pandemic because it was the last group, the last demographic, that had not had the opportunity to keep themselves maximally safe," Dr. Bob Wachter, the chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said. "It's not likely to turn the tide in terms of where we are generally in the pandemic, but for the parents of those kids, it's an important watershed." The start of vaccination for young children is a milestone, but that group never faced as much risk from Covid-19 as older Americans, and this phase of the nation's immunization effort has been met with mixed emotions. A recent Kaiser Health poll found that just one in five parents will get their young children vaccinated immediately. |
| Board of Trustees Announces Changes in Leadership at Delta State University | |
| The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning approved changes in leadership at Delta State University at the meeting held last week in Jackson. President William LaForge will continue serving as the university's executive officer through the end of this month. Beginning July 1, Dr. Butch Caston will begin serving as Interim President of Delta State University. "The Board appreciates President LaForge's service to Delta State University, his alma mater," said Trustee Tom Duff, President of the Board of Trustees. "His service as president of Delta State culminates a lifetime connected to the institution, first as a professor's child, then as a student, serving as student body president, then a dedicated alumnus as he pursued a career in government relations in the nation's capital, and as president of the university. We wish him well as he looks forward to new challenges and opportunities." Dr. Caston has served as Interim Vice President of Student Affairs and as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Delta State University. In addition, he served as Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for Mississippi University for Women. "These are challenging times for higher education," said Trustee Duff. "I appreciate Dr. Caston's willingness to take on the role of interim president and feel certain that he will be able to address many of the issues facing Delta State at this time, including declining enrollment, fiscal challenges, and infrastructure." The details on the search for a permanent president will be released later. |
| MUW invited area residents to help celebrate Juneteenth | |
 | Mississippi University for Women invited area residents to help celebrate Juneteenth. The W hosted a program at Fant Memorial Library to observe the holiday. Library staff have set up an exhibit in the main lobby, and Dean of Library Services, Amanda Powers, is spearheading an effort to collect oral histories of people's Juneteenth memories. Juneteenth was made a Federal holiday last year, but in Lowndes County residents have been commemorating it for 25 years, and local organizers are working to make it a State holiday. "We are having this conversation about wanting to start an effort to see whether we can get Juneteenth as a state holiday. I have talked to Representative Kabir Karriem. We are going to sit down along with my group, and we are going to decide what approach and we are going to try to make it statewide, that next year it will be a state holiday," said Leroy Brooks, Juneteenth Organizer. |
| Trusted Ole Miss physician Dr. Jean Gispen retires after 17 years of service | |
| Dr. Jean Gispen always makes time for her patients. She sits them down, walks them through their diagnosis and answers their questions in detail. That care and concern is what she is known for as a staff physician at the University of Mississippi's Employee Health Service. After her retirement on July 1, however, she'll spend her time a little differently. "The first day, I'm probably going to be poolside with a book," Gispen said. "In July and August, I'll be home gardening and hanging out. I grow tomatoes, arugula, peppers and blackberries." Gispen joined the university staff in the fall of 2005. She was the Employee Health Service's first physician and was instrumental in building the department. Her departure will be felt at all levels of the university. "Dr. Gispen has been an institutional treasure, and her dedication to the health of the employees in her care have shaped what the Employee Health Service is today," said Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. "She deeply cared for her patients and the employees of this campus and her approach, guidance, expertise and honesty made her one of the most trusted health care professionals in Oxford. I can honestly say that the health of our employee population was improved by Dr. Gispen, and she will be greatly missed." Born in Oxford, Gispen spent her childhood in Jackson. She was one of 10 siblings; her parents were cardiovascular physiologist Dr. Arthur Guyton and Ruth Weigle Guyton. Medicine ran in the family, though it was not the first choice for Gispen during her undergraduate years at Radcliffe (Harvard) College. |
| Breathing new life into health care diversity: Choctaw students recruited at UMMC | |
 | Gripping the handle of a tool resembling a non-threatening scythe, Kacie Wallace inserted the dull blade of the video laryngoscope into a gaping mouth, avoiding the teeth, and slid the tip of the breathing tube into the trachea. "It was easy," Kacie said later. "I feel like a natural." It was her first intubation, a procedure to help patients breathe, and it was a success -- never mind that her "patient," a medical manikin, couldn't breathe. In fact, the intubation demonstration was part of an event meant to, if possible, take Kacie's breath away, or at least, inspire her: Choctaw Central High School Visit Day at the Medical Center, an opportunity to recruit more Native Americans to health care careers. Kacie, a Bogue Chitto community resident and Choctaw Central student, was one of more than 20 students invited to the campus recently to be schooled in the rewards of a health career by UMMC faculty and students. The School of Medicine arranged the visit, with funding from a multi-million dollar federal grant, IMPACT the RACE Rural Track Program, created to help endow rural areas with more primary care doctors; but the event wasn't limited to the physicians' training ground. Dr. Loretta Jackson-Williams, professor of emergency medicine and vice dean for medical education, explained why it was a multi-school endeavor. "We need an entire health care team to take care of folks," she said in her welcome to the students. "So everything I say in this presentation has a whole lot of selfishness. Who's going to be taking care of me when I'm 80 years old?" That's a question members of the population group categorized as American Indian and Alaska Native might be asking as well, especially when it comes to the practice of medicine. |
| USM signs nursing education partnerships with 3 schools | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi signed nursing education partnerships with three other schools; Alcorn State University, Pearl River Community College and Jones College. This memorandum of understanding is to help establish partnerships that will make obtaining a nursing degree easier for qualified students as well as help with the ongoing national nursing shortage. "This is a really important moment for us, and I think it's almost historical in the fact that these schools are working together in ways that they never worked together, and I don't think other schools have done anything like this," said Dr. Lachel Story, USM Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing and Health. "We are really sharing our resources to get our collective students further down the road in a way that makes sense for them and meets them where they are and so the goal here is to get these highly qualified students into nursing programs. We need more nurses, we need more faculty to teach them." This partnership will also provide qualified applicants to USM's nursing bachelor's degree program who would otherwise be delayed without an alternative admission pathway and provide an alternative academic pathway for students who have difficulty transitioning to nursing education. |
| Summer school is increasingly important for students, but where are the teachers? | |
| In the past, attending summer school was seen as a way that students who were behind could catch up. But now, with interruptions caused by the pandemic, a lot more students are behind, and summer learning has become even more important. In some districts where many parents are in the workforce, they want their kids in school partly to have them doing something. Trouble is, a lot of teachers who in the past may have been willing to work in the summer are tired, and this year they want the time off. That means school districts have to adapt. Kindergarten teacher Virginia Mosier arrives at work by 6:15 a.m. The kids arrive at 7:20. And then ... it's on. Mosier teaches at a public school in Las Vegas, and she used to instruct during the summer months too. But she found it was more important to her to have the time off. "To relax, to be with my family, to spend some time at home," she said. "You know, I'm starting to do my house cleaning for the summer because I haven't dusted in forever because I've just been so busy and tired." Mosier, who's been on the job for more than 20 years, wasn't tempted to teach this summer even though her district is offering more money than it did before the pandemic. But for many teachers -- especially younger ones -- money is a useful recruitment tool. "In any scenario, I think it's a matter of figuring out what the right incentives are," said Marguerite Roza, the director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. |
| U. of Missouri students provide hope for America's political future, new Kinder Institute director says | |
 | His students make the new director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri bullish on the future. Jay Sexton last week was named as the second director of the Kinder Institute. He has been at the institute since 2016, serving as Rich and Nancy Kinder Chair in Constitutional Democracy and professor of history. Established in 2015 with gifts totaling $35 million from the Kinder Foundation, the Kinder Institute is an interdisciplinary academic center. It was established to promote excellence in teaching and scholarship about American constitutional and democratic principles, history and traditions. Sexton's previous work has been at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England. The current generation of MU students gives him hope for the future, Sexton said. "I think students aren't as polarized as their parents and grandparents," Sexton said. "They're not into talking points. They're independent-minded." Students from different persuasions need to be able to gather in the same room, listen as much as they talk and express differences respectfully, he said. It's only natural that there are political differences, and life would be boring if there weren't differences, he said. "Differences can be aired respectfully, but creative solutions can be found," Sexton said. |
| Dartmouth to eliminate loans for undergraduate students | |
| Dartmouth College is removing all federal and institutional loans from its undergraduate financial aid awards and replacing them with expanded scholarship grants, beginning with the current summer term, the school's president said. Currently, Dartmouth undergraduates from families with an annual income of $125,000 or less who possess typical assets are offered need-based aid without a required loan component. Dartmouth is now removing the loan requirement for undergraduates from families with annual income of more than $125,000 who receive need-based financial aid. This will decrease the debt burden for hundreds of middle-income Dartmouth students and their families by an average of $22,000 over four years, the school said in a news release Monday. A fundraising effort that began in 2018 called The Call to Lead has deepened Dartmouth's commitment to make a college education accessible and affordable for the most promising and talented students from around the world and from all economic backgrounds, President Philip Hanlon said. Dartmouth is joining Ivy League peers Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University in adopting no-loan policies, The Dartmouth newspaper reported. |
| Innovative new programs aim to combat nursing shortage | |
 | Like many states in the U.S., Michigan faces a desperate shortage of nurses. In order to meet health-care demands, officials project the state will need an additional 6,620 registered nurses every year from now until 2028. "I haven't talked to a single health-care employer that doesn't say, 'We would hire hundreds of nurses yesterday,'" said Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association. "The openings are massive and pretty acute. Nurses drive over from Ontario and Windsor, Canada, every day to [work] in Michigan. So we're recruiting internationally when I think there's a strong agreement that we should be recruiting and building the pipeline with Michiganders themselves." That's why the MCCA and three other organizations -- the Michigan Association of State Universities, Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association -- have developed a new partnership that aims to graduate more nurses from state institutions. The plan means Michigan students could now earn a B.S.N. at 28 community colleges across the state. Community college faculty will teach the first three years---or 90 credits---of the program, then faculty from a Michigan university will come in and deliver the fourth year of instruction on the community college campus. Michigan is not the only state seeking innovative ways to educate and train more nurses. In the past two years, institutions across the country have amped up programming and faculty to support more nursing students. The problem is not a lack of student interest. |
| Here's a closer look at which stopped-out students are reenrolling in college | |
| A whopping 39 million adults under 65 have left college without completing a credential. But in the 2020-21 academic year, just 2.4% reenrolled in class. That's according to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Released early last month, it showed the number of stopped-out students grew by 1.9 million, or 5.3%, since the last time numbers were calculated in December 2018. For institutions and states, understanding who, exactly, is reenrolling can help with strategizing about how to attract and graduate other stopped-out students. As of last year, 46 states had specific goals for their residents' postsecondary attainment, the report said. The 39 million students who were once involved in higher ed could be a place for them to begin. "Even though the likelihood of re-enrollees returning to the institution they left differs by the institution type of last enrollment, they are likely to persevere at the institution where they re-enroll, and some are able to complete their first credential within a single year," the report said. Perhaps unsurprisingly given their higher overall rates of participation in higher ed, women were more likely than men to reenroll and to persevere or earn a credential. Of reenrollees, 59% were women, a statistic that mirrors women's share of the overall student population. |
| NIH launches grant program aimed at closing the funding rate gap between Black and white investigators | |
| After having one idea batted down last year, some National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes are taking a new tack to bolster the success rate of Black scientists and researchers from other underrepresented groups seeking research grants. A program aiming to diversify the NIH workforce could award up to $20 million a year to neuroscience, drug abuse, and mental health investigators from minority groups. The program will create a new class of NIH's standard R01 research grant designed to "encourage a more diverse pool of PIs [principal investigators]," said Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), at a recent meeting. NINDS is launching the program, aimed at new PIs and those whose labs are at risk of folding, together with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In 2021, NINDS, NIDA and another institute partnered on a policy with similar aims that NIH later pulled because of concerns it would violate federal antidiscrimination laws. Onlookers are hoping the new program will help close a long-standing gap between NIH funding success rates for Black scientists compared with white scientists, at least in the areas of research supported by the three institutes. "I'm very pleased," says Kafui Dzirasa, a Duke University neurobiologist and psychiatrist who has urged NIH to take direct action to address the gap. The program "really has the potential to move the needle." |
| Poll: Biden should address college costs over debt forgiveness | |
| A poll conducted by NPR and Ipsos found that although debt forgiveness is popular among Americans, a majority would prefer the Biden administration focus on efforts to make college more affordable. The poll of over 1,000 Americans provided a look into what both borrowers and individuals without student debt think about various aspects of President Biden's promised plan to cancel at least some student debt. Over half of all respondents, both those who have loans and those who don't, support a move by Biden to relieve at least $10,000 of student debt per borrower, which has been reported to be the administration's most likely proposal. On the other hand, 82 percent said that Biden should prioritize making college more affordable over debt forgiveness. Biden is expected to limit debt forgiveness to individuals making under $150,000 a year. The poll found that income limits did not change respondents' opinion on the president's impending proposal. The poll found that support for debt relief was more common for individuals with student debt. Among borrowers with remaining balances, 84 percent supported $10,000 of relief, while 68 percent supported the administration forgiving all student debt. Half of respondents without student debt supported $10,000 in debt relief, while only 37 percent supported full cancellation. However, respondents to the poll overwhelmingly said that the Biden administration should prioritize making college more affordable over forgiving student debt. |
| Dobbs case spurs race to teach abortion procedures in medical schools | |
| As he aborted 11 pregnancies at a clinic here one busy Friday this month, Aaron Campbell also was training a medical student in a procedure that soon could be outlawed in this state and many others. Case by case, he narrated the nuances of pelvic examination, pain-blocking injection, cervical dilation and, ultimately, the removal of embryonic or fetal tissue. Lindsey Gorman observed throughout and participated when appropriate, under Campbell's guidance. With her hands she checked the size and tilt of the uterus. She also practiced ultrasound techniques and used speculums, swabs and local anesthetic to prepare patients. The student from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania was the seventh trainee to work with him in the past year, following medical residents from East Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee's teaching hospital in Knoxville. Campbell and other abortion providers are racing to train the next wave of specialists in the field as the days tick toward a Supreme Court decision that could imperil the legal foundation of their practice and lead to upheaval across the country for education and training in reproductive health. Barring a surprise ruling, a geographic split looms: Some states will provide full access to abortion training for medical residents and students. Some will have limited access. And some will have virtually no access without long-distance travel. That, in turn, could influence where many doctors, especially those focused on obstetrics and gynecology, choose to live and work. |
| Temps, prices and politics all up! | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: What's up doc? Well, Bugs, lots lately: Heat, for sure. One hundred degree temps in June! Oh, my. With that heat come higher electricity bills as air conditioners run at max levels. Oh, no, fuel costs will push those electricity bills even higher! Since costs for natural gas used to generate lots of our power are way up, fuel adjustments will be way up, too. A year ago natural gas cost just over $3 per MCF, but recently the price has almost tripled. Gasoline prices. The price per gallon for regular unleaded topped $4 and is headed to $5. Wow! A year ago the average price was $2.73 per gallon. ... State tax collections. Through May state tax collections were on track to exceed last year's total collections by over $500 million. Politics. Political interest surged when two incumbent Republican congressmen struggled in their first primaries and now face difficult runoffs. ... The other hot political potato is who to blame for high prices. |
SPORTS
| A Look Inside The Templeton And Seal Performance Nutrition Centers | |
| When it comes to winning, the path to victory is often paved when no one is watching. Mississippi State is committed to ensuring no stone is left unturned on its quest to win championships in all sports and help athletes achieve individual dreams, as evidenced by the soon-to-open Templeton and Seal Performance Nutrition Centers. Beginning in August, the Templeton Performance Nutrition Center (located inside the Templeton Athletic Academic Center) will provide Bulldog student-athletes a first-class location to receive specified fueling throughout each day. There will also be a satellite location dedicated to football -- the Seal Performance Nutrition Center -- housed inside the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex. "We're incredibly excited about all of this because of what it will allow us to do both on and off the field," MSU Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director and CFO Eric George said. "This project will allow us to take the next step in providing our student-athletes the very best experience possible at Mississippi State as they receive the fuel they need to perform at their absolute peak. These new areas give our athletes a space that is exclusively their own where they can eat and bond with their teammates and fellow student-athletes from other sports. It will help foster the family feel that we already have here, while at the same time, give each individual the nutrition he or she needs to be at their best when it's time to compete." |
| How raising seven sons led Mo Williams to coach basketball at Jackson State | |
 | Mo Williams sits in the front row of Jackson State's Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly center in a navy blue sweatsuit with his hat turned backward. It's a place he's both familiar and comfortable with, having grown up here in Jackson. Twenty years after he left for Tuscaloosa to play college basketball at Alabama, Williams has returned as coach at Jackson State, where his parents met. He's known for years that he wanted to coach, because it's how he preferred to spend the offseason during his 14-year NBA career. Those experiences in the gym and on the AAU circuit sparked a love for coaching in Williams, who won an NBA title in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and was an NBA All-star in 2009. He spent two seasons as an assistant at Cal State Northridge and two seasons as head coach at Alabama State. He's also a father of seven sons, whose ages range from 6 months to 23 years old. "I love it. It's a blessing," Williams said. "I tell people all the time that I have seven boys and they're like 'Oh, that's a blessing'. For me it is. Having all boys that are going to carry your name and eventually start their own families. You just know the Williams bloodline will be here to stay for a long time." As someone who has been a father for more than half of his life, Williams said one of the biggest things he has learned is how to appreciate the little moments in life that he once took for granted. He's focused on instilling discipline in his boys and teaching them as much as he can about life and basketball. But he also savors the moments when they can just chill and have a good time. |
| Attorneys for former LSU athletic staffer face sanctions as racketeering claims rejected | |
 | A federal judge has spiked all of former LSU Associate Athletic Director Sharon Lewis' racketeering claims against LSU officials, ruling that Lewis' legal team did "not even attempt to establish a causal link" between LSU's alleged racketeering and damage to Lewis' career. U.S. Judge Susie Morgan dismissed Lewis' claims against LSU involving the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, in an order signed June 16. Lewis filed lawsuits against LSU last year in state and federal court that said her coworkers and superiors retaliated against her for attempting to report that former LSU football coach Les Miles was sexually harassing students. Since then, Lewis has lost her job at the university and come forward with more allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at LSU. Both state and federal courts have rejected major swaths of her legal claims against her former employer. In rejecting Lewis' RICO claims against LSU, Morgan also ordered that the RICO claims be dismissed against Athletic Director Scott Woodward, former Athletic Director Joseph Alleva, Executive Deputy Athletic Director Verge Ausberry and Senior Associate Athletic Director Miriam Segar. Morgan also dismissed RICO claims against three attorneys at the Taylor Porter law firm: Robert Barton, Vicki Crochet and Shelby McKenzie. She ruled that Lewis had not met the bar of establishing how misconduct largely outlined in the law firm Husch Blackwell's report on LSU had hurt Lewis' career. |
| Title IX: Some violations tough to prove in college sports | |
| Arkansas did something rare during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons: It watched its baseball and softball teams reach the NCAA tournament. The similarities end there. For all the talk of gender parity at NCAA championship events, a closer look at one school's participation shows how much less was spent on the Razorbacks' softball team -- a difference not uncommon between men's and women's programs in college athletics. According to public records and Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act filings, the Arkansas baseball team budgets for athlete meals, meal allowances and snacks was nearly three times greater than those of the softball team, averaging $1,123 per player versus $400 per player. Equipment disparities were much the same, averaging about $1,966 per baseball player versus $740 per softball player. Perhaps the starkest measure of comparison are the recruiting budgets: The softball team's entire on- and off-campus budget was about $46,000 total per season. That's $14,000 below the baseball team's on-campus budget alone, and baseball got another $60,000 to recruit off-campus for a total of $120,000. "There's a lot of misunderstanding about how equity in athletics is analyzed from a compliance standpoint," said Leah Reynolds, a Title IX expert and former Division I athlete. "It's not always apples to apples." |
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