| Thursday, March 23, 2023 |
| Mississippi State introduces new live mascot, 'Dak' | |
 | Mississippi State has a new top dog on campus. On Wednesday, the university introduced Bully XXII, or "Dak," who is the new live English Bulldog official mascot of the school. Named after Mississippi State legend and current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, "Dak" will officially take over the harness at halftime of the spring game on April 15. He succeeds "Jak" (Bully XXI), who enters retirement after eight years of service. "Jak" will return to the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine where he will continue to "live an incredibly happy life" as "Dak" becomes the next face of Mississippi State athletics. |
| Mississippi State's new English Bulldog mascot is named after Cowboys QB Dak Prescott | |
| As time passes, Dak Prescott's impact on his alma mater remains. During his time at Mississippi State, Prescott became one of the university's most well-known players. He owns 38 school records and created countless memories by leading the program to its first-ever No. 1 AP ranking in 2014. On Wednesday, the university announced that it would name its new English Bulldog mascot after the Cowboys quarterback. The English Bulldog, also known as Bully XXII, will begin his new role at halftime of Mississippi State's spring game on April 15. Dak the dog's predecessor was named Jak. A statement from the university details Dak's origins, which include being the smallest of his litter. "We love sharing 'Dak' with MSU's fans and friends, but we likewise want him to have some quiet time to rest and spend time with us," Dak's owner Bruce Martin said in the statement. "We are committed to giving 'Dak' a balanced, happy life -- and for him to enjoy his time as Bully." When he isn't pumping up the atmosphere in Starkville, Dak will live with his family at a farm in Meridian, Mississippi. |
| Mississippi State announces new Bully mascot named after Bulldogs legend Dak Prescott | |
| There will be a changing of the guard at Mississippi State football's spring game, and it has nothing to do with coach Zach Arnett getting ready for his first full season at the helm. Mississippi State announced Wednesday it has a new official mascot in waiting. Formally known as Bully XXII, the new live English Bulldog has been named Dak in honor of Mississippi State football legend and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Dak will officially take the reigns from Jak (Bully XXI) during the spring game on April 15. Jak will handover duties during a halftime "passing of the harness." Dak comes from a bloodline of former MSU mascots Tonka (Bully XIX) and Champ (Bully XX). Dak was born on March 1, 2021, and is owned by Julie and Bruce Martin from Meridian. Jak will return to MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine where he will, "live an incredibly happy dog's life," per a school release. Dak will stay with the Martins in Meridian, though he'll frequent Starkville. "We love sharing Dak with MSU's fans and friends, but we likewise want him to have some quiet time to rest and spend time with us," Bruce Martin said in the school release. "We are committed to giving Dak a balanced, happy life -- and for him to enjoy his time as Bully." |
| Meet Dak: Mississippi State introduces new mascot | |
 | Mississippi State University (MSU) will introduce Bully XXII during the 2023 Super Bulldog Weekend. Dak, who will be formally known as Bully XXII, is the new live English Bulldog official mascot of MSU. Named after beloved former MSU and current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Dak comes from the long and historic lineage of past MSU live mascots including "Tonka" (Bully XIX) and "Champ" (Bully XX). Dak was born March 1, 2021, and he is owned by Julie and Bruce Martin, of Meridian. He succeeds Jak (Bully XXI) and will officially assume his duties at halftime of the Spring Game with an on-field "passing of the harness" and blessing ceremony. Jak will serve as mascot in the first half and then after the halftime ceremony, Dak will serve as mascot from that point forward. Jak will return to the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine after the ceremony and continue to live an incredibly happy dog's life. While he will make frequent trips to Starkville with his family, Dak will continue to live in his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, on the Martins' farm. "We love sharing 'Dak' with MSU's fans and friends, but we likewise want him to have some quiet time to rest and spend time with us," said Bruce Martin. "We are committed to giving 'Dak' a balanced, happy life -- and for him to enjoy his time as Bully." |
| MSU introduces new bulldog mascot | |
 | Mississippi State's official mascot Jak is retiring and a new bulldog is taking over, the university announced on Wednesday. Bully XXII, also known as Dak, will become the university's official mascot during a halftime ceremony at the spring football game. His namesake is former MSU quarterback Dak Prescott. He was born on March 1, 2021, and is owned by Julie and Bruce Martin of Meridian, according to the university. |
| Mississippi State names mascot after Dallas Cowboys QB and alum Dak Prescott | |
| Dak Prescott's alma mater Mississippi State is honoring the Cowboys QB by naming their live mascot after him. Prescott attended the university from 2011-2015 where he earned two first team All-SEC selections. Since 1935 Mississippi State has had a tradition of selecting an English bulldog for their mascot. The Bulldogs are given the title of Bully and also given a name. "Dak" is the 22nd bulldog to have the title Bully and derives his lineage from "Tonka" (Bully XIX) and "Champ" (Bully XX) and will debut at Super Bulldog Weekend 2023 which takes place from April 14-16. |
| Master Gardener sale April 29 | |
| Madison Master Gardener Marcia Barron said the Metro Master Gardeners Annual Plant Sale will be filled with plants to purchase, including heirloom and pass-along plants. Barron has been a Master Gardener for the past 12 years and is excited for the plant sale this year. "We've been caring for these plants for months and it takes a tremendous amount of involvement," Barron said. "I was always interested in gardening, and when I had the opportunity to become a Master Gardener, I took a class through the MSU Extension Service. We all have a big interest in gardening and growing plants." Members of the Metro Master Gardeners come from all over the Jackson metropolitan area to take part in the sale, and have propagated a wide variety of native and naturalized heirloom plants, perennials, shrubs and trees that are perfectly suited to southern soils and climate. The Master Gardeners are a certified branch of the Mississippi State University Extension Service that advises and educates the public on gardening and horticulture issues. For more information about becoming a Master Gardener, go to the Mississippi State University website, and search "master gardeners" in the search box. |
| After son's suicide, father raises awareness of sextortion, social media dangers | |
 | Brian and Courtney Montgomery woke up on Dec. 1, 2022, to find their 16-year-old son Walker dead from suicide. By all accounts, Walker was a normal child in a tight-knit family. The Montgomerys had sought a rural life, living on a farm in Lowndes County. They ate dinner as a family and the parents prayed with the children nightly before bed. "To put it in perspective, I would have bet you that I was more likely to get struck by lightning on a clear day than Walker do this," Brian Montgomery told a crowd of approximately 50 parents at Heritage Academy on Monday night. "We knew it was wrong. We knew something happened that was terrible, but we had no idea why or how it happened to us," Montgomery said. Montgomery, who was joined by lawyer Lindsay Clemons, recounted his family's devastation from the tragedy and his subsequent work in raising awareness about the type of sextortion that led to Walker taking his own life and -- more generally -- the dangers of unchecked technology in the hands of minors. Montgomery appeared on Fox News in mid-February to discuss the reality of sextortion and criminal groups targeting kids via social media. He said after the Fox interview about 25 parents from the South, and a handful from the Golden Triangle, have reached out to him about their own children dealing with sextortion. |
| Mississippi has invested millions of dollars to save oysters. They're disappearing anyway | |
 | By 2015, it was clear that Mississippi oysters were in crisis. It was a devastating development for the state: As late as 2009, the oyster industry had contributed an estimated $24 million in sales to the state's economy, and it sustained 562 full- and part-time jobs. Then-Gov. Phil Bryant convened an oyster council to come up with solutions. "This is the soybean of the sea," Bryant said at a community gathering in 2015 at which he unveiled the council's report. "We're going to make sure everyone enjoys it." The council set a goal of producing 1 million sacks of oysters a year by 2025. But almost a decade later, that goal is nowhere in sight: In a region that helped pioneer the oyster industry, only 457 sacks were harvested in 2022, none of them from the public reefs that the state had worked to restore. A lot has gone wrong for oysters here, where the region's blend of saltwater and freshwater has historically nurtured them. Brutal storms and federal flood-management protocols that send freshwater flowing into oyster habitats have both taken their toll, and have escalated as a result of climate change. But new reporting from ProPublica and the Sun Herald shows that the state has also failed to stem the crisis, investing millions of dollars to rebuild reefs in ways that did not respond to changing conditions. Some of that money came from funds the state received as a result of the BP oil spill. "They're just wasting money," said Keath Ladner, a former oyster fisherman whose family was in the seafood business for three generations. "And the fishermen know this." |
| Ridgeland development to feature Topgolf, national grocery store, river walk, 228 homes | |
| A multimillion-dollar development anchored by Topgolf also could include a national grocery store, two hotels and more than 100,000 square feet of office space. Months after Topgolf announced it was coming to Ridgeland, developers are announcing Prado Vista at Ridgeland, a 77-acre mixed-use development that will surround it. The project, which will be located at Colony Park Boulevard and Sunnybrook Road, also will include retail and restaurant space, 228 homes for sale and a river walk. Prado Vista isn't a done deal, though, with officials with PraCon Global Investment Group saying the site still must be rezoned to accommodate it. The site is currently zoned residential. Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee says Prado is working to ensure the development will be a very good neighbor, saying the project includes no rental properties and buffer zones to the north to prevent light and noise from spilling over into St. Catherine's Village. Prado is also behind the redevelopment of the old Meadowbrook McRae's site in Fondren, a $60 million project that will include 214 residential units. |
| Governor signs proclamation declaring Ag Day in Mississippi | |
| On Monday, the celebration of agriculture in Mississippi featured two milking cows out front of the State Capitol as Governor Tate Reeves signed a proclamation declaring Ag Day in the state. "We celebrate National Ag Day and Ag Day in Mississippi today to shine a light on the truth that all of our food comes from the farm," said Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson. "It's important that we support our local farmers. We have fewer farmers today than ever before, but agriculture remains strong and is Mississippi's largest industry. Every meal that we enjoy began on a farm." A milking competition took place featuring local television news reporters Kayla Thompson with WJTV and Morgan Harris with WLBT. Kayla Thompson won the round after milking a total of 1.5 cups of milk from Sophia the cow. The second contest featured Commissioner Gipson and his wife, Mississippi's First Lady of Agriculture Leslie Gipson. Leslie was the overall winner with a total of 3.5 cups from Sophia the cow. "Mississippi farmers are the backbone of our state's economy. They're the reason why the agriculture industry contributed over $9 billion to Mississippi's economy in 2022. Our state is a global leader in the agriculture industry, and I was proud to proclaim today as Agriculture Day in Mississippi. If you see a farmer, thank them for feeding Mississippi and America," said Governor Reeves. |
| Senator Briggs Hopson provides update on appropriations bills | |
| The 2023 legislative session is quickly coming to an end, with sine die anticipated to be called in less than two weeks. Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson stated that at this time, the majority of appropriation bills are not expected to be approved until the final days of the session. "As it relates to appropriations, every agency has a budget and there are approximately 110 budgets that we deal with. You have some general bills, too, that are appropriations bills," Hopson said. Hopson explained that although there are some pieces of legislation that were approved earlier in the session that require special funding, the majority of spending bills are still on the table. "We try sometimes to get special funds out of the way early but, frankly, when you're not sure about some of the expenses, whether they're going to be operational considerations or whether they're going to be salary considerations," Hopson stated. "You kind of have to hold everything to the end until you got a real good feel about what your revenue estimate is going to be. You also know what spending level you want to be at in some of the key projects. So, that's where we are right now." |
| Rep. Jason White suggests reforming the powerful Appropriations Committee | |
 | Conference weekend is in just a few days. It's the weekend where agency leaders, lawmakers and lobbyists all wear jeans at the Capitol and wish they were actually at the Hal and Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade just blocks away. Conference weekend is notable because the public can get a glimpse of what the budget will look like. But conference weekend also signals the light at the end of the tunnel for the legislative session, and this year that signal is particularly important. Unless the governor calls a special session, this could very well be the final weeks that House Speaker Philip Gunn wields the speaker's gavel and presides over the 122-member chamber. House Speaker Pro Tempore Jason White, R-West, is the presumptive next speaker when the Legislature reconvenes next year. White sat down with the Daily Journal for over an hour to discuss why he wants to be speaker, how he plans to govern and if he would do anything differently than outgoing Speaker Gunn. |
| Mississippi initiative proposal, minus abortion, in limbo | |
 | Mississippi Senate leaders are not saying whether they will support a new initiative process that would allow voters to put proposed state laws -- but nothing dealing with abortion -- on the ballot. Senators face a Thursday deadline. They could accept a House proposal to create a new process, which appears unlikely. They could seek final negotiations between the two Republican-controlled chambers. Or they could let the issue die during a year when most lawmakers are seeking reelection. On Wednesday, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and a key senator would not tell reporters whether they will keep the issue alive. Hosemann said he and other Senate leaders are making "good progress," but he would not specify what that meant. Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee Chairman John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said he is talking to Hosemann and Senate colleagues about the House proposal. "I've got a lot of thinking to do and reading and talking to people," Polk said. "I'm not doing it in a vacuum." |
| Fate of ballot initiative hangs in balance with Thursday deadline | |
| A measure to restore voters' right to place issues directly on a ballot faces a Thursday deadline for the Senate to agree with a House version, send it to conference for more haggling, or let it die without a vote. A similar measure died without a final vote last year, over the same main impasse the House and Senate have now -- how many signatures someone should have to gather to bypass the Legislature and put an issue directly to a statewide vote. Both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate, and the committee chairman he has in charge of the bill were noncommittal on Wednesday about the measure's fate. Neither has seemed very enthusiastic about restoring a right the state Supreme Court took from voters with a ruling two years ago that invalidated Mississippi's ballot initiative process and a medical marijuana program voters had approved with it. "We're making good progress," Hosemann told media when asked about it. When pressed for more information, he quipped, "G-o-o-d-p-r-o ... " spelling out his statement and refused to say more. Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, has criticized efforts to make the initiative process harder to use. "I filed bills last year and this year to restore people's rights, which I believe should be based as closely as possible on the procedure citizens enjoyed for 30 years," Blount said Wednesday. |
| Mississippi sets tighter restrictions on absentee ballots | |
| Mississippi will set tighter restrictions on who can gather other people's absentee ballots, under a bill that Gov. Tate Reeves signed Wednesday. The Republican governor said the law, which takes effect July 1, will ban political operatives from collecting and handling large numbers of absentee ballots. Reeves described the practice as "ballot harvesting," a pejorative term for dropping off completed ballots for other people. "This process is an open invitation for fraud and abuse, and can occur without the voter ever even knowing," Reeves said in a video statement. Opponents said the new restrictions could hurt candidates, campaign workers, nursing home employees or others who make good-faith efforts to help people obtain and mail absentee ballots. "This bill will make all of you criminals if you go and assist anybody with getting an absentee ballot. And that's wrong," Democratic Rep. Willie Bailey of Greenville told fellow House members during a March 7 debate. "It is no good. It is a part of a system going around the country, suppressing people's right to vote in a democratic society." |
| Pecan theft in Mississippi could now result in at least 30 days in jail | |
| Pecan farmers in Mississippi will now be able to crack down on pecan thefts after Governor Tate Reeves' approval of Senate Bill 2523. The bill, which would "revise the criminal and civil penalties for violating the provisions of the pecan harvesting law," was signed by the governor on Tuesday. According to the bill's text, tougher penalties will now be given to those who steal pecans during harvesting season, which spans from September 1 to January 31. Those found guilty of stealing pecans would be charged with a misdemeanor and will be fined less than $100 or be imprisoned for at least 30 days, or both. Any pecans that are found on a public road, street, or highway right-of-way during portions of the year that are not in harvesting season will be considered as "abandoned by the owner," and can be picked up. In addition, SB 2523 would require "restitution to be made to the owner of the severed pecans," whether it be through money or pecans. |
| Bill passes to create Mississippi Mobile Sports Betting Task Force | |
 | In a move that falls short of what many proponents of statewide mobile sports betting had hoped for, the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that would create a Mobile Sports Betting Task Force to study the issue. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves, after the House approved changes made by the Senate earlier in the session. Currently in order to place sports bets from a mobile phone in Mississippi gamblers must be on casino property. The original version of House Bill 606 would have changed that, expanding that to include the whole state, but that was changed early on in the legislative process. Early last month, the bill's sponsor Rep. Casey Eure, R-Saucier, brought forward an amendment in the House Appropriations Committee that changed the scope of the bill to creating a taskforce, with the hope of passing a statewide implementation bill next session. The bill went on to pass the House 109-5. An amended version passed the Senate 49-1, and that version was approved unanimously by the House on Tuesday. After the Senate changes, the taskforce would have 13 members, 11 of which are explicitly listed in the bill. If the bill is signed by the governor, the task force would hold its first meeting within 60 days of the bill becoming law on July 1. |
| Race on to fund four-lane | |
| Local legislators are hopeful the final phase of the Highway 19 four-laning project will be fully funded as the 2023 session of the Mississippi Legislature winds down. The session is expected to close by next Wednesday. Earlier this year, Gov. Tate Reeves proposed using $65 million from the state's surplus monies to complete the four-laning project between Tucker and House. Phase I work is underway on four-laning Highway 19 between Tucker and Philadelphia and is expected to completed by the summer of 2024. The House to Tucker section is considered shovel-ready and ready to go when funded. When completed, Highway 19 will be four-laned from Philadelphia to Meridian. "Discussions are ongoing but we are in the last week of the session," said Rep. Scott Bounds, a Republican from Philadelphia. "I think that it is a very good possibility that it will happen but we just don't know until we get everything sorted out." On the Senate side, the same sentiments were expressed. "We are working to secure that money," said state Sen. Jenifer Branning, a Republican from Philadelphia who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. "That's our goal to get funding for the second phase of Highway 19." |
| Reeves vetoes health insurance bills that experts, watchdogs say would help consumers | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves last week axed two health care bills that passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and that health experts say could improve health care. Senate Bill 2622 would have sped up the prior authorization process, which insurance companies use to tell providers whether a drug or procedure is covered for certain patients. Reeves said while the bill itself was a "good idea," he referred vaguely to mistakes in its language, including that administrative hearings were in "an incorrect place in the bill" and what he said would be increased costs for Medicaid as his reasons for vetoing. Senate Bill 2224 would have given State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney the authority to study and address inequalities in insurance reimbursement rates, which Reeves said was a "bad idea." The commissioner would be able to fine insurance companies up to $10,000 per violation if they're unable to justify unequal reimbursement rates for different hospitals for the same procedures. "It allows us to put some sunshine and open transparency on Blue Cross Blue Shield," Chaney said. "We're trying to figure out where all the money goes. They say, 'We don't have to tell you that.'" This became a major issue last year when the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the state's largest hospital and only children's hospital and organ transplant center, went out of network with Blue Cross, the state's largest private insurer. The dispute between the two stemmed from the insurance company's reimbursement rates. |
| Gov. Reeves taps Memorial CEO to serve on Mississippi Gaming Commission | |
 | A familiar name in coast business circles could soon be added to the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Gov. Tate Reeves has nominated Kent Nicaud, President and CEO of Memorial Hospital Gulfport, to serve the remainder of the term left open by the death of Alben Hopkins, Sr. The nomination must still be approved by the Senate. Senate Bill SN 90 outlines the term as starting March 8, 2023 and ending September 30, 2025. It is now in the hands of the Senate Gaming Committee. Nicaud started working with Memorial Hospital at Gulfport as a consultant in 1996, and then as an employee in 2008. Two years later, he was named Chief Operating Officer and became President and CEO in 2018. He attended Tulane University for undergraduate and graduate studies through their executive MBA program. |
| Judge hears challenge to Gunasekara's qualifications for Northern Public Service Commissioner | |
| Brandon Presley is vacating his seat on the Public Service Commission to seek the Governor's mansion. Next to the governor's matchup, the race to replace Presley as the Northern District's Commissioner may be one of the more interesting political contests of the 2023 election cycle. There are three Republican candidates vying for the spot, including State Representative Chris Brown, City of Tupelo employee Tanner Newman, and former chief of staff at the EPA Mandy Gunasekara. There has already been a defamatory cartoon of candidate Gunasekara circulated, and now, litigation over her candidacy. It's only March. Judge Lamar Pickard heard arguments today on whether Gunasekara would be eligible to run. A challenge to her candidacy was first brought before the Republican State Executive Committee by DeSoto County resident Matthew Barton. Neither of her opponents, Brown nor Newman, raised the challenge. Neither appeared in court today. Barton, who is a candidate for DeSoto County District Attorney, contended first to the Republican Party governing body in February that Gunasekara has not been a citizen of Mississippi long enough to seek the office. The Republican State Executive Committee disagreed, which prompted Barton to appeal the decision. Judge Pickard, who retired in 2018 after over two decades on the bench in Copiah County was appointed as a special judge to hear the appeal. Pickard has presided over a number of high-profile election challenges over the years. |
| State judge hears arguments on allowing Republican PSC candidate stay on ballot | |
| Matthew Barton, a Republican candidate for DeSoto County's district attorney, asked a state judge on Wednesday to remove Mandy Gunasekara as a candidate in the GOP primary ballot for the Northern District Public Service Commissioner. Barton and his attorney, Sean Akins, argued that Gunasekara should not be a certified candidate in the upcoming August primary because she does not meet the statutory requirements to run for public office. Special Circuit Court Judge Lamar Pickard did not issue a ruling on Wednesday evening and said he would likely make a decision on the matter within the next few days. Either party can appeal Pickard's order to the Mississippi Supreme Court. The issue at hand involves state requirements that candidates running for the PSC must live in the district they seek to represent and have additionally lived in the state at least five years before the date of the general election. Gunasekara is a native of the central Mississippi town of Decatur, and she has worked in several roles in Washington D.C., including a stint as the Environmental Protection Agency's chief of staff under President Donald Trump. Spencer Ritchie, Gunasekara's attorney, argued that his client may have owned a home in Washington while she worked for the EPA, but she has resided, or domiciled, in Mississippi since 2018. |
| A Water System So Broken That One Pipe Leaks 5 Million Gallons a Day | |
 | On an abandoned golf course, overgrown with shrubs and saw grass, you can hear the rushing water from 100 yards away. Near Hole 4, past the little bridge and crumbling cart paths, what looks to be a waterfall comes into view, pouring down through the brush and into the creek below. Except the torrent of water gushing up through the mud isn't from a spring-fed stream or a bubbling brook. It is spewing from a broken city water line. As residents had to boil their tap water and businesses closed because their faucets were dry, the break at the old Colonial Country Club squandered an estimated five million gallons of drinking water a day in a city that had none to spare. It is enough water to serve the daily needs of 50,000 people, or a third of the city residents who rely on the beleaguered water utility. No one knows for sure when the leak reached its current size. But newly appointed water officials say the city discovered the broken mainline pipe in 2016 and left it to gush, even as the water gouged out a swimming pool-size crater in the earth and city residents were forced to endure one drinking water crisis after another. Jackson's water system has been flirting with collapse for decades thanks to a combination of mismanagement, crumbling infrastructure and a series of ill-fated decisions that cost the utility money that it did not have. In 2022, the Justice Department reached an agreement with the city requiring it to bring in an outside manager to run the water department. The size of the Colonial Country Club leak and the fact that it went unaddressed for so long hints at the monumental task that city and state leaders face as they work to find a lasting solution. |
| Wicker ranked among the most effective Republican U.S. Senators | |
| According to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a partnership between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, Mississippi's senior U.S. Senator Roger Wicker was among the most effective Republican lawmakers in D.C. for the 117th Congress. Senator Wicker ranked 7th on the list of most effective Republican Senators, specifically as it pertains to legislation regarding public lands and technology. He also made the list of those Republican Senators "Exceeding Expectations" for the fourth Congress in a row. "Some members of Congress attain the status of being a top-ten lawmaker within their party quite infrequently, rising onto the list due to their position as a committee chair or as a Senator seeking legislative accomplishments prior to a tough election battle. For others, effective lawmaking is a way of life," the Center's report states. "Those who are continuously members of this category are truly remarkable and worth watching." The Center notes that Senator Wicker is among the group of Republican Senators who have continued their patterns of being highly effective lawmakers regardless of whether their party controls the chamber, which "speaks well to the prospects of continued effective lawmaking emerging from both sides of the aisle over the next two years" in the 118th Congress. Of the 53 substantive bills the Center notes that were proposed or sponsored by Wicker, 12 received action in committee, 13 saw action beyond committee, 6 passed in the Senate and 5 became law. |
| Main Street Caucus experiences rebirth in new House GOP majority | |
 | The Main Street Caucus, one of the five most influential factions of Republicans in the House, is finding its footing in the new GOP majority. Chair Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Vice Chair Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) took charge of the group of more than 70 members at the start of the 118th Congress. Its goal, Johnson said, is to bring "responsibility, reasonableness [and] sensibility" to major priorities. "In the same way that we were at the center of the Speaker election, we will be at the center of all those must-pass bills," Johnson said. The group in December had urged colleagues to support Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he faced resistance that led to a five-day election saga on the House floor. It is something of a rebirth for the group, after a previous Main Street Caucus push fell apart after the 2018 midterms brought in a Democratic House majority. Co-chairs Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), and Mike Bost (R-Ill.) passed the torch to Johnson and Bice after getting the caucus back off the ground. "We were walking -- now we're running," Bacon said. |
| TikTok CEO to face skeptical lawmakers in testimony Thursday | |
 | TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's challenge when he appears before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday will be to persuade lawmakers that his company isn't the tech version of the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down as it flew over the U.S. last month. The Chinese-owned video-sharing app used daily by about 150 million Americans faces widespread calls either to be shut down or sold to a U.S. company because of fears that Beijing is using it to collect data on Americans and engaging in a subversive propaganda campaign. Chew is expected to face a barrage of questions from lawmakers of both parties on whether Beijing has access to Americans' data collected by the app, as well as on dangers faced by kids hooked on an app that lawmakers have likened to opium and fentanyl. Washington's attitude toward China gives Chew a big hill to climb. House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., has said that TikTok "knowingly allowed" Beijing to access Americans' data. The hearing will focus on TikTok's actions to safeguard data privacy and prevent harm to kids who consume content on the social media app, Rodgers says. "Politicians need a poster child for their anti-China campaign and TikTok has provided a convenient target," said Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. |
| If the US Bans TikTok, WeChat Might Be Next | |
 | Jimmy Zhou is a New Yorker; his mother, in her seventies, moved to the United States from Dongguan, China, in 1982, a few years before he was born. Out of all the messaging apps to choose from, there's only one his mother feels comfortable using -- in fact, it's the only app she knows how to use. US-owned messaging apps, including WhatsApp and Signal, are banned in China, so for Zhou's mother, WeChat -- a social messaging and payments platform owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent -- has become a lifeline. The app has around 19 million daily active users in the US. Many of them, like Zhou's mother, depend on the app to stay connected to family overseas and to the tight-knit Chinese communities in the States. Zhou, 38, works in project management and mobile app development, and says he's conflicted about using the app, which is heavily censored and monitored in China. (WeChat users outside of China received notifications last year informing them that their personal data, including likes, comments, and search history, would be transmitted back to the People's Republic.) But Zhou says he's willing to make the tradeoff between privacy and staying connected to his parents. Over the past few months, the US government has been ramping up pressure on Chinese-owned technology companies and, in particular, TikTok, the social video platform owned by Beijing-headquartered ByteDance. But TikTok isn't the only Chinese tech company with a huge user base in the US. There's Shein, the fast-fashion brand; Temu, the online marketplace; and CapCut, a video editing app also owned by ByteDance. And then there's WeChat, a company that has openly said it sends user data back to China -- and one that the US has already tried to ban in the past. If TikTok does get banned or restricted, WeChat -- and other Chinese apps -- could be next in line. |
| Fed Raises Rates but Nods to Greater Uncertainty After Banking Stress | |
 | The Federal Reserve approved another quarter-percentage-point interest-rate increase but signaled that banking-system turmoil might end its rate-rise campaign sooner than seemed likely two weeks ago. The decision Wednesday marked the Fed's ninth consecutive rate increase aimed at battling inflation over the past year. It will bring its benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.75% and 5%, the highest level since September 2007. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said officials had considered skipping a rate hike after banking stress intensified last week. And he hinted that Wednesday's increase could be their last one for now depending on the extent of any lending pullback that follows a bank run earlier this month. Regulators shuttered Silicon Valley Bank and a second institution, Signature Bank, two weeks ago, and bailed out uninsured depositors to stave off a panic. Estimates of just how much any credit contraction could reduce hiring, economic activity and inflation were "rule-of-thumb guesswork, almost, at this point. But we think it's potentially quite real, and that argues for being alert as we go forward," Mr. Powell said at a news conference after the Fed's policy meeting. Later, he said, "it could easily have a significant macroeconomic effect." |
| In Gen Z's world of 'dupes,' fake is fabulous -- until you try it on | |
 | The pants looked and felt just like leather, the Instagram influencer told her followers. Pair them with a sheer camisole for a look that's "fun and edgy." She claimed they were a perfect dupe -- short for "duplicate" -- of a much more expensive pair of wide-legged leather pants. So Melissa Boufounos, 33, of Ottawa, went to that influencer's Amazon storefront and bought the whole outfit. She wore the same size, so she figured the outfit would look identical. She also assumed the social media star's endorsement could be trusted. You can probably guess what happened next. As soon as she opened the package, Boufounos realized that she was the dupe, not the pants. She declined to name the influencer ("I don't know that I want to put them on blast") but discovered the pants were "super thin, super plasticky," she says. They had an acrid chemical smell. Despite ordering her recommended size, "they were so small, like, it was comical," Boufounos says. "Like, I couldn't even get a leg into what the waist was." The kicker: When she tried to return them, she found out the cost to ship them back was $35 -- approximately what she paid for them in the first place. Such items used to be called knockoffs. They used to be embarrassing. But now they're dupes, a Gen Z rebranding of fashion and beauty products that are cheaper versions of the real thing -- duplicate, but also duplicity, since the wearer might trick someone into believing they bought designer. Dupe videos have become so pervasive -- and the influencers' enthusiastic selling technique so predictable -- that they've inspired a TikTok parody trend, where anything can be a dupe of anything. |
| Student-led organizations at MUW gather donations for women, children | |
 | The Mississippi University for Women's mission goes beyond educating women but also extending a helping hand to women in the community. The I.D.E.A.L Women and Family Relations student-led organizations are gathering donations for women and children that are in unique circumstances. Today's donation day leads to the "A Walk in Her Shoes" march on Thursday. Students, like Crystal Adams, said that giving back is easy when one is reminded that life happens to everyone. "One of our mission is obviously to help the community and to help families in need and this help because these are specifically for organizations that deal with women and children who are facing domestic violence situations who have either faced them in the past or currently facing them as well as maybe experiencing crisis pregnancies so these donations will be able to help those mothers and those children with the challenges they are facing," said Adams. |
| What to know about teacher shortages and what schools can do about them | |
 | As of October 2022, after the school year had already begun, 45% of U.S. public schools had at least one teacher vacancy. That's according to limited federal data. For several months, NPR has been exploring the forces at work behind these local teacher shortages. Interviews with more than 70 experts and educators across the country, including teachers both aspiring and retiring, offer several explanations. Nationally, "we have more teachers on a numeric basis than we did before the pandemic, and we have fewer students" due to enrollment drops, says Chad Aldeman, a researcher who studies teacher shortages. But according to a deep-dive into the available data, "The biggest issue districts face in staffing schools with qualified teachers is... a chronic and perpetual misalignment of teacher supply and demand." Qualified special education, science and math teachers are among the hardest to find, according to federal data. The rising cost of college is forcing an uncomfortable cost-benefit analysis on aspiring teachers. Ominously, between 2010 and 2018, enrollment in traditional teacher preparation programs dropped by roughly a third. One important caveat to that decline, and an early sign of good news, is that since 2018 "the data suggest that [enrollment numbers] are getting better, not worse," says Aldeman. |
| USDA Proposes Expanding School Meal Programs in Low-Income Areas | |
| More schools would be eligible to offer free breakfast and lunch to students in low-income communities under a new proposal from the U.S. Agriculture Department. The USDA on Wednesday said it planned to lower the threshold of a program aimed at making it easier for schools and school districts in low-income areas to offer free meals to all students, without requiring their parents to apply for the benefits. Currently schools are eligible to participate in this program, known as "community eligibility," if 40% of their students receive food stamps or participate in another safety-net program tied to household income. The USDA on Wednesday proposed lowering that threshold to 25%, allowing a larger number of schools to opt into the program. Republicans have resisted expanding the program, saying that eligibility should be based on individual family income, and that the government shouldn't be paying meals for families who can afford them. "All of us believe that if you have kids, and particularly low-income families who aren't getting nutritious meals, we want to support that" effort to feed them, Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.), a member of GOP leadership, told reporters Wednesday. "The question is where do you draw those lines around eligibility?" Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack said making school meals "healthier and available to more students are some of the best ways we can help our children thrive early in life." |
| UT Human Resources hosts event promoting improved career development for staff members | |
| On Tuesday, University of Tennessee Human Resources hosted a career development event to encourage staff members to utilize resources that may contribute to their career journeys. The event, titled "Design Your Career @ UT" aimed to help staff members explore career mobility opportunities and provide them with guidance on how to advance their careers. Recently hiring career development coach Nancy Burkett, UT hopes to invest back into their staff and improve from years past. So what does career development look like for staff? In essence, employees are asking for transparency, reasonable compensation, clarity on mobility within companies and ultimately to be appreciated. According to Burkett, career development does not necessarily equate to promotions or changing positions. Sometimes it can be as simple as a conversation. "Some staff are very new in their roles, even within their first six months, and they're just thinking, oh, what will my career look like at UT? Does it mean they want to change that role? Does it mean they want to move?" Burkett said. "They're just interested in the support that I can provide, and our office can provide them going forward." |
| Willie Nelson honored with Texas educational endowment | |
| Weeks after winning more Grammys, Willie Nelson is getting a new kind of honor: a university endowment in Texas. The 89-year-old country music icon, who in the 1980s helped launch the Farm Aid benefit concerts, is the namesake of the new Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs, the school announced Wednesday. The endowment will fund research and student fellowships benefiting rural and farm communities. The "Always on My Mind" singer has raised more than $70 million for family farm owners through Farm Aid, according to the school, which also plans to honor the Texas native at a May gala. "Willie Nelson is a national treasure who gained fame through his sheer musical talent and won hearts as someone who truly cares about the lives of his fellow Americans," Larry Temple, Chairman of the LBJ Foundation Board of Trustees, said in a statement. |
| How UT's Monica Muñoz Martinez is working to make Texas history accessible -- and honest | |
 | Monica Muñoz Martinez believes everyone should have access to truthful accounts of their own history -- including the dark, difficult or troubling parts. Martinez, an associate professor at the University of Texas, has devoted herself to making the history of anti-Mexican violence on the U.S-Mexico border publicly accessible, earning a prestigious MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in 2021 for her work. The award-winning historian and educator helped start Refusing to Forget, a nonprofit that calls for public commemorations of the murder and oppression of Mexicans in Texas, and Mapping Violence, a digital research project that recounts histories of racial violence in the state between 1900 and 1930. Martinez, a native of Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were killed in a mass shooting in an elementary school in May, grew up learning about the six-week walkout in her hometown to protest discrimination against Mexican American students in the 1970s. However, she said she didn't learn about the larger history of the civil rights movements until she attended college in Rhode Island, where she eventually became inspired to make sure the stories she learned about people pushing for social change wouldn't just be heard by people at universities. "When you learn from people who challenged power, who studied how power functioned and fought for change, that has the ability to empower a new generation," Martinez said. "It's a powerful thing to give people access to inspiring histories, and so I think some people would rather those lessons of the past not be available." |
| Emotional Stress Remains a Top Challenge to Keeping Students Enrolled | |
 | A new report found that "emotional stress" remains a top reason that students consider "stopping out," or temporarily withdrawing from higher education, highlighting a persistent issue for colleges seeking to keep students enrolled and on track academically. Moreover, students enrolled in associate and bachelor's programs were just as likely to consider stopping out in 2022 as they were in 2021, despite many colleges "returning to normal" and easing pandemic precautions. The report was conducted by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, drawing on their 2022 State of Higher Education study, which distributed online surveys to 12,015 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 59. A similar report conducted by Gallup and Lumina in 2021 also found that students were struggling with emotional stress. Lumina Foundation officials said they hoped their work would emphasize the important role that well-being and mental-health resources play on campuses, especially as many college leaders fret over enrollment declines. Forty-one percent of students enrolled in a higher-education program said they had considered stopping out in the past six months, according to the report. Among students who had considered stopping out, 55 percent gave emotional stress as a reason, including 69 percent of students pursuing a bachelor's degree. |
| New network calls for spotlight on Black student enrollment | |
 | A new network of academics, college presidents, bipartisan policy makers and business leaders released a report Wednesday calling attention to a decade-long decline in college enrollment among Black students and its ripple effects on the country. The report details strategies to support these students, and the group also signed on to a national call to action to philanthropists, state and federal lawmakers, campus leaders, and others in which they committed to taking specific steps toward addressing the issue. The 26-member coalition, called the Level UP National Panel, was assembled in response to some alarming data about the dropping rates of Black enrollment. The education consulting firm HCM Strategists teamed up with EducationCounsel consultants and Achieving the Dream, an organization dedicated to community college student success, to create the group after HCM Strategists launched a research project to study Black enrollment trends as the number of Black college students plummeted during the pandemic. Researchers found that the decreases long preceded the virus. "Black enrollment peaked in 2011 and has been precipitously declining since that point," said Martha Snyder, managing director of HCM Strategists. "This was an issue getting attention in the context of the pandemic, but not in the context of the systemic realities that face our postsecondary systems." |
| The Post-DACA Generation Faces Steep Barriers to College in the South | |
| During his junior year in high school, Steven was asked by a guidance counselor to list his top three colleges. Like many ambitious high-schoolers in South Carolina, his first choice was a no-brainer: Clemson University. He grew up watching football games with his family and had envisioned himself going there since he was a little kid. "Clemson has always been a huge part of my life," he says. As a freshman in high school, Steven visited the campus, about 45 minutes away from home, for the Men of Color National Summit, a two-day event designed for young African American and Hispanic men. It encouraged him to dream big and further solidified his conviction that he would apply to Clemson. So Steven was surprised when his guidance counselor, whispering to ensure privacy in a shared high-school office, broke the news to him: By law, he couldn't attend Clemson because undocumented students are banned from enrolling in any public college in the state. (Steven is being identified by first name only because of his immigration status.) Born in Mexico, Steven moved to the United States before his first birthday. South Carolina is the only home he's known. "My parents have told me stories about crossing the border," he says. "I was in a little baby carriage, but I don't remember anything at all." If things had worked out a little differently, he'd have been referred to as a "Dreamer." When Steven turned 16, he applied to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, but his application was never completed because, after President Donald J. Trump sought to end the program in 2017, the government stopped processing new applications. As a high-school senior this year, Steven is in one of the first classes to navigate the college-application process without the protections afforded by DACA. |
| House weaponization subcommittee seeks records from universities | |
| Disinformation researchers at several U.S. universities are getting swept up in House Republicans' investigation into the "weaponization" of the federal government. ProPublica reported Wednesday that Ohio representative Jim Jordan, a Republican who chairs the select subcommittee overseeing the investigation, sent requests for information to Stanford University, the University of Washington and Clemson University seeking records related to the moderation of social media content. Inside Higher Ed did not obtain a copy of the letters sent to the university and the think tank the German Marshall Fund of the United States. ProPublica reported that the letters sought information about how "certain third parties, including organizations like yours, may have played a role in this censorship regime by advising on so-called 'misinformation,'" according to the letter obtained by ProPublica. At this point, the letters are just requests, though the subcommittee does have subpoena power. Jordan's office did not respond to a request for comment. The subcommittee wants records from as far as back as January 2015 between faculty or staff at the universities and the federal government or social media organizations pertaining to the moderation of social media content, ProPublica reported. |
SPORTS
| Fifth Ron Polk Ring of Honor Induction Ceremony Set for Saturday | |
| The fifth class of the Ron Polk Ring of Honor will be enshrined this Saturday. The trio of Mark Gillaspie, Ken Tatum and Tommy Raffo will see their plaques unveiled at 11 a.m. at Adkerson Plaza. The event is open to the public. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Adkerson Plaza will be cleared at 12 p.m. in preparation for gates opening at 12:30 p.m. for the Saturday baseball game against Vanderbilt. The Ring of Honor is named after legendary head coach Ron Polk, who led the Bulldogs from 1976-97 and again from 2002-08. Affectionately referred to as the Father of Southeastern Conference baseball, Polk served 31 years as head coach in the league, including a stint at the University of Georgia (2000-01). The first SEC coach in any sport to reach 1,000 victories, Polk guided Mississippi State to six College World Series appearances and owned a 1,139-590 record with the Maroon and White. He totaled 1,373 career coaching victories, making eight total trips to Omaha. A two-time Team USA head coach, Polk is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association, Mississippi Sports and College Baseball Halls of Fame. |
| Freshman Bradley Loftin shows growth in win for Bulldogs | |
| Mississippi State baseball steadied themselves a bit after their sweep at Kentucky with a dominant 16-2 win over Arkansas State on Tuesday. The offensive production was the real headline grabber from the night, but an understated factor of the night was the composed pitching of true freshman starter Bradley Loftin. The lefty gave very direct answers in his post-game press conference, a style that did justice to his pitching on the night. Becoming a regular contributor is simple for him, replying "just go out there and pitch," when asked about being worked into the rotation more. A couple other questions warranted similarly short, simple answers, but he didn't give the impression that he was anywhere between angry or annoyed, just focused. And focused he was on the mound. Loftin threw 45 strikes from 73 total pitches, averaging just under 15 pitches per inning as he methodically worked his way through the Red Wolves batting order. The opening innings moved quickly on defense, and the solidity there fed the confidence at the plate as the Bulldogs scored early and in bunches. It was the kind of composure Loftin's head coach Chris Lemonis likes to see, and the growth he's shown from his first few appearances in particular earned him some praise. |
| A new-look offense has offered some new insight for Mississippi State's defense | |
| It's been just three practices into the spring for Mississippi State football, but the Bulldogs are hard at work learning and adjusting to their new-look coaching staff. Existing faces Zach Arnett and Matt Brock are in new places, but the addition of new offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay has brought a new style to the offense. That fresh look has allowed Mississippi State's defense to adapt from the air raid that they've dealt with in practice over the last three years. "The air raid man, it was a lot of pass-rushing," redshirt senior De'Monte Russell said. "You have to be in shape for that...We know that we have to run the angles now because there's a lot of read options. We just know we have to get our eyes up and looking at which way to go." Barbay brings with him from Appalachian State a balanced offensive playbook, one that will see the Bulldogs, who were at the bottom of rushing offense last season, jump in that category. Mississippi State found itself nearly 35 rushing yards per game behind the next-closest team in Kentucky as the Bulldogs ran for 81.69 yards a game, more than 18 YPG up from the 2021 season. However, Barbay quite literally ran wild with the Mountaineers in Boone, North Carolina, rushing for over 204 yards a game, something that's immediately translated into offensive sets this spring in Starkville. |
| MSU Set To Host Bulldog Relays Beginning Thursday | |
| The Mississippi State track and field program is set to host the annual Bulldog Relays beginning on Thursday, March 23, and running through Saturday afternoon at the Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex in Starkville. Admission to all three days of competition is free for all spectators. The meet starts at noon Thursday with the women's hammer, followed by the men's hammer throw at 3:30 p.m. that afternoon. On Friday, field events are slated to get underway at 1 p.m., while the track action is set to begin at 5 p.m. Saturday's slate begins with the women's javelin at 11 a.m. with running events set to start at noon. MSU will welcome teams from Alabama, Alabama State, Arkansas State, Jackson State, Meridian Community College, Mobile, Samford, SEMO, Stillman College, Tuskegee, UAB, UAPB, West Alabama and William Carey. The Bulldogs enter the meet ranked in the top 15 nationally in six different events. |
| The N.C.A.A. Once Eschewed Las Vegas. Times, and Prospects, Have Changed. | |
| There was a time when the N.C.A.A. would have played men's basketball tournament games on the moon before placing its marquee event in Las Vegas. Those were the days when point-shaving scandals at Arizona State, Tulane and Boston College were not ancient history and when casinos were so jittery about perceived ties to organized crime that they declined to set betting lines involving any teams from Nevada. It probably did not help that the N.C.A.A. had a long, litigious feud with Jerry Tarkanian, the Nevada-Las Vegas coach -- or that several of Tarkanian's players once turned up in a front-page newspaper photo drinking beer in a hot tub with a twice-convicted sports fixer. So, even though the country's gambling mecca is no longer a pro sports pariah -- hockey's Golden Knights and football's Raiders are anchored in the city, baseball's Oakland Athletics have long flirted with a move, and the Super Bowl will be arriving next February -- it is noteworthy that the N.C.A.A. has planted a flag in Las Vegas, too. Las Vegas will host a N.C.A.A. basketball regional for the first time this week. The West regional semifinals, which begin Thursday with U.C.L.A. playing Gonzaga and Arkansas facing Connecticut, will also serve as a dry run for the 2028 men's Final Four, which was awarded to Las Vegas in November. "It was unimaginable at one time," said Michael Green, a son of a casino dealer who graduated from U.N.L.V. and is now a history professor at the school. "Even as things changed, a lot of people figured the N.C.A.A. was never coming near us. For people who have been here for a long time and had skin in the game, going back to the '70s or at least the '80s, this is vindication." |
| Coach K Is So Last Year. It's Time to Meet Coach Yo. | |
| When Yolett McPhee-McCuin saw the Mississippi women's basketball coaching job was open in 2018, she didn't wait for a call. She reached out to the school's search firm and sold herself. "I'm hot," she said. "And y'all could get me for cheap." McPhee-McCuin had turned around Jacksonville University's team from several losing seasons to 24-9. Ole Miss had little to lose, having won exactly one Southeastern Conference game the season before. Five years later, McPhee-McCuin and her No. 8-seeded Rebels engineered one of the NCAA women's tournament's biggest upsets, beating perennial power and No. 1 seed Stanford on Sunday. The Rebels face No. 5 Louisville on Friday in the Sweet 16. While women's college basketball has been dominated by dynastic coaches or those who've played in the Olympics, McPhee-McCuin is "out of the mud," she said. She grew up in the Caribbean nation of the Bahamas, whose entire national population of 408,000 wouldn't quite fill the stands over an eight-game home season of Ole Miss football. McPhee-McCuin had an unremarkable college career -- Miami-Dade Community College, followed by Rhode Island -- then clambered up a splintery coaching ladder to become the reigning NCAA women's tournament darling. |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
