| Monday, July 24, 2023 |
| More rain means less crops come harvest for local farmers | |
 | The National Weather Service reported the Golden Triangle saw about 13 inches of rain between July 1 and July 16, more than four times the 3 inches of rainfall the area usually sees for the entire month. In that time, more than 35 farmers in Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Noxubee counties have filed revenue loss insurance claims due to the increased storms, according to multiple sources that spoke with The Dispatch. Mississippi State University Extension Agent Trent Irby told The Dispatch when crops such as cotton, corn and soybeans become waterlogged by heavy and consistent rain, it keeps plants from growing fruit and also invites grass and weeds to thrive, which can slow the crops' growth cycle. "This time of year where we get a heavy rainfall event and then followed up with another heavy rainfall, it creates an issue," Irby said. "It may not necessarily equate to a massive yield loss, but it can hold the plant back enough that you'll see a loss. The more prolonged period of time that it (rains), the greater the yield loss potential is." |
| Starkville police remind citizens to follow laws in school zones | |
 | During the summer, some drivers may get a little lax when it comes to traffic rules around schools, and they can get unaccustomed to seeing buses on the road. But Starkville police want to remind people that school will be back in session, and they will be watching. Corporal Robert Eguires said passing buses or speeding through a school zone puts others around you in danger. "That is something that can't be done, and it will not be tolerated inside the city of Starkville," Eguires said. "It makes it a very dangerous situation for the children that are crossing the road to be passing a school bus with a stop sign on it." During the marked times on speed limit signs in school zones, there will be zero tolerance for speeding, and the fine will be doubled. Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Police Liaison Officer Sammy Shumaker said the first few weeks of school will mean more traffic, and drivers need to pay attention. "If you need to leave a few minutes early so that you're not in a hurry, that way we can keep everybody safe," Shumaker said. "Watch your speed limit, don't text and drive, and leave your cell phone inactive while you're driving." Students of the Starkville-Oktibbeha County School District start back to school on Tuesday, July 25. |
| Back to school, upcoming tax-free weekend expected to boost retailers | |
 | As the summer break for schools winds down, retailers have been getting ready for the back-to-school shopping spree. Adding to the anticipation is the annual Mississippi Sales Tax Holiday, which starts on July 28 at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight July 29. The sales tax holiday was passed during the state's 2009 legislative session and was amended in 2019. During the holiday, no sales tax is collected on the sale of articles of clothing, footwear, or school supplies, as long as the price of a single item is less than $100. And while inflation fell to 3% in June -- down from the record 9.1% a year earlier -- higher prices throughout the year have affected family budgets, and any break in costs is welcome. According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. shoppers plan to spend a record $41.5 billion during the upcoming school year. Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last year's record. At Reed's department store, president Bennett Mize said back-to-school shopping has already begun as well, with backpacks, shoes and T-shirts and shorts selling briskly. On the men's side suits have been seeing well, too, as many young men going off to college are preparing to join a fraternity, he added. "For women and children, we're getting a lot of customers for first-day-of-school outfits from K to college," Bennett said. |
| 134th annual Neshoba County Fair underway | |
 | Mississippi's Giant Houseparty is officially underway. Prior to the 134th annual Neshoba County Fair kicking off on Friday, we caught up with State Rep. Scott Bounds as his district has been gearing up for the annual agricultural, political, and social entertainment event for months now. "If you're a political junkie, it's an almost you've got to attend type of event," Bounds, who also serves as president of the fair, said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. "Not to mention all the other fun stuff you can do too." As of now, every statewide candidate has agreed to speak. Revered as the most important political stump in Mississippi each election year, the Neshoba County Fair has welcomed a number of national and local candidates from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to every Mississippi governor since 1889. All political speeches will take place before noon under the pavilion in Founders Square with each candidate getting 10 minutes to share what ideas and policies they're running on. |
| Colom outraising closest opponent almost 3-to-1 in DA's race | |
| Fundraising in the District 15 Senate race is still neck and neck, but the district attorney's race is becoming more one-sided with the latest round of campaign finance reports. Reports were due July 10. Candidates are required to itemize any donation or expenditure greater than $200. Incumbent Democrat Scott Colom showed the most financing of any candidate with $53,684, of which $43,236 was itemized. Colom reported $4,315 in disbursements. To date, Colom has $53,684. Challenger Republican Jase Dalrymple reported $18,422 in contributions, with $13,150 being itemized. Dalrymple reported $228 in disbursements. To date, Dalrymple has raised $20,820. Republican Chuck Easley reported no fundraising. In Dist. 15 Senate, incumbent Bart Williams reported $31,921 in donations, of which $29,460 was itemized. Williams reported $9,497 in expenditures. To date, Williams has raised $47,021. Challenger Alan Sibley raised $30,800, of which $30,750 was itemized. Sibley reported $8,865 in expenditures. To date, he has raised $36,725. Both are running as Republicans. Unopposed candidates include District 38 Rep. Cheikh Taylor (D-Starkville), District 39 Rep. Dana McLean (R-Columbus), District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson (R-Starkville), District 16 Sen. Angela Turner Ford (D-West Point) and District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger (R-Lowndes County). Primary elections are Aug. 8. |
| Brown stages 'fact-finding' committee hearing in Holly Springs as PSC election nears | |
| Just 18 days before his Republican primary election date against Tupelo official Tanner Newman for northern district public service commissioner, District 20 Rep. Chris Brown convened a public "field hearing" in Holly Springs on Friday to discuss its "collapsing" electric system. The "fact-finding" session was officially a hearing of the Conservation and Water Resources legislative committee Brown chairs. It heard from representatives of the local utility and the TVA, who described a failing system with frequent outages affecting its predominantly rural 12,000 connections even on sunny days. The Holly Springs electric system grabbed statewide headlines after ice storms in late January kept residents without power for days on end. The meeting ended with no commitment to specific action except to promise a followup hearing on July 31, eight days before Brown's primary election day. Participating officials included local senator Neil Whaley and local representative John Faulkner, along with other representatives from nearby districts. Local and state officials from the area said they welcomed the attention to the issue, although some acknowledged the timing was politically convenient for Brown, who has not drawn public attention to the issue in the past. Brown's state house seat was eliminated in redistricting. He's now running for state office as public service commissioner for the northern district, which includes Holly Springs. Newman, speaking to the Daily Journal on Thursday, said he has spoken about the Holly Springs issue on the campaign trail for months. “I’ve already built the relationships with the state legislature and with the federal delegation so starting day one, I will be able to pick up the phone,” he said. |
| Mississippi senator says tutu photo is misused in campaign. He's raising money for cancer research | |
 | Mississippi Republican state Sen. Jeremy England says he intentionally wore what he considers a "very embarrassing" Halloween costume to raise money for breast cancer research -- a shiny pink bodysuit with a short pink skirt. Now, England says a photo of him in the outfit has been misused, with a slur directed at him, in an increasingly divisive GOP primary as he supports Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann for reelection. A person backing one of Hosemann's opponents posted an image of the tutu-clad England on Twitter along with a comment: "Hosemann and his groomer weirdos." "I consider that to be some of the worst, dirty form of politics -- which is, of course, where we are now in this race," England told The Associated Press. Hosemann faces two challengers in the Aug. 8 primary. State Sen. Chris McDaniel has run two unsuccessful U.S. Senate races in the past decade, including a bitter race against longtime incumbent Thad Cochran in 2014. Tiffany Longino is an educator who is spending little in her first run for public office. If nobody wins a majority, the race goes to an Aug. 29 runoff. In a new Hosemann TV ad, England says he supported McDaniel in 2014 for Senate but now considers that a mistake and is endorsing Hosemann for a second term as lieutenant governor. England said that soon after the ad started airing, he received a text message from state Sen. Melanie Sojourner, who is publicly supporting McDaniel. England said the message had no words -- just a photo of England wearing the tutu. "It was obvious that she was sending that to me as a threat," England said. |
| In an 'extraordinary' move, Mississippi AG tries to overturn officer's manslaughter conviction | |
 | Knowing that a police officer would go to prison for killing her 62-year-old brother didn't dull Bettersten Wade's grief. But it helped that someone would be held responsible. Then Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch asked a judge last week to throw out the officer's 2022 conviction, taking his side over the district attorney who prosecuted him. The unusual move strengthened the officer's case before the Mississippi Court of Appeals. And it left Wade angry and hurt. "It means she doesn't care about my brother," Wade said of Fitch's motion. "She's showing that she doesn't have any kind of feelings for my brother. The only thing she has feelings for is a police officer." It is not just Wade who is upset. Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens accused Fitch of undermining the work of the jury that voted last year to convict former Jackson Police Officer Anthony Fox of culpable negligent manslaughter for slamming George Robinson to the ground and inflicting a fatal head injury. "It was dismissive to the rule of law, and justice, and the will of the people," Owens said in an interview. Matthew Steffey, a law professor at Mississippi College, called Fitch's motion "extraordinary," not just because she essentially bigfooted Owens, but also because it pits a white Republican attorney general against a Black Democratic district attorney, both of whom are running for re-election this fall. The dispute, Steffey said, mirrors the political and racial dynamics of an ongoing legal battle over white Republican state officials' attempts to assert more control over the justice system in Jackson, the majority-Black and heavily Democratic state capital and the seat of Hinds County. |
| 'Clearly the man for the job': Judge stands behind third-party water manager | |
| A federal judge is standing behind the man appointed to run Jackson's water system, despite recent criticisms, saying he is "clearly the man for the job." On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate handed down a response to the recent complaints brought against Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin, saying most of the attacks were race-based. Wingate, who is Black, said comments made at hearings earlier this month were "reminiscent of times when African Americans have been on the receiving end" of similar criticisms. "They have no experience in water management, and no logical rationale [as to] why an African American would be better suited to fix a lingering problem which has gone unresolved for decades by past African American leadership," he wrote. Wingate went on to say that his detractors did not question Henifin's qualifications, his resolve or commitment or the progress made on restoring the water system. Wingate, meanwhile, included letters from three individuals complimenting Henifin on his efforts. Jeff Good, owner of Mangia Bene Restaurant Management Group, told Wingate he contacted JXN Water at 7 a.m. on June 4 to report low water pressure at Broad Street Baking Co. By 8:30 a.m., a break had been located, and by 10 a.m. water pressure had been restored. "This is completely foreign to me, as I was prepared to close for business as usual when we don't have water," he wrote. "Judge Wingate, we have suffered twenty-nine days of closures and more than 12 total weeks of boil water notices at Broad Street over the last four years due to no water pressure, but this time we didn't have to close; JXN Water kept us going." |
| U.S. Weighs Potential Deal With China on Fentanyl | |
 | The Biden administration is discussing lifting sanctions on a Chinese police forensics institute suspected of participating in human-rights abuses, people familiar with the matter said, in a bid to secure Beijing's renewed cooperation in fighting the fentanyl crisis. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during meetings in Beijing last month proposed setting up a new working group with China to try to resuscitate stalled talks on combating fentanyl. Chinese officials, however, stuck to their long-held position that the U.S. must first remove the sanctions on the police institute as a precondition for restarting joint counternarcotics work, the people familiar said. Stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. is a Biden administration priority, with the opioid scourge unleashing a wave of deaths across America. U.S. officials see China as having a critical role in that effort. Chinese companies produce chemicals, known as precursors, that are shipped to cartels in Mexico, which use them to produce fentanyl and smuggle it into the U.S. Given the stakes, the U.S. is trying to figure out how to elicit China's cooperation and the police institute has become a hurdle. |
| Biden to Name National Monument for Emmett Till and His Mother | |
 | President Biden will establish a national monument on Tuesday honoring Emmett Till, the Black teenager who was brutally killed in 1955, and paying tribute to his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, according to White House officials. Emmett's murder and the subsequent activism of his mother helped propel the civil rights movement, and Mr. Biden will memorialize both individuals when he signs a proclamation naming the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. As defined by the National Park Service, a national monument is a protected area similar to a national park. There are more than 100 national monuments in the country. The new monument will consist of three protected sites in Illinois, where Emmett was from, and Mississippi, where he was killed. One site is the church where Emmett's funeral was held, Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, in a historically Black neighborhood on Chicago's South Side known as Bronzeville. Another is Graball Landing in Tallahatchie County, Miss., where Emmett's body is believed to have been pulled from the Tallahatchie River. A third site is the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Miss., where an all-white jury acquitted Emmett's killers. Patrick Weems, the executive director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, said on Sunday that the news of the monument had brought tears to his eyes. The establishment of the new monument on Tuesday -- what would have been Emmett's 82nd birthday -- comes amid polarized debates in the country about the teaching of Black history in public schools. |
| Jill Biden heads to Paris to help mark US return to UN educational and scientific agency | |
| Jill Biden has represented her country at the Olympics in Tokyo, a king's coronation in London and a royal wedding in Jordan. She gets another chance to put her ambassadorial skills to work this week when the United States formally rejoins a United Nations agency devoted to education, science and culture around the globe. Biden arrived in Paris early Monday, accompanied by her daughter, Ashley Biden, after flying overnight from Washington to join other VIPs and speak at a ceremony Tuesday at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The American flag will be raised to mark the U.S. return to UNESCO membership after a five-year absence. UNESCO aims to foster global collaboration in education, science and culture. It also designates World Heritage sites, deeming them worthy of eternal preservation. The agency on Sunday condemned Russia's attack on a cathedral in Odesa and other heritage sites in Ukraine in recent days and said it will send a team to the Black Sea port city to assess damage. Before returning to Washington on Wednesday, Biden will tour a historic venue in France, Mont-Saint-Michel, a 1,000-year-old Benedictine abbey that was listed as a World Heritage site in 1979. It sits on an island in Normandy, in the north of the country. A daughter and mother of U.S. service members, the first lady will also visit Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial to pay respects to the more than 4,400 U.S. service members buried there, most of whom died in Normandy and Brittany during World War II. |
| DeSantis doubles down on claim that some Blacks benefited from slavery | |
 | Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is intensifying his efforts to de-emphasize racism in his state's public school curriculum by arguing that some Black people benefited from being enslaved and defending his state's new African American history standards that civil rights leaders and scholars say misrepresents centuries of U.S. reality. "They're probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life," DeSantis said on Friday in response to reporters' questions while standing in front of a nearly all-White crowd of supporters. DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate who is lagging in polls against the front-runner, former president Donald Trump, and is trying to reset his campaign, quickly drew criticism from educators and even some in his party. He has built his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on attacking what he calls the radical liberal policies of President Biden and the Democratic Party, but the latest remarks could alienate Black voters just as the GOP tries to court them. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who announced last month that he was joining the race for the GOP nomination, blasted the idea that enslaved people were able to use slavery as some kind of training program. "Slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills," Hurd, the son of a Black father and a White mother, tweeted. "It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms." |
| Republicans can't stop using the word 'woke'. But what does it really mean? | |
 | There's one word on the Republican presidential campaign trail that's hard to avoid -- "woke." Republicans on the campaign trail are using it as something of a catch-all to criticize anything on the progressive side of the political spectrum they don't like -- whether it's teaching about racism in schools or gender transition policies or even books in libraries they deem inappropriate. But the term didn't originate with Republicans -- or this round of the culture wars. "It comes out of Black culture," explained Elaine Richardson, a professor of literacy studies at the Ohio State University. Richardson co-authored an academic paper examining the word's use in the Black Lives Matter movement. "In simple terms, it just means being politically conscious and aware," she said. "Like 'stay woke.' " Despite that, Republicans have co-opted the phrase and it's become the word of the GOP primary. "We have made Florida the state where woke goes to die," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a recent event in Virginia. "The woke mind virus represents a war on merit. It represents a war on achievement." "Woke" was used in Black protest songs dating back to the early 20th century. There is debate about its origins, but as far back as 1938, singer Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, used the phrase in a recording of an afterword of his song, "Scottsboro Boys," to warn of potential racist violence against Black people in the South. At other times, though, the seriousness of the word has been diluted, used facetiously and ironically on social media. Modern Black activism and the Black Lives Matter movement, though, used it widely as a rallying cry. |
| In the GOP primary, one thing sells (merch) above all: Owning the libs | |
 | The mesh trucker hats, "Bud Right" koozies and "Abolish the FBI" yard signs Republican presidential candidates are feverishly hawking are, on the surface, all about amassing enough small-dollar donors to qualify for the first debate. But there's something else revealing about the candidates' emporiums of red meat. In the modern GOP, owning the libs is what sells. "Forty years ago, it would've been 'Free Ukraine,' next to Reagan's picture," said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist. "Freedom and liberty for all is not ... the incentive structure in our politics, unfortunately." In the merchandising arms race of today, it's not the economy, stupid. It's Ron DeSantis' $37.47 "Build the Wall" trucker hat, Nikki Haley's "Strong & Proud, Not Weak & Woke" t-shirt or a Perry Johnson "I identify as non-Bidenary" sticker. Once the "party of new ideas," the culture wars are the new platform, not simply a plank. It's not hard to understand why Republicans are emphasizing cultural issues -- not Reagan's image -- in their sales. They're following the example of a more recent president, who seven years ago turned his red MAGA hat into a ubiquitous symbol of the right. Whole wardrobes materialized in homage to his Hillary Clinton-inspired chants of "Lock her up!" Then, following his loss in 2020, the GOP was reduced to its status as an opposition party, with branding coming to match. Trump, the twice-indicted former president with a third investigation looming, is selling "Not Guilty" shirts and mugs, while other Republicans are left to capitalize on other perceived offenses of the left. |
| Farmers Work to Cool Livestock and Chickens in Sweltering Conditions | |
| Livestock and crops are sweltering under high temperatures across much of the U.S., adding to the agriculture industry's costs and threatening production. Chicken and pork producers in southern states are using mist and foggers to keep birds and hogs cool. Cattle are eating less feed in the heat, packing on fewer pounds and potentially costing producers money. Ranch hands and workers are tackling tasks before the sun gets too strong, or after dark. Brad Cotton, a Texas rancher outside of San Antonio, said his cattle have hunkered under shade to stay cool. After a cool and wet spring helped ranchers in the region regrow grass for grazing cattle, the heat is burning up his pastures again, and some of his neighbors are spending more on expensive supplemental feed such as hay. "It's been so hot and dry, people are starting to be concerned there may not be enough hay again," Cotton said. For the U.S. agriculture sector, this summer's blasts of heat have accompanied drought in some regions, threatening crops and parching pastures used for grazing. The dryness has led livestock producers to purchase feed that has grown costly over the past year because of poor weather in major growing areas and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Wayne-Sanderson Farms, the third-largest U.S. chicken processor, uses misters or foggers to keep chickens cool as they wait to enter its processing plants in states such as Mississippi and Georgia, a spokesman said. Most modern chicken barns are equipped with fans that can move air over the birds at speeds of more than 600 feet a minute, said Jonathan Moyle, a poultry specialist at the University of Maryland. It feels similar to riding in a car with the windows down, he said. |
| After Russian moves against Ukraine exports, where is the global wheat market headed? | |
| Global wheat prices soared this week after Russia withdrew from an agreement -- in place for the last year -- that had allowed Ukraine to safely export its grain via the Black Sea. And after attacking one of Ukraine's agricultural export hubs earlier in the week, Russia is now warning that any ships sailing near Ukrainian ports could be considered military targets. Globally, year-end stock levels for wheat are expected to be low. "They're probably the lowest since 2007-8, which was a time when we had very, very high prices," said Joe Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. But Glauber said the outlook for wheat seems more stable than it did just after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. "The good news is that we have actually had pretty good production in the rest of the world despite these problems in Ukraine," he said. Higher production elsewhere means there's less concern that the world will run out of wheat, said Naomi Blohm, senior market adviser at Total Farm Marketing. At least for now. Although another geopolitical escalation -- or weather disaster -- could change that. |
| Fentress' 'Steps We Take' to be released in September | |
| Ellen Ann Fentress always has been fascinated by how the smallest event can pack a cavernous cultural truth. As a lifetime resident of the state of Mississippi, Fentress understands race and whiteness inevitably are part of that fabric. Fentress' new book "The Steps We Take: A Memoir of Southern Reckoning" examines the idea that life handed her a script as a white, southern female and how that script has influenced her journey. "I wanted to write about what ways and to what degree you resist that script," said Fentress, a visiting professor in the Mississippi University for Women's low-residency MFA in creative writing. "In what ways will people embrace that script? The answers stamp your story." The official release date for the book will be Sept. 15. Fentress said the book is organized as a memoir-in-essays. Some of the pieces have been previously published over a stretch of years in "The New York Times," "Oxford American," "Bitter Southerner," "Dorothy Parker's Ashes" and "Mississippi Magazine." She said she recently wrote new essays -- particularly about volunteer work and herself -- to shape the book, including "What did March of Dimes, helping at a Baptist-backed men's shelter and Meals on Wheels say about me and about the culture?" |
| What goes up ... : UM law expert says space junk will continue falling | |
| A metal object recently found on the coast of Western Australia made international news before it was identified as likely part of a rocket, but University of Mississippi law professor Michelle Hanlon said this object -- and others like it -- are only the beginning of our reckoning with deorbiting space debris. With the onslaught of companies and countries launching satellites and rockets into outer space, governments must contend with the prospect of falling space debris hitting property or people, said Hanlon, director of the UM Center for Air and Space Law and co-founder and president of For All Moonkind Inc. "This piece -- it's been identified as space junk -- is the beginning of a new deluge," she said. "The number of objects in orbit around our planet is growing every day. We've got to get used to seeing more and more stuff like this." Two international laws, Article 7 of the Outer Space Treaty and the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, dictate how governments handle the deorbiting of space junk and the liability of damage caused by falling spaceborne objects. "What both of these laws say is if you have a space object and it does any harm to any person on Earth, you are absolutely liable," Hanlon said. "If you do damage on Earth, you are liable. Period." |
| 'If you don't like it, go somewhere else': New band director at Delta State mocked trans people, women and other groups on podcast | |
| The new interim band director at Delta State University co-hosted a conservative commentary podcast in which he mocked people who choose to be childless, agreed pro-LGBTQ religious leaders should be stoned and misgendered notable transgender people. In one instance on "Always Right," the podcast that Steven Hugley co-hosted, he gagged at a photo of Jamie Lee Henry, the first openly trans active-duty military officer who was charged last year with providing confidential medical records to an FBI agent posing as Russian intelligence. Hugley's June 29 Facebook post celebrating his new role, made the day before it was announced internally, caught the eye of Jonathan Szot, a library assistant at Delta State who has helped organize on-campus Pride events. Szot, whose pronouns are they/ them, had known Hugley ever since they were in a music fraternity in undergrad at Delta State. That day, Szot helped put together a Google Drive of recordings of Hugley's podcast, which they reported to the university's diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator. Now, they're calling on the university to rescind Hugley's hiring. Hugley and Dotson have not uploaded a new episode since March, but Szot said they are concerned Hugley's beliefs could show up in the classroom. What's at stake for Szot goes beyond Hugley's comments; they say the university's action or inaction is a litmus test. With support from the prior administration, the LGBTQ community has grown at Delta State despite backlash from some locals in Cleveland, the small town in the Mississippi Delta that plays host to the university. Will the new president, Daniel Ennis, make inclusivity a priority too ? |
| Tribal nation sues Poarch Creek and Auburn University over desecration of sacred site | |
 | Muscogee Creek Nation renewed its legal fight against the Poarch Creek Band of Indians on Friday with a federal appeal alleging the tribe, along with Auburn University, improperly removed graves from a sacred site to build a casino in Alabama. The tribal nation alleges that the construction of the Wind Creek Casino and Resort in Wetumpka occurred at Hickory Ground, a sacred site and capital when federal troops forced the Creeks out of Alabama. Workers removed 57 sets of human remains and the artifacts buried with them and stored some of them in containers without proper ventilation or temperature control, according to a lawsuit the Muscogee Nation filed in 2019. A federal judge threw out the lawsuit in 2021. Today the Muscogee Nation asked the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta to reinstate the case against the Poarch Creek, Auburn University and several federal officials. The dispute between Muscogee Creek Nation and Poarch Band has been simmering for decades. When the Alabama tribe first built a bingo hall on the site in 2001, it unearthed remains and funerary objects. Archaeologists from Auburn University surveyed the site and helped store and remove some of the ancestors and objects, according to the complaint. A spokesperson from Auburn University said they had no comment on the appeal. |
| How U. of Tennessee students will learn about AI next semester | |
 | Artificial intelligence might seem scary. But the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will use it to improve the educational experience this fall. The university has a plan for how teachers can use artificial intelligence in classes, and how students can learn more about the breakthrough technology through new classes. Teachers can choose to use AI in their classrooms in three ways when UT welcomes its biggest student population yet, according to new guidelines for the 2023-24 academic year -- Open use: Students can use AI for any assignment as long as AI-generated materials are credited. Moderate use: Students can use AI for specific assignments as long as the AI-generated materials are credited. Strict use: Students are not allowed to use AI and using it would be considered academic dishonesty. Associate Vice Chancellor Lynne Parker has been creating new courses about AI and hiring faculty in the field. UT experienced its first case of plagiarism with AI in the spring. Parker serves as the director of the AI Tennessee Initiative. She worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2018 to 2022, and has worked in AI for nearly her entire career. |
| Texas A&M University president resigns after Black journalist's hiring at campus unravels | |
| Texas A&M University on Friday announced the resignation of its president in the fallout over a Black journalist who said her celebrated hiring at one of the nation's largest campuses quickly unraveled over pushback to her past work promoting diversity. President Katherine Banks said in a resignation letter that she was retiring immediately because "negative press has become a distraction" at the nearly 70,000-student campus in College Station. Her departure after two years as president followed weeks of turmoil at Texas A&M, which only last month had welcomed professor Kathleen McElroy with great fanfare to revive the school's journalism department. McElroy is a former New York Times editor and had overseen the journalism school at the more liberal University of Texas at Austin campus. But McElroy said soon after her hiring -- which included a June ceremony with balloons -- she learned of emerging pushback because of her past work to improve diversity and inclusion in newsrooms. Her exit comes as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. are targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses. That includes Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill in June that dismantles program offices at public colleges. Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, called Banks' resignation a "wakeup call for all of us" and that Texas A&M's reputation had been damaged. "Let's face it, education of students is no longer a primary consideration," Bledsoe said. "That lofty goal has been replaced by a political, anti-Black, anti-Brown and anti-education agenda." |
| Bungled Hiring of Journalism Director Exposes a Rift at Texas A&M | |
| At a meeting with student leaders in February 2022, the president of Texas A&M University described an ambitious plan to confront the school's biggest challenges and turn it into a world class institution. "We have problems we've never faced before," the president, M. Katherine Banks, told the student senate. "We have opportunities we've never had before. This is a unique time in our history to position us to become one of the top universities in the nation." Less than a year and a half later, Dr. Banks has resigned her post and the university is facing a crisis following the revelation that the college made shifting offers in a failed effort to hire Kathleen McElroy, a journalism professor, after a backlash over the Black professor's views on race and diversity. Now, some Aggies are questioning the direction of the university -- one of the largest in the world, with nearly 75,000 undergraduates -- and wondering how Texas A&M can recover from an episode that threatens to harm its reputation. The fallout has rocked students and professors at the vast public university in College Station and sent ripples through its proud alumni network. The university, rooted in its founding traditions as a military school, is known for being more rural and more conservative than other large colleges, like its in-state rival, the University of Texas at Austin. Erica Davis Rouse, the incoming president of Texas A&M's Black Former Student Network, said she was heartbroken when she learned about Dr. McElroy's account of receiving a series of watered-down offers from the university, which she turned down, after conservative Aggies criticized her over her views on "diversity, equity and inclusion," or D.E.I. |
| Dean of U. of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine stepping down | |
 | The dean of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine is stepping down after serving six years in that role. Carolyn Henry, who has worked at MU for 26 years, said she is not retiring. After taking professional development time to get "back up to speed" on recent developments in her field, Henry said she will be returning full time to a faculty position in August 2024. MU is conducting a national search for a permanent dean, Henry said. Candidates for interim dean will be evaluated and a finalist announced before Henry's last day July 31. University Provost Latha Ramchand thanked Henry for her service as dean. "We appreciate her dedication to serving our students and continuing to ensure that the university is working to serve the state in many capacities as it relates to veterinary medicine," Ramchand said. Henry noted that the MU College of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary colleges in the country. It "is a special thing" to train Missourians to lead in the veterinary field, she said. Henry said she believes leadership change can be healthy. "And I want to make sure that we're always doing what's best for the college," she said. |
| Scholarships have helped displaced Afghan students find homes on university campuses across the US | |
| As the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Fahima Sultani and her fellow university students tried for days to get into the Kabul airport, only to be turned away by gun-wielding extremists. "No education, just go back home," she recalled one shouting. Nearly two years later, Sultani, now 21, is safely in the U.S. and working toward her bachelor's degree in data science at Arizona State University in Tempe on a scholarship. When she's not studying, she likes to hike up nearby Tempe Butte, the kind of outing she enjoyed in her mountainous homeland. Seeing students like Sultani rush to leave in August 2021 as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years, colleges, universities and other groups across the U.S. started piecing together the funding for hundreds of scholarships so they could continue their education outside of their home country. Women of Sultani's generation, born around the time the U.S. ousted the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, grew up attending school and watching as women pursued careers. The Taliban's return upended those freedoms. "Within minutes of the collapse of the government in Kabul, U.S. universities said, 'We'll take one;' 'We'll take three;' 'We'll take a professor;' 'We'll take a student,'" said Allan Goodman, CEO of the Institute of International Education, a global not-for-profit that helps fund such scholarships. Sultani is one of more than 60 Afghan women who arrived at ASU by December 2021 after fleeing Afghanistan, where she'd been studying online through Asian University for Women in Bangladesh during the pandemic. |
| Anthropologists back boycott of Israeli academic institutions | |
 | The members of the American Anthropological Association have endorsed a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions. An all-member referendum took place from June 15 to July 14, and the results were announced today. Thirty-seven percent of eligible members voted. Of them, 2,016 voted for the resolution (71 percent) and 835 people voted against it (29 percent). The vote represents a dramatic shift in the anthropology association's thinking on the issue. In November 2015, those attending the association's annual meeting voted overwhelmingly, 1,040 to 136, in favor of calling for a boycott. But when the full membership was polled in 2016, the measure was narrowly defeated. A total of 2,423 AAA members voted to oppose the boycott measure, while 2,384 supported it. That vote attracted about 51 percent of AAA's 9,359 voting-eligible members. "This was indeed a contentious issue, and our differences may have sparked fierce debate, but we have made a collective decision and it is now our duty to forge ahead, united in our commitment to advancing scholarly knowledge, finding solutions to human and social problems, and serving as a guardian of human rights," said a statement from Ramona L. Pérez, a professor of anthropology at San Diego State University and president of the association. Some groups have opposed the boycott. |
| Federal judge says Henifin critics guilty of racism | |
| The Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: Federal District Judge Henry Wingate is black. The man he brought in to help straighten up the disaster that is Jackson's public water system, Ted Henifin, is white. When Henifin first arrived, it seemed he might be able to navigate around some of the racial accusations that have plagued the state's relationship with Jackson. City officials seemed eager to be done with the state and to be in league with the Biden administration. They also seemed pleased with the dollars pouring in from D.C. The honeymoon between the City's power structure and Henifin did not last long. In early July, Wingate held a status conference, during which he allowed a mounting cadre of Henifin critics to voice their opposition. Having heard the naysayers' arguments, Wingate took the unusual step of entering a response to the status conference on the Court docket Friday. The 76-year old jurist pulled no punches. "This court expected the speaker-attendees to come armed with quantifiable facts, fair assessments of progress thus far, and reasonable expectations for the foreseeable future. Not so! Overall, the presentations from Henifin's critics were either uninformed, short-sighted, clearly political, well-intentioned but naive, or racist." In response, the judge excoriated the line of argument: These critics inexplicably did not appreciate the inexcusable impact of these racially-charged words uttered in a deep-South State they have attacked all their lives for racism. Lady Justice must have experienced a stabbing pain from these dagger-like words which are so reminiscent of times when African Americans have been on the receiving end. The speakers of these malignant sentences could not justify their statements. |
| Some Mississippi businesses benefit from socialism | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford writes: Mississippi is a big winner in federal defense spending, according to an article by Lynn Lofton in the Mississippi Business Journal. "When it comes to defense contracts, Mississippi gets its share," she wrote. "Eighty counties receive government contracts for military spending; only Humphreys and Issaquena counties do not." She cited the latest figures from 2000 to 2020 at GovernmentContractsWon.com, which showed $72.1 billion awarded to Mississippi contractors. Yes, the market for government contracts has been good for state businesses. In 2020, 9,248 contracts were awarded for $5.4 billion. The prior year, 14,836 contracts were awarded for $4.1 billion, and the year before that, 17,595 contracts for $6.2 billion. While the market has been good, it is not a free market. Instead, it reeks of socialism. Government controls the type of products, the design and specifications of products, the number of products to be purchased and so on. Government domination of markets, like this, is a hallmark of modern socialism. Politicians often denounce Medicare as form of modern socialism. Yet, government control of that system is little different from that of the defense industry. |
| Hosemann the better choice in lieutenant governor race | |
| Managing Editor Joshua Wilson writes in the Mississippi Business Journal: I don't agree with Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on many issues, but I do think he's done a pretty good job as our state's second-in-command and particularly as president of the state Senate. I appreciate his attempts toward bipartisanship, which is something you rarely see in any legislative chamber these days. As Senate president, Hosemann controls who holds committee chairmanships, and he's made it a point to name both Republicans and Democrats to those powerful posts. I certainly prefer Hosemann over his primary challenger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel of Ellisville. If McDaniel's name is familiar to you, it's probably because of some unfortunate remark he made during his two failed attempts to be elected to the U.S. Senate. ... All I see when I look at McDaniel, however, is the embodiment of dirty politics and a bully who, if elected to a higher office, will stall any progress made by our state. |
| Chris McDaniel, Lynn Fitch show that Mississippi might as well not have campaign finance laws | |
| Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender writes: In his bid for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Chris McDaniel has thumbed his nose at Mississippi's campaign finance laws, and as the Aug. 8 Republican primary nears, it appears nothing will come of it. No charges. No fines. No reprimand. No real investigation. No enforcement. Attorney General Lynn Fitch, the only state official with clear authority to enforce campaign finance laws, has shown little interest in doing so during her first term in office. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has filed complaints against McDaniel with Fitch, but the AG office's only comment so far, three months ago, was: "We are reviewing it." ... McDaniel's campaign finance reports -- which are supposed to provide the public an accounting of who is financing his election bid -- have defied logic and math. After filing amended, amended-amended and termination-amended reports for his campaign, it's still unclear how much money he has raised for his campaign. Oddly, McDaniel during his long tenure as a state senator loudly championed stricter campaign finance laws and transparency for the public on sources of political money. But his PAC and campaign finances mark the largest secret and over the legal limit donation to a state campaign in Mississippi. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves is hyper-focused on trans issues, but what's the real impact on Mississippi? | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Gov. Tate Reeves' most recent television commercial features him standing alone on a field intently cheering as his teenage daughter and her teammates run through their soccer drills. "I love watching my daughter compete in soccer with and against some of the best female athletes around the country," Reeves says in the ad. "I never thought I'd see the day where radical Democrats are working to give boys opportunities meant for girls, but here we are. As governor, I'll hold the line against this insanity in Mississippi." Recently the Republican governor posted on social media: "Madison is hopping with activity this beautiful summer morning. So many young females -- like Maddie -- working on their game. Mississippi has to have leaders that will protect our kids. As your governor, you know I will." Based on the time Reeves devotes to talking about transgender women and girls competing in sports, it sure looks like he believes it is the No. 1 issue of this campaign season. What is the impact of the issue on Mississippians? |
SPORTS
| 'If they're winning, everybody's happy': As price of prestige grows, Egg Bowl rivals budgeting differently to keep up | |
| Money is the name of the game in the SEC right now. SEC football is leaving CBS for greener pastures on ESPN, Oklahoma and Texas seemingly wanted to cash in on SEC media rights money and the conference is home to some of the top-earning athletic departments in the country. But what does that mean for teams outside of the national brand tier of the SEC? The financials of college athletics can't be boiled down to simply how much each school makes versus how much it spends. Because that's not really the point. "First of all, using the term profit is a challenge because these are non-profit entities," said Wayne State University assistant professor Scott Hirko. "They're not in it to make money, this is not the Carolina Panthers or the Atlanta Falcons or the Detroit Lions -- they make money, that's their job, they're businesses. "In college, they're not. The purpose is to raise prestige for the institution through sports by providing opportunities for young people to gain an education and represent the school on the playing field." "The primary purpose for athletic departments to spend the money they spend is to raise prestige. Period. That's it," Hirko said. "I would argue that it works to some extent. The front porch of our universities in this country are football programs. Maybe to some extent basketball, but primarily football." |
| Cruz Silva wins second straight Portuguese amateur title | |
| Mississippi State's Pedro Cruz Silva won the Portuguese National Amateur Championship for the second year in a row on Saturday, firing 8-under on the Quinta do Peru course outside Lisbon. He finished third overall among the field of amateur's and professionals but held a 10-stroke lead over the next amateur. Even among the pros in the field, only four other competitors finished below par after four rounds. Cruz Silva opened the tournament with an even-par 72 in the first round despite carding an eagle on Hole 14. He was a stroke over par in the third round, but he tore through the course on his second and final attempts to make up for it. On the second day, the rising senior at MSU fired a 3-under 69 that saw him collect three birdies on the front nine. He then carded a 6-under final round, shooting a career-low-tying 66. Cruz Silva also shot a 6-under 66 earlier this summer at the European Amateur Championship. That was his lowest round since carding a 5-under 66 at the 2021 edition of the European Amateur. |
| New Mississippi State assistant women's basketball coach Michelle Clark-Heard is comfortable out of the spotlight | |
| It seems hard to believe all these years later, but there was a time in her career where Michelle Clark-Heard never wanted to be a women's basketball head coach. That was before she left University of Cincinnati as an assistant to become the head coach at Kentucky State, a Division II HBCU, where her team had to sometimes bus 14 hours just to make a road game. That was before returning to her alma mater Western Kentucky after an assistant coaching stint at Louisville, where she took the Hilltoppers to three NCAA Tournaments and two NITs over six years. That was before a five-year return to Cincinnati, which ended in disappointment, and ultimately, her dismissal following last season. This summer was the first where Clark-Heard, 54, was uncertain about her basketball future since beginning her coaching career as an assistant in 1998 at University of Nebraska. There, Clark-Heard fell in love with being around the game of basketball -- something she didn't want to lose. "Once the situation at Cincinnati (happened) and I moved on, I had to look at what was going to be the best situation for myself," Clark-Heard told The Dispatch in a recent interview. " I think you have to be with the right people, so I could be very beneficial wherever I went. That was the most important thing I looked at." |
| Bulldogs promote Shaw, Loza to full-time coaching roles | |
| Mississippi State softball announced on Wednesday the promotions of volunteer assistant coach Zac Shaw and graduate assistant Alyssa Loza to full-time positions within the program. "We are excited to announce the promotions of both Zac and Alyssa and to keep them on staff with us another year," head coach Samantha Ricketts said in Wednesday's press release. Shaw, who just completed his first season with the Bulldogs as a volunteer assistant, is now one of the program's three paid assistant coaches. Shaw is also a current member of the US men's national softball team, helping the stars and stripes win their first World Baseball Softball Confederation Men's Softball World Cup medal in two decades this past year in New Zealand. "Zac brings a tremendous amount of experience to our infield, and I am looking forward to the team getting another year to learn from him," Ricketts said. "He will also spend time with our offense, oversee camps and clinics and assist us with recruiting." Loza, who pitched for the Bulldogs from 2019-21, has held a graduate assistant position since her MSU career came to an end. In 2019, she tossed the third perfect game in program history, one of her five complete games that season. She was promoted to a fellowship role within the program, focusing on player development and team operations. |
| Triathletes hit the Neshoba County Fair | |
 | Through thunder, lightning, and the hot Mississippi sun, competitors in the 44th annual "Heart O' Dixie" triathlon held at the Neshoba County Fair raced a 33 mile trek. The race began at 6:30 Saturday morning at Lake Tiak O'Khata, where competitors jumped in the lake and swam in the pouring rain. Then, they would jump on a bicycle and cycle the majority of the way from Louisville, MS to Philadelphia, MS -- also in the midst of a thunderstorm. When racers finally reach the Neshoba County Fair, they each had to run one lap around the Grandstand before crossing the finish line. "Each race is different, so it's hard to compare," said first place finisher Jay McCurdy. "It's a fantastic race with a long history... It's my first time doing the "Heart O' Dixie"... I'm glad to be here, very fortunate." By the time racers made it back to the Grandstand, it was completely covered in mud from the rain that had moved south towards Philadelphia. Most competitors finished the race in a heavy rain. |
| Within the SEC, opinions vary on potential revenue sharing | |
| While the current era of college athletics has largely been defined by athletes' newfound NIL rights, the next era that's on the horizon could be defined by increased, direct compensation from schools to athletes. It could take the form of either revenue sharing or employment status. At SEC Football Media Days last week, numerous players spoke willingly and confidently about the potential benefits of revenue sharing, while SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey highlighted his concerns with the suggestion. A couple of prominent head coaches fell somewhere in the middle, either unwilling to talk about it in depth or exploring the game theory of what revenue sharing would mean for the future of NIL deals. Nine of the 10 players On3 asked about potential revenue sharing in the future clearly supported the possibility. The 10th player offered skepticism about NIL deals and the future of college football, but he still supported players earning compensation. "That's awesome. The players, we work extremely hard," said Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson, when asked about the possibility. "You know, this is a business. It's a lot of money. And at the end of the day, the powers are the product and we are the product. So any way that we can help the players, we got to find ways to do that." However, Sankey hasn't seriously entertained the subject publicly, citing Title IX concerns and the potential impact on the country's Olympic talent pipeline. |
| After Brian Harman's British Open win, which former UGA golfer could be next major champ? | |
 | Bubba Watson's got two green jackets. Brian Harman now has the Claret Jug. So which other former Georgia golfer that shows up often on leaderboards could break through next as a major champion? Chris Haack, the Bulldogs coach who has churned out a slew of PGA Tour players, didn't single one out Sunday, hours after he watched Harman win the British Open in a runaway victory from his home on Lake Oconee. And probably with good reason. There are several to choose from. "I don't know, that's a good question." Haack said. "It really wouldn't surprise me if it was any of them. They've all had times when they contended." It may be Sepp Straka, who finished tied for second at Royal Liverpool, six strokes behind Harman, and won the John Deere Classic earlier this month. Russell Henley, Harris English and Chris Kirk all were also in the top 40 in the World Golf rankings before the British Open. Then there's Keith Mitchell, Brendon Todd and Kevin Kisner lurking in the top 90. "Maybe these guys all get a little more comfortable, a little more mature," Haack said. "Maybe we'll see a few more of them contend as we did with Sepp." Haack pointed out that Todd was in the final group on Saturday at the U.S. Open in 2014 at Pinehurst before faltering. Henley was the co-leader entering round two at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2021 and finished tied for 13th. English finished third at the same Open in 2021. Harman, a Savannah native who lives on Sea Island, was the 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year and was a three-time second-team All-American. He played on a loaded 2009 team that reached the national semifinals that included Hudson Swafford, Henley and English. |
| Tide announcer Eli Gold expects to return to radio booth this fall | |
 | After a harrowing year, Eli Gold is ready to get back home. The voice of Alabama football since 1988 has recently been declared cancer-free after an initially mysterious illness was eventually diagnosed in December. The 69-year-old missed all of last season but is eager to see the radio booth in Bryant-Denny Stadium. So eager, in fact, Gold said Friday he plans on taking a few practice reps before the Crimson Tide opens the 2023 season Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee State. Speaking by phone with AL.com, Gold said he'll work to get his rhythm back calling Alabama's preseason scrimmages in unaired rehearsals. "It's been 20 months since I've done a ballgame," Gold said. "But you don't forget how to do that. It's like riding a bike." Spending 40 minutes on the air Friday afternoon on Tide 100.9-FM told Gold he had the stamina to get back into the groove he's missed for well over a year. The Jan. 10, 2022 national title game loss to Georgia was the last time Gold's voice called a football game on the Crimson Tide Sports Network of radio affiliates. He wasn't quite feeling like himself that night in Indianapolis but it took nearly a year before doctors fully diagnosed what they originally thought was an orthopedic issue. Instead, Stage 3 cancer was diagnosed two days before last Christmas after a tumor was discovered on Gold's esophagus. Intense chemo that spanned 18 weeks began New Year's Eve, a day before Alabama closed the football season with a Sugar Bowl romp over Kansas State. Nearly eight months later, Gold said he's never felt this healthy. He's gained back some of the 140 pounds he lost during his illness. |
| Will Northwestern hazing scandal spark a broader reckoning? | |
| Northwestern University has fired two coaches and faces at least three lawsuits over allegations of hazing, bullying and harassment within the athletics department. The hazing allegedly occurred on the elite university's football team, where upperclassmen forced younger teammates to undergo a number of sexualized and degrading rituals at the team's Wisconsin training facility as well as in the Northwestern locker room. Now some hazing experts believe the scandal, which has been widely covered in the media and prompted backlash from fans, could lead to a major shift in how seriously the public views hazing and how colleges and universities are expected to respond to such incidents on campus. "I would say we are closer to a tipping point than we have ever been," said Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine and the leader of StopHazing, a research and prevention organization. "I think certainly having the visibility of these cases is a huge factor in public awareness of the problem and getting the attention of very busy administrators and legislators." Numerous college hazing incidents have garnered public attention in recent years. But experts say the situation at Northwestern has struck a particularly sensitive nerve, due to the university's reputation for academic excellence and for having a highly principled athletics department. |
| Teel: Shifting package of ACC football, basketball games to The CW a win for fans | |
| Cord-cutters -- the population grows daily -- may have been unable to view last season's telecasts of Virginia Tech's sold-out football game versus Miami, both of the men's basketball matchups between Virginia and Boston College, and scores of other ACC events that aired on regional sports networks. That inconvenience/confusion/annoyance has vanished. Starting in September, the limited package of ACC football and basketball contests produced by Raycom Sports and long shown on cable via regional sports networks (RSNs) is shifting to The CW Network, a platform accessible via every television preference: broadcast affiliates, leading cable providers, and streaming. The four-year agreement doesn't alter the conference's balance sheet -- there's no revenue gained or lost, sources said -- but embodies the fan-friendly mantra that sports enterprises often voice. "The CW's national distribution will directly benefit our student-athletes, teams, alumni and fans," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said last week in a statement. "We appreciate ESPN and Raycom working together and look forward to the partnership with The CW." Launched in 2006 and the origin of popular series such as "The Vampire Diaries," The CW first delved into sports programming in January with LIV Golf. ACC football and basketball represent the network's second live sports acquisition. |
| ESPN Is Said to Talk With Leagues About Taking Stake in Network | |
| ESPN has held talks with some of the most powerful leagues in professional sports, including the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, about taking a minority stake in its business. The cable network, controlled by the Walt Disney Company, has had exploratory talks with the leagues as it tries to figure out its way forward in the streaming age, three people with knowledge of the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. Disney declined to comment. Disney's chief executive, Robert A. Iger, said in a CNBC interview last week that the company was "looking for strategic partners" that could help ESPN with either distribution or content. "But we want to stay in the sports business," said Mr. Iger, whose contract with Disney was recently extended through 2026. Selling a stake in ESPN could give Disney a cash infusion as it faces pricey renewals with sports leagues including the N.B.A., which is sure to demand a premium for the rights to show its games in the coming years. Hearst, the owner of magazines like Cosmopolitan and information services like Fitch Group, owns a minority stake in ESPN. ESPN --- long a profit center for Disney, which acquired the network in 1995 -- has come under pressure in recent years as viewers cut the cable cord in favor of streaming services. |
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