| Wednesday, January 24, 2024 |
| 'Art is the hope of glory': MSU professor to receive Governor's Art Award | |
 | Mississippi State University Professor Emeritus Brent Funderburk is set to receive the Governor's Art Award for Excellence in Visual Arts and Education Feb. 8, 2024 in downtown Jackson. The Governor's Art Awards are presented annually by the Mississippi Arts Commission to honor individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to art in the state. Funderburk served the MSU Department of Art as department head and professor for nearly 36 years, teaching and inspiring students who went on to achieve great success in the art world. For Funderburk, art is powerful and revealing of something deeper than what we can see on our own. "Art is the hope of glory -- the hint of it is what art is about," Funderburk said. "It's tickling you like music saying there is something glorious in us that is infinite and beautiful, but it's hidden, and you've got to work to get it out." Angi Elsea Bourgeois serves as the dean of the MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design. Bourgeois was mentored by Funderburk when she joined the MSU faculty. "He believes so strongly in his students that they do too, and they achieve and have achieved over the course of his career remarkable success," Bourgeois said. "He's a great mentor and touched a lot of lives through his teaching -- not just his teaching of our students but teaching me as a brand-new faculty member." |
| Up to 1,000 runners expected for Starkville Frostbite this weekend | |
 | While the ice and snow of last week may have melted, the Starkville Frostbite runs are still on tap for this weekend. The half-marathon will begin downtown at 9 a.m. Saturday, with 10K and 5K races starting a few minutes later, a press release from race organizers said. Brad Jones has been co-coordinator for the Starkville Frostbite for nine years, since taking it over from OCH Regional Medical Center. The race itself, he said, is going on its 39th year. The course, Jones said, starts at the Main Street-Lafayette Street intersection before winding through the city's historic district. The 10K and half-marathon will also take racers through the Mississippi State University campus and half-marathon runners will go through South Farm. The 13.1-mile distance for the half-marathon has been formally certified, Jones said. He said the race has grown significantly every year, aside from during the pandemic. On Tuesday morning, he said 900 runners had signed up for the Frostbite, and race organizers are expecting up to 1,000, which will blow previous races "out of the water." Every year, a portion of the Frostbite's proceeds goes to charity. In the past, the race has benefitted the Boys and Girls Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Starkville Fire and Police departments, and more, Jones said. This year, the Starkville Frostbite will benefit the Catch a Dream Foundation for the second straight year. Catch a Dream is a nonprofit that gives children with physician-certified life threatening medical conditions once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing experiences. |
| Two-candidate race set for Ward 1 alderman | |
| A two-candidate field is set for the Feb. 13 special election for Ward 1 alderman. By Monday evening's deadline, Timothy Bush and Kim Moreland remained the only candidates to qualify to run. The winner of the nonpartisan race will replace Ben Carver, who had served on the board of alderman since 2009 before taking the District 1 seat on the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors in January. Bush is a customer service supervisor at Mississippi State University and associate minister at Second Baptist Church. Moreland is a general contractor and member of the planning and zoning commission. Absentee voting will begin Wednesday, Mayor Lynn Spruill said. |
| MDR Commissioner says tax revenues continue to show growth | |
 | The Mississippi Department of Revenue has seen major increases in state general fund contributions over the past four years, MDR officials told lawmakers Tuesday. During a Senate Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, MDR Commissioner Chris Graham told senators the agency collected and distributed a total of $10,808,857,965 to the state's general fund, state agencies, and local governments, among others, representing a nearly $2.5 billion jump from 2019. Graham said that rise in collections was due, in part, to a rise in sales tax, going from 3.26 billion in 2019 to just more than $4 billion in FY 2023, as well as other tax collections such corporate income tax, which collected more than $1 billion this past fiscal year. "The revenues have continued to be strong this fiscal year," Graham said. A few of the senators also asked Graham whether that growth in sales tax revenues would continue over the next few years, and if it could supplement losses in income tax, which will reduce from 5% to 4% over the next few years because of legislation passed in 2022. "We're not economists, so we haven't tried to compute what that might look like in sales tax," Graham said. "But as you reduce income tax, theoretically, your sales tax would generate a little bit more." Graham later told the Clarion Ledger that despite State Economist Corey Miller telling a joint-budget committee in December that the state economy is expected to slow down in the future, he believes sales tax, as well as other funding sources could pick up some lost income tax revenues. |
| MDR needs $40 million more for new ABC warehouse project | |
| During a presentation to the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, Mississippi Department of Revenue Commissioner Chris Graham told lawmakers the agency may need an additional $40 million for a new alcohol distribution warehouse. Graham said while the agency was granted a $55 million appropriation from the Legislature in 2021 to build a new warehouse for the Alcoholic Beverage Control, which would replace the agency's 40-year-old facility, that figure proved too small because of rising building costs over the next few years. "(We need to replace it) due primarily to the age of the building and the age of the equipment inside it," Graham said. Now, Graham told lawmakers, he is hoping they will approve an estimated $95 million price tag to fund the project. Though, he also said there is no definitive timeline for the project and a new location for the space has yet to have been chosen. Those decisions will come once MDR has a chance to consider ABC's needs for the facility while the agency also waits to hear interest from prospective developers. "Hopefully in the next two months, we'll have our request for proposals out," Graham said. "It'll be responded to by whoever's interested in constructing the warehouse, which would then let us start the process of actually building a warehouse." He later told the Clarion Ledger the new space is necessary to help keep up with rising demand for alcohol in the state, which the current warehouse cannot always meet. |
| Mississippi governor wants lawmakers to approve incentives for new economic development project | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves says he will ask legislators to approve incentives for a large economic development project. The Republican said Tuesday on social media that he will hold a news conference Wednesday to announce a special legislative to finalize a project "that will shatter records by billions of dollars." "This is a massive moment for Mississippi," Reeves wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He did not provide details about the project. Legislators met in a special session last week and approved incentives for a plant that will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. It will be in Marshall County in northern Mississippi, near the Tennessee state line. |
| A 'transformational investment:' Massive project in Madison County would set state record | |
 | Republican Gov. Tate Reeves plans to call on legislators Wednesday morning for a special session to approve a $10 billion investment and project in Canton and Madison. According to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, the project will locate two "hyperscale data centers" on two industrial park sites in Canton and Madison County. It will also create 1,000 jobs once complete. The project represents the state's single largest capital investment, and the announcement came just one week after a special session was held, approving $482 million in bonds for a $1.9 billion project in Marshall County. Rep. Jill Ford, R, who represents Madison County, told the Clarion Ledger Tuesday evening she thought the announcement was a "huge" win for the area. "We are excited that Mississippi has been selected for this massive, world-class technology project," Ford said. "This is further evidence that Mississippi is open for business and can compete on a global scale. I'm ecstatic that Madison County will serve as the anchor for this transformational investment. |
| What is a hyperscale data center? How much energy does it take? Is Madison ready? | |
| After Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Tuesday that he would call a special session for the purpose of approving two "hyperscale data centers" on two industrial park sites in Canton and Madison County that could create as many as 1,000 jobs in a $10 billion development, many people may want to know what the heck is a hyperscale data center. According to many tech websites, a hyperscale data center is a facility which houses critical computer and network infrastructure. These facilities allow companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to draw on their processing power to deliver key services to customers worldwide. There's no official definition, but a hyperscale facility typically has at least 5,000 servers and is 10,000 square feet or more in size. A report from Synergy Research Group found that more than 100 new hyperscale data centers were built in 2020 alone, bringing the total number of these facilities to 597. The 2021 report said the United States "continues to account for almost 40% of the major cloud and internet data center sites." Entergy recently built a substation in Madison County that will be able to handle all of the energy needs of the hyperscale data centers. |
| Mississippi bill would divert casino winnings to back child support payments | |
| If one lawmaker has his way, parents who are behind on their child support could see a portion of their casino winnings go to catch them up. District 25 Sen. Walter Michel is proposing a bill that would require casinos to hold back a portion of a person's winnings to cover child support payments if they are behind. The measure, S.B. 2132, has been referred to the Senate's Gaming Committee. "This is similar to a law from two years ago that would allow the state treasurer's office to do the same thing when they advertised unclaimed property," he said. Under that bill, if you collected any unclaimed property, such as stocks or bonds left to you by a dead relative, the treasurer would be able to check state records and hold back a portion of the property to cover unpaid child support. "If you hit a jackpot at a casino, then obviously they're going to take your tax records, they're going to get your Social Security number because they're going to have to report it to the IRS. So, we will set up a portal with the Department of Human Services to where if you owe back child support, they will do the same thing," he said. Michel said exactly how that would be done will be left up to the Department of Human Services and the State Gaming Commission. The measure gives both agencies the authority to draw up the rules on how that will be done. |
| Lawmakers work on remedy for hospital grant program failures | |
| The state's troubled hospital grant program has doled out money to a handful of hospitals, but it'll take a new law to get hospitals the full amount of money they were promised a year ago. As Mississippi's hospitals financially foundered, the state Legislature established the Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant program last session to give hospitals a much-needed boost. But the program has been deeply flawed since its creation, starting with the source of its funds, which has made it difficult for many facilities to get the money they were originally allocated. Instead of using state money for the grants, lawmakers designated federal COVID-19 relief money. Sen. Kevin Blackwell, the principal author of the bill that established the program, told Mississippi Today that the bill's writers "didn't really realize" the problems that would cause. Federal money is highly regulated and can't be disbursed as easily. "The hospitals took a beating during COVID, and we were just trying to do the right thing to help them out a little bit," Blackwell said. Though the program was initially pitched as one-time grants, because of the federal funding, hospitals must show pandemic-related financial loss, making it a reimbursement program. |
| Future Caucus focuses on Mississippi's declining population | |
 | A group of bipartisan Mississippi lawmakers have been focused on the state's declining population and addressing the state's brain drain. The Future Caucus is a national movement that focuses connecting Gen Z and Millennial lawmakers in office to try and address issues in their states, as well as issues around the country. In Mississippi, you have to be 45-years-old or younger to join. Rep. Jeramey Anderson (D-District 110) co-chairs the Mississippi caucus, alongside Rep. Shane Barnett (R-District 86). Anderson said this year's legislative priorities are wide-ranging. "Our priorities vary from session to session, and we don't draft legislation as a caucus just simply because of mathematics in the chamber. We do endorse legislation however. We focus on things like digital divide. We focus on things like talent retention. We focus on things like grocery tax, which is something that we're going to be looking at this session. So, it's a really refreshing caucus because it puts multiple perspectives and one room," said Anderson. |
| Speaker Jason White continues to convene House majority for closed-door meetings | |
| Newly elected House Speaker Jason White says he will continue convening private Republican caucus meetings at the Capitol in 2024, effectively giving the supermajority House GOP a chance to formulate and debate policy outside public view. Republicans hold 79 out of 122 seats in the House, which gives them a supermajority and wide latitude over which laws are passed. The state's Open Meetings Act states that if a majority of the members of a public body, called a quorum, are gathered in one place, then the meeting is supposed to be open to the public. But White, a Republican from West, told Mississippi Today that he believes the GOP caucus doesn't qualify as a public body under the state law. "I do think y'all's distinction about it being less than a quorum or more than a quorum -- I think that's a weak out and argument," White told Mississippi Today. Those who argue that the meetings should be open say political debate in public bodies should be done in public to promote a healthy democracy. White, though, believes political caucuses should be able to meet in private. The speaker said if caucus meetings were forced to be open to the public, then it could have a "chilling effect" on honest policy discussions. |
| Guest Running Unopposed in 3rd Congressional District | |
| Every candidate seeking public office has heard the saying, "Either you run scared, or you run unopposed." For the first time in his congressional career, Mississippi's 3rd District Congressman Michael Guest isn't worrying with a re-election race; he is running unopposed. Guest, a Republican seeking his fourth term to the U.S. House of Representatives, looked to be challenged by two Democratic newcomers this year -- Angel Rios and Jarvis Gordan. Yet, Rios did not qualify to seek the seat after initially filing his Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission last June, and Gordan qualified to run and then withdrew his candidacy. Guest has previously faced challengers in each of his three Republican primaries and General Elections. Congressman Guest now holds a chairmanship in the U.S. House, overseeing the House Ethics Committee, an appointment made by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and retained by current Speaker Mike Johnson. |
| Mississippi restrictions on medical marijuana advertising upheld by federal judge | |
| A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary who sued Mississippi over state regulations that he says censor business owners by preventing them from advertising in most media. In a Monday ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills said he agreed with Mississippi's argument that since the possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, it is not a "lawful activity," and therefore does not enjoy the constitutional protections granted to some forms of commercial speech. After Mississippi legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions in 2022, Clarence Cocroft II opened Tru Source Medical Cannabis in Olive Branch, Mississippi. But he says he has struggled to reach customers because the state has banned medical marijuana businesses from advertising in any media. Mills said unraveling Mississippi's restrictions on marijuana advertising would be a "drastic intrusion upon state sovereignty." "This is particularly true considering the fact that, by legalizing marijuana to any degree, the Mississippi Legislature has gone further than Congress itself has been willing to go," Mills wrote. "In light of this fact, on what basis would a federal court tell the Mississippi Legislature that it was not entitled to dip its toe into the legalization of marijuana, but, instead, had to dive headfirst into it?" |
| AG Fitch to federal court: Mississippi law to prevent Black people voting was not punitive | |
| A provision of the 1890 Mississippi Constitution designed to prevent Black people voting was not meant to be punitive, the office of Attorney General Lynn Fitch argued Tuesday before a full panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The full panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court is hearing the second case in less than three years claiming a provision of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently prohibits some people convicted of felonies from voting is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. In August a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit in a 2-1 decision found that the lifetime voting ban violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it is cruel and unusual. But the full panel of the court, known for its conservative rulings, vacated the decision of the three-judge panel and ordered Tuesday's hearing. It is not known when the full panel -- about 20 judges -- will rule on the issue. But it is likely that the full panel's ruling will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Why the Supreme Court could matter more than Iowa and New Hampshire | |
 | Donald Trump's convincing victory in the New Hampshire primary positions puts him on an easy path to the nomination, right? Not quite. Trump still has a significant hurdle ahead of him, and no amount of fundraising or voter outreach can eliminate it: He needs to win a potentially decisive showdown at the Supreme Court. On Feb. 8, the high court will hear oral arguments on whether Trump is an insurrectionist who is barred by the 14th Amendment from running for president. Trump is appealing a Colorado decision that determined he was disqualified due to his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. If the court answers "yes" -- and assuming that answer applies to the primaries as well as the general election -- Trump can't become the Republican nominee, no matter what the primary results dictate. Most legal observers doubt that a majority of justices will declare Trump ineligible to run. A far more likely result, experts say, is that the court will find an "off-ramp" that will allow Trump to remain on the ballot based on a narrow or technical reading of the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. But the fact that Trump's eligibility remains in some legal doubt, even as he seems poised to sew up the nomination at this early stage, is another reminder of how Trump's unprecedented legal woes are interlaced with his political fortunes. |
| Trump takes New Hampshire as Haley vows to keep fighting in SC | |
 | Nikki Haley pledged to keep fighting for the Republican presidential nomination despite her trailing loss to Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary, vowing to carry on her campaign in her home state of South Carolina where polls show Trump an overwhelming favorite. Conceding not long after the polls closed Jan. 23, Haley spoke optimistically of her chances and continued to point out the ages of Trump and President Joe Biden, contrasting that with what she says she can bring to the table as a younger leader for the country. "We still have a ways to go, but we keep moving up," Haley told an enthusiastic crowd in her comments in Concord shortly after the polls closed. "South Carolina voters don't want a coronation, they want an election, and we're going give them one," she added, while also challenging Trump to come out and debate her one-on-one. Haley has a South Carolina kickoff rally scheduled for Jan. 24 in North Charleston at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Airport Hotel & Convention Center beginning at 7 p.m. For his part, Trump questioned why Haley is still in the race, pointing to his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire as evidence the nomination fight is over. |
| Trump Won New Hampshire, but There Are Warning Signs for November | |
 | For Donald Trump, New Hampshire served up a set of danger signs along with a resounding victory. With his convincing win over Nikki Haley in the GOP primary, the former president showed that a dominating share of the Republican Party's core voters are still with him and that his momentum toward the party nomination grows. But the New Hampshire results also signaled that Trump risks losing enough Republicans -- as well as a substantial share of independent voters -- to create a problem for him as a general-election candidate in November. The first task for any candidate is to unify the party. But 21% of Republicans who cast ballots in New Hampshire said they would be so dissatisfied with Trump as the nominee that they wouldn't vote for him in November, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of primary voters. Similarly, 15% of Republicans who participated in Iowa's caucuses last week said they wouldn't support Trump in the general election. "In a polarized country, any candidate has to win 90% or more of their party to win an election," said Whit Ayres, a longtime Republican pollster and strategist. "You can't be competitive if you're not close to 90%." In 2020, Trump lost 9% of his own party's voters, AP VoteCast found, and still came up short in the election. |
| Fake Biden robocall 'tip of the iceberg' for AI election misinformation | |
 | A digitally altered message created to sound like President Biden urging New Hampshire residents not to vote Tuesday's primary added fuel to calls for regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) as the 2024 campaign heats up. The robocall is the latest example of how AI is being used in races as the U.S. lacks fundamental guardrails to curtail threats posed by the technology, which can make it appear like a candidate is saying or doing something that never happened. As the technology becomes harder to detect and easier for anyone to use, experts said more AI election content will likely emerge, which could sow confusion and distrust among voters. "This is kind of just the tip of the iceberg in what could be done with respect to voter suppression or attacks on election workers," said Kathleen Carley, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. "It was almost a harbinger of what all kinds of things we should be expecting over the next few months," she added. In addition to the risks of replicating a candidate's likeness, AI advances also make it easier to target specific groups with misinformation campaigns. The large language models that power AI systems could be used to generate a model of a potential audience, Carley said. Just like an AI system could produce a song in the style of a certain genre or artist, Carley said, AI "could take the same misleading story" and "tell it in different ways" that are tailored to the style a particular audience would like. |
| After bumpy FAFSA rollout, Mississippi extends deadline for low-income students seeking financial aid | |
| Low-income Mississippi students will get an extra two months to file a federal form in order to get the state's need-based college financial aid program. In Mississippi, students from families generally making less than $35,900 a year qualify for the Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students, or HELP, grant if they meet certain academic criteria. To apply, students must complete two applications -- the Mississippi Aid Application and the federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This year, the deadline to submit MAAPP will remain March 31, but low-income students will now get until June 30 to file the FAFSA with the state's financial aid office and confirm their family income. The FAFSA extension comes as students and families have encountered hours-long wait times and glitchy forms after the federal government unveiled a "streamlined" process at the end of last year. "I do believe in the end it is going to be better, but right now it doesn't feel that way," Jennifer Rogers, the director of Mississippi's financial aid office, told members of the Post-Secondary Education Financial Assistance Board who approved the new deadline on Tuesday. |
| MUW to release new survey as it rethinks 'Brightwell' name | |
 | Mississippi University for Women (MUW) is reconsidering changing its name to Mississippi Brightwell University. President Nora Miller said its naming task force reconvened on Friday, Jan. 19. Members discussed a new timeline and the plan for providing a new name to state lawmakers for the current legislative session. "The Task Force will be working alongside communications agency, Chernoff Newman, to explore three 'W' names and use our beloved 'The W' brand to bridge generations of 'W' students who have graduated from MSCW [Mississippi State College for Women] and MUW," she stated. Miller said the university will be more transparent about the naming process. It'll release a new survey to students, faculty, staff and alumni on Jan. 26. It'll end on Jan. 29. In order for a new name to take effect, state lawmakers must approve it. MUW first released a survey more than a year ago in which it sought feedback about several names. Brightwell was not on the first survey. The name received a lot of negative feedback from alumni and others. |
| USM makes changes to parking garage on 4th Street | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi is restricting access to the upper floor of the university's parking garage. "This was a need that we saw needed addressing, so we've come up with a good plan and a good plan of action, which resulted in some modifications of the parking garage, with others still to come on the fifth floor," said Chief Rusty Keyes, USM Police Department. USM has closed the fifth floor of the 4th Street parking garage indefinitely to both pedestrians and motorists following the deaths of those two students in 2021 and 2023. The Forrest County Coroner's Office said the students died after falls from the garage. USM put up signage at the garage with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline number. The university also put up protective fencing around the fourth floor. The fifth floor will be reopened after fencing is added there. "I like that they're putting the fences up," said Hannah Chambers, USM Student. "If they can get the fifth floor with the fencing a little higher, maybe a covering on top of it, that'd be great. So, I think it's a good initiative. They just have to figure out where they're going to put the other vehicles in the meantime." |
| USM receives $1.5 million for CTE apprenticeship program at Hattiesburg High | |
| The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) awarded the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) more than $1.5 million through the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Program. The grant, allocated at $386,242 annually over four years, will be used to launch a new Going Beyond Apprenticeship Program for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students in Hattiesburg Public Schools (HPS). Officials said participants at Hattiesburg High School will gain academic and technical skills in addition to work experience as they undergo 150 hours of professional development training, 40 hours of service-learning, and 450 hours as apprentices with approved community partners during their junior and senior years. "HPS has been a wonderful, longstanding educational partner to USM, so we are eager to use this 21st CCLC funding to enhance their impactful CTE programing," said Dr. Jo Hawkins-Jones, principal investigator for the grant and assistant teaching professor in the USM School of Education. The partnership will deliver a service-learning integrated apprenticeship for up to 30 students. |
| New JSU president fills cabinet with familiar faces, including IHL's former attorney | |
| Marcus Thompson, the newly appointed president of Jackson State University, has finalized six key administrative hires as his tenure reaches the two-month mark. That includes Alla Jeanae Frank, a former assistant commissioner of operations at the Institutions of Higher Learning, who will now serve as a special assistant to the president. Another familiar face is Van Gillespie, a former assistant commissioner of legal affairs at IHL, who is now Thompson's chief of staff. Gillespie started Dec. 1. He graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law and served as general counsel to the board of trustees during the same years that Thompson worked at the higher education agency as chief administrative officer. Both men came to IHL under the aegis of former commissioner Hank Bounds. Together, Thompson and Gillespie have significant insight into the inner workings of the often-opaque governing board that oversees Mississippi's eight public universities, including Jackson State. In a press release, Thompson described the new members of his administrative team as "servant leaders." "Combined with the knowledge and passion of my existing cabinet members, this is the genesis of an incredible dream team to execute a strong pathway to success for JSU's future," he said. |
| Erin and Ben Napier band with community to construct new building at Jones College | |
| Home Town stars and Mississippi natives Erin and Ben Napier have banded together with community members to construct a new building at their alma mater, Jones College. The Ellisville junior college released plans for the new facility over the weekend, with the 35,000-square-foot building set to be titled the Jones College Erin and Ben Napier School of Design and Building Arts. "We're excited to share with you the vision behind the Erin and Ben Napier School of Design and Building Arts," Jones College officials said in a release. "This project is more than just a school; it's a commitment to enriching lives and strengthening the fabric of small-town communities. Our aim is to create a place where thousands of students can explore their talents and build a better future." According to the Napiers, the facility is anticipated to close the gap of skilled labor in construction and building trades throughout the state. Additional features are set to include a lecture hall with 176 seats, a retail area, 35-desk CAD lab, 35-desk graphics lab, 21-desk interior design and art studio, 3D/digital fab lab, shop area, flex/classroom workshop, and more. |
| A seafood merchant has never seen crawfish so scarce on the Coast. What happened? | |
 | Third-generation crawfish merchant Cameron Cuevas has never seen the mudbugs so scarce. "Normally, by January 1, we're pushing a lot of volume of crawfish," Cuevas, owner of Claw Daddy's Crawfish in Gulfport, told the Sun Herald on Tuesday. "We haven't sold a crawfish this season." Cuevas said sales records show this is the latest start to the season in at least 16 years. Prices have more than tripled, he said. The few crawfish that are available are selling for $12 to $15 a pound, boiled, compared to $3.89 a pound this time last year. The season usually starts in November and is going full tilt by December. Mark Shirley of the Louisiana State University AgCenter, area agent for the state's southwest region, follows the crawfish industry closely and recently put out a letter that explained what's going on. His assessment has grabbed the attention of crawfish lovers and industry insiders everywhere. |
| 'Southern Art and Culture': Auburn museum to highlight acclaimed artists, scholars | |
 | The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University will highlight acclaimed artists and scholars as a part of a new initiative, the museum announced on Friday. "The Auburn Forum for Southern Art and Culture," a half-day symposium, will feature acclaimed artists and scholars. It will take place the museum on South College Street at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3. "The Jule Collins Smith Museum is uniquely positioned to create a space for dialogue and scholarship about the art and history of the American South," said Cindi Malinick, the museum's executive director. The forum aims to establish the museum as a key academic partner in the study of Southern art and culture, connected to museum exhibitions on view in 2024. It's in line with Auburn University's core mission of research, outreach and instruction. "Our location in Auburn, situated at the crossroads in a region rich with arts in all forms -- visual art, music, food, literature, and fashion -- offers an invaluable resource for insight into the region's complex cultural narratives," said Malinick. "Inviting these guests to campus enriches student experiences, builds upon Auburn's impressive scholarship, and expands the possibilities." |
| Companies showcase counter-drone capabilities at Bush Combat Development Complex | |
 | Drone usage in combat situations is accelerating across the globe, and defense industry officials say this has caused an increased need for understanding and supporting counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology. Officials from Electronic Warfare Associates (EWA) and Sentrycs gathered at Texas A&M University's Bush Combat Development Complex in Bryan on Tuesday morning to showcase how counter-UAS technology can be utilized. Around 50 people gathered inside BCDC's Research Integration Center as EWA and Sentrycs officials went through five scenarios that ranged from showing basic flight patterns, surveillance and reconnaissance, a smuggling scenario, and even a direct attack. David Hochhauser, Sentrycs' North America general manager, said he hoped the event showed attendees this technology exists and can solve problems, such as tracking and taking over malicious drones, and the need is stronger than many realize. "Like every technology, there's great uses and there's always the people who misuse it," Hochhauser said. "There's a lot of danger in drones, potentially." |
| The World's Essential Aquifers Are in Deep Trouble | |
 | The water that pours out of your tap, or that's unnecessarily packaged in a single-use bottle, or that helped grow the produce in your fridge---all of it may well have come from aquifers somewhere. These are layers of underground material that hold water, and can be made up of porous rock or sediments like sand and gravel. When it rains, some water collects in lakes and rivers and eventually flows out to sea, but some soaks deep into the ground, accumulating in these subterranean stores. We dig shallow wells or drill deeper boreholes to tap into aquifers to hydrate our civilization, but that extraction has gotten way out of hand. An alarming new paper published today in the journal Nature looked at available data on 1,700 aquifer systems worldwide and found that groundwater is dropping in 71 percent of them. Nearly a third of the aquifers are experiencing accelerated depletion, meaning the decline is speeding up, in particular where the climate is dry and there's a lot of agriculture that needs watering. "Real-world observations -- 300 million of them in hundreds of thousands of wells around the globe -- show two main findings," says water scientist Scott Jasechko of UC Santa Barbara, co-lead author of the new paper. "One is that rapid groundwater declines are unfortunately widespread globally, especially in dry places where croplands are extensive. And then second, even worse, groundwater declines have, if anything, accelerated over the last four decades in a disproportionately large share of the global landmass." |
| Inside the Push to Bring AI Literacy to Schools and Colleges | |
| Will AI literacy soon become as important a subject to teach in schools as reading, writing and math? Many education leaders think so, as ChatGPT and other new generative AI tools sweep into daily life. After all, it's not every day that a technology comes along that is widely compared to the printing press in terms of how influential it could be. And there is an emerging push to bring AI literacy to schools and colleges. In fact, it's a rare issue that has bipartisan support. Last month, two members of congress -- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind. -- introduced a bill called the "Artificial Intelligence Literacy Act" that would add funding for AI literacy efforts to an existing digital equity law. And in October, the White House issued an executive order that attempts to set standards for AI safety, including around AI's role in transforming education. But what exactly is AI literacy? The tech is still in a volatile stage of development, with competing offerings from both tech giants and upstart players. And there are thorny and unresolved ethical issues around how much and in what instances it's appropriate to have a bot perform tasks that were once thought only things that humans could or should do. |
| For Some Professors, Taylor Swift Is a Student-Engagement Tactic | |
 | Elizabeth Scala was having trouble, trouble, trouble. It was 2021, in the middle of the pandemic. Scala, a professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin, had tried several themes, including the Harry Potter series, to engage students in a course she's been teaching for years, a freshman honors seminar focused on critical reading and analysis. But things weren't clicking. Then Taylor Swift took the course to places it'd never been. The pop star had just re-released one of her albums, Red (Taylor's Version), and Scala was listening at home with her daughter. "All of the sudden, it hits me like a ton of bricks," she said. "Taylor Swift is the way to teach this course to a new audience." The Swiftified class hit the course catalog in the fall of 2022. Now, Scala said, she feels as if it'll never go out of style: "The demand is huge." Over the past year, college courses centered on Taylor Swift have cropped up in a range of disciplines: music, of course, but also literature, sociology, and even intellectual-property law. The courses took off as she released her 10th studio record, Midnights, continued re-recording her first six albums, and set off on "The Eras Tour," a defining cultural event of modern times. The haters gonna hate -- questioning the validity of embracing the pop star as a serious academic pursuit. But professors who teach these courses view Swift's celebrity as a gateway to get students engaged in the classroom. Some also argue there's merit in studying the sweeping influence of the singer herself. |
| Enrollments Rise After Pandemic-Related Declines | |
 | Undergraduate enrollment rose in fall 2023 for the first time since the pandemic, according to the latest report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The report, released today, found that undergraduate enrollment grew 1.2 percent in fall 2023 compared to the prior year, adding roughly 176,000 students to college enrollment rolls nationally. The new data contained especially good news for community colleges. Enrollment at these institutions increased 2.6 percent, a gain of about 118,000 students, signaling the continuation of a welcome turnaround after staggering enrollment losses during the pandemic. Both private and public four-year institutions had increases of less than 0.6 percent in comparison. But Doug Shapiro, executive director of the center, said while the report results are hopeful, it's too early to fully celebrate the recovery of higher ed. "Undergraduates have finally turned the corner, it appears, after years of decline," Shapiro said in a media briefing Tuesday. "And I'm sure that many colleges are hoping that they have finally seen the bottom and are now starting to recover ... But we're still in a deep hole. The total number of undergraduates is over a million fewer than the number enrolled five years ago, in 2018." |
| Every year spent in school or university improves life expectancy, study says | |
| Every year spent in school or university improves our life expectancy, while not attending school is as deadly as smoking or heavy drinking, according to the first systematic study directly linking education to gains in longevity. Using evidence from industrialised countries such as the UK and US as well as developing countries such as China and Brazil, the review found that an adult's risk of mortality went down by 2% for every year in full-time education. Completing primary, secondary and tertiary education is the equivalent of a lifetime of eating a healthy diet, lowering the risk of death by 34% compared with those with no formal education, according to the peer-reviewed analysis in The Lancet Public Health journal. At the opposite extreme, not attending school at any point was as bad for adult health as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks every day or smoking 10 cigarettes each day for a decade. While the benefits of education on life expectancy have long been recognised, the review by academics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Washington in Seattle is the first to calculate the number of years of education and its connections to reducing mortality. The researchers said the meta-analysis, backed by the Norwegian government's research fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, was "compelling evidence" in support of increased investment in education as a way to reduce inequalities in global death rates. |
| Combative billionaire Bill Ackman uses bare-knuckle boardroom tactics in a wider war | |
 | The billionaire Bill Ackman has dominated headlines lately for his bare-knuckle fights against Ivy League schools and the media. He has called for the firing of top university heads, excoriating them for the way they responded to Israel-Hamas conflict, and condemned them for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. In long screeds on X, formerly known as Twitter, he has amplified plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay, who stepped down from Harvard's presidency under pressure. Most recently, Ackman has threatened to sue a news organization that published several pieces that accused his wife of plagiarism. This is classic Ackman. He likes to fight, he digs in, and he doesn't give up. In 2013, when a journalist asked him how long he was prepared to stick with one of his boldest -- and ultimately ill-fated -- bets, Ackman was resolute. "I'm going to the ends of the earth," he said. Over three decades, Ackman has gone to war against companies, executives, and other high-profile investors, and developed a reputation for being ruthless and relentless. He has infuriated many of them. Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO, once said he was "disgusted" by Ackman's tactics of firing off a public three-page letter urging JCPenney's board to replace its top executive. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn once dubbed Ackman "a major loser," and said on TV that he was either "the most sanctimonious guy I ever met in my life, or the most arrogant." None of this has stopped Ackman, who is now using the same cutthroat techniques he honed at Pershing Square, the hedge fund he founded in 2004, against a long list of new targets. |
| Biden officials privately resisted U. of California plans to hire undocumented students | |
| The Biden administration has quietly pushed back against a plan by the University of California to allow thousands of young people without legal immigration status to hold campus jobs. Through a series of recent calls, the Department of Homeland Security pressed UC officials to reconsider what it saw as a direct challenge to federal law during an election year, according to four university officials. The governing Board of Regents is expected to discuss the proposal on Thursday and could even approve it --- amid pressure from pro-immigrant activists who are increasingly concerned about what may happen to the students, and other undocumented people, if former President Donald Trump is reelected. About 4,000 current students could benefit from the change. "I just want to do the right thing," said UC Regent José Hernández, a former astronaut who supports the measure. "It's about making sure that all students have the same type of experiential learning opportunities at our UC campuses," he added. The proposal would challenge a 1986 federal law prohibiting people without immigration status from legally working. The UC seeks to create an exception for people who were largely brought to the U.S. by their parents as children and would previously have been allowed to work under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Students without legal immigration status already attend the University of California while paying in-state tuition. |
| Exclusive: The Education Department says it will fix its $1.8 billion FAFSA mistake | |
| Families have a lot of questions right now about how much help they'll get paying for college --- questions that financial aid offices can't yet answer. That's because this year's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is months behind schedule. And to make things really complicated, it includes a mistake that would have cost students $1.8 billion in federal student aid. In a nutshell: The U.S. Education Department's FAFSA math, for deciding how much aid a student should get, is wrong. In practice, this mistake would make some students and families appear to have more income than they really do, and that means they would get less aid than they should. And not just federal financial aid but also all sorts of state and school-based aid. On Tuesday, a department spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the department will fix this mistake in time for the 2024-2025 award year, though the spokesperson could not provide details on how or how quickly the fix will be made. For the first time, the department also gave a sense of just how much federal student aid is at stake: $1.8 billion. "The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making higher education possible for more students, including through ensuring students qualify for as much financial aid as possible," the spokesperson said in a statement. |
| Democrats warn against potential reactivation of Trump-era China Initiative | |
| A group of congressional Democrats is urging colleagues to stop the reinstatement of the China Initiative, a program under former President Trump that some argued racially profiled Asian scientists and academics in the U.S. The program, which was designed to stop China from stealing scientific and technological secrets, lapsed in 2022. "The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation's scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the 'forever foreigner' stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry," Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said in a statement. In a letter first shared with NBC News Monday, legislators including Chu pointed to language in the House spending bill that calls for the China Initiative to be reestablished. The letter came after Republican lawmakers on the Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee issued explanatory materials for H.R. 5893 that said ending the program was "irresponsible" and "unwise." In 2021, the nonprofit Committee of 100 reported that more than 50 percent of scientists of Chinese descent in the U.S. "feel considerable fear and/or anxiety" that they are under government surveillance. |
SPORTS
| Lemonis previews pivotal Mississippi State baseball season at Kiwanis Club luncheon | |
| Three and a half weeks out from Opening Day, Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis appears to have his starting lineup mostly in place. The 2024 season is pivotal for Lemonis and the Bulldogs, who have failed to reach even the Southeastern Conference Tournament in each of the last two years after winning the 2021 NCAA title. The pitching staff struggled mightily a year ago, finishing last in the SEC with a 7.01 team ERA and issuing 321 walks, more than any other team in the conference. With new pitching coach Justin Parker on board, Lemonis is hopeful things will turn around quickly on the mound. At South Carolina last year, Parker helped the Gamecocks' pitching staff rank second in the SEC and 12th nationally with a 4.19 ERA. With a combination of newcomers, holdovers and players returning from injury, the Bulldogs return roughly 60 percent of their innings pitched from 2023. "We all know the last two seasons, we haven't pitched to where we need to be," Lemonis said Tuesday, speaking at a Kiwanis Club of Starkville meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn. "We have some other issues in some other spots, but pitching has really been the part where we have to get better." Lemonis said his players returned to campus around a week before the start of the spring semester and have been working out on their own before preseason practice officially begins on Friday. |
| Diamond Dawgs Fan Day Announced | |
| It is just about time to hit the lights in 2024 at Dudy Noble Field, as the Mississippi State baseball program will host Fan Day on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Palmeiro Center. Parking will be available for Fan Day in all legal parking spaces within the Athletic District. Doors will open at 2:30 p.m. and fans are asked to enter through the southeast entrance of the Palmeiro Center. The 2024 roster and head coach Chris Lemonis will be signing autographs, while other activities include photos with the 2021 College World Series championship trophy, Maroon Memories Stadium Tours, appearances by Bully, Belle and the MSU Diamond Girls, as well as the Lil' Dudes Zone with inflatable games for kids. To help ensure everyone in attendance has a chance to meet all the student-athletes and Coach Lemonis, student-athletes may only sign the official 2024 team poster, while Coach Lemonis will autograph one item of choice per person. Posters and schedule cards will be available for free to fans at the event. A variety of Maroon Memories will be available to enhance your Fan Day experience, including early entry. The 2024 season gets underway on Feb. 16 when the Diamond Dawgs host Air Force in a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field. |
| Five Things To Know: State-Florida | |
| Mississippi State men's basketball will look to string together consecutive SEC victories, and both programs will look to return to the .500 mark in conference play as the Bulldogs square off with Florida on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs (13-5, 2-3 SEC) will be playing their fifth NCAA NET 1 Quad 1 contest over their first six league games. State is joined by Vanderbilt as the only SEC teams slated to face 10 or more combined NCAA NET Quad 1/Quad 2 opponents during league action. The Bulldogs are one of four SEC squads (Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M) to secure at least five NCAA Quad 1/Quad 2 wins on the season. State's non-conference resume is headlined by a quartet of Power 5 neutral court victories over Arizona State (Pac-12), Northwestern (Big Ten), Rutgers (Big Ten) and Washington State (Pac-12). Only the Bulldogs and Memphis possess at least four non-conference wins over Power 5 opponents on road/neutral floors this season. State is joined by Florida Atlantic as the only teams in the country to amass six neutral court victories in 2023-24. The Bulldogs also defeated North Texas (American) and Tulane (American) en route to their six neutral court triumphs by an average of 15.7 points per contest. State took down Vanderbilt, 68-55, last time out. The Bulldogs dominated the interior and doubled up the Commodores, 36-18, in paint points. The Maroon and White also secured a 45-33 advantage in the rebounding battle which resulted in a 12-6 edge on second-chance points. State has picked up victories during four of the last six meetings in the series over Florida since 2018-19. |
| How will Florida basketball stop MSU big man Tolu Smith? It's a 'tall' order for the Gators | |
| Florida basketball enters a critical home stretch this week facing a Mississippi State team that boasts one of the top post players in the SEC. Mississippi State big man Tolu Smith III has overcome an early season foot injury to average 19.7 points and 7.7 rebounds this season. Containing the 6-foot-11, 245-pound Smith will be a priority when the Florida Gators (12-6, 2-3 SEC) host the Bulldogs (13-5, 2-3 SEC) tonight at the O'Connell Center. "He's obviously playing really, really well coming back from injury," Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said, "He's getting back up from that 27 to 29-minute range." Last season, Smith averaged 20.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in two meetings against UF, including a 28-point performance in MSU's 69-68 overtime win over the Gators in the SEC Tournament. Last week, Smith scored 23 points in Mississippi State's 77-72 upset win over Tennessee, including the go-ahead three-point play with 16 seconds remaining. "We're going to have to do a really good job of guarding in the post and keeping him away from the rim," Golden said. "And more than anything, being physical with him. We can't let him get comfortable down in there. We'll have a couple different looks for him to hopefully kind of keep him off balance." |
| Will Rogers exits transfer portal, will stay at Washington | |
| Former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers told ESPN he will withdraw from the NCAA transfer portal and remain at Washington to play for the Huskies in 2024. Rogers informed Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch of his decision Tuesday and has resumed taking classes at Washington. Rogers transferred from Mississippi State to Washington after four productive seasons with the Bulldogs, which included him becoming the SEC's No. 2 all-time leading passer. He entered the portal after Kalen DeBoer left Washington to become head coach at Alabama, which happened not long after Rogers arrived in Seattle. Rogers spoke with multiple schools after reentering the portal, but ultimately decided that Washington made the most sense. With a lot of attention being paid to who has left the program, Rogers said the allure of coming back to Washington after jumping in the portal was who else decided to stay there. "Some of the guys at Washington," he said of his reason to return. "The team went 14-1 last year. If we can pick up where we left off, obviously it's going to be a tough task. But I think it's why you come to Washington. "It's obviously a new conference and things like that. But I have a lot of faith in Coach Fisch and feel like he'll be ready to have us compete at a high level." |
| Former Mississippi State baseball player to officiate Super Bowl | |
| Mississippians continue to make their mark on NFL history, especially when it comes to officiating. Just three years ago, Pascagoula native Sarah Thomas became the first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl. Now, another name known across the Magnolia State will be officiating the big game. Brad Freeman, who actually played baseball at Mississippi State from 1995-98, has been selected as part of the Super Bowl LVIII crew. The Memphis, Tenn., native will serve as the back judge in the final and most important game of the 2023-24 season. Freeman, an NFL official since 2014, will officiate the game alongside lead referee Bill Vinovich, umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Tom Hill, side judge Allen Baynes, and replay official Mike Chase. With the officiating crew now set, fans will only have to wait a few more days to find out which teams will be playing in the Super Bowl. Battling for the AFC crown are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens (Sun, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.) while the last two teams standing in the NFC are the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers (Sun, Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m.). |
| Former USM President: Brett Favre Agreed to Pay for 'Entire' Arena Project | |
| Brett Favre and former University of Southern Mississippi president Rodney Bennett gave differing accounts of promises made to fund a USM volleyball arena in their depositions as part of the Mississippi Department of Human Services civil case over misspent federal welfare funds. The construction project received $5 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, an impermissible use of money that is supposed to assist families living well below the poverty line. Text messages released in the case show Favre's involvement in securing funding for a project that MDHS lawyers alleged was initially promised by the quarterback personally. "My understanding, from my early January [2017] meeting with Brett was that Brett was going to pay, personally, for whatever the cost of the facility was," Bennett testified during his October 2023 deposition. "... The agreement was, between Brett and me in my office, that he would pay for the entire amount, in an effort to have that facility able to move along the continuum faster than it would if it were a state capital project." Favre's attorneys have long argued in the civil case where the Hall of Famer is among more than 40 defendants that Favre did not make a promise. Favre has not been charged criminally, and he's denied any wrongdoing. "Do you know of any reason why Dr. Bennett, now chancellor at University of Nebraska, would lie?" an attorney representing MDHS asked Favre during his December deposition. Favre responded: "That's a good question. I don't. ... I have no idea." |
| Retired UGA mascot Uga X, known as Que, dies | |
 | Former University of Georgia mascot Uga X, known as Que, died at his home in Savannah early Tuesday, according to a release from UGA. Uga X retired as the Georgia Bulldogs' official mascot following the 2022 season, when Uga XI, known as Boom, was officially made the mascot in a "collaring ceremony" ahead of the 2023 G-Day spring game. Uga X began his tenure as the mascot on Nov. 21, 2015 and retired as "the most decorated of all the Bulldog mascots," according to the release. With him as mascot, Georgia football held a record of 91-18, including two College Football Playoff national championships. The Uga line of mascots began in 1956 under the ownership of Frank -- known as "Sonny" -- and Cecelia Seiler, of Savannah. Sonny Seiler died in April 2023. Charles Seiler now leads the family's ownership of the UGA mascots. "Things will be a little different around the house for a while," Charles Seiler said, according to the UGA release. "Que traditionally starts barking for his breakfast around 5:30 a.m. This morning, Boom waited until 6:00 a.m. to let us know he was ready for his breakfast so he'll be a little later each day." |
| Why Auburn finally became the last SEC school to add alcohol sales at sports events | |
 | At Auburn's first basketball exhibition of the year, fridges were stocked around Neville Arena with Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Miller Lite cans. It was the first time Auburn had ever introduced public alcohol sales at an athletics event. It also meant Auburn was the final school in the SEC to finally begin selling beer, wine and hard seltzers. But why start now? "I don't think there was a specific reason why Auburn was last to come to this," Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a January interview with AL.com "But it takes a lot of thought. When you start this process, a great deal of research and thought has to go into it. I think Auburn has been in that process for a while." Cohen said when he got to Auburn, one of his immediate concerns was a "lack of premium options." To Cohen, that included alcohol sales. He has described an internal battle fighting a fan's desire to watch a game at home. Watching a game at home, Cohen described, is both cheaper and more relaxing than the process of buying a ticket, traveling to the game and handling traffic and parking all before getting into the arena. To Cohen, adding alcohol sales would combat the ease of watching at home as fans would no longer have to pass up the ability to drink a beer at home if they could do so at the arena. |
| Texas A&M's 12th Man Foundation helps catch ticket scammer | |
| A California man was sent to jail for engaging in a multi-level fraud to buy and sell sports tickets, including tickets to Texas A&M University football games, according to the Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney's Office. Derrick Langford, 49, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release, according to the Department of Justice. Langford pleaded guilty to using email to obtain stolen credit card information from U.S. citizens and using the stolen information to buy tickets to sporting events before reselling them online, according to the DA's office. Since the tickets were paid for by using stolen credit cards, the original seller of the tickets would never receive the payment, causing a 100% loss. One such scam involved tickets to the Sept. 8, 2018, Texas A&M-Clemson football game. The DA's office said Texas A&M was able to uncover the fraud but only after the tickets had been resold. The DA credits the 12th Man Foundation with unraveling Langford's scheme. The FBI conducted the investigation in Langford with the assistance of the Texas A&M University Police Department. |
| Texas reported athletic department revenue of $271 million in 2023, a record for NCAA schools | |
 | The University of Texas athletics program -- always among the nation's most financially powerful -- again has gone to another level: It had just over $271 million in operating revenue during its 2023 fiscal year, according to its new annual revenue-and-expenses report to the NCAA. The report, which USA TODAY obtained the report Wednesday through an open-records request in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University, means that Texas increased its revenue by nearly $32 million over the total it reported for 2022. For now, the new total stands as the largest single-year total since the NCAA began its current financial reporting system in 2005. Ohio State reported $251.6 million in 2022. (Oregon reported $391.8 million in 2020, but that included more than $270 million as a contribution for the renovation of its track and field stadium.) "We're very fortunate that we have an incredible fan base that supports our athletic program and loves our great institution," Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said Wednesday. "We're very, very proud of our athletic program, and the support of our institution is second to none." Del Conte said the biggest reasons for the increase in revenue were the school's first year in its new arena, the Moody Center, "an incredible job by our development team" in restricted and unrestricted gifts and the first year of a new local media-rights agreement with Learfield. Penn State, LSU and Tennessee all have reported exceeding $200 million for the first time -- but those totals trailed Texas' by about $70 million. Texas will be joining LSU and Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference this summer. |
| Michigan Won a Title. This School Spent Millions to Make Sure It Never Happens Again. | |
| Ohio State's holiday season was straight out of a nightmare. First, the Buckeyes lost a heartbreaker to Michigan, costing them a perfect record and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Then they had to watch from home as Michigan, the rival program up north so despised that no self-respecting Ohioan will even utter its name out loud, won the national championship. But in the weeks since the Wolverines stomped on the souls of Buckeyes fans everywhere, a strange truth has emerged: Michigan's victory might have been the best thing to ever happen to Ohio State football. Buckeyes supporters have responded to the carnage of the past two months in a way that perfectly encapsulates the state of college sports in 2024. They have donated exorbitant sums of money to entice top players to transfer to Ohio State and reap lucrative endorsement deals -- the fastest path to reload a roster in need of reinforcements. This surge of fundraising in the wake of Michigan's success has resulted in several stars from other programs decamping to Columbus, upending the power structure of the Big Ten and returning Ohio State to its usual status as a serious national championship contender. And the money that helped make it happen was given with a singular goal: to ensure that what just happened with Michigan doesn't ever happen again. |
| Sports betting is booming. So are calls to gambling addiction helplines. | |
| In a couple of weeks, Las Vegas, Nevada will play host to the Super Bowl for the first time. It wasn't all that long ago that Nevada was the only state in the country where you could legally bet on the outcome of sports contests like the Super Bowl. But that changed nearly six years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for all states to legalize sports gambling. Since then, 38 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, have done so. Most of them allow betting through mobile apps, including saturation advertisers DraftKings and FanDuel. Those apps allow gamblers to bet not just on the outcome of a game, but on individual players' performances and specific events within a game, on all kinds of sporting events all over the world, at any hour of the day or night. Some advocates fear this rapid expansion of sports wagering is fueling a rise in gambling addiction in the U.S., and that the state-by-state approach to treatment isn't keeping up. Any type of gambling can be addictive. Say you're at a casino and you hit a jackpot at a slot machine, or you win a hand of poker. According to Dr. Timothy Fong, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and co-director of the school's Gambling Studies Program, that does something to your brain. That surge of dopamine is thrilling, and you'll probably want to feel it again. So you play another round. If you lose, chances are you'll eventually walk away. But a small percentage of people feel like they can't. |
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