| Wednesday, February 7, 2024 |
| MSU Riley Center honored among Southern Living's 'Most Beloved Historic Theaters' | |
 | Mississippi State's Riley Center has been honored by Southern Living as one of "The Most Beloved Historic Theaters in the South." Coming in at No. 10 on the list, the MSU Riley Center topped New Orleans' popular Saenger Theater as the performance venue in Meridian has seen a magnificent transformation since the turn of the century. Founded in 1889 as Meridian's Grand Opera House by German-Jewish immigrants Israel Marks and Levi Rothenberg, the theater shuttered in 1927 as the film age began to dawn. In 2006, The Riley Foundation paired with a group of passionate citizens to reopen the theater with over $12 million in renovations being done to the historic location. Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and head of MSU-Meridian's campus, said the nod from Southern Living highlights how much hard work has been put in to restoring the theater's bygone beauty. "'Southern Living' is a long-established magazine with a remarkable reputation for integrity," Cruse said. "To be honored among such distinguished theaters is a testament to the yearslong hard work and collective effort put forth by Mississippi State and incredible support from our partners at The Riley Foundation and Friends of the Lady philanthropic society." |
| Southern Living lists MSU Riley Center among 'Most Beloved Historic Theaters' | |
 | "Glorious and gilded" is the Mississippi State University Riley Center, said the editors of Southern Living magazine, who have listed the late 19th century Meridian performance venue among "The Most Beloved Historic Theaters in the South." In the list of 11 venues, the MSU Riley Center topped New Orleans' popular Canal Street Saenger Theater, which gained fame during the rise of the silent movie era just as Meridian's Grand Opera House -- as it was known then -- came to a close in 1927. The opera house would later be restored and reopened as the MSU Riley Center nearly 80 years later in 2006. The downtown Meridian gem that "transports you to turn-of-the-century performance via incredible acoustics and opulent finishes," according to Southern Living editors, has long been adored by local and regional visitors and now graces Southern Living's 12.3 million reader base alongside such luxurious historic venues as The Lyric Theater in Birmingham and The Fox Theater in Atlanta. In its nod to the bygone beauty, Southern Living paid homage to German-Jewish immigrants Israel Marks and Levi Rothenberg, who built the theater and the adjacent Marks-Rothenberg Department Store. |
| Business owners push back on Starkville's camera ordinance proposal | |
 | Not everyone is on board with Starkville's proposed security camera ordinance for businesses. Businessman George Sherman, one of the owners of College Park Shopping Center, told the Starkville Board of Aldermen Tuesday that he and his fellow owners are concerned about the scope and costs of the proposal. Sherman spoke during the first of two public hearings on the ordinance. Mayor Lynn Spruill introduced the proposal last month. It would require businesses and retail centers that are 5,000 square feet and larger or have 25 or more parking spaces to have cameras in parking lots, entries and exit areas. Businesses that sell liquor and hemp are also covered in the ordinance. Following the second hearing in two weeks, the board will vote on the ordinance. Sherman told the board that in the 40 years the shopping center has been in business, it has never had a serious crime issue. He said he had concerns about the cost factor, citing a quote that it would cost anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 to install cameras at College Park, as well as additional costs for maintaining recordings. He also said he was worried about infringement of privacy. After the meeting, Sherman told The Dispatch that "there is no doubt that it is a great thing to have cameras to protect us and to go back and help solve crime (and) as a deterrent. It's a great tool." However, he said that forcing businesses to install cameras is an unnecessary financial burden. Sherman suggested the city install additional cameras on surrounding streets to help share the burden. |
| Mississippi Senate Appropriations Chairman talks FY 2025 state budget, legislative priorities | |
| During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers will be tasked with setting the state budget for Fiscal Year 2025 which will take effect on July 1, 2024. One of the key players in establishing a working state budget is Senate Appropriations Chairman Senator Briggs Hopson (R). Hopson moved into the role in 2020 at the beginning of the last term, succeeding Senator Buck Clarke (R), amidst growing concerns related to the COVID pandemic. The Vicksburg attorney previously served as Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee under Clarke. "2020 through 2024 was one heck of a term," Hopson recalled, speaking at the Stennis Capitol Forum on Monday. Currently, the Fiscal Year 2024 budget is showing that the state is roughly $100 million over estimate at this point in the calendar year. An uptick in Use Tax and Sales Tax collections are a factor in those positive numbers while Individual Income Tax revenue is below projections, largely as a result of the tax cut package. Hopson said he and other appropriators will continue to monitor the revenue numbers as they work toward the adoption of a state budget during the session. One issue facing the Legislature this year is PERS, the state's Public Employee Retirement System. PERS reported in the fall that the plan is roughly funded under 60 percent, with an estimated unfunded liability of over $20.5 billion. "I don't know anyone that wants to affect our current retirees, let me be clear about that," said Senator Hopson. |
| House passes alcohol sale for dry cities under 5,000 people | |
 | The Mississippi House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would remove certain statewide alcohol prohibitions and allow for some cities in dry counties to automatically be wet as of Jan. 1, 2025. House Bill 777, which passed with 91 votes, was presented by State Affairs Committee Chair Henry Zuber, R, of Ocean Springs, who told the House that the bill, if passed by both legislative chambers, could help boost tourism throughout the state and give small towns and cities new revenue streams. "This is something that's going to move Mississippi forward and it's going to help our smaller cities in terms of tourism, economic activity and great tax revenue," Zuber said. "It will give our smaller cities today a fighting chance." The bill, if passed as is by the Senate, will also remove prohibition from municipalities with populations under 5,000 people on liquor and wine, while allowing for counties to remain dry. Under current state laws, only cities with more than 5,000 people can hold a referendum to become wet, as well as county seats with less than that population as well. The bill does not give grocery stores the right to sell liquor or wine, only for restaurants, bars and liquor stores, Zuber said. Currently 31 counties in the state are dry, with more than 20 featuring municipalities that already have legal alcohol sales, according to data released by the Mississippi Department of Revenue. |
| Prohibition era over? Mississippi House votes to allow liquor sales in small towns | |
| The House passed a bill that would no longer prohibit Mississippi's small towns from selling liquor and wine -- a Prohibition-era carryover still enforced for municipalities in many "dry" counties. The measure, which passed the House on Tuesday by a vote of 93-21, which would automatically legalize the sale and manufacture of wine and liquor in all municipalities in the state that have 5,000 or fewer residents. Currently, many of those small municipalities cannot sell liquor or wine at all. House State Affairs Chairman Hank Zuber III, a Republican from Ocean Springs, said the law is intended to support tourism in smaller areas and add some level of conformity to the state's hodgepodge network of alcohol laws. "This is just a matter of bringing Mississippi into the 21st century," Zuber said on Tuesday. The majority of Mississippi's 82 counties, commonly called "wet" counties, allow liquor and wine sales. But approximately 30 counties in the state do not allow hard liquor sales and are typically referred to as "dry" counties. Some large cities inside those dry counties, however, do allow spirit and wine sales, leading to the nickname of "moist" counties. In 1966, Mississippi became the last state to repeal its statewide Prohibition law and pass the current law allowing counties to decide for themselves whether they wanted to legalize liquor sales. |
| Can public money go to private schools? Mississippi Supreme Court hears arguments | |
 | Mississippi is violating its own constitution with a law that would put public money into infrastructure grants for private schools, attorneys for a public education advocacy group argued Tuesday to the state Supreme Court. But one attorney representing the state and one representing private schools argued that public schools were not harmed by the $10 million program that the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to create in 2022. The grants have been put on hold during the yearslong court fight. They were to be funded with part of the money that Mississippi received from the federal government for COVID-19 pandemic relief, and private schools could receive up to $100,000 each for broadband, water or drainage projects. "This does not involve state education funding," Justin Matheny, deputy solicitor general in the Mississippi attorney general's office, told a panel of three justices. Rob McDuff, one of the attorneys representing the nonprofit group Parents for Public Schools, said the Mississippi Constitution specifies that public money should go only to public schools. "This is an ironclad principle," McDuff said Tuesday. "It doesn't have exceptions." Two of the justices who heard arguments Tuesday, Leslie King and Robert Chamberlin, are former legislators. The other justice, David Ishee, is the son of a former legislator. King, the presiding justice, did not indicate when the Supreme Court might issue a ruling. |
| Mississippi Supreme Court hears arguments over federal funding in private schools | |
| The nonprofit Parents for Public Schools went up against the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Tuesday afternoon in the Mississippi Supreme Court in their battle to stop the state from using federal funds for private schools. Mississippi Supreme Court justices Leslie King, David Ishee, and Robert Chamberlin heard oral arguments from both sides Tuesday afternoon. The money comes from federal pandemic relief funds totaling $10 million. The money was appropriated expressly to MAIS, which serves around 45,000 students in private schools around the state. In the 2022 legislative season, the Mississippi Legislature passed two bills, Senate Bill 2780 and Senate Bill 3064, creating the Independent Schools Infrastructure Grant Program and allocated $10 million to support it. Gov. Tate Reeves signed both bills. In Oct. 2022, Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin ruled in favor of PPS, blocking the funds from reaching private schools. During the Tuesday oral arguments, MAIS urged the Mississippi Supreme Court to reverse this decision and let the funding go through. Matheny and Dougherty argued that the funds do not harm public schools in any way, especially since public schools were not guaranteed the funds if the private schools did not receive them. Matheny argued that because the funds are intended specifically for infrastructure development and not education, PPS does not have a valid argument. |
| Supreme Court hears oral arguments in lawsuit challenging public money to private schools | |
| Attorneys for public school advocates said in oral arguments Tuesday before the Mississippi Supreme Court that the state constitutional provision that prevents public funds from going to private schools is "ironclad." Attorneys Rob McDuff and Will Bardwell, representing Parents for Public Schools, said at the time of the writing of the 1890 Mississippi Constitution that public funds were being spent on private schools and the framers of the constitution sought to prevent that from occurring. Section 208 of the constitution says, in part, that public funds shall not be provided to any school "not conducted as a free school." The Parents for Public Schools organization filed a lawsuit in 2022 challenging the constitutionality of a $10 million state legislative appropriation made to the Midsouth Association of Independents Schools. "Section 208 expresses a simple principle: public money shall go to public schools," McDuff told a three-justice panel of the nine-member Supreme Court on Tuesday. Justin Matheny of the Attorney General's Office argued Tuesday that it was OK for the Legislature to appropriate the money to the state's private schools for infrastructure repairs because the funds were not state money but were part of the more than $1 billion in federal funds provided to the state for COVID-19 relief. Matheny also argued that the Parents for Public Schools was not directly harmed by the Legislature's action so the advocacy group did not have standing to bring the case. Bardwell argued that the group as taxpayers, including taxpaying parents of public school students, did have standing. |
| Gov. Reeves declares Tuesday as Ronald Reagan Day in Mississippi | |
| Mississippi has joined 25 other states in declaring Tuesday, Feb. 6 as "Ronald Reagan Day," honoring the birthday of the late president. Reagan, who served two terms from 1981-1989, is widely considered one of the most effective presidents in U.S. history. The Republican from California helped revitalize the American economy through cuts to both taxes and spending. He also helped bring an end to the Cold War and the Soviet Union through his "peace through strength" vision. Gov. Tate Reeves issued the proclamation for Ronald Reagan Day on Jan. 19, lauding the 40th president for economic expansion, growth of the armed forces, and strides toward world peace during his time in office. Reeves also pointed out that Reagan was wildly popular among the American people, winning 49 of 50 states in the general election for a second term – a record that has not been broken to this day. Other states that joined Mississippi in the bipartisan effort to honor Reagan were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. |
| Mississippi to soon have its first state climate action plan | |
| As of a year ago, about 30 states had a state-led initiative meant to help curb greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst-case, irreversible effects of global warming. Mississippi, as much of the South, including Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia, does not have what's called a "climate action plan." Louisiana released its plan in 2022. But soon, almost every state, including Mississippi, will have one thanks to recent financial incentives from the Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the EPA is giving states $3 million each to develop an initial climate action plan by March. The plan has to include an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, a list of measures to reduce emissions over the next five years, and an analysis of benefits for low-income and disadvantaged communities. Then, by 2025, states have to develop a comprehensive plan detailing specific projects as well as long-term goals for reducing emissions by 2050. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, which is in charge of submitting the state's plan, is inviting the public to submit ideas and feedback through a new survey on its website. MDEQ Executive Director Chris Wells told Mississippi Today that the $3 million planning grant will go a long way towards brainstorming and pitching future projects, but was critical of the EPA's funding process. "The process they've laid out is very odd and convoluted, I'll just be very candid," Wells said. |
| Lawmakers wrangle over rescissions from 2022 law for farm bill | |
 | House lawmakers appear to have hit a snag over using money from the 2022 health, climate and tax law to help pay for the farm bill. Members of both parties staked out positions on use of money appropriated in the 2022 law, with Democrats saying they would oppose an effort to repurpose the money and House Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., saying opponents are "thinking pretty simplistic." Thompson declined to say Tuesday when he would bring a bill before the committee. He has in the past offered target dates even if he hasn't been able to meet them. Congress passed a one-year extension, giving lawmakers until Sept. 30 to iron out differences or consider another extension. But disagreement between the two sides could be an obstacle for a bill that is typically bipartisan. By combining agriculture programs with nutrition programs, the bill gets support from both parties. House Democrats released a principles document Wednesday saying they wouldn't support a farm bill that takes conservation funding in the 2022 law away from its intended purpose. House Agriculture ranking member David Scott, D-Ga., said Republicans are pushing to funnel funding from the law into a commodity safety net to help pay for the bill. The law appropriated $19.5 billion to the Agriculture Department for conservation programs to mitigate the impact of climate change. But Thompson said using that funding would "help us close the gap of being able to fund this highly effective farm bill." He said the funding would be directed to priorities that have been identified as bipartisan and that he expects the farm bill to "generate over the course of time, a significant amount of additional funding for conservation programs which are important to me." |
| In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails | |
 | A House GOP effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed in embarrassing fashion Tuesday as three Republicans joined Democrats in voting against what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official. The 214-216 vote is a stunning loss for a GOP that has faced continual pressure from its right flank to impeach a Biden official, even as the party has waffled over which one to focus on. The failure came about because of the surprise appearance in the chamber of Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who showed up unexpectedly -- having recently had surgery and wearing hospital scrubs and no socks, according to NBC -- to vote against the bill. Republicans entered the vote with two expected GOP "no" votes from Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.) and Tom McClintock (Calif.), but then a third House GOP lawmaker, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), also voted against impeachment. The surprise "no" vote prompted numerous GOP colleagues to gather around Gallagher for a lengthy conversation before the vote closed. A fourth Republican, Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), the vice chair of the GOP conference, then flipped his vote to "no" seconds before the vote closed, a procedural move that allows the conference to bring the legislation back to the floor at a later date. Republicans say the hope is to bring the legislation to the floor again, when House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who is undergoing treatment for cancer, will be able to attend. |
| Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnell | |
 | Conservative hardliners once celebrated Mitch McConnell for wrestling the federal judiciary to the right and thwarting progressive hopes. Now he is under open attack from the right for even trying to work with Democrats on the border. The Senate GOP leader is facing internal resistance not seen in more than a year as Republicans descend into discord over two issues they once demanded be linked: border security and the war in Ukraine. McConnell, now nearing his 82nd birthday, is determined to fund the Ukrainian war effort, a push his allies have depicted as legacy-defining. But now that his party is set on Wednesday to reject a bipartisan trade of tougher border policies for war funding, his far-right critics are speaking out more loudly: Several held a press conference Tuesday where they denounced his handling of the border talks, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling on McConnell to step down. In an interview, McConnell rejected the criticism and said his antagonists fail to recognize the reality of divided government. "I've had a small group of persistent critics the whole time I've been in this job. They had their shot," McConnell said, referring to Sen. Rick Scott's (R-Fla.) challenge to his leadership in 2022. "The reason we've been talking about the border is because they wanted to, the persistent critics," he added. "You can't pass a bill without dealing with a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate." |
| Wicker, Hyde-Smith to join fellow GOP members in blocking border security bill | |
| Mississippi's two U.S. senators have both confirmed they will be voting against a border security bill set to hit the floor on Wednesday, joining fellow Republicans in killing the bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this week. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) released a statement on his decision, saying that while stricter measures are needed along the southern border, he has no faith President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will uphold the regulations included if passed. "I will be voting no [Wednesday] on proceeding the bill when Senator Schumer brings it to the floor for consideration," Wicker said. "Senate Democrats have shown they are not willing to agree to a strong border protection proposal. President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have refused to use the already existing laws to address the border crisis, and I have no confidence that their actions would improve under the proposed legislation. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) echoed Wicker's concerns during Wednesday's episode of The Gallo Show while also calling the package "campaign material" for Biden to make the influx of migrants look lesser as his election for a second term is less than nine months away. Biden's expected opponent in the general election, former Republican President Donald Trump, has also reportedly encouraged GOP members to vote against the matter. |
| Russia Is Boosting Calls for 'Civil War' Over Texas Border Crisis | |
 | A Russian disinformation campaign is deploying everything from high-ranking lawmakers and government officials to lifestyle influencers, bloggers, and powerful state-run media outlets to stoke divisions in the United States around the Texas border crisis. WIRED has also obtained exclusive access to data from two separate disinformation research groups that demonstrate a coordinated Russian effort on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) to sow discord by pushing the narrative that the US is heading for civil war. The disinformation campaign began in earnest in late January, expanding right after Russian politicians spoke out when the US Supreme Court lifted an order by a lower court and sided with President Joe Biden's administration to rule that Border Patrol officers were allowed to take down razor wire fencing erected by the Texas National Guard. Days later, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott refused to stand down, former Russian president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, claimed that the Texas border dispute is "another vivid example of the US hegemony getting weaker." "The idea of targeting highly contentious US domestic issues and amplifying them via their own channels, it's the standard Russian playbook for disinformation," Kyle Walter, director of research at Logically, tells WIRED. There also appear to be a number of Russian accounts on X posing as pro-Texas groups, in another echo of 2016 when an account that claimed to be run by Tennessee Republicans was outed as Russian-run. |
| Nikki Haley is trounced by the 'none of these candidates' option in Nevada's Republican primary | |
| Nikki Haley was swamped in Nevada's symbolic Republican presidential primary as GOP voters resoundingly picked the "none of these candidates" option on the ballot in a repudiation of the former U.N. ambassador who is the last remaining major rival to front-runner Donald Trump. Trump didn't compete in Tuesday's primary, which doesn't award any delegates needed to win the GOP nomination. The former president is instead focused on caucuses that will be held Thursday and will help him move closer to becoming the Republican standard-bearer. That leaves the results Tuesday as technically meaningless in the Republican race. But they still amount to an embarrassment for Haley, who has sought to position herself as a candidate who can genuinely compete against Trump. Instead, she became the first presidential candidate from either party to lose a race to "none of these candidates" since that option was introduced in Nevada in 1975. Haley had said beforehand she was going to "focus on the states that are fair" and did not campaign in the western state in the weeks leading up to the caucuses, spending time instead in her home state, South Carolina, before its Feb. 24 primary. Her campaign wrote off the results with a reference to Nevada's famous casino industry. "Even Donald Trump knows that when you play penny slots the house wins," spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said. "We didn't bother to play a game rigged for Trump. We're full steam ahead in South Carolina and beyond." |
| Colorado Ballot Case Pits Trump Against Republicans at Supreme Court | |
 | Norma Anderson remembers weeping the night Barry Goldwater lost the 1964 presidential election to Lyndon Johnson, one of countless ups and downs through a lifetime spent in Republican politics. But at age 91, the former GOP majority leader of the Colorado Senate is capping her political career by standing athwart Donald Trump, as lead plaintiff in the case that barred the former president from the Colorado ballot. Trump is appealing that decision, and on Thursday the Supreme Court will for the first time hear arguments on whether a candidate for president is disqualified for engaging in insurrection against the U.S., under a 14th Amendment provision ratified after the Civil War. Anderson said she watched TV on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob raided the U.S. Capitol following Trump's exhortation to "fight like hell" against certifying President Biden's electoral victory. "No one can tell me differently. The fact is that Donald Trump tried to overthrow an election," Anderson said. "There's been presidents I didn't like, but they didn't violate the Constitution." Anderson is one of six Colorado voters -- four Republican and two independent -- recruited by a Washington advocacy group to challenge Trump's qualifications under the insurrection clause. Until Trump, no credible presidential candidate had been accused of engaging in insurrection, much less been struck from the ballot for doing so. But legal scholars and political critics were calling the Jan. 6 attack an insurrection before the day was out. |
| Ole Miss SouthTalks series highlights creativity in the South | |
 | The SouthTalks series continues the "Creativity in the South" programming focus this spring at the University of Mississippi, with lectures, performances and film screenings examining the interdisciplinary nature of Southern studies. The series is sponsored by the university's Center for the Study of Southern Culture. All events are free and open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, take place in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory. "We are looking forward to continuing our 'Creativity in the South' theme," said Afton Thomas, associate director for programs. "Our schedule of events include book talks on the 'Tacky South' and Appalachia; a film screening about Black inheritance and Gullah/Geechee culture in South Carolina; how the faith-healing leader Charles Manuel Grace adapted the 'badman' archetype of the blues to inform his ministry; a conversation between photographer Margo Cooper and father-son blues musicians Joe and Trent Ayers; and much more." At noon April 24, Joseph M. Thompson, assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University, presents "Cold War Country: Music Row, the Pentagon and the Sound of American Patriotism." Thompson explores how country music's Nashville-based business leaders created partnerships with the Pentagon to sell their audiences on military service while selling country music to U.S. servicemembers and international audiences. |
| University community to commemorate Ole Miss Eight, 1970 Protest | |
 | The University of Mississippi was not always as accepting or inclusive as it is today. In 1970, Black students at UM faced a racially divided and often discriminatory campus, with issues ranging from segregated social gatherings to restricted access to academic advising. Despite this racist, hostile environment, these students did not back down. 90 Black students came together to form the Black Student Union and rally against administrators for change. Eight Black students, referred to as the Ole Miss Eight, took the stage at Fulton Chapel on Feb. 24, 1970 and peacefully listed the BSU's 27 demands. The students were quickly arrested and not only sent to prison, but also expelled from the university. The students who participated in that 1970 protest will be commemorated at Fulton Chapel on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. "The purpose of this commemoration is to ensure that the memory and impact of the Fulton Chapel Protest is preserved for future generations. So many current and former students are unaware of this protest," Ellie Moore, director of UM's Speaking Center said. "We must continue to speak up about it or those moments will be lost." Moore feels that it is extremely important to commemorate the 1970 BSU members. |
| ICC 'Senior College' provides opportunities for learning | |
 | The first session for Itawamba Community College's "Senior College" featured music historian Dale Rushing as he taught about the influences of songwriters, singers, and musicians from Northeast Mississippi. He even sang a well-known classic, written by Jim Weatherly, of Pontotoc. ICC Continuing Education Specialist Rena Chism came up with the idea for Senior College when she was helping care for her aunt. "I saw a need when I had an elderly aunt living with me, they needed somewhere to get out, go to, and enjoy, because so many times people would retire, go home, sit down and that's it," Chism said. Senior College meets once a month, covering different topics and interests. "Anytime you can broaden your knowledge, it's important, and most of these people have probably lived their lives here, raised families here, good to know about the area you're from," said Rushing. The first session of Senior College is always free. Then, it is $30 a semester. There will also be some field trips and friendly competition for valedictorian. "Actually, we have ICC Senior credits and it's a fun way to earn little points, at the end of the year. If you're the valedictorian, you will have a nice surprise waiting for you at the end of the semester," Chism said. |
| Pearl River Community College sees record-breaking spring enrollment | |
 | Between the Poplarville campus, the Forrest County campus and online, Pearl River Community College's spring enrollment numbers have skyrocketed. With more than 5,000 students enrolled for the spring, this is a record-breaking count for the college. "When we got the report, we were anticipating and waiting and excited, but it was just like the combination of everything we've been working for," said PRCC Forrest County's Dean of Student Services Michelle Wilson-Stokes. From 2018-2024, the state saw a 12% drop in enrollment; however, PRCC is the only community college in the state that has gained a headcount over those six years, seeing nearly an 18% growth in enrollment, according to PRCC leaders. When it comes to retaining students, PRCC Forrest County's Michelle Wilson-Stokes said that a lot of them remain with the college. "Most of our students are from the community, so retaining the students is not hard for us," Wilson-Stokes said. Local students, Brandon Gwin and Abbilyn Jones say it's easy to stay in the community they grew up in when they have the opportunities that PRCC has provided them. "It's a really cheap and great option for school, especially for the people in this area, and gives you tons of opportunities to continue to learn and grow and to be able to transfer with tons of scholarships to a major university," said Gwin. |
| Jeff Landry sought to bar Louisiana universities from getting Blue Cross proceeds | |
 | Gov. Jeff Landry confirmed Tuesday that he sought a revised plan for the Accelerate Louisiana Initiative -- the $3 billion foundation that will be formed if Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is successfully sold to Elevance Health -- that bars research money from going to the state's colleges and universities. The plans for the foundation, which were changed late last year as Blue Cross sought approval from state regulators for the deal for a second time, now specifically prohibit research money for health outcomes from going to higher educational institutions -- except for the LSU-affiliated Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. Landry said that giving the money to other Louisiana research institutions, a list that would include LSU and Tulane University, would be wasteful. "I don't want money going to higher education. I want the money used in our workforce because everywhere I go, people are telling me they don't have skilled labor. And I've seen these deals around the country and all the money gets sucked up by the universities and we got nothing," Landry said. Pennington Biomedical Research Center Executive Director Dr. John Kirwan said he didn't know why Pennington had been singled out to be eligible for foundation money and said he was not aware of any Pennington board members that had lobbied for it. "But I can understand why they would select us because we are focused on health outcomes and are world renowned institution so if you are going to put resources toward something, it would make sense to put it toward us," he said. |
| New U. of Missouri center uses digital technology and AI to improve agriculture productivity | |
 | A new Digital Agriculture and Research Center at the University of Missouri aims to help farmers increase productivity using digital technology, including artificial intelligence. DAREC is a partnership among the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, MU Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jianfeng Zhou, associate professor of plant science and technology, is one of the center's directors. "We have a history of collaboration" among the organizations, Zhou said. "We built a great collaboration in research and we want to move forward." A demonstration site called the MU Digital Farm, will be at MU's South Farm. The center creates a home for collaboration to make more impact, he said. A third of Missouri's economy is tied to agriculture, states an MU news release. There are many changes in agriculture related to drone technology, robotics, autonomous equipment and other digital technologies, Zhou said. Asked about how AI could be used on farms, Zhou said drones can serve as a "third eye" for farmers, collecting more information than previously possible using sensors. Algorithms using AI can be used to make automated decisions about the amount and location of fertilizers, chemicals or irrigation. A spring symposium in the organizing stage will focus on research of future agriculture technology, with guest speakers from neighboring institutions, around the county and internationally, he said. |
| U. of North Texas has more than 700 students in its master's in data science program. Many will go on to land top tech jobs. | |
| Roughly 40 miles north of Dallas, the University of North Texas (UNT) is quietly building an army of data scientists prepared to take on the world of tech and business. When the school first established its master's in data science program about a decade ago, just 4 students enrolled. Today, there are more than 700 students enrolled in its master's program this semester alone. Among schools that participate in Fortune's ranking of best data science master's programs, UNT has the greatest number of students. The university as a whole is very committed to the idea that data science is going to play a major role in the future economy, according to Junhua Ding, the director of UNT's master of science in data science program. That's why, he says, they have been able to expand. "For me, the guideline is how to provide high-quality education. That's very important. That means education for us is whether the student that can work for the high tech company on (a) data science project," Ding tells Fortune. UNT may not be one of the first schools to pop into your head when thinking about data science programs, Ding says his department is most committed to building a high-quality educational experience -- with top tier faculty that can attract driven students. The program is debuting as No. 2 on Fortune's 2024 ranking of the best master's in data science. CompTIA predicts that over the next decade, the need for data scientists and data analysts will grow by 266% -- the fastest of any other tech profession. |
| 'Swiftonomics' Course Brings Taylor Craze to College Classrooms | |
 | When Katie Neale, a sophomore majoring in business at Gonzaga University, signed up for a mandatory Economics 201 course last semester, the 19-year-old expected to learn about supply and demand, monopolies and opportunity costs. She did -- but with a Swiftie twist. The course repeatedly referenced Taylor Swift's influence on the economy, which extends well beyond the United States. "Obviously in most classes you talk about current events to some extent, but it's usually news versus pop culture," said Neale, who said she's been a Swift fan as long as she can remember. "The way I learn is very much through examples, so making those something I have immense background knowledge on made it easier to learn the material and, at least for me, it was really impactful." Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist, Nobel Prize winner and Distinguished Professor of economics at the CUNY Graduate Center, began working on the curriculum for the course last summer. Swift's massive Eras Tour had just kicked off, creating such a frenzy among fans that it caused Ticketmaster's website to crash. Most of the course's 12 economic principles feature a Swift example, from her impact on supply and demand with ticket prices to the discussion of monopolies, since Ticketmaster was the sole seller of her concert tickets. Krugman said he designed his course to make it relatable to college-age students -- even if they are not exactly fans of the pop star. "There's always been a problem with principles books, where you have middle-aged authors trying to relate to college students, and it comes across as condescending or fake," Krugman said. "In this case, it's a natural connection that matters with a lot of students. It wasn't 'This is trendy; let's put it in [our curriculum].'" |
| Just 16% of community college students transfer and earn a bachelor's degree | |
| Just one-third of students who started at community colleges transferred to four-year institutions, and fewer than half of those students earned a bachelor's degree in six years, new research from a trio of organizations found. That translated to just 16% of these community college students getting a bachelor's degree in that time frame, according to reports released Wednesday from the Community College Research Center, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The joint research examines first-time students who enrolled in community colleges in fall 2015. The latest data shows little improvement over prior cohorts. Some groups of students had even lower outcomes than the overall demographic. For instance, just 11% of students from low-income neighborhoods transferred and got their bachelor's diploma after starting at a community college. The same success is true for 9% of Black students and 13% of Hispanic students. Older students, defined as those ages 25 and over, showed only a 6% bachelor's degree attainment rate. The reports make several recommendations aimed at bettering transfer practices and completion rates. They include expanding dual enrollment opportunities and encouraging students to earn their associate degrees before they go to four-year institutions. |
| House education chair presses Cardona to resign over response to antisemitism | |
| Rep. Virginia Foxx is calling on Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to resign after he declined to condemn a chant used by pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic. Foxx, the House Education and the Workforce Committee chair, slammed Cardona's remarks to a group of Jewish reporters on Tuesday after he did not outright say whether the phrase "from the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free" should be considered antisemitic by college officials. "Three months after October 7 and the disgusting antisemitic demonstrations that followed, there is no excusing Secretary Cardona's cowardly evasion of the antisemitic character of the phrase 'from the river, to the sea,'" Foxx (R-N.C.) said in a statement. "Jewish students deserve to know that their Education Secretary understands the hate they face and has the necessary courage and clarity to confront it," she added. "It is time for the Secretary to resign." The Education Department did not immediately comment for this report. Cardona is the latest education leader to be caught in intense scrutiny by Republican lawmakers over the handling of antisemitism on college campuses. Remarks from Harvard University's Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania's Liz Magill on antisemitism at a December House hearing led to their resignations after an intense public pressure campaign. |
| What's Really Behind the View That Higher Ed Isn't Worth It? | |
 | This is an unsteady moment for higher education, and amid the pandemic aftershocks, demographic pressures, and self-inflicted wounds, we will definitely see more colleges close or restructure with layoffs --- even colleges with recognizable names. When cultural institutions or industry sectors get wobbly, the media has a tendency to pile on, declaring doom. A recent example appeared in the The Wall Street Journal, which explored "why Americans have lost faith in the value of college" -- a story that starts at the beginnings of "college for all" in 1965, and uses a broad brush to paint American higher education as a bloated system suffering from its own blunders. It hits on a theme frequently seen in both mainstream and social media lately: College isn't worth it. In relating how we got to this place, the Journal's essay has little room for nuance, which is what we need when talking about the future of higher education and whom it's for. "We've kind of been on the college-for-everybody bus for decades, and it has paid off for the economy -- I don't think there's any doubt about that," says Brent Orrell, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) who has long researched and worked in the areas of job training and work-force development. The college-for-all push swept in some people who weren't ready, couldn't really afford it, and perhaps didn't have a clear idea of why they were going -- people who wound up dropping out or underemployed, burdened with debt. In the national conversation, "the net result seems to be for the pendulum to swing completely in the other direction, to say college doesn't work and it sucks," he says. "And that's just equally as bad." |
| Medicaid remains widely misunderstood as legislators seek to help state's working poor | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: Discussing Medicaid and the role the program plays or should play in expanding healthcare opportunities for Mississippi's working poor produces the kind of headache usually reserved for those who eat ice cream and wash it down with hot coffee -- or those who watch TV news coverage of the Medicaid expansion issue on Fox News and MSNBC back-to-back. With Mississippi legislators in both the House and Senate encouraging consideration of varying degrees of partial Medicaid expansion during the 2024 session, that discussion is relevant and necessary. From Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, there have been what I interpret as very since expressions of concern and frustration about gaps in healthcare availability for Mississippians who are regularly and gainfully employed. But there remains a hard partisan and philosophical division among lawmakers over how Mississippi advances any substantial expansions of the Medicaid program and second-term Gov. Tate Reeves has remained adamant in his opposition to Medicaid expansion. ... One fundamental thing for Mississippi taxpayers to understand is this – if you pay federal taxes, you are already paying for Medicaid expansion in 40 other states. But none of your taxes spent for expanded Medicaid benefits your fellow Mississippians. |
SPORTS
| Five Things To Know: State-Georgia | |
| Mississippi State men's basketball makes the turn and begins the second half of the SEC slate as Georgia visits Humphrey Coliseum for a Wednesday night tilt. Both programs will look to return to the win column as State (14-8, 3-6 SEC) dropped back-to-back road decisions at Ole Miss and Auburn last week, while Georgia (14-8, 4-5 SEC) has lost three in a row to Florida, Alabama and South Carolina. State was the nation's only team to play eight of their first nine league games as NCAA NET Quad 1 opportunities. In fact, the Bulldogs first five SEC road opponents -- South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama -- are a combined 54-7 when playing on its home floors this season. Overall, State and Vanderbilt are the only SEC squads slated to play 10+ NCAA NET Quad 1 games during league action. State is one of two SEC schools (South Carolina) and one of 10 schools in the country (Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Purdue, Seton Hall, TCU) to capture a pair of Associated Press Top 10 wins in conference play. The Bulldogs did their heavy lifting with a 77-72 victory over No. 5 Tennessee on 01/10 followed by a 64-58 triumph over No. 8 Auburn on 01/27. The last time the Maroon and White accomplished the feat was in 2001-02 when State knocked off No. 6 Kentucky and No. 5 Alabama in the regular season coupled with another win over No. 8 Alabama in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. |
| Mississippi State relies on depth to pick up three wins in seven days | |
| If Mississippi State was as banged up now as it was at the end of November and beginning of December, the Bulldogs would not have been able to survive a week like the one they just completed. But save for Ramani Parker, who was lost for the season with a knee injury back in November, and early enrollee Rocio Jimenez, who is recovering from a torn ACL, MSU is fully healthy now. The Bulldogs needed all 10 available players to defeat No. 9 LSU, Kentucky and Texas A&M in a seven-day span, with the last two victories coming on the road. In Sunday's win over the Aggies, grad transfer forward Erynn Barnum picked up two fouls within the first two minutes, but checked back in to start the second quarter and did not commit another foul the rest of the game. She also scored a season-high 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting, helping MSU (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) pull away in the fourth quarter. "(Nyayongah Gony) and (Quanirah Montague), even though they were small minutes, those three or four minutes were huge in that game, because then we rolled the dice and we put (Barnum) back out there," Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell said. "She's a fifth-year, and I knew she could play through two fouls without getting a silly one, and if one occurred it wasn't going to be because she was not being mentally focused." |
| Zac Selmon Announces Contract Extension For James Armstrong | |
| Following a historic 2023 season, Mississippi State head soccer coach James Armstrong has signed a contract extension through the 2027 season. Director of Athletics Zac Selmon made the announcement on Tuesday. "James has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in student-athlete development on and off the field during his time in Starkville," Selmon said. "With his guidance, our soccer program continues to raise the standard on the field, break records in the classroom and serve as leaders in our community. We look forward to seeing the program continue to grow under his direction." Armstrong, who was named the sixth head coach of the Bulldog soccer program on January 18, 2019, following an illustrious tenure as an assistant and associate head coach at Auburn for six seasons, has been instrumental in elevating the Mississippi State women's soccer program to unprecedented heights. The 2023 season witnessed historic milestones for the Bulldogs, marking a new era of excellence for the Maroon and White. Among the standout achievements were the first-ever victory at Florida in program history, a remarkable back-to-back triumph over ranked opponents (2-0 at No. 18 Kentucky, 2-0 at No. 16 Alabama), tying for the most single-season SEC wins (4) and securing the most points in the SEC standings in program history (17). The Bulldogs set new records with the longest SEC win streak (4) and the longest SEC unbeaten streak in program history (6). Additionally, the team advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time, securing back-to-back NCAA Tournament hosting opportunities as the highest seed in program history. A historic run through the NCAA Tournament culminated in the program's first-ever Sweet 16 appearance. |
| Head coach James Armstrong receives contract extension through 2027 season | |
| Mississippi State women's soccer announced on Tuesday afternoon that head coach James Armstrong will receive a contract extension through the 2027 season. Armstrong, the sixth head coach in program history, has been the most successful by far, amassing a 43-32-18 overall record, with a 17-20-11 record in SEC play. "James has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in student-athlete development on and off the field during his time in Starkville," athletic director Zac Selmon said. The Bulldogs finished the 2023 season with their highest-ever national ranking and end-of-season ranking, earning the No. 14 consensus ranking from both United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer. Armstrong has coached MSU to back-to-back 12-win seasons as the Bulldogs have quickly become a dominant force in the SEC. That includes back-to-back seasons hosting an NCAA Tournament match, earning their highest tournament seed, a No. 6 seed, in 2023. Attendance at MSU Soccer Field has also soared during his tenure, reaching new program-record heights in each of the past two seasons. "I would like to thank Zac Selmon and his administration for providing me with the opportunity to continue to lead this program," Armstrong said on Tuesday. "My family and I couldn't be more excited to be staying in Starkville for the next four years and the journey ahead. I greatly appreciate all the players and staff that I have had the privilege of working with over the years." |
| Southern Miss basketball coach Jay Ladner hospitalized after 'heart related medical emergency' | |
| Southern Miss men's basketball coach Jay Ladner was hospitalized Tuesday morning due to a "heart related medical emergency," the school announced Tuesday evening. He is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Southern Miss news release. Associate head coach Juan Cardona will act as the Golden Eagles head coach in the meantime. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Jay and his family as he works to make a full recovery," Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain said in the statement. "We will continue to support our coaches and student-athletes at the highest level while he is away from the team." Ladner, 58, is a former Southern Miss player and is in his fifth season as the team's head coach. His son, Luke, transferred to Southern Miss this season after four years at Loyola New Orleans. Ladner had been scheduled to make an appearance Tuesday afternoon on the "SuperTalk Eagle Hour" radio show, but the show hosts said he could not make it because of the flu. Southern Miss (12-11, 6-5 Sun Belt Conference) hosts Old Dominion (6-17, 2-9) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+) at Reed Green Coliseum. The Monarchs have been without their coach Jeff Jones since December when he suffered a heart attack at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. Kieran Donohue is serving as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. |
| Marsha Blackburn, Cory Booker join forces against NCAA amid Tennessee investigation | |
 | Add the U.S. Senate to the parties attacking the NCAA as the Tennessee attorney general and University of Tennessee wage battles against the association on multiple fronts. On Tuesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, reintroduced the NCAA Accountability Act to establish due process protections for college athletes, coaches and universities that are under investigation by the NCAA for rules violations. If the bill had already been law, it would've shortened and minimized the NCAA's ongoing investigation into allegations that UT broke rules involving name, image and likeness benefits for athletes. The Accountability Act seeks to speed up NCAA investigations. The bill would require the NCAA to give a school a notice of inquiry within 60 days of receiving information that a violation may have occurred and complete an investigation within one year of giving the school that notice of inquiry. Also, there would be a two-year statute of limitations for NCAA rules violations, meaning the NCAA could not investigate alleged violations that occurred more than two years before a notice of inquiry was provided to a school. Those requirements are relevant to UT, which is amid its second major NCAA investigation in the past seven months. In July, it was put on a five-year probation for major recruiting infractions committed under fired football coach Jeremy Pruitt from 2018 to early 2021. The new investigation might have been expedited if the Accountability Act was in place. |
| Dartmouth Men's Basketball Players Can Vote to Unionize. What Does That Mean for Everyone Else? | |
| Dartmouth College's men's basketball players are employees of the university, a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Monday. That means they have the right to form a union, if they vote to do so. "Dartmouth exercises significant control over the basketball players' work," Laura A. Sacks, a regional director of the NLRB, wrote to explain her decision. The players are required to follow a handbook that acts much like an employee handbook, she said. Though they do not receive salaries, they get other forms of compensation, such as basketball shoes and special consideration in Dartmouth's admissions process. The Dartmouth athletes will vote on whether or not to unionize. Meanwhile, Dartmouth says it will appeal the decision to the federally appointed labor board in Washington, D.C. But that decision could be several years away, said Michael H. LeRoy, a law professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. By then, a new presidential administration could be in office. Most current members of the board were appointed by the Biden administration, but as their terms expire, they could be replaced by a Republican president. Even so, LeRoy said, there's a good chance that when the board decides this case, its five members will still have a majority of Democratic appointees. |
| After Dartmouth case, why stakes are higher in NLRB trial against USC, Pac-12, NCAA | |
| As the implications of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional director's decision on Dartmouth's men's basketball players continue to reverberate nationwide, an even more significant development on the employee front is gathering steam in Los Angeles. That's where two weeks of testimony concluded inside a regional office Friday in the trial involving USC, the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA, with the hearing scheduled to resume on Feb. 26. The case alleges the three charged parties are joint employers of USC's football and men's and women's basketball players. Here's one reason why it is potentially more consequential than the Dartmouth case: The National Labor Relations Act applies to private institutions. But because the Pac-12 and NCAA are charged with being joint employers, the outcome could potentially open the door for athletes at public universities to be deemed employees of their conference or the NCAA. The three charged parties are alleged to have unlawfully misclassified scholarship and walk-on football and men's and women's basketball players as student-athletes rather than employees and maintained certain unlawful rules in the USC Student-Athlete Handbook. In the wake of the Dartmouth decision -- which deemed the players employees and ordered a union election -- one prominent college sports administrator told On3, "I imagine this will now be the same outcome in the USC case." |
| ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are planning a sports streaming platform in the fall | |
| ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans on Tuesday to launch a sports streaming platform in the fall that will include offerings from at least 15 networks and all four major professional sports leagues. A one-stop app to view most sports should be a welcome sight for fans, who continue to navigate rising costs by subscribing to multiple services. Kevin Krim, the president and CEO of the ad measurement firm EDO, compared the three companies teaming up for sports like what some networks did when Hulu started in 2008. "My sense is knowing the cast of characters, they're looking at the original Hulu concept and thinking, 'Well, that worked out really well for us.' So let's do that again. But for live sports streaming," he said. The platform will include games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR and college sports, including the men's and women's NCAA Tournament, as well as golf, tennis and the FIFA World Cup. It will include offerings from 15 linear networks -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV -- and ESPN+. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max. |
| No, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Didn't 'Rig' the Super Bowl | |
| As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to play the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas this Sunday, conspiracy theories are swirling around Taylor Swift and her football-player boyfriend Travis Kelce. They have taken on a distinctly political shape: Will the couple endorse President Biden for re-election? Is Swift part of a government influence campaign? The theories, some old and many new, are not based in fact. Instead, they rest on conjecture, false assumptions and tenuous links to public gestures the two have made over the years. Since 2018, Swift has endorsed Democratic politicians -- including Biden in 2020 -- and encouraged people to register to vote. Her tight-end boyfriend has appeared in ads for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine and Bud Light, and has kneeled during the national anthem at games, a form of protest popularized by Colin Kaepernick. But neither has gone as far as to appear at campaign rallies, as other stars have. Representatives for Swift and Kelce did not respond to requests for comment. The two are now at the center of fast-moving conspiracy theories related to the American government, Biden, George Soros and the National Football League. Here, we explain and debunk three prominent ones. |
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