| Wednesday, March 13, 2024 |
| Mississippi primary elections plagued by low voter turnout | |
 | Voters did not show up to the polls. That was the message statewide and throughout the Jackson area during Tuesday's Primary Election Day, at least as of late afternoon. Not that it wasn't expected as most primary elections see far fewer voters show up to the polls than general elections. Also, there's the fact that nationally there seems to be some apathy for the primary and lack of enthusiasm for both presidential candidates: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Throughout the area, poll managers and workers told the Clarion Ledger voter turnout was sparse. For example, the Word of Life Church, a precinct in Flowood, has 3,399 registered voters. Poll Manager Claudine Blakey said only 110 voters had cast a ballot by 11:30 a.m. "Last year during the Governor's election, we had 110 by 7:30 a.m. So, it has been extremely slow," Blakey said. Kyle Kirkpatrick, Assistant Secretary of State for Elections, confirmed low voter turnout was a Mississippi issue Tuesday. Kirkpatrick reported that no voter irregularities or instances of voter suppression had been reported to his office, though he did say he heard unconfirmed reports of some precincts in Hinds County not having Republican ballots. "But we haven't been able to confirm that and haven't heard anything on the issue in quite a while," Kirkpatrick said, adding he heard about the Republican ballot reports in the mid-morning. |
| Senator Wicker, Congressman Ezell prevail in Republican Primary | |
 | On Tuesday, Mississippi voters in the Republican Primary decided to renominate sitting U.S. Senator Roger Wicker and first-term 4th District Congressman Mike Ezell for another term, sending both men through to the November General Election. Senator Wicker, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007, defeated State Rep. Dan Eubanks and retired Marine Corps Colonel Ghannon Burton in the GOP Primary. With 94% of precincts reporting in the three-man race Wicker was up with over 61% of the vote. Eubanks and Burton had received 14% and 25%, respectively. Burton was surprisingly strong in the northeast portion of the state, in counties including Lee, Pontotoc, Union, Itawamba, Tishomingo, and Prentiss. Wicker will face Democratic nominee Ty Pinkins in the General Election. In the 4th Congressional District, Congressman Ezell also faced two challengers in the GOP Primary -- perennial candidate Carl Boyanton and newcomer Michael McGill. Ezell, who won the seat in a 2022 Republican Primary runoff by defeating then-Congressman Steven Palazzo, drew 73% of the vote on Tuesday with 98% of precincts reporting. In the other three Mississippi congressional districts, all three incumbents -- Congressman Trent Kelly in the 1st, Bennie Thompson in the 2nd, and Michael Guest in the 3rd -- were all unopposed in their party primaries. |
| Mississippi's Ezell, Wicker win Republican primaries easily | |
 | Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Mike Ezell won Mississippi's Republican primaries Tuesday after outspending opponents who attacked them over vaccine mandates and other issues that fire up the conservative base. Both had former President Donald Trump's endorsement. In the Senate race, Wicker had 60 percent of the vote and led retired Marine Corps Col. Ghannon Burton by 40 percentage points, with state Rep. Dan Eubanks running third, when The Associated Press called the race. Ezell, a freshman who ousted Rep. Steven Palazzo in 2022 by attacking his ethical record, led businessman Carl Boyanton by 52 points. Boyanton, who has put more than $500,000 of his own money into the race, was also one of the six challengers to Palazzo in 2022 and endorsed Ezell after he finished fifth. In ads this year, he accused Ezell of becoming a creature of "the swamp" and violating a promise by voting "16 times" for Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. He also criticized Ezell for opposing a bill to reinstate pilots who refused to get vaccinated. In the Senate race, Burton said in one ad that he retired from the military "because of the wokeness Sen. Wicker allowed to infect our military and the vaccine mandates which poisoned our troops." In another, he said Wicker had "voted against Trump's border wall" and was responsible for a fentanyl epidemic and child trafficking. Wicker, a former seven-term House member first elected to the Senate in 2008, had the clear financial advantage with $4.2 million in his campaign account on Feb. 21 even after spending $1.8 million since Jan. 1. Burton's campaign raised just $133,000, with $28,000 coming from the candidate himself, and had $30,000 left for the final weeks, FEC reports showed. A super PAC created in late February also reported spending $22,000 last week on ads attacking Wicker. |
| Incumbents prove tough to beat in Mississippi, sweeping congressional primaries | |
| Mississippi's congressional and presidential primaries on Tuesday were relatively seamless as problems at the polls were minimal and nearly all races were called within two hours of precincts closing. In a race that some politicos originally thought might end up in a run-off, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker flew past two Republican challengers in retired military officer Ghannon Burton and state Rep. Dan Eubanks. With less than 10 percent of the vote in, the Associated Press called it in Wicker's favor. Wicker will now face off against Democrat Ty Pinkins in the general election. Pinkins – a Mississippi Delta attorney who was thrown in by his party as an eleventh-hour nominee for secretary of state last fall after Shuwaski Young suspended his campaign over health concerns -- released a video statement on Tuesday night, saying he's ready for the challenge. Pinkins went on to call it a David versus Goliath situation as Wicker has become a name brand in both Mississippi and D.C. On the House side, incumbents swept their respective races with Republicans Trent Kelly (District 1) and Michael Guest (District 3) along with Democrat Bennie Thompson (District 2) running unopposed. Mike Ezell (District 4) ousted GOP challengers Carl Boyanton and Michael McGill. Guest is the only surefire incumbent to be back in D.C. this time next year as the former district attorney did not draw any Democratic candidates. |
| State primary sees low participation, Wicker wins state, loses Lee County | |
 | Tuesday night's primary ended with low turnout and few complications, with U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker securing his nomination against two primary opponents, despite losing Lee County, and Dianne Dodson Black winning a chance to take on U.S. House Rep. Trent Kelly in November. Lee County Circuit Clerk Camille Roberts Dulaney said turnout was extremely low for the primary, which she and others in the area predicted. It was just below 20% turnout for the county as a whole. Asked why she believed the turnout was so low, she chalked it up to a lack of choices and the fact that the election was in the middle of spring break for most school districts. "Today was a great day. It was preparation for Election Day," she said, noting she believed the general election will bring in a much higher turnout, estimating as much as 70%. The county had about 40 affidavit ballots, Dulaney said. While Wicker took home the nomination across the state, according to an unofficial tally of the results, which excludes affidavit ballots, he lost in Lee County. Ghannon Burton, who received 55% of votes in the county with 4,541 votes. Wicker received 3,081 votes (38%) and Rep. Dan Eubanks of Desoto County got 581 votes (7%). Wicker was originally elected in 2007, taking the seat after Trent Lott's resignation. Before his election to the senate, Wicker served in as First District U.S. House representative for the state. |
| Biden and Trump clinch nominations, setting the stage for a grueling general election rematch | |
 | President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties' presidential nominations Tuesday with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want. The outcome of contests across Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state was never in doubt. Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition. But the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party's nomination at the summertime national conventions. Not even halfway through the presidential primary calendar, Tuesday marked a crystalizing moment for a nation uneasy with its choices in 2024. There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history, while the 77-year-old Trump is facing decades in prison as a defendant in four criminal cases. Their rematch -- the first featuring two U.S. presidents since 1912 -- will almost certainly deepen the nation's searing political and cultural divides over the eight-month grind that lies ahead. Despite their tough talk, the road ahead will not be easy for either presumptive nominee. Trump is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases involving his handling of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, among other alleged crimes. He's also facing increasingly pointed questions about his policy plans and relationships with some of the world's most dangerous dictators. Biden, who would be 86 years old at the end of his next term, is working to assure a skeptical electorate that he's still physically and mentally able to thrive in the world's most important job. Voters in both parties are unhappy with his handling of immigration and inflation. |
| Trump, Biden win in Mississippi | |
| Mississippi was among the states voting in the March 12th Republican and Democratic Primaries. The goal for both the Donald Trump and Joe Biden campaigns heading into Tuesday's elections was to secure their party's presidential nominations, officially kicking off a rematch four years in the making. On the Republican side, Hawaii, Georgia and Washington joined the Magnolia State, while Democrats are also casting ballots in Georgia, Washington, the Northern Marianas, and abroad. Republican frontrunner and former President Trump is the last man standing in his pursuit for a third nomination to seek the White House. He went into Tuesday's elections with 1,075 of the 1,215 delegates he needs to officially clinch the GOP nomination. Up for grabs Tuesday were 161 delegates. In Mississippi, with nearly 94% of precincts reporting, Trump won over218,600, or 92% of votes cast and is on pace to win all 40 delegates at stake. Incumbent President Joe Biden, unopposed in Mississippi, had 1,866 of the necessary 1,968 delegates required for him to secure the Democratic nomination. Tuesday's elections held 247 delegates for the Democratic candidate. Biden won all 35 delegates in Mississippi. Speculation now turns to who Trump will select as his running mate ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which starts on July 15th. The Democratic National Convention will be held a month later in Chicago beginning on August 19th. |
| Ag Commissioner: 2 bills could prevent State Fair, Dixie National Rodeo from being on fairgrounds if passed | |
| A money grab -- that's what Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson is calling two bills that would put restrictions on the way money is spent for events at the fairgrounds. "We're stirred up about it, all of our sponsors are stirred up about it, they need to fix it," said Gipson. "They're just trying to do a big giant money grab and leave us with a big pan of biscuits and the people of Mississippi are not going to stand for that. I promise you I won't." At the center of Gipson's frustration are two bills. First, you have House Bill 1357. It revises the powers and duties of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce regarding the State Fairgrounds. Then there's Senate Bill 2631. It amends the Department of Agriculture's ability to expend funds provided for the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. Gipson said he spoke to the authors of both bills, letting them know he opposes the legislation. "I said you're going to take private sponsorship money, and you're going to suck it into the state," Gipson recalled. "He said, Yeah, those are state dollars because we appropriated them. I said, Hogwash. The moment you do that, those sponsors are leaving town. They're going to spend their money somewhere else, give it to somebody else that won't mess with them." If the bills become law, Gipson said it could prevent events like the State Fair and Dixie National Rodeo from happening at the fairgrounds. "It is operated 100 percent off of private sponsorship donations," Gipson expressed. "The moment that the legislature takes all of those funds away, all we'll have left is an empty pan of biscuits. No more biscuit booths because we'll have to wait for them to tell us how much we can spend down here to have these events, and the state taxpayers will be on the hook for it. That's a horrible policy." |
| Mississippi will allow quicker Medicaid coverage during pregnancy to try to help women and babies | |
| A new Mississippi law will allow earlier Medicaid coverage for pregnant women in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation's worst rate of infant mortality. The "presumptive eligibility" legislation signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves will become law July 1. It says Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman's outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while her application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered. Processing Medicaid applications can take weeks, and physicians say early prenatal care is vital. The advocacy group Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable praised the new law, which passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with bipartisan support. "This represents a significant step forward in the effort to create better health for women and their families," the group said in a statement. Black infants in Mississippi were nearly twice as likely as white ones to die over the past decade, according to a report unveiled Jan. 18 by the state Department of Health. House Medicaid Committee Chairwoman Missy McGee, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said the total cost to the Medicaid program will be just under $600,000 a year. About 41% of births in the U.S. and 57% in Mississippi were financed by Medicaid in 2022, according to the health policy research group KFF. Only Louisiana had a larger share of births covered by Medicaid that year, at 61%. |
| Mississippi manufacturers voice support for Medicaid expansion plan | |
| The Mississippi Manufacturers Association voiced support for the House Medicaid expansion plan, which would make Mississippi the 41st state to expand Medicaid to cover the working poor, in a social media post. The group cited new economic development projects this year as a reason to expand Medicaid coverage in the state with the lowest workforce participation rate. "In late Feb., Jason White and the House passed Healthy MS Works, expanding healthcare access to 200,000 working Mississippians," the Friday social media post read. "MMA supports improved access to quality healthcare, especially in rural areas, and efforts to promote a healthier workforce." A healthier workforce is a main reason many Republicans have cited for considering Medicaid expansion this year, including Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. The Senate Hosemann oversees says it is working on its own Medicaid expansion plan, but to date has only a "dummy bill," with code sections required to change Medicaid coverage, but no details. Hosemann and other Senate leaders have said they will insist on a work requirement for expanded Medicaid coverage, which would require approval, or a "waiver," from the federal government. The House bill in MMA's social media post would expand Medicaid coverage in Mississippi whether or not the federal government approves a work requirement. |
| Gov. Tate Reeves privately tells senators he will veto any Medicaid expansion bill | |
| Republican Gov. Tate Reeves summoned a group of state senators to the Governor's Mansion in early March and privately told them he will veto any Medicaid expansion bill lawmakers pass, two senators told Mississippi Today. Reeves invited the group of about 15 senators to the Governor's Mansion to socialize with him -- a common occurrence when the Legislature is in session -- at a critical time for the GOP-controlled Senate. Numerous Capitol observers also say Reeves' legislative team has put on a full-court press lobbying the Senate against Medicaid expansion. The Senate faces deadlines for action, and at this point Medicaid expansion is in its hands after the House overwhelmingly passed an expansion proposal on Feb. 28. This marked the first earnest movement on expansion in the state since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. Staffers for Reeves, who has long emphatically and publicly opposed expansion, did not respond to a request for comment about the event or his remarks. One Senate source told Mississippi Today that Reeves would be hosting another gathering of lawmakers at the Mansion on Tuesday night. Reeves has taken to social media over the last few weeks to reiterate his opposition to expansion. |
| Senate passes measure restricting jailing of people with mental illness | |
| On Tuesday morning, Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford, got a phone call from a Mississippi community mental health center staffer who wanted to share a story. A few days earlier, a man had filed an affidavit to initiate commitment proceedings against his wife. Having recently lost three family members and close friends, she wouldn't get out of bed. Her husband didn't know what to do, so he decided to try to have her committed. Following orders, a sheriff's deputy took her into custody. "She probably right now, unless she got out this morning, is sitting in a jail, and she probably just has a bad case of depression," Boyd said on the Senate floor Tuesday evening as she introduced legislation that would restrict the use of jail to detain people who are not charged with any crime while they await involuntary commitment proceedings. The bill, SB 2744, passed with little opposition. The limits on jail that it proposes are similar to language in a House bill that also passed on Tuesday. The measures would allow a person to be jailed only if they are violent, all alternatives have been exhausted, and a judge has ordered the jail detention. The person could be jailed no longer than 24 hours. The bills also seek to require a mental health screening before a person is taken into custody for commitment proceedings. The aim is to avoid situations in which a person is picked up and jailed for days before evaluators determine they're not mentally ill. The measure also seeks to divert people from commitment where possible by connecting them with outpatient treatment options. "We're going to make sure that the rights of those that are being committed are upheld," Boyd said. |
| $5 million approved for pedestrian bridge connecting museums in Jackson | |
| Leaders in Jackson are one step closer to connecting museums in the LeFleur's Bluff area for pedestrians to navigate their way to and from by foot. On Friday, lawmakers on Capitol Hill passed the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Act, which includes $5 million for the construction of a pedestrian bridge over Lakeland Drive. The bridge would link the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame with the Mississippi Children's Museum and the Museum of Natural Science. "I'm grateful to Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker for leading the effort in the Senate and recognizing the importance of visionary projects that enhance access to our state's top assets," Great City Foundation Executive Director Taylor Nicholas said. "This project will ultimately connect the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum to the Two Mississippi Museums downtown. It's an important step toward a functional multi-use trail system that will provide a significant economic impact for our state's capital city." The bridge is a portion of the LeFleur's Bluff Masterplan. Over $10 million of capital improvements have already been made and enjoyed by more than 750,000 visitors, including $5.5 million of private investment into capital projects. Additional private and state resources have been secured to execute additional improvements for outdoor recreation, education, and tourism impacts to connect to the Lakeland bridge project. |
| Senate passes bill that would allow state take over of Jackson water and sewer | |
 | The Mississippi Senate passed Senate Bill 2628 Tuesday, which would put the City of Jackson's water and sewer infrastructure into the hands of the state after federal Third Party Water Administrator Ted Henefin steps down. The bill creates the nonprofit "Capitol Region Utility Authority," consisting of a nine-member board and a president appointed by the Jackson City Council, the governor and lieutenant governor. The authority would also require approval from the U.S. Department of Justice. The bill, which passed 35-14, was amended from its original version so that the city had more influence over the makeup the authority's board, Accuracy, Efficiency and Transparency Chair and bill sponsor Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, said. The amended version of the bill now gives the governor three appointments, the lieutenant governor three appointments, the Jackson City Council two appointments and the mayor one appointment. Members of the Jackson delegation have voiced strong opposition to the bill, as well as the Jackson City Council and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Henifin came out in support of the bill. Now that it's passed in the Senate, the bill moves to the Mississippi House of Representatives for a vote. |
| Senate passes bill removing Jackson's future control of its water system | |
| The state Senate voted to pass Senate Bill 2628 Tuesday afternoon, moving forward an effort to remove the city of Jackson's long-term control of its water and sewer systems. Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, the bill's author, presented a tweaked version of the legislation that passed out of the Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee last month. If enacted, the legislation would force Jackson into selling its water and sewer infrastructure to a new utility authority, which would operate as a corporate nonprofit. The new authority would be governed by a nine-person board, which would select a president to run day-to-day operations. The new authority would assume control of the Jackson utilities once the current federally appointed manager of the water and sewer systems, Ted Henifin, leaves his post. U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate, who is overseeing manager's role, assigned Henifin to stay until at least 2027. The court order empowering Henifin, though, requires him to stay until Wingate determines that Jackson's water system is in a stable enough condition. In the updated proposal Parker offered Tuesday, the bill gives Jackson officials three board appointees. The original version gave left all appointees for the governor and lieutenant governor to choose. The updated bill, though, still leaves elected city officials with a minority of appointees, and gives Jackson one less appointee than in the version of this bill Parker presented last legislative session. |
| Mississippi Senate votes to change control of Jackson's troubled water system | |
| For the second year in a row, the Mississippi Senate has passed a bill that would transfer control of the state capital city's troubled water system to a regional board. Republican Sen. David Parker of Olive Branch introduced a slightly modified version of the bill after last year's version died in the House. The proposal drew fierce opposition from Jackson officials, who said the Republican-controlled Legislature was usurping the authority of local leaders, most of whom are Democrats. Almost every Senate Democrat voted against the bill again Tuesday before it passed 35-14. The legislation was held for the possibility of more debate in the Senate. It eventually would go to the House. The bill would create a corporate nonprofit known as the Mississippi Capitol Region Utility Authority to govern Jackson's water system. It would be overseen by a nine-member board, with one appointment by the mayor, two by the Jackson City Council, three by the governor and three by the lieutenant governor. Under the bill's original version, city officials would not have had any appointments. Parker's district is in northwest Mississippi, but he lives with his daughter at an apartment complex in Jackson when the Legislature is in session. He said scooping up water from the building's swimming pool to use in their shared apartment's toilets is part of what motivated him to write the bill. |
| The Freedom Caucus Has Been Wreaking Havoc On Washington. Now It's Exporting the Chaos to the States. | |
 | Since its founding in 2015, the hardline House Freedom Caucus has been a polarizing presence, using confrontational and obstructionist tactics to push Congress, and the Republican Party, to the right on a variety of issues. In the process, the group ousted a Republican House speaker and became a far-right conservative power center of its own. But it's come at considerable cost to the House as a legislative body, and created an even more factionalized and dysfunctional chamber. Now, those same issues are surfacing in statehouses across the nation where in recent years the Freedom Caucus has exported its model. Many of the 11 legislatures with state-based Freedom Caucuses have seen their Republican majorities splinter and descend into bitter conflict with the application of the Congress-honed tactics. Few states have experienced as much intraparty turmoil as South Carolina, where state Freedom Caucus members and more mainstream GOP leaders have clashed over a wide variety of issues, leading to litigation and sparking numerous primary challenges. Freedom Caucus members have used the state budgeting process to bring up social issues like diversity initiatives within universities, spoken out against what they call government handouts to private companies and pushed for more restrictive bans on gender-affirming care. "They are a 'let's govern by bumper sticker' entity," said South Carolina state Rep. Micah Caskey, a Republican who is an outspoken critic of the caucus. "I have a general contempt for what I see as the lack of integrity and honesty with which they approach legislating." |
| House passes TikTok crackdown that could ban app in U.S. | |
 | The House overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday to force TikTok to split from its parent company or face a national ban, a lightning offensive that materialized abruptly after years of unsuccessful negotiations over the platform's fate. The legislation, approved 352 to 65 with 1 voting present, is a sweeping bipartisan rebuke of the popular video-sharing app -- and an attempt to grapple with allegations that its China-based parent, ByteDance, presents national security risks. The House effort gained momentum last week after President Biden said he would sign the bill if Congress passed it. But it's fate now rests in the Senate, where some lawmakers have expressed concern it may run afoul of the Constitution by infringing on millions of Americans' rights to free expression and by explicitly targeting a business operating in the United States. Two of the committees with jurisdiction have been scrutinizing TikTok's perceived security threats for months but had yet to agree on a legislative response until now. TikTok mounted an aggressive push to thwart the House's consideration of the measure over the past week, directly urging U.S. users to contact their representatives and oppose it in a pop-up message. The tactic inundated congressional offices with calls, at times forcing offices to shut off their phones. But it also riled up House leaders, who accused the company of wielding its vast power in a bid to upend the congressional debate over its future. |
| Judge Dismisses Six Counts Against Trump in Georgia Election-Interference Case | |
 | A Georgia judge dismissed six counts in the election-interference indictment against former President Donald Trump and five co-defendants in Atlanta, though the broader case is still intact. The six counts tossed Wednesday were related to allegations Trump and four other high-profile co-defendants, including former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, violated their oaths of office in the months after the 2020 presidential election in attempts to unlawfully influence the outcome. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled prosecutors hadn't properly laid out their legal claims in the indictment, allowing Trump to successfully challenge the wording of the charges. A representative for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is still facing a motion to be disqualified on misconduct allegations, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. |
| There Are Dark Corners of the Internet. Then There's 764 | |
 | It sounds like a cheap true-crime conspiracy: An international network of predators steeped in Satanism lure children from seemingly harmless online platforms like Discord, Minecraft, and Roblox and extort them to sexually exploit and grievously harm themselves. Some victims are even pushed to suicide. Except it's true. A reporting consortium including Der Spiegel, Recorder, The Washington Post, and WIRED has unearthed a sprawling ecosystem that has targeted thousands of people and victimized dozens, if not hundreds, of children using some of the internet's biggest platforms. Law enforcement believes the "com" network encompasses a swath of interlocking groups with thousands of users, including hundreds of hardcore members who victimize children through coordinated online campaigns of extortion, doxing, swatting, and harassment. Our investigation found ample evidence of predatory conduct and a persistent presence across apps including Telegram and Discord, while WIRED also found com activity on Instagram, SoundCloud, and Roblox. The platforms are aware of these groups, but they have yet to successfully eradicate them. |
| How Science Sleuths Track Down Bad Research | |
| It was early January when the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute received a complaint about signs of image manipulation in dozens of papers by senior researchers. Days later, the organization said it was seeking to retract or correct several of the studies, sending shock waves through the scientific community. Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School were sent a complaint the same month: A collection of nearly 30 papers co-authored by another professor appeared to contain copied or doctored images. The complaints were from different critics, but they had something in common. Both scientists -- molecular biologist Sholto David and image expert Elisabeth Bik -- had used the same tool in their analyses: an image-scanning software called Imagetwin. Behind the recent spotlight on suspect science lies software such as Imagetwin, from a company based in Vienna, and another called Proofig AI, made by a company in Israel. The software brands aid scientists in scouring hundreds of studies and are turbocharging the process of spotting deceptive images. Before the tools emerged, data detectives pored over images in published research with their own eyes, something that could take a few minutes or about an hour, with some people possessing a flair for seeing patterns. Now, the tech tools automate this effort, pointing to problematic images within a minute or two. |
| Mississippi University for Women urges legislators to keep the school open | |
| Leaders and alumni of Mississippi University for Women rallied Tuesday at the state Capitol, urging legislators to kill a bill that would make the school a branch of nearby Mississippi State University. "Not everyone belongs in a big-box university," MUW President Nora Miller said. "We really grow leaders. We have students who flourish with the extra attention and the leadership opportunities that are open to them on a small campus." The rally happened the same day that a divided state Senate advanced a separate bill that would create a group to study whether Mississippi should close some of its eight universities -- a proposal that is most likely to target schools with lower enrollment, including possibly MUW. In the Republican-controlled chamber, 12 Democrats voted against creating a study group amid concerns that closures would limit opportunities for higher education and hurt the communities where universities are located. Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory, one of the opponents, said he has heard "profoundly disturbing" discussion about the purpose of universities, including that they should exist solely for job training rather than for offering a rounded education to help people understand complexities of the world. Bryan also said closing campuses could discourage out-of-state students from seeking education in Mississippi, including those who would remain in the state or become donors to their alma mater. He also said closures could hurt the economy of college towns. |
| Over 75 Mississippi University for Women alums gathered at the Mississippi Capitol Tuesday | |
| Graduates and other supporters of the Mississippi University for Women, affectionately known as "The W," gathered on the steps of the Mississippi Capitol State Building on Tuesday, March 12, to voice their opposition to Senate Bill 2715 that could potentially merge the Columbus-based institution with nearby Mississippi State University in Starkville. "Big box schools are not for everyone," declared MUW President Nora Roberts Miller, who also hailed what she called "a very special culture" at her 2,227-student campus. Mississippi State University, by comparison, which is located about 25 miles west of MUW, has 22,657 students enrolled. MUW also saw approximately a 4.8% decrease in enrollment in the fall of 2023 compared to 2022 -- a decline of about 112. But Miller was upbeat about recruitment efforts and prospective numbers for the incoming class this fall. "We are already seeing a great increase in applications over last year," she said. Miller also flatly denied claims that a merger with MSU would create more efficiency and save money. "It would not save costs," she said, citing a previous study. Senate Bill 2715, originally proposed Feb. 19 by Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, would also potentially remove the Mississippi School for Math and Science, a state-supported high school, from the MUW campus and relocate it to MSU. Leta Palmiter of Meridian, a 1997 graduate of MUW, who has a daughter presently attending the School for Math and Science, said she opposes that idea as well. |
| MUW alumni, faculty commemorate Charter Day at state capitol | |
 | March 12 is Charter Day for Mississippi University for Women and alumni commemorated the occasion at the state capitol. Dozens of alumni and supporters of The W gathered on the steps of the state capitol dressed in blue as a show of solidarity. Last week, a Senate Bill moved through a committee that would move the operations of MUW and MSMS and its assets to Mississippi State on July 1, 2024. It's a proposal MUW leaders and many alumni oppose. "It would not save cost. We looked at this probably 15 years ago, around 2009. With the recession, looking at ways there could be shared services. At that time, it would have required a significant investment in the infrastructure and technology in order for our processes to align with Mississippi States'. So, I don't see where there would be any cost savings with this. What we really want to see happen is we want to keep MSMS on our campus and we want to help them get the funding to improve their facilities," said MUW President Nora Miller. |
| Hundreds of dancers learn at the feet of the masters at Belhaven University | |
| Hundreds of college students from across the country learned what it takes to be a professional dancer at Belhaven University. The American College Dance Association's South Conference took place in Jackson, training the next generation of dance professionals. For the past four days, 285 students from Florida to Arizona have learned at the feet of the masters during the American College Dance Association's South Conference. Professional dancers from 21 colleges and universities are imparting their wisdom to the next generation. Kaelyn Holmes is a freshman at Florida State. "There's so many different connections I can make through this that I don't even know I'll need in the future," said the freshman dance major. "And it's a great opportunity to meet different people and I'm learning a lot." The sessions covered various styles, from jazz to contemporary. "The teaching has been so expansive," said Susan Levine Ourada, National Office Representative of the American College Dance Association. "They're feeding back to the students information that will be valuable to them as they grow themselves as dancers." |
| AU student who advocates for the environment will attempt to set tree hugging world record | |
 | A student at Auburn University will attempt to set a tree hugging world record at a Tuskegee trail on March 23 as a call to action and demonstration of care for the planet. Abubakar Tahiru, a member of the university's American Conservation Coalition, will attempt to hug over 700 trees in an hour at Tuskegee National Forest's Pleasant Hills. He sees the attempt as a bold statement that young people are ready to stand up for the environment. "At Auburn University, we've organized clean-ups and other environmental activities, creating a space for young environmentalists to come together," Tahiru said. "These events are not just about cleaning up. They're about building a community committed to making a difference. Proving that our voices are powerful and capable of inspiring change." Trees help reduce the effects of climate change. They absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), "removing and storing the carbon while releasing the oxygen back into the air," according to the Arbor Day Foundation. At the moment, no one holds the world record for hugging the most trees in an hour. Tahiru's hope is that the 10 a.m. demonstration will send a powerful message about sustainability and the urgency of climate action. |
| U. of Kentucky president says he will keep reviewing faculty senate's role. They've asked him to stop | |
 | As the University of Kentucky senate council is asking President Eli Capilouto to stop the process of reviewing the university's shared governance structure, the president says he plans to adhere to the original timeline given by the board of trustees. The senate council -- the executive arm of the university senate -- approved a resolution Monday asking Capilouto to pause work on potentially reorganizing the governance structure and to collaborate with the university senate. Capilouto, in an interview with the Herald-Leader Monday, said he plans to continue meeting with groups across campus and will stick to the timeline from the board of trustees, in part to make sure UK is in compliance with statewide recommendations from Senate Joint Resolution 98 from last year. Earlier this month, the senate council also passed a resolution expressing their "profound concern" over potential changes and asked to be included in the process. The senate council outlined several concerns in the resolution Monday about the charge from the board, including the short timeline and that "the fact-finding underlying the President's March recommendations will be inadequate." On Feb. 23, the board of trustees approved a resolution directing Capilouto to "formulate recommended changes" to the university's governing regulations, to be presented at the April board meeting. The charge is part of Project Accelerate, which has five work groups reviewing various aspects of the university. |
| Texas A&M VET team returns after treating animals affected by Smokehouse Creek Fire | |
 | In the midst of the largest wildfire in Texas history, ranchers and farmers have lost property, belongings and more. And yet, according to the Veterinary Emergency Team (VET), many ranchers prioritized their animals above all else. "We had one rancher that went back to his ranch house, which was burned along with his barn, and he was looking to see if any of his dogs or cats survived," Deb Zoran, professor and VET director, said Tuesday. "He didn't find any of his dogs but he found six of his cats ... two of them were fine and four of the younger ones had burn injuries." The Smokehouse Creek Fire, as of Tuesday, is around 89% contained and has now spread through an estimated 1,058,482 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. On Feb. 29, it was labeled the largest wildfire in Texas history. The Texas A&M VET deployed on Feb. 28 to provide veterinary care to 12 search and rescue dogs and to resident animals. For 10 days, VET checked hundreds of animals and saw firsthand the toll the wildfire wrought on the Panhandle. The team had assisted previous wildfires in Texas, including Bastrop in 2011, and Eastland County in 2022. Being deployed to the Panhandle meant the team saw the devastating loss of animal life, Zoran said. "It was really horrible, epic numbers of losses of life," she said. |
| How Texas is preparing higher education for AI | |
| When Taylor Eighmy talks to people about the growth of artificial intelligence in society, he doesn't just see an opportunity -- he feels a jolt of responsibility. The president of The University of Texas at San Antonio said the Hispanic-serving institution on the northwest side of the Alamo City needs to make sure its students are ready for what their future employers expect them to know about this rapidly changing technology. "It doesn't matter if you enter the health industry, banking, oil and gas, or national security enterprises like we have here in San Antonio," Eighmy told The Texas Tribune. "Everybody's asking for competency around AI." It's one of the reasons the public university, which serves 34,000 students, announced earlier this year that it is creating a new college dedicated to AI, cyber security, computing and data science. The new college, which is still in the planning phase, would be one of the first of its kind in the country. UTSA wants to launch the new college by fall 2025. According to UTSA, Texas will see a nearly 27% increase in AI and data science jobs over the next decade. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects data science jobs nationally will increase by 35% over that time period. Leaders at UTSA say they don't just want students to be competent in the field, but also prepare them to be a part of the conversation as it grows and evolves. As AI becomes a part of everyday life in new, unpredictable ways, universities across Texas and the country are also starting to consider how to ensure faculty are keeping up with the new technology and students are ready to use it when they enter the workforce. |
| Nashville search for missing U. of Missouri student focuses on river | |
 | The search for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain continues in Nashville -- with a focus on the Cumberland River -- as several Nashville emergency responders launched new efforts by air and boat Tuesday. According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's most recent updates, a police helicopter searched the area Tuesday, including the riverbank. In coordination with the police, the Nashville Office of Emergency Management launched a boat search Tuesday morning, spokesperson Kendra Loney said. Police have also conducted hospital and jail checks. Police posted new surveillance video Tuesday, showing Strain crossing the street at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Gay Street, several blocks from the bar. In the video, around the 11-second mark, Strain can be seen stumbling in from the right of the frame, stopping for a moment in front of a "road closed" sign, then continuing out of frame while looking at his phone. Strain's phone was last pinged near the Cumberland River, blocks from the bar he was kicked out of, according to information provided to police by Verizon Wireless. Searches of the area where his phone last pinged have been unsuccessful, police said. Strain traveled to Nashville with the Delta Chi fraternity for a private event. Christian Basi, spokesperson for MU, shared that the remainder of Strain's Delta Chi brothers on the trip are safely back in Columbia and accounted for. The MU Police Department is in touch with the Strain family and working with authorities in Nashville. |
| U. of North Carolina System Banning Apps Over Cyberbullying | |
 | The University of North Carolina system is working to ban several social media apps that administrators say incite cyberbullying. The system's IT and legal departments were instructed to begin blocking a handful of social media apps that allow anonymous posting, UNC system president Peter Hans said at a Feb. 29 Board of Governors meeting. The four targeted apps are Yik Yak, Sidechat, Fizz and Whisper. "We're targeting a handful of smaller, hyper-local platforms that have shown a reckless disregard for the wellbeing of young people and an outright indifference to bullying and bad behavior," Hans said in a speech to the Board of Governors. "These apps ... are the modern equivalent of scrawling cruel rumors on the bathroom wall, except now with a much larger audience." He added the apps can also incite drug deals and sexual harassment. A UNC system spokesperson said there is no timeline for the ban's implementation. The UNC system joins several others across the nation that have banned or cited concerns with social media apps. While banning apps specifically for cyberbullying is common in the K-12 space, UNC is one of the first universities in the nation to take such an action. If the ban goes through, students could still use the apps on campus, opting in to different networks or using their own data plans to access the apps on their personal devices. Hans acknowledged that reality, adding that the ban is more to give students pause than to remove the apps entirely from campus. |
| Amid public push by DeSantis, Florida State University quietly dismantled its DEI office | |
 | Amid the DeSantis administration's push to gut diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education, Florida State University quietly dismantled its DEI office. But the university did it mainly by changing title names and reclassifying positions of employees who were already working in DEI to give them different roles -- an approach that did not require laying anyone off. The revelation of FSU's moves came a few days after the University of Florida in Gainesville very publicly announced that it got rid of its related programs by firing all of its DEI employees. Compliance of the universities follow Gov. Ron DeSantis's conservative focus on education, where he signed a measure (SB 266) into law last year to remove DEI programs in the state's public colleges and universities. Despite restless concerns from students and faculty members that were voiced through protests on college campuses and public comments during board meetings, the Florida Board of Governors approved a regulation in late January to fall in line with the state law and prohibit spending on DEI. While expenditures in support of DEI programming and activities at the public colleges and universities across the state are being discontinued, student-directed organizations -- including student union agencies such as FSU's Black Student Union and Jewish Student Union -- are allowed to continue functioning on campus. |
| Doubts About Value Are Deterring College Enrollment | |
| Enrollment has been declining in higher education for more than a decade, and the most common explanations in recent years have been lingering effects of the pandemic and a looming demographic cliff expected to shrink the number of traditional-age college students. But new research suggests that public doubts about the value of a college degree are a key contributor. The study -- conducted by Edge Research, a marketing research firm, and HCM Strategists, a public policy and advocacy consulting firm with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- uses focus groups and parallel national surveys of current high school students and of adults who decided to leave college or who didn't go at all to link the value proposition of a college degree and Americans' behaviors after high school. "At the end of the day, higher education has a lot of work to do to convince these audiences of its value," said Terrell Dunn, an HCM consultant. But college leaders shouldn't be without hope, she added: While Americans are skeptical, they're persuadable. "[Potential students] are pretty rational in weighing their opportunity costs," Dunn said. "They're saying, 'I can pursue shorter and cheaper options, and still get a good job.' So higher ed has to figure out how to explain why what they're offering is better." |
| Colleges Got Comfortable Talking About Privilege. Now It's Being Scrutinized. | |
 | The newsletter seemed innocuous. In January, the chief diversity officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine kicked off her "Monthly Diversity Digest" with a list of nearby events for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Then Sherita Hill Golden outlined a "diversity word of the month": privilege. "Privilege is a set of unearned benefits given to people who are in a specific social group," Golden wrote. "Privilege operates on personal, interpersonal, cultural and institutional levels, and it provides advantages and favors to members of dominant groups at the expense of members of other groups." Privileged groups, she continued, included white people, people without physical disabilities, men, Christians, and English-speaking people. Administrators and faculty members have been parroting similar definitions for years. This time, however, it struck a nerve online. "John Hopkins just sent out this hit list of people automatically guilty of 'privilege' whether they know it or not," wrote an account on X called End Wokeness, which has over two million followers. The post included screenshots of Golden's newsletter. Powerful voices soon chimed in, such as Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. As politicians and activists on the right continue to lob attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts -- invigorated by the fallout from colleges' responses to the war in the Middle East -- Golden has become the latest in a series of Black college administrators and faculty to face vitriol. In one way, the Johns Hopkins incident stands out: It is a private university in a state where political leadership is dominated by Democrats. What happened to Golden also highlights just how much the DEI landscape has shifted: Understandings of power and privilege that have dominated campus discourse for years are now coming under a microscope. |
| How Congress defanged Biden's big science push | |
| The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act -- a law President Joe Biden name checked in his State of the Union address -- was designed to flood the microchip industry with cash and shore up America's commitment to basic research. Two years in, Congress has fully funded subsidies for chipmakers. The big boost in science, however, is way off target. While nearly $53 billion is going into reviving a homegrown semiconductor industry, Congress has gnawed away at the law's ambitions on fundamental research and development aimed at staying ahead of China and other rivals in competitive fields like artificial intelligence. The reductions come even as Biden touted Thursday that the law has the U.S. "investing more in research and development than ever before." The latest example is the spending package lawmakers advanced over the past week: Biden's signature enacts deep cuts to the National Science Foundation and stalls key offices in the Commerce and Energy departments that are supposed to deploy CHIPS money, turning a promised cash infusion of $200 billion over a decade into a humiliating haircut. And while it's hardly the first time Congress has reneged on promised funds, it threatens an important pillar of Biden's industrial policy. "These aren't the numbers I'd like to see. I'm disappointed that we can't provide funding to match what we authorized in CHIPS and Science," House Science Chair Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) told POLITICO in an email. "Unfortunately, in our current fiscal environment we have to make difficult decisions and that's reflected in the budgets for these agencies." By contrast, rival tech powers are doubling down: China, despite its slowing economy, just this week pledged to raise R&D spending by 10 percent, to $51.5 billion, this year. |
| In an election year, are Medicaid work requirements a possible Biden compromise? | |
 | Columnist Sid Salter writes: The current effort to make a partial expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in Mississippi appears to have hit a legislative logjam in the State Senate over the issue of work requirements. The Mississippi House version of expanded healthcare coverage for Mississippi's working poor contains a work requirement. Senators on the other end of the Capitol worry that the House work requirements can't or won't be enforced by the federal government. Other states like Kentucky and Arkansas that have engaged in some form of Medicaid expansion have attached work requirements only to see the feds under President Joe Biden reject those requirements. Kentucky's plan was blocked by a court order while Arkansas saw some 18,000 new Medicaid recipients fail to report their work activities and ultimately lost coverage. The status quo nationally is that Republicans favor work requirements for the able-bodied recipients of government assistance and the Democrats generally oppose them. ... For Mississippi lawmakers, it would seem that their efforts toward installing a work requirement in Medicaid will be bolstered either by the Biden Administration compromising and seeing expanded coverage being worth accepting the work rules during a tight election year OR by the re-election of former President Donald Trump whose administration granted Section 1115 waivers and allowed work requirements. |
SPORTS
| What Mississippi State needs from its role players heading into postseason play | |
 | In Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith, Mississippi State has the foundation for any successful college basketball team: one star at point guard and another in the post. But Hubbard and Smith cannot win games for the Bulldogs all by themselves, especially when Smith has been held in check for just six total points over his last three first halves. MSU will need more from the rest of the roster -- particularly if Hubbard is unable to maintain his recent torrid scoring pace -- as the Bulldogs (19-12, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) try to snap a four-game losing streak and lock up a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Luckily for head coach Chris Jans and company, several of MSU's veterans have continued to play well even during the skid. Fifth-year guard Dashawn "Rams" Davis had 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range in last Wednesday's six-point loss at Texas A&M, playing 33 minutes despite coming off the bench. That performance earned him a start Saturday against South Carolina, and Davis poured in 16 points on 5-for-8 from the floor. "We're different when he's engaged and the head of the snake defensively and getting into the ball," Jans said. "He plays better offensively when he does that, too. Offense is a lot about confidence, and Rams is like a lot of players out there. When the ball goes through the net, his confidence rises, and when it doesn't, it goes the other way. That's the biggest thing with him, to see the ball go through the net both in practice and in games." |
| Chris Jans explains how he's approaching SEC Tournament with NCAA bid on the line | |
| Bubble teams across the country are running through the scenarios of what they need to make the NCAA Tournament. However, while Mississippi State is among that group, Chris Jans still isn't worrying about any of that. Jans spoke about his team's resumé in a media session on Tuesday heading into the SEC Tournament. In his opinion, though, it's of little value for him to make a case for his Bulldogs. It's not worth it to him since it's not something that the selection committee would take into consideration. "You know I get asked that a lot -- about what I think of where we're at and what we need. I see other coaches get in these environments, have platforms, and vouch for their team. Go drill down on why they should be included in the NCAA Tournament," said Jans. "I got to believe that the committee members don't pay any mind to that. I don't think they really care what an individual coach thinks about his team and why it should be included. If that was part of the process then I think we'd all have some sort of avenue to go through to preach our case, if you will." With that being his approach, Jans is more so thinking about how to ensure that Mississippi State will be ready for their matchup in the SEC Tournament with LSU. Regardless of how that game goes, he will then leave it up to the committee to let the cards fall however they may. |
| Can LSU fix its mistakes from earlier loss to Mississippi State in SEC tourney opener? | |
 | Matt McMahon didn't need a lengthy film session to figure out what went wrong for his LSU basketball team against Mississippi State less than three weeks ago. All he needed late on the night of Feb. 24 was a quick look at the final stats, which told the story of the Tigers' 87-67 loss in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. It wasn't a total breakdown, but the problem areas clearly jumped off the page just three nights after an upset of then-No. 17 Kentucky on the same floor. Two numbers immediately caught McMahon's eye: LSU committed 15 turnovers and Mississippi State scored 27 second-chance points. "Quite frankly, they got the better of us that night," McMahon said Monday. "They were much better than us that night. Mississippi State kicked our butt here, so we've got to get a lot better." The good news for LSU is it gets another shot at State at noon Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville, Tennessee. The game will be televised by the SEC Network. While the Bulldogs are projected as an NCAA tournament team, the Tigers are trying to boost their resume for an NIT berth. The survivor advances to face No. 1 seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals at noon Friday. Playing on a neutral court won't make it any easier for LSU, which has to contend with what McMahon said is arguably the most physical team in the conference. |
| No. 21 Bulldogs Return To Nusz Park For Four-Game Homestand | |
| Mississippi State's softball team that is ranked as high as No. 18 in two of the four national polls returns to Nusz Park on Wednesday to host ULM at 6 p.m. CT. The game will also be available on SEC Network+. The Bulldogs are coming off a series victory at Ole Miss over the weekend. After one weekend of league play, State (19-4, 2-1 SEC) leads the SEC in slugging percentage, runs scored, homers, walks and total bases. The Bulldogs are second in the league in on-base percentage and batting average, trailing only No. 2 LSU. A trio of Bulldogs had an outstanding series in Oxford. Salen Hawkins was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after batting .625. She leads the league in conference play and her overall season average of .390 leads the team and ranks third among SEC freshmen. ULM is coming off a series loss to in-state foe McNeese over the weekend, but the Warhawks won the final game, 4-1. Warhawk pitchers have posted a 1.73 ERA that currently ranks 19th in the nation. Their 57 stolen bases rank seventh nationally, and the speed has also accounted for 10 triples, which ranks seventh in the country. After a day off, the Bulldogs will welcome No. 13/17 Texas A&M to Nusz Park for a three-game series on March 15-17. Friday's game is set for a 4 p.m. CT first pitch with Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Sunday. All three games will air on SEC Network+. |
| Mississippi State Soccer Set to Make History in International Fixture Against Aston Villa U-21 Squad | |
| Mississippi State Soccer is poised to mark a significant milestone in their program's history as they gear up to participate in their inaugural international fixture. On Wednesday, State will face off against Aston Villa's U-21 squad in an electrifying match set to take place live from Aston Villa FC Training Ground, Bodymoor Heath. This historic event not only signifies a remarkable achievement for Mississippi State University, but also highlights the growing prominence and competitiveness of women's soccer on a global scale. With an opportunity to compete against Aston Villa's U-21 squad, the Dawgs are eager to showcase their talent, determination, and teamwork on an international stage as they continue their growth this spring season. Head Coach James Armstrong expressed his excitement about this groundbreaking opportunity, stating, "Participating in our first international fixture is a momentous occasion for our program. It presents a valuable learning experience for our players and an opportunity to test our skills against a top-notch opponent like Aston Villa's U-21 squad. We are honored to be part of this historic event and look forward to representing Mississippi State University with pride and passion." Despite the absence of streaming or live stats for the match, fans can still stay engaged and connected with the action. They are encouraged to tune into @HailStateSOC throughout the day for updates and behind-the-scenes footage of the Bulldogs as they prepare for and compete in this historic encounter. |
| Jake Mangum hopes his third MLB organization is the charm | |
| On Dec. 7, 2022, Mississippi State baseball legend Jake Mangum was traded from the New York Mets -- the team that drafted him -- to the Miami Marlins. The change of scenery seemed like a positive one for the outfielder, who played his entire 2023 season with the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate, Jacksonville. Mangum excelled, hitting .298/.346/.425 in 119 games, numbers that typically portend a big-league callup or at least an invite to major-league camp for Spring Training. And then, like so many things in Mangum's young professional career, everything changed. One year and one day after being traded to the Marlins, Mangum was announced as the player-to-be-named-later in a trade between Miami and the Tampa Bay Rays, his third MLB organization in three years. "It's always sudden," Mangum said. "Trades happen out of nowhere. ... Back-to-back years, as soon as the Rule 5 Draft ended, I got a call from the Mets and the Marlins, 'Hey, you're the player-to-be-named-later in a trade,' and that was it." Despite the unexpected move, Mangum feels like he's found a home with the Rays. "I've been in camp for about three weeks now," Mangum said. "I had some January camps with the Rays. They have been fantastic. I've thoroughly enjoyed working with all of them. "Everyone's been super nice, coaches and players. ... I'm getting the chance to pick the brains of a ton of different dudes that have been around professional baseball for a long time." Another reason Mangum feels so comfortable in the organization is because he's one of five former Bulldogs in the organization. Joining him in big-league camp are a pair of teammates from his time in Starkville: Zac Houston and Colby White. |
| Saints and ex-Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay agree on 1-year deal, AP source says | |
| The New Orleans Saints and former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay have agreed to a one-year contract worth up to $5 million, a personal familiar with the matter said Tuesday night. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement, first reported by NFL Network, had not been announced. Gay has played four seasons in the NFL -- all with Kansas City, which drafted him in the second round out of Mississippi State in 2020. The two-time Super Bowl winner has played in 57 games with 47 starts and has 233 tackles and five sacks to go with four fumble recoveries, four interceptions and two forced fumbles. In New Orleans, Gay will join a linebacker corps anchored by defensive captain Demario Davis, who on Monday agreed to a two-year contract through 2025. |
| Bill allowing pink as hunter safety color heading to governor's desk | |
| Just in time for turkey season, the Mississippi legislature is sending a bill to the desk of Gov. Tate Reeves that would allow hunters to wear fluorescent pink rather than the usual orange safety gear. House Bill 526 was approved unanimously by the Senate on Tuesday after flying through the House with an overwhelming 109-4 vote in early February. According to Rep. Jimmy Fondren, R-Pascagoula, the basis is to encourage more people to become hunters while maintaining safety standards. "[The idea] is to encourage more people to participate in hunting," Fondren said while presenting the bill. "It's a safe color. I think it's as bright as orange and people can see it throughout the woods." If signed by Reeves, Mississippi will become the latest state to allow hunters to wear pink after Wisconsin was the first to legalize it in 2016. Since then, nine other states have also hopped on board with the idea -- Colorado, Louisiana, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. |
| Ole Miss basketball announces extension for coach Chris Beard before SEC Tournament | |
| Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard's state contract has been extended, the university announced Wednesday morning. The extension comes exactly one year after the Rebels officially hired Beard to lead the program. He initially signed a four-year deal worth $3.25 million in base pay for the 2023-24 season. Beard was due to make $3.35 million in 2024-25 under the terms of his initial deal. A source familiar with the negotiations told the Clarion Ledger that the new contract includes updated financial terms for Beard. Ole Miss will sometimes announce contract extensions for coaches that do not include updated terms, thanks to a state law limiting contracts to a maximum of four years. The source was granted anonymity because contract details have not yet been released. Ole Miss started the season with 13 consecutive wins, claiming a spot in the AP Poll for the first time in five seasons. It won five out of its first eight SEC games before the bottom fell out. Eight losses in the past 10 games have crushed Ole Miss' at-large NCAA Tournament candidacy. The Rebels' perfect run through their nonconference schedule, ranked 252nd in the country in terms of difficulty by KenPom, did not elevate their metrics enough to keep them in the hunt as they enter SEC Tournament play in Nashville this week. Ole Miss hired Beard three months after Texas fired him for cause. Beard faced a felony domestic violence charge relating to an alleged altercation with his then-fiancee Randi Trew that was later dismissed. |
| Nebraska's Trev Alberts expected to become Texas A&M's athletic director | |
| Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts has emerged as Texas A&M's target for athletic director, according to an East Coast insider familiar with the process. Alberts, who's expected to take the job, would take over for Ross Bjork, who left for the same position at Ohio State in January. A&M has had four athletic directors over the past decade: Eric Hyman, Scott Woodward, Bjork and now likely Alberts. Alberts, who would be leaving his alma mater, would inherit a new football coach at A&M in Mike Elko, hired in December from Duke, where he was head coach two years. A majority of A&M's regents opted to fire then-coach Jimbo Fisher in November after he was 11-11 over the past two seasons and failed to compete for SEC titles. Alberts took over as Nebraska's AD in 2021 after 12 years at Nebraska-Omaha, where he led that school's transition to the Division I level. A former Nebraska linebacker, Alberts was the first winner of the Butkus Award in 1993 and the No. 5 pick in the 1994 NFL draft out of Nebraska and he played for the Indianapolis Colts through 1996. After his NFL career, he worked in media as an analyst for ESPN, CBS Sports Network and the defunct CNN/SI. |
| Hainline announces retirement as NCAA's chief medical officer | |
| NCAA Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline announced his retirement Tuesday, effective May 31. He was appointed the NCAA's first chief medical officer in 2013. Hainline founded and oversaw the NCAA Sport Science Institute, which aims to provide college athletes with the best environment for safety, excellence and wellness. During his tenure, he guided the Association in the development of key consensus-based guidance that served the membership in its efforts to support the mental and physical health, safety and performance of student-athletes. Under his leadership and guided by the concerted voice of student-athletes, the Association identified and defined the unique mental health challenges confronting student-athletes. In close partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, Hainline was instrumental in securing the organizational support and funding for the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium. Hainline also led a distinguished panel of nationally and internationally recognized medical providers in navigating the Association through the COVID-19 pandemic. A former Division I tennis student-athlete and lifelong fan and avid supporter of the game, Hainline currently serves as chairman of the board and president of the USTA, the organization's most senior leadership position. Additionally, he is vice president of the International Tennis Federation, the world's governing body of tennis, and is a member of the Grand Slam Board, which oversees the four Grand Slam tennis events. |
| Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura Top R.F.K. Jr.'s List for Running Mate | |
 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently approached the N.F.L. quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his running mate on an independent presidential ticket, and both have welcomed the overtures, two people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Kennedy confirmed on Tuesday that the two men were at the top of his list. It is not clear if either has been formally offered the post, however, and Mr. Kennedy is still considering a shortlist of potential candidates, the people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Kennedy said that he had been speaking with Mr. Rodgers "pretty continuously" for the past month, and that he had been in touch with Mr. Ventura since the former governor introduced him at a campaign event last month in Arizona. The involvement of Mr. Rodgers -- who is expected to start for the New York Jets this fall, at the height of campaign season -- or of Mr. Ventura could add star power and independent zeal to Mr. Kennedy's outsider bid. Mr. Kennedy, 70, an environmental lawyer and scion of a storied Democratic family, has in recent years become prominent for his vaccine skepticism and his promotion of conspiracy theories about the federal government and public health apparatus. Mr. Rodgers, too, has increasingly embraced the role of celebrity provocateur and contrarian for his stances on vaccines, public health and the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for the New York Jets did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The team is owned by Woody Johnson, a prominent donor to former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Johnson to be his ambassador to Britain. |
| Sen. Ted Cruz says there's a 50-50 chance of Congress passing college sports legislation this year | |
| Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday there is a 50-50 chance of Congress passing legislation that would provide antitrust protection and regulation to college athletics in the U.S. by the end of the year. Cruz (R-Texas) lowered his previous estimate of 60-40 from last fall of a bill getting through before the election in November, saying he and his counterparts are running out of time. "The clock is running," Cruz said after overseeing a panel on the topic that included former Alabama coach Nick Saban. "It's not too late to get it done, but we're getting close to it being too late to get it done. I still think there are elements there of getting bipartisan agreement. We just have not been able to get everyone to the table to sign off." Cruz said something will eventually get done to standardize how athletes can be compensated for their names, images and likenesses and to give the NCAA and conferences the ability to govern college sports without the constant threat of lawsuits and state laws undercutting their authority. Cruz, citing the comments made by commissioners of conferences made up of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and concerns about Division II and Division III programs shuttering, does not believe there's as much interest in classifying college athletes as employees as there was six months ago. "There are very few people advocating for student-athletes as employees now," Cruz said. "I think that makes it easier when you have widespread agreement that that's the wrong solution to have some clarity on that point." Cruz said he felt urgency to pass something sooner than later and found agreement on that point among colleagues given the current state of confusion in college sports. |
| Nick Saban wants players to be able to get paid, but 'I don't want them to be employees' | |
| On Capitol Hill, within a U.S. Senate building and in front of several sitting senators and political figures, college football's most legendary living coach stumped for college athletes to be paid, just not as employees; attributed his retirement to the current unregulated nature of the college athletics pay system; and criticized booster-led collectives that, he says, have transformed the sport into a "pay for play" industry. In a teal suit and dotted blue tie, former Alabama coach Nick Saban spoke as one of nine members as part of a roundtable discussion organized and led by Sen. Ted Cruz, the lawmaker's attempt to highlight the need for congressional action related to college athlete legislation. Two months removed from announcing his retirement, Saban offered a thundering message to the college sports world: Pay the players -- but with limitations. "I'm for student-athletes being able to share in some of this revenue," he said. "The No. 1 solution is if we could have some kind of a revenue-sharing proposition that did not make student-athletes employees. That may be the long-term solution. I don't want them to be employees, but I want them to share in the revenue some kind of way." Much of the 100-minute discussion was focused on Saban's thoughts, insights and opinions, including a story he shared about how the current state of the sport contributed to his leaving the game after 50 years as a coach. |
| Nick Saban weighs in on NIL, revenue sharing in college football during time on Capitol Hill | |
| Nick Saban announced his retirement as the coach at Alabama in January. On Tuesday on Capitol Hill, he had his chance to explain how name, image and likeness shifted his job in recent years. Sen. Ted Cruz held a roundtable focused on the need for Congress to "find consensus and pass bipartisan legislation" surrounding NIL. Saban and the Cavinder Twins were in attendance, along with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, The Collective Association president Russell White and NIL attorney Darren Heitner. But Saban, who won six national championships in 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, was the real star of the show. "Well, all the things that I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics," he said. "So it always was about developing players. It was always about helping people when you're successful in life. My wife even said to me, we have all the recruits over on Sunday with their parents for breakfast. And she would always meet with the mothers and talk about how she was going to help and impact their sons and how they would be well taken care of. And she came to me, like right before our retirement and said, 'Why are we doing this?' And I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'All they care about is how much you're going to pay them.'" |
| House Republicans Warn Against College Athlete Unions | |
| A week after Dartmouth College's men's basketball team voted to form the first athlete union in college sports, House Republicans warned Tuesday that unionization poses an "existential threat" to the future of college sports. Democrats countered that "the sky is not falling." While congressional committees have held a number of hearings in the past year about the state of college athletics and athlete compensation, this was the first to tackle head-on what's become one of the key questions facing college athletics today: whether players should be considered employees who can collectively bargain. Congress is eyeing legislation to create national rules for the name, image and likeness rights of college athletes -- a top priority for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which also wants the bill to settle the question of athletes' employee status and affirm they aren't employees. The Dartmouth vote, which the college is planning to fight, only adds more urgency to the NCAA's ask. "The increased costs of unionization and administrative headaches would threaten to make low-funded programs economically unviable, including many women's sports and small-school athletic programs, resulting in fewer teams, fewer scholarships, and fewer opportunities for young people," said Representative Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican, at Tuesday's hearing on "safeguarding student-athletes." |
| Sources: CFP 'on target' to sort out new revenue split | |
| College Football Playoff leaders are "on target" to come to a resolution by the end of the week on a proposed revenue distribution and governance structure in the next contract, sources told ESPN, but some important conversations remain before they agree to sign a lucrative TV deal with ESPN. Commissioners of the Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt, Mid-American Conference, Conference USA and American Athletic Conference aren't keen on the proposed revenue distribution, which sources said would limit the Group of 5 conferences from making any substantial increase in revenue in the next contract, which would begin in 2026. One source described it a "slight uptick; nominal." The question is if there is enough pushback to delay or derail the progress -- or if those leagues are simply in a tough spot and have to acquiesce or risk being excluded from the CFP. Sources have leaned toward the latter. The CFP's management committee was expected to have a conversation about it on Tuesday evening, and one source said the Group of 5 commissioners held their own separate call to address the issue. Sources told ESPN last month that discussions have centered around the SEC and Big Ten earning somewhere between 25% and 30% of the CFP revenue. The ACC and Big 12 would be next, and they'd earn somewhere between 15% and 20%. That leaves a smaller chunk -- somewhere around 6% to 10% for the other leagues and nearly 1% for Notre Dame. The math isn't clean, sources caution. |
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