| Wednesday, March 20, 2024 |
| More bull sharks in Mobile Bay, according to new study | |
 | Mobile Bay is becoming a comfortable home for one well known fish, the bull shark. A recent study conducted by experts at Mississippi State University showed the sharks are thriving in warmer waters and are continuing to populate in the bay every year. "Over a 20 plus year time period, and it simply looked for trends," said Marcus Drymon, who co-authored the study. "We ask questions like are there more bull sharks today than there were 10 years ago. Are there more than 20 years ago?" Drymon said yes, mainly because of a gradual increase in water temperatures. He said these sharks ideally live in waters between 68- and 86-degrees Fahrenheit. According to the International Shark Attack File from the University of Florida, they are most likely found close to shore and live in both salt and fresh waters. Though, they can be commonly known for attacks. According to the ISAF, the Bull Shark is the third most likely species of shark to attack around the world. The first is white sharks, the second is tiger sharks. The most recent bull shark bite on the Gulf Coast was back in 2017 and non-fatal. Drymon said there's no need to worry. "Your chances are far greater of winning the lottery than getting bitten by a shark," he said. "This is a very natural part of the ecosystem. It should in no way raise concerns for anyone living in coastal Alabama or Mobile Bay. This is just how this ecosystem is designed." He added the people most likely to be impacted are anglers who fish in the bay. |
| Beekeepers pressured by high rates of colony collapse, MSU researches solutions | |
| Mississippi beekeepers make between $2.1 and $3.1 million annually from the sale of honey and beeswax, starter colonies, queens and fees to pollinate farmers' crops. According to Jeffrey Harris, an associate professor of apiculture at Mississippi State University, last year was a historically bad year for every form of Mississippi apiculture. A spring freeze and drought conditions through summer and fall killed blooms of many flowers, most significantly the Chinese privet and Chinese tallow, two weeds that can account for up to 90% of a Mississippi producer's honey production. Harris said that recent interviews with beekeepers led him to believe that the state's honey production was 40% of the annual average, with some beekeepers producing 25% of the average. "Hopefully, last year was a once-in-a-decade event. It certainly was -- I've been here 12 years and this the first time we've ever had such a double whammy," Harris said. "It affected everything, not just honey." The lack of flowers, and the subsequent lack of honey, made it difficult for local producers to grow colonies large enough to sell starter colonies and queens and to grow enough bees to ship them around the country to pollinate crops. Beyond Mississippi, honeybees pollinate $150 billion worth of crops in the United States each year. |
| 'No drinking and driving': MSU hosts event to warn, inform students | |
 | One drink too many can have life-changing results. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 37 people a day die from drunk driving crashes. That's why Mississippi State University's Police Department wants to give students a heads-up about drinking and driving. "This is just a great awareness event about drugs and alcohol and vaping as well. So, it is just an opportunity to meet with our students and they know some of the dangers of alcohol, but we have some goggles that they can wear. The goggles allow them to get some real-world experience without actually drinking and driving," said Brian Locke, MSU Assistant Chief. University Police Assistant Chief Brian Locke knows alcohol consumption is likely to go up this time of year. "As the spring comes about, people want to start getting out. We have baseball season going on and we know as the weather gets nicer, people want to be out and about. Cookouts will be going on and the more preventable measures we have, the better it will be for our students," said Locke. |
| Area districts to better benefit from INSPIRE model | |
 | A House bill aiming to make public education funding more equitable would provide more state funds to each school district in the Golden Triangle, according to numbers compiled by Mississippi First, an education public policy advocacy organization. But HB 1453, which would establish the Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education (INSPIRE) formula, is at odds with a Senate bill that would revise the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) formula. District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, authored the INSPIRE bill, which passed the House by a 95-13 margin. The Senate's MAEP revision, proposed by District 43 Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, passed its chamber 52-0. Roberson, who chairs the House Education Committee, told The Dispatch the goal of his proposal is to approach funding with the students in mind rather than the number of teacher or administrative units, which MAEP uses to establish its "base student cost" of $6,532.20. "As we have gone along, we have almost focused entirely on whether or not the district is an A, B, C, D or F district," Roberson said. "We have tested ad nauseam but are forgetting that these are our kids. ... I want to make certain that we're tackling these issues in a way that makes sense for the long term. We're not going to be successful as a state until we make certain that every child has an opportunity to find their purpose." Golden Triangle districts, in particular, would see greater benefit from INSPIRE. Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District would receive $30.3 million with INSPIRE and $28.4 million with the MAEP revisions. |
| Dilapidated properties on Ruth Road ordered demolished | |
| Almost four months after aldermen gave Dwight Prisock some time to start improvements on four dilapidated structures he owns on Ruth Road, there's been no substantial change. Prisock's properties on Tuesday again came before aldermen for code enforcement hearings during a regular board meeting. This time, grace wasn't on the agenda. Aldermen unanimously declared an inhabited apartment complex and three vacant houses Prisock owns a public menace and ordered them torn down. The board took particular issue with the strip of apartments, which one resident still occupies, where photos clearly showed the plastic covering several places where the roof had fallen in. "This is a deplorable property and deplorable living conditions," Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty said during the hearing at City Hall. "This is as bad, or maybe the worst, property I've seen in Starkville since I've been on the board." The board on Dec. 5 gave Prisock four months to start construction work to fix the apartment complex and six months to start work on two of the vacant houses. He assented to the city's assistance in burning the other vacant house. Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch Prisock has not sought a building permit for any of the work. Accompanied Tuesday by his attorney Gary Goodwin, Prisock said he's done "some work" at the apartment complex, but poor health has continued to hinder his progress. |
| West End Fresh Salads: Chicken salad, pimento cheese and much more | |
 | The key to a good chicken salad is using chicken tenders -- not chicken breasts, which is often the case. And Bruce Parker should know. Every week, he makes thousands of pounds of the stuff at West End Fresh Salads, the company he founded seven years ago. Parker began making it about a decade ago when he was catering and also to sell at his convenience store. It was a hit, and customers from miles and miles around came to his store on the Pontotoc-Lee county line specifically to buy it. He also made pimento cheese, and it, too, rocketed to success. He founded West End so he could get the chicken salad and pimento cheese to the masses, and his first commercial customer was the former Palmer's Grocery in east Tupelo. It was like no other chicken salad on the market, and then Todd's Big Star followed. West End Fresh Salads blew up, and the chicken salad and pimento cheese was getting into more hands and mouths than ever before. After a couple of years, Kroger requested that instead of his delivering the product himself to the stores individually to instead have the product kept at Kroger's Delta Division warehouse in Memphis, which distributes to stores in Arkansas, West Tennessee and Mississippi. So once a week, Kroger sends a tractor-trailer to fill and take back to its warehouse. Then the supplier for Todd's Grocery, Southaven-based AWG, also requested that West End have its salads picked up as well for its warehouse which serves Arkansas, part of Mississippi, part of Louisiana and west Tennessee. But with the considerable growth came growing pains. |
| State retirees concerned about bill that would reshape PERS board | |
| Retirees across the state are concerned about a new bill that could reshape the board in charge of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi. The PERS board currently has 10 trustees, eight of whom are elected by retirees and members to represent each type of public employee. House Bill 1590 would give the Mississippi Legislature, governor and lieutenant governor the power to select nine of 11 trustees. It also strikes down a 5% employer contribution rate increase that was set to go into effect this summer. Supporters of the current system worry it will lead to a change in their benefits and ruin a system they say is working. "I don't think anybody in any community bank would want to have their board fired and replaced with government appointees to oversee the money in their bank. The same is true here. This is like our bank. This is where our retirement funds are at," said Sam Valentine, board member of Mississippi Retired Public Employees' Association. PERS currently serves more than 361,000 members, including 118,000 retirees and beneficiaries. |
| Lawmakers are getting flooded with calls and messages about bill that would change PERS Board | |
| All eyes are on the legislature about whether they'll make any changes to the state's public employees' retirement system known as PERS. We told you last week about the bill that would change the Board from mostly elected to mostly appointed. Many of you are reacting. "I will tell all the people that you're being heard," said Sen. Tyler McCaughn. Sen. Chris Johnson is planning a hearing on House Bill 1590 while also trying to calm fears. "Nothing that we're going to do is going to change the benefits for current or future retirees under any current plan," explained Johnson. Committee members seem split on their thoughts about moving to a mostly appointed board. "Unfortunately, the term political appointee has been polarized," added Johnson. "You could say the same about K-12 education. But it's good for K-12 education to have appointees, and it can be good for PERS, as well." "We don't need to politicize the board," said Sen. David Blount. "I don't know that political appointments are the best route to go," noted Sen. Tyler McCaughn. McCaughn says they won't be rushing into anything, but he hopes they can make some thoughtful changes. "We want to be sure that in 10, 20, 30 years down the road, those people that are entitled to their benefits get their benefits, as well," said McCaughn. |
| How the House Medicaid bill could move forward in Mississippi Senate | |
 | With plans for the Mississippi Senate to bring out its own version of Medicaid expansion now dead in the water, Senate Medicaid Chair Sen. Kevin Blackwell is now planning to use the House's version as a vehicle to pass his own bill. Blackwell initially passed his own version out of the Medicaid Committee, albeit a shell of a bill that only brought forward state code sections that could be turned into an expansion bill, but he said he lacked the right amount of time and feedback before the Thursday deadline to pass general bills and constitutional amendments out of the Senate. "We are still working on our plan, but it still needed time Thursday," Blackwell said. "The House already passed its own version, so, we thought we'd go ahead and use that as a vehicle, do a strike-all amendment and substitute it with the Senate language." Blackwell said he intends to redact key language within the House's version, which was written by House Speaker Jason White and House Medicaid Chair Rep. Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, that would expand Medicaid within the state if the federal government rejects a 20-hour per week work requirement waiver. Since President Joseph Biden became president in 2021, state's that had work requirements for expanded Medicaid had those waivers revoked. Blackwell said if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reject Mississippi's proposal, it would be the end of expansion this year, but he is still hopeful the state would sue for the right to keep it. |
| Poll: Majority of Mississippi Republican voters support Medicaid expansion | |
| A majority of Mississippi's Republican primary voters support expanding Medicaid coverage to the working poor, according to a recent poll commissioned by the American Cancer Society. The poll, conducted on February 19-20 by private polling firm Cygnal, surveyed 600 people and showed that 55% of likely GOP primary voters in the Magnolia State support Medicaid expansion to cover low-income individuals. "This showed what we've been feeling for a while now, which is that just among Republican primary voters, a majority of them support expanding Medicaid to close the coverage gap," said Kimberly Hughes, the Mississippi government relations director at the American Cancer Society Action Network. The coverage gap is made up of low-income workers who make more than 28% of the federal poverty level -- the maximum income allowed to currently qualify for Medicaid in the state -- but less than the 100% of the federal poverty level needed to get subsidies that would make private insurance plans affordable. A reason that some senators, particularly those from rural districts, are reluctant to support expansion is a fear that they could attract a GOP primary challenger who would potentially criticize them for voting in favor of the policy. But Brent Buchanan, president & founder of Cygnal, said the poll surveyed Republican voters proportionally across the state's four congressional districts who indicated that there was little opposition to Republicans passing Medicaid expansion legislation. "Who would be on the other side funding you getting beaten over this? It doesn't exist," Buchanan said. "The way I view Medicaid expansion is that no primary voter is waking up thinking about expansion. This is an issue that has a great upside and very limited downside." |
| Sentencing continues for deputies who tortured 2 Black men in racist assault | |
 | Sentencing continues Wednesday for two more of the white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who pleaded guilty last year to breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two Black men with a stun gun, a sex toy and other objects. Daniel Opdyke, 28, and Christian Dedmon, 29, are set to appear separately before U.S. District Judge Tom Lee. They face lengthy prison terms. On Tuesday, Lee gave a nearly 20-year prison sentence to 31-year-old Hunter Elward and a 17.5-year sentence to 46-year-old Jeffrey Middleton. They, like Opdyke and Dedmon, worked as Rankin County sheriff's deputies during the attack. Another former deputy, Brett McAlpin, 53, and a former Richland police officer, Joshua Hartfield, 32, are set for sentencing Thursday. In a statement Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the "heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect." Before Lee sentenced Elward and Middleton, he called their actions "egregious and despicable." Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who took office in 2012, revealed no details about his deputies' actions when he announced they had been fired last June. After they pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department. Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department. |
| House leaders mull Friday vote on final spending package | |
 | The House could vote as soon as Friday on the yet-to-be-unveiled final fiscal 2024 appropriations package, in a race to limit the damage of a brief funding lapse this weekend. With legislative text not expected until Wednesday after a dust-up over Homeland Security Department funding, a brief funding gap appeared almost inevitable once a continuing resolution expires at midnight Friday. Even if the House can pass the package Friday, the Senate would need to take it up over the weekend in a best-case scenario. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told GOP lawmakers in a meeting Tuesday that he'd consider putting the measure on the floor Friday, people familiar with the discussions said. That timeline would require shortening the chamber's standard 72-hour review period. "My understanding is that we've got -- with fingers crossed -- a way forward to get this thing done by Friday," Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack, a senior Republican appropriator, said Tuesday. House Appropriations ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut echoed that assessment. "Our hope is that we can be able to vote on Friday," she said, adding that the six bills "have been put to bed." Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a senior appropriator, expressed hope Tuesday night that the Senate could pass the package quickly as Congress tries to leave town for a two-week Easter recess that is scheduled to begin Friday night. "This is the United States Senate; we're motivated by recesses," Murkowski said. |
| GOP state attorneys push back on Biden's proposed diversity rules for apprenticeship programs | |
| A Biden administration plan to promote diversity and equity in workplace apprenticeship programs is facing pushback from Republican attorneys general in two dozen states who assert it amounts to race-based discrimination. The U.S. Department of Labor contends its proposed rewrite of the National Apprenticeship System rules -- the first since 2008 -- would modernize and diversify on-the-job-training programs while improving their quality and protecting new workers. But the proposed rule change has become the latest example of political divisions over perceived fairness and opportunity in educational institutions and workplaces. While President Joe Biden and many Democratic-led states seek to require greater consideration of diversity, equity and inclusion, many Republican elected officials are seeking to eliminate such initiatives. "We should not let race-obsessed ideology interfere with an important and successful apprenticeship program," Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement on behalf of 24 states that submitted comments opposing the proposal by a Monday deadline. The proposed rule would require apprenticeship program sponsors to have strategies for the recruitment, hiring and retention of people from "underserved communities." The proposal would define that to include women, people of color, those with disabilities, military veterans, people adhering to particular religious beliefs and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, nonbinary or gender nonconforming. |
| Biden admin helping illegal immigrants vote, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson says | |
| Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson is making waves after writing a scathing letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming the federal government is making it easier for illegal immigrants and ineligible convicts to vote. Watson, who penned the letter before last week's primary election in Mississippi, points to an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. The order instructed government agencies to "consider ways to expand citizens' opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process." While the Biden administration claims the order is only to help American citizens vote, Watson believes it's being used as an attempt to register ineligible convicts and illegal immigrants to vote. "As you are aware, on March 7, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order No. 14019 which sought to turn the Department of Justice agencies from their historical missions of law enforcement to voter registration and get out the vote operations," Watson wrote to U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland. "These efforts are an intrusion into state matters and are a misuse of federal revenue and resources. In addition, it appears that these efforts have led to agencies under your charge attempting to register people to vote, including potentially ineligible felons and to co-opt state and local officials into accomplishing this goal." |
| Biden announces major semiconductor deal with Intel to invest in four states | |
 | President Biden on Thursday will tout an agreement with Intel to provide up to $8.5 billion to bolster semiconductor manufacturing and expand the company's operations in four states, the latest major investment through the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. Biden will travel to Chandler, Ariz., where he will visit an Intel campus to tout the preliminary agreement, which would also provide $11 billion in loans under the CHIP and Science Act and includes millions to help develop Intel's semiconductor and construction workforce. The funding would support construction and expansion of intel facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon and create nearly 30,000 jobs, White House officials said. The money will be used for four separate locations. It will help construct two leading-edge logic fabrication sites and modernize one existing site in Chandler, which would increase manufacturing capacity for Intel's most advanced semiconductors, the White House said. It would also allow for construction of two sites in New Albany, Ohio, the modernization of two fabrication sites into advanced packaging facilities in Rio Rancho, N.M., and the expansion and modernization of facilities in Hillsboro, Ore. Biden has repeatedly touted the importance of the CHIPS and Science Act. |
| Trump Claims 2024 Will Be Rigged, Putting Republican Turnout at Risk | |
 | After making years of unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, Donald Trump is dialing up warnings that there could be an even bigger theft this time around, a tactic that threatens to complicate Republican turnout efforts. "Too Big to Rig." That is the phrase Trump began unveiling in recent weeks, including in an appearance in Greensboro, N.C. His campaign also has printed signs with the slogan to hand out to supporters. The idea behind the pitch is this: Trump needs a lead so large that no one can take it away. "We want a landslide," Trump said at the rally. "We have to win so that it's too big to rig." The line has garnered energetic applause from the Trump faithful, but it presents messaging challenges for Republicans. Even as the former president says the voting process could be rigged, he is urging GOP supporters to participate in it anyway. Trump also needs to woo moderate and swing voters, yet they could be turned off by his drumbeat of election-fraud claims. "There is no way to effectively toe this line," said David Becker, director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, focused on election administration. "When you still want voters to turn out but you're telling them it's rigged -- it's no surprise that some of them are on the fence about that." Trump, in nearly every rally or appearance, repeats his 2020 stolen-election claims, even after his own Justice Department concluded that there was no widespread fraud and his campaign and allies lost dozens of court cases challenging the results. |
| How Trump-backed Bernie Moreno won Ohio GOP Senate primary: 4 takeaways from his big win | |
 | The lineup is set for Ohio's high-stakes U.S. Senate race. Businessman Bernie Moreno won the Republican nomination on Tuesday and will face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall. What started as a quiet primary ended in turmoil as different factions of the GOP tried to push their chosen candidate over the finish line. Moreno defeated state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and Secretary of State Frank LaRose with more than 50% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Now, Republicans say they'll unite to tackle an even loftier mission: Unseating Brown. The three-term senator is one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country, and Republicans want to flip Ohio in their quest for control of the Senate. At the same time, they acknowledge the challenge: Brown is a skilled retail politician who's appealed to working class voters in past elections. Moreno was largely unknown in Ohio outside of the Cleveland area, where he based his car dealership and blockchain businesses. He briefly ran in the 2022 Senate primary to replace former Sen. Rob Portman, but he dropped out before the deadline to make the ballot. By contrast, Sen. J.D. Vance had some name recognition when Trump backed him in 2022. That made Trump's endorsement of Moreno in December a bit of a gamble. At that point, Moreno was polling last in a primary that hadn't gotten much attention. Trump did it anyway. In the end, Moreno's win -- coupled with another rebuke of traditional Republicans -- allows Trump to continue claiming influence over GOP races. |
| Texas immigration law back in federal court after whiplash rulings | |
 | The push by Republican-led states to take on a direct role in immigration enforcement -- historically a federal matter -- will go before an appeals court Wednesday morning, a day after the Supreme Court briefly allowed Texas to begin arresting and deport migrants under a controversial new law. Wednesday's hearing follows a day of legal whiplash in federal court for the Texas law, known as S.B. 4. The law remained frozen as of early Wednesday, after a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit late Tuesday halted the state from enforcing it. The law's fate is yet another flashpoint in the nation's polarized debate over immigration, which Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump has made a central theme of his campaign against President Biden. Whatever the 5th Circuit decides, the status of the law is likely to end up back before the Supreme Court. The high court's order Tuesday afternoon set off a fast-moving round of legal maneuvering in the lower court that has kept the law's status in limbo. The Supreme Court urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to decide quickly whether the law would remain in effect while litigation continues, and hours later, a three-judge panel said it would convene a hearing by Zoom on Wednesday morning. Then, in a highly unusual move, just after 11 p.m. Tuesday, two of the judges on the 5th Circuit panel blocked enforcement of the law in advance of the Wednesday hearing. |
| Young people don't want to farm anymore. Can Pennsylvania change their minds? | |
 | Tucked among rows of prize-winning mushrooms and squash, heirloom chickens and a milkshake stand, the Pennsylvania Farm Show has in recent years offered a new exhibit: "So you want to be a farmer?" Across the country, legions of young people have emphatically answered "no" to that question, instead choosing more lucrative desk jobs that come with vacation time and 401(K) plans. But not in Pennsylvania, where members of a new generation are trading in keyboards for tractors at higher rates than in other states. Pennsylvania lawmakers have prioritized agriculture, safeguarding more than 600,000 acres of farmland from commercial development since 1988 -- more than any other state -- and passing a tax credit for beginning farmers. State lawmakers also wrote the nation's first state-level farm bill in 2019, partially modeled on the federal farm bill, with a focus on workforce development, boosting conservation and organic opportunities and helping family farms plan for generational succession. It could offer a roadmap for the nation. With millions of acres of American farmland set to change hands in the next 20 years, state legislators and agricultural policymakers are warning of a crisis for domestic food production and fading vibrancy in rural communities. The U.S. has lost over half a million farms since the 1980s and the average age of the American farmer has ticked up to 58. Without reliable domestic food production, they say, America's ability to feed itself and address global food security could be in jeopardy. |
| IRS chief zeroes in on wealthy tax cheats in AP interview | |
| IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has a message for high-wealth tax cheats who are wrongly deducting private jet travel and otherwise shorting the government on their taxes: Pay your fair share so "others aren't shouldering the burden of funding our government." He also has a thought for ordinary taxpayers putting off the inevitable with less than a month left in tax-filing season: "Get it done." (And double-check your work.) Werfel, who will hit the one-year mark at the helm of the IRS in April, said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press that the agency will expand its pursuit of high-wealth tax dodgers with new initiatives in the coming months and is using tools like artificial intelligence to ferret out abuses and taking the fight to sophisticated scammers. That doesn't mean the IRS has undergone a complete image makeover. There's still plenty of criticism to go around, including from Republican lawmakers who accuse the agency of heavy-handed overreach. We're kind of like the NFL referee -- when we get the call right or wrong, we get booed, and we're OK with that," Werfel said. But efforts to crack down on high-wealth tax cheats are starting to bite, he says, and that should mean more money coming in to fund the government. "It's having an impact," Werfel said. Large corporate filers and others are "taking notice that the IRS is ramping up our scrutiny, and I think that will inevitably result in more compliance" -- and revenue. |
| 8 Google Employees Invented Modern AI. Here's the Inside Story | |
 | Eight names are listed as authors on "Attention Is All You Need," a scientific paper written in the spring of 2017. They were all Google researchers, though by then one had left the company. When the most tenured contributor, Noam Shazeer, saw an early draft, he was surprised that his name appeared first, suggesting his contribution was paramount. "I wasn't thinking about it," he says. It's always a delicate balancing act to figure out how to list names -- who gets the coveted lead position, who's shunted to the rear. Especially in a case like this one, where each participant left a distinct mark in a true group effort. As the researchers hurried to finish their paper, they ultimately decided to "sabotage" the convention of ranking contributors. They added an asterisk to each name and a footnote: "Equal contributor," it read. "Listing order is random." The writers sent the paper off to a prestigious artificial intelligence conference just before the deadline -- and kicked off a revolution. Approaching its seventh anniversary, the "Attention" paper has attained legendary status. The authors started with a thriving and improving technology -- a variety of AI called neural networks -- and made it into something else: a digital system so powerful that its output can feel like the product of an alien intelligence. Called transformers, this architecture is the not-so-secret sauce behind all those mind-blowing AI products, including ChatGPT and graphic generators such as Dall-E and Midjourney. |
| How the tote bag became the hottest fashion accessory around | |
| Newsrooms, musicians, bookstores and your favorite grocery store are all in on the tote bag as a part of their merchandising strategy. The popular supermarket Trader Joe's, which boasts a devoted following, recently released a line of $2.99 canvas mini-tote bags that come in red, blue, green and yellow. These bags -- which shoppers report have sold out at their stores -- are now reselling for hundreds of dollars on e-commerce sites like eBay and Mercari. While "we've always toted our stuff" around, the term "tote bag" came into use in the 20th century, explained Clare Sauro, the director and chief curator of Drexel University's Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection. People may be surprised to know they have more than a century-long history. "They've gone in and out of fashion, certainly. But I would say we definitely are having a tote bag moment," Sauro said. Sauro said part of the reason items like tote bags are popular at the moment is that we're moving away from flashy, costly items toward more understated accessories. Think of the "quiet luxury" aesthetic that rejects ostentatious garments. "It used to be, 'I need the really fancy purse. I need the really expensive handbag.' And now it might be, 'I have this limited-edition tote that signals to other people that I'm a fan of this company," Sauro said. Enter the Trader Joe's tote bag and other reasonably priced, logo-adorned items, like the Stanley tumbler. |
| Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to Meet Thursday | |
| The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Members of the Board may participate in the meeting via teleconference or an online meeting platform. The meeting will be webcast on www.mississippi.edu. Members of the public and media may attend the meeting in the Ballroom of Hardy Hall, located on the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus at 730 East Beach Boulevard, Long Beach, Miss. An Executive Session may be held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. |
| Ole Miss to host Region VII Mississippi Science and Engineering Fair | |
| The University of Mississippi Office of Pre-College Programs will host the Region VII Mississippi Science and Engineering Fair on Thursday, March 21. The fair will include projects by students in first through 12th grades. Region VII includes the counties of Calhoun, Carroll, DeSoto, Grenada, Lafayette, Marshall, Montgomery, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica and Yalobusha. All projects were submitted by March 14, but judging and award presentation will take place at the Tad Smith Coliseum on Thursday. According to the event agenda, the fair will be open to the public starting at 11 a.m. The event will end around 3 p.m. "We welcome projects from students across the region and enjoy seeing all of the hard work and dedication put into their projects," the website for the science fair reads. "Through participating in MSEF, students gain invaluable skills and knowledge 'doing science' in much the same way that scientists do science. Having an arena in which to present their research publicly to professional judges cultivates the curiosity, persistence, and problem-solving skills students will need to be the next generation of innovators and leaders in our region." |
| City receives $2M for connector road | |
| The city of Oxford was awarded $2 million for the future University Avenue-Commonwealth Boulevard connector, announced Mayor Robyn Tannehill Monday. Tannehill said the city was informed Friday that the funds were awarded in the FY 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill that was passed by the House and Senate. The bill will now go to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. "The connection of Pegues Road at University Avenue to Commonwealth Boulevard has been a top transportation infrastructure priority for our community and will provide a much-needed additional ingress/egress from the Oxford Commons development, allowing residents to access University Avenue without having to travel on Highway 7 South," Tannehill said in a statement. The connecting road should also help traffic management in and around Oxford Commons, with residents on the east side of the city having a new way to Della Davidson and Oxford High School once the road is constructed. Tannehill said the $2 million, while greatly appreciated, will not cover the entire cost of building the connecting road. "We have several other requests out there to complete the funding necessary to start design and construction," she said. Tannehill thanked Oxford's senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, for their support. |
| Alabama passes wide-ranging bill banning college DEI programs, training | |
 | After days of lengthy debate, an effort to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Alabama state institutions will now head to the governor's desk. The bill, SB129, authored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, asks for sweeping changes or cancellations to state agencies and public colleges that currently fund DEI offices and programming. It is not clear yet whether the bill will force some state colleges, which support a combined $16 million in diversity spending, to lay off staff. The bill bans any program that "advocates for a divisive concept." It also would prohibit higher education institutions from allowing individuals to use a restroom that is different from their sex as assigned at birth. Tuesday evening, the ACLU of Alabama called the legislation a "blow for the activists, students, and everyday Alabamians" who protested the bill and others throughout the legislative session. Public colleges also are preparing for changes on campuses. In a message to students and faculty Tuesday evening, presidents of the University of Alabama System's three campuses said leadership and legal counsel are working to determine what actions the campuses will need to take to ensure their programs are in compliance with the law, if the bill is signed by Ivey. In statements to AL.com representatives for Auburn University and the University of Alabama System did not confirm whether any positions on their campuses will be terminated, but said they will continue to work with legislators and act consistently with the law. |
| SC House poised to take up bills opposing university diversity and equity programs | |
 | Lawmakers in the S.C. House of Representatives will soon take up legislation barring the state's public colleges and universities from using explicit efforts to boost diversity, equity and inclusion in their academic and hiring policies. The bill passed out of the full House Education and Public Works Committee on both partisan and racial lines March 19. It is aimed at imposing multiple restrictions on academic institutions' ability to consider internal policies that contemplate race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation as a criteria for hiring, admission, seminars, classes or trainings on campus. The 11-4 vote -- 11 Republicans, all White, and four Democrats, all Black -- comes after several weeks of back-and-forth testimony. Some expressed concerns of speaking out on their campuses or a concern college admissions weren't sufficiently based on merit. Others said they believed the bill's intentions ignored hundreds of years of racial and gender discrimination in U.S. history and represented a step backward for a society that had begun to come to grips with systemic disparities between different groups. Supporters of the legislation said the bill's aims were not to codify discrimination into state law. Rather, they said, the bill sought to undo the unintended discrimination that occurs by elevating one class of people over another while pushing a point of view they said values one group over another. Unlike some states that have passed DEI bans, South Carolina's bill lacks a carve-out for institutions like the University of South Carolina Law School and the Medical University of South Carolina, whose accreditations and grant funding applications often demand them to recognize cultural differences between different demographic groups that create disparities in their respective professions. |
| Changes recommended to U. of Kentucky board will be 'designed to clarify' faculty's role, president says | |
 | Hundreds of University of Kentucky staff and faculty members attended a meeting Monday asking President Eli Capilouto to delay his upcoming recommendations to the board of trustees around shared governance and voicing concerns about the approach the administration has taken. In the hour and a half long university senate meeting, Capilouto said he continues to gather feedback from faculty, staff and students about the university's governance, but reiterated his plan to make recommendations to the board in April about the university's governance structure. Faculty members said they are concerned about the rushed timeline of the process and requested that Capilouto consider asking the board of trustees for more time to look at recommendations, while others emphasized their willingness to work with administrators on potential restructuring. Speaking to a standing room only crowd, with over 400 people joining the meeting virtually and in person, Capilouto said he had spent the last two weeks gathering feedback about what works and what needs to change at UK, and would continue to do so this week. "Ultimately, the changes that I will recommend to the board are designed to clarify the principles enumerated in our governing regulations, and give clear direction to those of us on how we can and should work to honor our mission," Capilouto said. Capilouto said he plans to present proposed recommended changes to faculty, staff and students by the end of this month with time for feedback before presenting recommendations at the next board meeting. |
| Jim Herbert, who transformed U. of Tennessee agriculture studies, dies at 83 | |
 | James "Jim" L. Herbert, a University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduate and major donor, especially to the Herbert College of Agriculture, died March 16 at 83. Herbert is remembered for his generosity to the university and his pioneering biotechnology work in food and animal safety. UT announced the news of his death March 18. In 2018, UT renamed the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources the Herbert College of Agriculture after Jim Herbert and his wife, Judi Herbert, made a "transformational" donation to the college. "Jim Herbert loved the University of Tennessee -- and it always showed," UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman said in a UT release. "He was generous with his time, his support and his leadership. He was an advocate for higher education and a role model for all Volunteers. In addition to his generous support for agriculture, he and Judi supported many parts of the university, including the College of Arts and Sciences. He will be deeply missed and his legacy will live on in the thousands of lives he impacted." Raised on a Memphis farm, Jim Herbert attended the flagship university to study agriculture while living and working in a greenhouse on campus. He and his wife met while attending UT. He graduated in 1962 with a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry, and Judi Herbert graduated in 1963 with an English degree. In 1982, he co-founded Neogen, a biotechnology company focusing on food and animal safety, diagnostic testing, genome studies and sanitation. |
| UGA professor chronicles search for MIA soldiers in the ocean's depths for Smithsonian magazine | |
 | Stephen Mihm teaches history at the University of Georgia and grows heirloom apples on his Oconee County farm, but in 2023 he became a journeyman on a mission to search the ocean depths for soldiers who disappeared in a fierce battle of World War II. "I was there from the beginning until the end -- a little over three weeks," said Mihm, who returned home with new skills and a respect for those dedicated to finding soldiers listed as missing in action. Mihm was there specifically to chronicle the search for three men presumed killed when their bomber, known as an Grumman Avenger, was shot down by the Japanese along the Palau Islands of the South Pacific. A seasoned writer, he has written books, and had articles published in many outlets from magazines to newspapers such as The New York Times. What he documented became an article in the March issue of Smithsonian, a magazine of science and history published since 1970. The article, "Recovering the Lost Aviators of World War II," is also the magazine's cover story. Not only was the story written by a UGA professor, but the article highlights the work of Dr. Patrick Scannon, who graduated from UGA in 1969 with a degree in chemistry. He later earned his medical degree and took his medical talents to California, where he formed a private company. Scannon in his later years founded an organization called Project Recover, which is dedicated to the search for MIA soldiers. Through this venture, he and Mihm would cross paths. |
| Potential 2024 UF students now have 2 more weeks to consider their admissions offer | |
 | The University of Florida announced Friday that it is extending its enrollment confirmation deadline for first-year students to May 15. The extension, a news release said, comes in response to delays in universities receiving financial aid data from the federal government. Now, prospective students admitted for the fall 2024 semester will have until May 15 to accept their admissions offers. "UF acknowledges the critical role finances play in the college selection process. Consequently, the deadline extension was made to better support students and their families," the release said. The Office of Federal Financial Aid, which is the country's largest provider of student financial aid, provides multiple forms of financial assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). However, the federal processing timeline has been prolonged due to a recent revision to the FAFSA application process. "UF is committed to helping students and families get all the information they need to make an informed college decision," said Mary Parker, vice president for enrollment management, in a news release. "By extending this deadline, UF hopes to reduce some of the stress and burden the delays have caused to students and their families." |
| New Blinn, Texas A&M program hopes to help nursing shortage | |
 | A.J. Willingham had been working as a personal trainer and bartender in the Bryan-College Station area for nearly five years when the COVID-19 lockdowns required him to find a new career path. Having been a personal trainer, Willingham, 29, said he had always had a general interest in personal health but that it was the lockdowns that ultimately brought him into the world of nursing. In the summer of 2021, Willingham said he began working as a patient care technician in the ER at St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan and began noticing a trend among some of the best nurses he was working with. "I was working around a lot of other nurses that had come through the Blinn program and I really admired them in the way that they were able to handle their situations," he said. "The amount of knowledge and the breadth of knowledge that they had really inspired me." Almost three years later, Willingham is set to become one of the first students to graduate from the Aggie Student-Centered Express Nursing Degree (ASCEND) Program, created via a partnership between the Blinn College District and Texas A&M University School of Nursing. The new program allows students to concurrently earn their associate's degree in nursing (ADN) and bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN) by taking part in curriculum from both institutions. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), one of the leading causes of the nursing shortage is a lack of nursing school facilities, with over 91,000 qualified applicants being turned away in 2021 alone. |
| Texas students uncertain about college as FAFSA fiasco lingers | |
| Alexandra Aranda considers her freshman year at Texas A&M University a success. The Mesquite resident dreams of working for the human trafficking division of the FBI. She realized her passion for helping victims after shadowing detectives from the Mesquite Police Department in high school. The 19-year-old found mentorship through an A&M adviser who connected her with former FBI agents. Aranda received a paid trip to Washington, D.C., where she visited the FBI's headquarters and learned about other careers in the federal government. But as she heads to her sophomore year, her future is uncertain. Aranda's ability to continue her studies relies on a single form: the FAFSA -- the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. She is among millions of students worried about their ability to attend college in the fall since they don't know how much financial help -- if any -- they'll receive. Delays and technical glitches in this year's revamped FAFSA have made the process even more confusing and stressful for families. The form determines what college grants, loans and work-study opportunities students can receive. So far this year, fewer than 5 million students have submitted their FAFSA. About 18.5 million did so by this time last year, experts note. Students are struggling to get a handle on what money is available to them and fear they won't have answers soon. |
| Riley Strain's family asks for sensitivity as search goes on | |
 | Family members of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain and search leaders requested the public's sensitivity and restraint at a news conference Tuesday as the search for Strain enters its second week. The conference centered around the public's involvement in ground search efforts and ongoing discourse on social media. Representatives from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit that provides search and rescue services, joined Strain's family at Public Square Park in Nashville for the conference. David Flagg, United Cajun Navy's director of operations, said the nonprofit has been involved in the search since March 10 after being contacted by Strain's family. The group plans to bring in a hovercraft to search the Cumberland River on Tuesday or early Wednesday in coordination with Nashville police. It will bring an airboat to the search Thursday. The group's main focus is finding Strain and the second is ensuring the safety of individuals involved in the search, due to the terrain near the Cumberland River. "It's just not safe, it's real dangerous," Flagg said, detailing the need for heavy duty protective wear and rappelling gear for all individuals searching the area. Flagg and Strain's family members also addressed discourse surrounding the search for Strain on social media. They asked the public to respect the difficulty of the investigation for police and the family's emotional state. |
| Nebraska Governor Pushes Regents to Hire a New President | |
 | With the search for the University of Nebraska's next president stretching into its seventh month, the Board of Regents is coming under mounting pressure from Governor Jim Pillen to make an appointment already. Today, the board seems poised to do just that. A meeting scheduled for this morning includes an agenda item indicating that regents will likely designate a "priority candidate" as the system's next president. The move comes in the wake of criticism from Pillen and a reported deadlock among the regents, with local media reports indicating that the eight board members are split over two candidates. Pillen, a Republican and a former member of NU's elected Board of Regents, has raised concerns about the lengthy timeline for the search as well as the loss of athletic director Trev Alberts, a former Nebraska football star, who recently departed after less than three years to take the same job at Texas A&M University. Pillen has blamed the loss of the homegrown hero on Nebraska's lack of permanent leadership, calling on the Board of Regents to act fast to fill the presidency. Pillen has made clear his own priorities for Nebraska's next president. He has urged the board to hire someone with Nebraska ties, who is willing to stay on the job for 10 years and who respects the values of conservative Nebraskans, the Nebraska Examiner reported. Some sources, the news organization noted, took the last point to mean someone who won't advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Pillen campaigned against when he ran for governor in 2022. |
| Kyle Rittenhouse to speak at U. of Memphis amid concerns and complaints from students | |
| The University of Memphis is preparing for Kyle Rittenhouse to speak on campus Wednesday at 7 p.m. Rittenhouse comes to Memphis as part of his Rittenhouse Recap. His message will focus on the importance of the Second Amendment and the "lies of Black Lives Matter," according to event details from Turning Point USA. In 2020, Rittenhouse drove to a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and shot three people, killing two of them. He later claimed self-defense and was found not guilty on all charges. Since this event was announced earlier this month, there have been numerous calls for the university to cancel it. Several students have criticized the U of M and planned to protest. University of Memphis officials are sticking to the law, citing the First Amendment and free speech as the reasons to allow Rittenhouse to speak on campus. The university is not sponsoring the event. Turning Point USA, the non-profit that advocates conservative views on college campuses, invited Rittenhouse to speak at Memphis. Elizabeth Mathney of Turning Point USA said in an interview on KWAM NewsTalk Memphis, that she wished critics would keep an open mind. "Free speech is important. Discussion is important. Being able to have civil discourse is what our country needs now more than ever," said Mathney. |
| Huge bipartisan support among students for government loan help | |
| Huge majorities of students in both parties say the government should do more to help them pay off their student loans, a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll finds. Among all adults, party ID drives deep differences of opinion on this question. But the gap all but disappears among U.S. students currently enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and professional institutions. 89% of Democratic students surveyed -- and 81% of Republicans -- said the government should offer some relief, according to the poll of 4,168 U.S. adults. Compare that with the general population: 76% of Democrats -- but only 62% of independents and 47% of Republicans -- say the government should help. The trends could spell trouble for President Biden as he tries to turn out younger voters in November. So far, the steps he's taken to erase billions of dollars of student debt have yet to lock in enthusiasm from younger voters. Some complain he hasn't done enough. Others are frustrated with his support for Israel. "Biden's popular student loan program was struck down, but the genie is out of the bottle. ... In courting young voters, taking things away is not usually a good campaign strategy," said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema. Despite divisions among Americans over how to deal with student loan debts, the survey found broad agreement on government help with future borrowing. Four in five Americans support the idea of the government making student loans available at 0% or near-zero interest rates. |
| Mississippi House moves to protect retirees and taxpayers by diversifying PERS Board | |
| Rebekah Staples writes for the Magnolia Tribune: For decades, Mississippi government workers have contributed to our state's wellbeing. Whether in our state government, in the classroom, or in your local city hall, each public worker signed on to state service with the expectation and promise of a retirement they could trust. For these workers, and for our people, the magnitude and importance of the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) cannot be overstated. Today, PERS carries billions in assets and billions in liabilities. But more than sterile numbers on a balance sheet, the system provides a living for tens of thousands of citizens, many of whom rely on benefit checks as their only source of income. Lawmakers are aware of these realities. They feel the burden of managing the system because they have family, friends, and neighbors in the system. None of them are trying to dismantle PERS. All of them are aware of real challenges that must be solved for to protect the system for future retirees. Public sector retirees and PERS members are understandably concerned whenever their retirements become the subject of front-page headlines and Capitol fodder. Unfortunately, there are people and groups who weaponize this fear for political power. ... While the PERS system is not in immediate danger, the trends are concerning and require a closer look at system finances. House Bill 1590 is a good step toward a stronger system that honors commitments to retirees without saddling taxpayers (non-beneficiaries) with higher taxes. |
| Why is Mississippi still debating law enforcement officer misconduct legislation? | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: The Mississippi Legislature is purposefully and earnestly moving legislation through the Capitol that would make it easier to prosecute law enforcement officer misconduct. This effort is long overdue and represents unfinished business in our state. There are two lingering stereotypes of Southern law enforcement types, particularly county sheriffs and their deputies. One's a pipe dream and the other is a nightmare. The first is all about Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife. The sheriff doesn't wear a sidearm, the deputy has only one bullet (in his pocket!) and Aunt Bee cooks first-rate meals for the prisoners. On a good day, there is Appalachian bluegrass music and gospel singing from the Darlings – and the meanest hombre in Mayberry is the rock-throwing hillbilly miscreant Ernest T. Bass. In Mayberry, law enforcement is a necessary but civilized affair in which town drunk Otis Campbell locks himself in his jail cell to sleep it off in the comfortable quarters. The other Southern sheriff stereotype is less quaint and provincial than Mayberry. It's a stereotype of big-bellied, belligerent and violent men with guns, nightsticks and malicious intent. At times in the South and particularly in Mississippi, some of those "lawmen" were identified as being in league with the Ku Klux Klan and functioned with the sanction of the badge. ... The vast majority of Mississippi law enforcement officers are dedicated, selfless and committed to protecting and serving the taxpayers. They are to be respected and valued. But for that to happen, there must be a structure to hold the small minority of rogue officers accountable for abusing the public trust. |
SPORTS
| College Football Playoff, ESPN agree to deal through 2031-32 | |
| The College Football Playoff and ESPN have agreed to a new six-year, $7.8 billion contract that ensures the network will remain the sole media rights holder of the event through the 2031-32 season, it was jointly announced Tuesday. ESPN, which has held exclusive broadcast rights since the CFP began in 2015, will expand its package for the final two years of the current 12-year contract, which runs through the 2025-26 season. The CFP is unveiling a 12-team format for the 2024-25 season and ESPN will add all four of the new first-round games each year to the network's existing coverage of the New Year's Six bowls (now the quarterfinals and semifinals) and the CFP National Championship game. ESPN also secured a six-year agreement that will cost $1.3 billion annually beginning in the 2026-27 season and includes exclusive rights to all rounds of the expanded playoff along with continued exclusive rights to all programming connected to the CFP, such as the CFP selection show, weekly Top 25 ranking shows and more. "This new agreement solidifies the broadcast future of the College Football Playoff for many years to come," said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, chairman of the CFP board of managers. "ESPN has been a key piece of the overwhelming success of the playoff during these first 10 years. The addition of ABC to this expanded relationship is just the next step in the continued growth of one of the top sporting events of the year." |
| ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff through 2031 under $7.8 billion deal | |
| The College Football Playoff and ESPN announced a $7.8 billion deal Tuesday that will give the network exclusive rights to the expanded postseason through the 2031 season, with the national championship game moving to ABC starting in 2026. Financial terms were not announced, but as previously reported the new six-year agreement will pay the CFP and participating conferences $1.3 billion annually. "It's a significant day for the CFP and for the future of college football," CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. "The depth of coverage that ESPN gives to the sport throughout the season is second to none." The conferences agreed to at least a 12-team playoff starting in 2026, but more expansion could be on the way. Hancock said last week that format discussions among the management committee, comprised of Bowl Subdivision conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director, have been tabled for now. ESPN has been the home of the CFP's primary broadcast for the championship game through the first 10 years of the playoff, and will remain so for the final two years of the original 12-year deal. In 2026, the title game moves to ESPN's parent network, ABC. Nick Dawson, ESPN's senior vice president for programming, said moving the title game to the over-the-air network was a collaborative decision between the CFP and ESPN. |
| College Football Playoff finalizes agreement giving ESPN exclusive rights through 2031-32 | |
| ESPN and the College Football Playoff on Tuesday announced a finalized agreement granting the network exclusive rights through the 2031-32 season. Financial terms were not disclosed, but The Athletic has previously reported the deal is a six-year extension worth an average of $1.3 billion annually. Two seasons remain on ESPN's original 12-year deal for the New Year's Six bowls (two of them CFP semifinals) and national championship game. As part of the deal, ESPN adds the four new first-round games involved in the expanded 12-team format that begins this season. The six-year extension begins in 2026-27. "We look forward to enhancing our valued relationship (with the CFP) over the next two years, and then continuing it for six more as we embark on this new, expanded playoff era," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. The terms of the ESPN deal have been set for some time, according to executives, but the conferences had delayed approving it due to a lack of clarity over the future structure of the event. Finally last Friday, the nine continuing FBS conferences and Notre Dame signed off on a basic framework that includes uneven revenue distribution among the major conferences. Multiple sources briefed on the model confirmed the Big Ten and SEC will receive more than $21 million per school, the ACC around $13 million each and the Big 12 around $12 million each, with around $1.8 million for the Group of 5 conferences collectively. The remainder goes to independents, including more than $12 million for Notre Dame, and the Football Championship Subdivision. |
| Baseball: No. 21 Bulldogs score 14 unanswered in comeback win over Memphis | |
| "Tuesday night brawl, right?" Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis was likely a bit more comfortable joking around after a crazy win than a crazy loss, but one could easily tell how much he enjoyed the Bulldogs' 17-9 Tuesday night comeback win against Memphis. With conference play starting up across the country most teams have to roll with the punches that come with the season for midweek games. While this one nearly got out of control for MSU, the team responded as they did during the weekend against LSU, by forcing the issue at the plate and calming things down on defense. The result? After going down early, the Bulldogs scored 14 unanswered runs to take control of the game. "They were in the same situation as us, we just hadn't gotten into that bullpen yet, and the guys did a great job being patient and taking what they gave them," Lemonis said. "You usually start to see that on Tuesdays and Sundays in this league so we did a good job of winning that game." The Tigers (11-12) had a strong start to the game, putting themselves up 9-3 against a lackluster MSU. The five-run fifth was enough to wake up the Bulldogs though, and they responded with seven of their own in the bottom half of the fifth to take the lead. This was MSU's last home game until April as they travel for SEC series' against Texas A&M and Georgia over the next two weeks, with a trip to Birmingham to face Samford sandwiched in between. Lemonis is looking forward to facing an experienced Aggies team this weekend, one which will again test a Bulldog offense that has turned on lately. Connor Hujsak and David Mershon were unstoppable at the plate, combining for five hits, and Dakota Jordan added his 11th home run of the season. |
| Who are the loudest Mississippi State fans at March Madness? Meet the Bulldogs' parents | |
| Auburn was set to inbound when a voice echoed from near the Mississippi State bench at Bridgestone Arena. Someone guard No. 2! It was a fair suggestion, considering Auburn forward Jaylin Williams was having a strong outing -- he finished with 13 points against MSU in the semifinals of the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday. But the coaching didn't come from Chris Jans or his assistants. Instead, it was Ruthie Matthews' voice. It didn't matter that her son, MSU forward Cameron Matthews, was on the bench. She wanted to do her part in ensuring the Bulldogs were set defensively in their first SEC semifinal appearance since 2010. "I love the game," she told the Clarion Ledger. "I love Mississippi State." But she wasn't alone in voicing her support -- and coaching. The Mississippi State family section was the loudest at the conference tournament, often catching the attention of the SEC Network and ESPN cameras. It will be no different at Spectrum Center when the No. 8 seed Bulldogs (21-13) open NCAA tournament play Thursday (11:15 a.m. CT, CBS) against No. 9 seed Michigan State (19-14). The parents of the Mississippi State players are sure to match the energy required for March Madness. |
| Tom Izzo reveals his initial thoughts on matchup vs. Mississippi State | |
| Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has led the Spartans to their 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, earning a nine-seed in the West Region of this year's bracket as they'll take on Mississippi State for their round one matchup. Thursday will be far from Izzo's first rodeo in March Madness, and ahead of the game, he gave a detailed breakdown and scouting report of the Spartans' upcoming opponent. "Mississippi State is one of the bigger teams that we'll have played," Izzo said on Monday. "Spent a lot of time yesterday and this morning on them, they've won 21 games but they've also beaten a team like Tennessee twice that I know really well and they're as big and strong as anybody we've played. I guess it's good to come off a game where you played Purdue, which is a very physical team, but this team might be more mobile. Especially at the center position." The Bulldogs boast a front line with three players standing at 6-foot-7 or taller, complimented by guards that can get the job done too. Headlined by Second-Team All-SEC and All-Freshman Team selection Josh Hubbard. "They have a freshman named Hubbard who was playing like 10 minutes a game and all of a sudden he caught fire in one game and since then he's been unbelievable," Izzo said. "He went through a three or four game stretch where he averaged 29 [points] a game, he's averaging 17 or 18 I think for the season." |
| Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby discusses goals for inaugural spring in Starkville | |
| Spring practice for the Mississippi State football team kicked off on Tuesday. The Bulldogs, who are now under the direction of new head coach Jeff Lebby, are looking for a resurgent season after missing a bowl game for just the second time in 13 years in 2023. During a recent episode of Thunder & Lightning, Lebby discussed what his goals are for his inaugural spring in Starkville. "I want to achieve 'team.' I want our guys to become closer. I want our team to understand what it's going to take on Saturdays," Lebby said. "And to me, that's us getting on the grass and understanding the practice field, man, it's got to be our edge. It's got to be advantage us with the way we practice, how we do what we do, and I think that will be huge in setting a foundation for year one." A lot of his success has been hinged on quarterback play as Lebby coached college standouts in McKenzie Milton, Matt Corral, and Dillon Gabriel. One question Bulldog fans have had this offseason is if there's a player on the current roster who has the capability to put up the kind of numbers Lebby's previous quarterbacks have managed. "All three of those guys played the game the way it's supposed to be played, and they would die for their football team (and) for their teammates. They were incredibly accurate throwers in a bunch of different body positions and guys that can keep things alive and make plays with their feet," Lebby said, adding that he thinks Baylor transfer Blake Shapen could be the next great quarterback to thrive in his offense. |
| Three storylines to watch as Mississippi State opens spring football | |
| Football is officially back in Starkville this week as Mississippi State opened spring practice Tuesday in preparation for the Bulldogs' first season under head coach Jeff Lebby. Eight of MSU's 10 assistant coaches are also new to the program, with only wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis and defensive line coach David Turner back in the fold from Zach Arnett's 2023 staff. The Bulldogs have added 14 players so far through the transfer portal and will likely bring more on board in the spring window from Apr. 15-30. Coming off a 5-7 season and its first winter without a bowl game since 2009, MSU's roster will look different at nearly every position group in 2024. With more than six months still to go until the Bulldogs' season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31, here are the three biggest storylines to follow over the next month of spring workouts: Can anyone challenge Blake Shapen for the starting quarterback role? What does the rest of the offense look like? How does Coleman Hutzler's defense come together? |
| No. 20 Bulldogs Hit The Road For Midweek In Montgomery | |
| Mississippi State will travel to reigning National Player of the Week Madisyn Kennedy's hometown on Wednesday to meet Alabama State in Montgomery at 3 p.m. CT. The originally-scheduled doubleheader has been changed to a single game. Fans can purchase a single-game pass to watch live on HornetSportsNetwork.com for $8. Kennedy has been pacing one of the hottest offenses in the country. The No. 20/20 Bulldogs (21-6, 3-3 SEC) rank 10th nationally in OPS (1.000) thanks in large part to her 1.688 mark that ranks second nationally among individuals. The fifth-year first baseman leads the SEC in slugging percentage (1.643), homers (6) and RBIs (13) in league games and has hit eight homers with 24 RBIs in the month of March. Wednesday will mark State's third trip to Alabama State's campus and first since the 2021 season. The Bulldogs won that matchup 10-4. They were also ranked No. 20 in the 2018 trip to Montgomery when State won 11-0. Mississippi State is set to travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Thursday afternoon. The Bulldogs will meet No. 18/17 Arkansas for a three-game set in Bogle Park on March 22-24. All three games will air on SEC Network+. Game times are set for 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and 12 p.m. CT. |
| Mississippi State's Madisyn Kennedy named NFCA National Player of the Week | |
| After another red-hot week at the plate, Mississippi State fifth-year Madisyn Kennedy was named NFCA National Player of the Week on Tuesday. Kennedy, who played primarily shortstop for most of her collegiate career but is playing mostly first base this year, has hit seven home runs in her last six games, with four over the past week against Louisiana-Monroe and Texas A&M. She leads the Southeastern Conference and is second in the nation with a 1.167 slugging percentage, also ranking second in the SEC in home runs (11) and third in runs batted in (35). Against the Warhawks last Wednesday, Kennedy homered twice in the fourth inning alone in a 15-0 Bulldogs victory. She opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first, then hit a grand slam and a two-run shot in the fourth as MSU exploded for 12 runs in the frame. In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Aggies, Kennedy was 2-for-4 with three RBI, helping lead a Bulldogs comeback that ultimately fell short with a sixth-inning solo homer and a seventh-inning two-run single. The following day, she launched a three-run blast in the first that tied the game after MSU had fallen into an early hole. Kennedy is the Bulldogs' first player to win the award since Caroline Seitz in April of 2017. |
| Jerkaila Jordan Announces Decision To Return For Fifth Season | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball senior guard Jerkaila Jordan announced on Tuesday that she will return to the program for her fifth season of eligibility in 2024-25. "The decision for Jerkaila Jordan to use her fifth season and return to Mississippi State is a statement to the special person, player and competitor that she is." head coach Sam Purcell said. "She is invested in what we are building here and her teammates' success both on and off the court. Mississippi State is getting a great leader and teammate back, who is excited to achieve every goal that we have set from day one." Jordan -- who will return for her fourth season at Mississippi State -- has an additional year of eligibility available after the NCAA granted all student-athletes affected by COVID-19 affected campaign a waiver. "I can't even put into words what Mississippi State means to me," Jordan added. "I am grateful for the relationships and memories that I have made here with my teammates, the staff and our fans over these last three seasons. I decided to use my fifth year to come back and finish what I started here, to leave a legacy and to help lead a team that has that same mindset. I know that Coach Purcell is building a special program here and we still have a lot of goals to achieve." |
| Why Mississippi State women's basketball star Jerkaila Jordan is returning for final season | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball guard Jerkaila Jordan plans to return to the program next season for her final year of eligibility, she announced via social media Tuesday. Jordan is the team's leading scorer after averaging 16 points per game this season to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists, and she was named second-team All-SEC. However, the importance of her return extends beyond the court. The Bulldogs are losing a trio of veterans in forwards Jessika Carter and Erynn Barnum, and guard Lauren Park-Lane. For coach Sam Purcell, Jordan's decision is the first major move in an important offseason. Mississippi State (21-11) fell short of the NCAA tournament despite having a .500 record in SEC play. However, it is the No. 2 seed in the WBIT, starting Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPN+) with a matchup against No. 7 seed Georgia Tech (17-15) at Humphrey Coliseum. Jordan spoke with the Clarion Ledger in an exclusive interview Monday to discuss her decision to return. Here's what she had to say about coming back, her journey in the 2022-23 season, and the work she's putting in to return to March Madness. |
| Jerkaila Jordan to return to Mississippi State for final season of eligibility | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball received an excellent piece of news Tuesday when senior guard Jerkaila Jordan, the Bulldogs' leading scorer this season, announced that she will return for her final year of eligibility in 2024-25. "The decision for Jerkaila Jordan to use her fifth season and return to Mississippi State is a statement to the special person, player and competitor that she is," head coach Sam Purcell said in a statement. "She is invested in what we are building here and her teammates' success both on and off the court. Mississippi State is getting a great leader and teammate back, who is excited to achieve every goal that we have set from day one." Jordan, who grew up in New Orleans, played her freshman season close to home at Tulane and was named American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after leading the Green Wave with 16.7 points and 2.3 steals per game. She was one of just three freshmen nationally that year to score at least 28 points in three straight games, and she's in some pretty good company -- the other two were Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Connecticut's Paige Bueckers. MSU's season is not over -- the Bulldogs will play in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed and host Georgia Tech in an opening-round game Thursday night. Jessika Carter, Lauren Park-Lane and Erynn Barnum will be out of eligibility once the season ends, but Jordan gives MSU a player to keep building around for one more year. |
| Ware Named SEC Men's Runner Of The Week | |
| Mississippi State track and field freshman Jordan Ware was named the Southeastern Men's Runner of the Week on Tuesday. Ware earned the weekly award after recording a pair of top-two national times last week at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami. He is the only sprinter in the SEC to rank first in two events and have multiple top-two nationally ranked times. Ware earned first place in the 200m with a nation's best time of 20.25. His time ranks second on State's all-time top-five list and is one half-second away from the school record set in 1988. Ware placed fourth overall and second among collegiate athletes in the 100m with a time of 10.16. His time ranks second in the NCAA. Ware finished fourth behind professional athletes Andrew Hudson (10.12) and 100m World Champion Fred Kerly (10.03). |
| Christian Ostrander: USM loss to Ole Miss one of the season's worst | |
| Southern Miss baseball led Ole Miss for five innings on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. But even with the slim 3-2 advantage, it was clear which team had the momentum. It wasn't the Golden Eagles. Inning by inning, the Rebels inched closer to retaking the lead until finally doing so in the sixth inning. That's when it all came crashing down to an 8-3 defeat for the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander called it one of the team's worst losses of the season. "I told the guys that I feel like we played one of our worst games tonight," he said. The Southern Miss offense, fielding and the bullpen, particularly later in the game, were all guilty. The Golden Eagles (14-7) jumped on Ole Miss starter Riley Maddox with three runs in the second inning. But after that, Southern Miss didn't do anything: three hits and one walk for the final seven innings, with none of those base runners coming in the same inning. A similar occurrence happened when Southern Miss played at Trustmark Park earlier in the month against Mississippi State. It scored four runs in the first inning and then zero for the remainder of the game. "We came here to win and we didn't get it done," Ostrander said. "That's disappointing, but you gotta move on and you can't let things linger. That's our job to lead these guys and it's their job to lead each other as well. You learn from it. When you aren't good, you admit it and you build off it and be ready for the next time." |
| George Strait to headline June 15 concert at Kyle Field | |
| Write this down: George Strait is coming to Kyle Field for a concert on June 15. Strait will headline the concert in College Station alongside Parker McCollum and Catie Offerman, Strait's team announced on social media Tuesday morning. Strait, a renowned county music singer-songwriter, is set to begin a tour with Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town in May with nine stadium stops. None are in Texas, though. On Monday, Strait posted a video on social media with a compilation of Facebook comments asking why he had no Texas dates. An answer came Tuesday morning. His Tuesday social media post said this will be his one and only show in Texas this year. The 71-year-old Strait, coined the "King of Country Music" by industry writers and critics, played in Bryan-College Station and A&M's campus several times throughout the 1980s. He performed at the former Heavy Metal Coliseum in Bryan in 1983 and the Bryan Civic Auditorium in 1984, according to archives from The Battalion. Strait played concerts at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1985, 1987 and 1990. During his 1987 concert, Strait was given a 12th Man football jersey with his name on the back as a gift from A&M football coach Jackie Sherrill, according to archives from The Battalion. Kyle Field's official capacity is 102,733. A concert seating map on the 12th Man Foundation website shows the stage will be in the middle of the field and surrounded by floor seats, meaning the event has a chance to have more people attend than Kyle Field's official capacity. |
| Alabama's Nate Oats, AD Greg Byrne have new deals approved | |
| Alabama men's basketball coach Nate Oats and athletic director Greg Byrne were officially rewarded with raises and extensions Monday. The contracts received formal approval from the UA System Board of Trustees compensation committee. Oats' new six-year contract calls for him to make $5 million this year, rising to $7.55 million in his final year through March 14, 2030. Bryne had announced Friday night that Oats had signed a new contract, but the details weren't released until Monday. Oats has led Alabama to the NCAA tournament four years in a row, and the Crimson Tide received their first No. 1 seed last season. The contract comes with a hefty buyout of $18 million if Oats leaves in the first two years, which Byrne said is the highest in college basketball. Oats' previous deal was worth $4.5 million annually through the 2029 season. Alabama gave Byrne an eight-year deal, set to pay him just over $2 million annually. Byrne took over as athletic director in January 2017 and was charged with replacing Nick Saban, who won six of his titles at Alabama. "Greg's done an incredible job of leading our athletics program since his arrival, and certainly during this time of great changes in our athletics world," university president Stuart Bell told trustees. |
| Why This University Wants Out of Its Athletic Conference | |
 | Clemson University sued the Atlantic Coast Conference on Tuesday, following a similar lawsuit Florida State University filed against the same conference late last year. The two colleges, which sport two of the most competitive football programs in the ACC, are seeking to be released from the conference's media-rights agreement, freeing them to leave the group altogether. (The ACC has also sued Florida State.) In its lawsuit, filed in a South Carolina court, Clemson challenges the ACC's claim that it owns the media rights even of colleges that leave the conference before 2036, when its TV deal with ESPN expires. It also challenges the $140-million penalty the conference says it will levy against departing members. "The prospect that a public institution of higher education in South Carolina might possibly be required to pay an unconscionably high withdrawal penalty -- one that has ballooned in size since it was first adopted -- chills Clemson's ability to explore options that are in its best interests," Clemson wrote in its lawsuit. Clemson's lawsuit is part of a national reorganization of athletic conferences. While there used to be five conferences with big, lucrative football programs, increasingly two have emerged as the most powerful and competitive: the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. Each presides over TV deals valued in the billions. Now, Clemson and Florida State may be positioning themselves for a departure from the ACC to greener pastures. "I would describe it as every school for itself," said Michael H. LeRoy, a labor and employment professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "It's a dog-eat-dog world." |
| What does Clemson's lawsuit against the ACC mean? Here are 4 key questions on move that could have massive implications | |
| Last May, on what began as a quiet Monday morning, ACC athletic directors filed into a conference room within a luxurious oceanfront resort in Florida to begin their annual spring meetings. A proverbial cloud loomed over the meetings. An elephant lurked in the corner. In a published story that morning, a months-long secret was revealed: Seven of the 14 ACC schools had independently held meetings in a concerted effort to find an exit path from the conference and its television contract -- a deal with ESPN that puts the league at a fiscal disadvantage to fellow power conferences SEC and Big Ten. Half of the administrators -- those left out of the discussions -- were aghast at such a brewing secession plan from Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech. How could you!? Intense discussions unfolded. Cards were placed on the table. Feelings were hurt. And while ACC administrators and their commissioner, Jim Phillips, sang a tune of Kumbaya at the end of that week, the league began to splinter internally. Ten months later, the ACC sits on what feels like death's door. |
| Seventy-year-old ACC is officially running out of time | |
| Speaking on Capitol Hill last week in a roundtable discussion put together by Sen. Ted Cruz, retired Alabama coach Nick Saban said the "big mistake that people make is college athletics is not a business." Tuesday's news of Clemson filing a lawsuit against the ACC pushes back against that narrative. With their 28-page complaint filed in Pickens County, South Carolina, court the Tigers have all but formally notified the conference it plans to seek a new home. But Clemson is not alone in their quest to escape the ACC and its media rights deal. Florida State has been entrenched in a legal battle with the conference for months, and it could just be a matter of time until a third university joins the battle. North Carolina voted with Clemson and FSU against the additions of SMU, Cal and Stanford this past summer. Clemson's case is specifically centered around the ACC's Grant of Rights, which binds the league, schools and broadcast partners together until the ESPN deal expires in 2036. Each ACC school is only making roughly $23.3 million annually. The latest Big Ten deal is expected to pay institutions between $70 to $100 million per year. In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Clemson emphasized it has not given notice to the ACC that it is exiting the conference. The complaint, however, makes it clear the Tigers are looking for any way to get out. What comes of the ACC is the big question. If Florida State and Clemson ultimately win their legal battles, more institutions will file similar lawsuits to leave. ESPN also has the option next February to decline to opt-in into the final nine years of its TV contract with the ACC. |
| Sources: Troy Dannen to replace Trev Alberts as Nebraska AD | |
| Nebraska is finalizing a six-year deal to make Washington athletic director Troy Dannen the school's new athletic director, sources told ESPN. The hiring of Dannen gives Nebraska an immediate replacement for Trev Alberts, who left for Texas A&M last week. It also gives the school an experienced athletic director who brings a strong football background and both Midwest ties and immediate familiarity with the Big Ten. Dannen came to Washington in early October and oversaw a busy few months. He replaced Kalen DeBoer with Jedd Fisch as football coach in the wake of Washington's College Football Playoff run and fired basketball coach Mike Hopkins. Nebraska moved quickly in the wake of Alberts' sudden and unexpected departure to Texas A&M, with interim president Chris Kabourek leading the search. Dannen is an experienced administrator with a strong background in football. He hired Willie Fritz at Tulane and helped that program grow from a long stretch of futility into a consistent winner. Tulane has gone 23-5 the past two years, including a Cotton Bowl victory over USC. Dannen was hired at Tulane in December 2015 and helped grow a program that had reached one bowl in the prior 14 seasons into a consistent winner. Tulane went to a bowl in five of the past six seasons there. |
| ESPN Boss Jimmy Pitaro's Chaotic Race to Remake the Sports Giant | |
| ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro was keeping a big secret. In January, Pitaro and executives at ESPN-parent Disney hosted a contingent of top NFL officials -- including Commissioner Roger Goodell, and team owners Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones -- at Disney's Burbank, Calif., headquarters to discuss a potential deal. On the table was a strategic partnership that would involve the NFL taking an equity stake in ESPN and coordinating streaming and TV efforts, said people familiar with the talks. What the league didn't know: Pitaro's team at ESPN was quietly working on a totally separate deal to join forces with rival media companies on a sports-streaming service. When that venture was announced in February, the league was blindsided -- and furious at being out of the loop. Six years into his tenure atop the world's most storied sports-media company, the 54-year-old is racing to reinvent ESPN's business and fend off the biggest threats it has faced in decades. That means stretching the company beyond its comfort zone. Volatility in the media world forced Pitaro to pursue multiple streaming strategies at once, despite the risk of keeping a powerful league partner in the dark. He's gambling that ESPN will build a big enough digital business to fill the financial hole being created as millions of Americans continue to cut the cable-TV cord. Pitaro is considered one of the contenders to succeed Disney CEO Bob Iger in 2026, when Iger's contract expires and he has said he expects to step down. How Pitaro handles the next two years and the launch of the new streaming joint venture, expected in the fall, will go a long way in determining his chances. |
| 40 years ago, the Supreme Court broke the NCAA's lock on TV revenue, reshaping college sports to this day | |
| The Pac-12 is likely to be competing in its last March Madness, as realignment has pushed 10 of its schools to other conferences. What led the most decorated conference in the NCAA to dissolve so quickly? This surprising development arguably dates back to a decades-old court decision. As the NCAA prepared for its tournament regional basketball semifinals in March 1984, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in a case, NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, that would change how Americans watch college sports. After the court's ruling, there were no limits on how much college football could be broadcast on TV, which previously was restricted to a maximum of six nationally broadcast games every two years. The regionally focused conferences of the NCAA would become a national business, driven by television money from football. As a professor of critical sports studies, I see the court ruling's influence today with the downfall of the Pac-12. Even during TV's experimental era of the 1930s, college sports were an attraction. The first televised college football game was broadcast in 1939. By 1950, a few schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and Notre Dame, had signed deals to air their football games regionally. But that changed in 1951, when the NCAA took control of football television rights -- and, in an effort to protect attendance at games, attempted to eliminate live TV broadcasts. Some universities, unsurprisingly, weren't thrilled with the news. |
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