| Monday, April 8, 2024 |
| Solar eclipse viewing event on MSU Drill Field offers fun, education for rare celestial occurrence | |
 | Mississippi State University will host a solar eclipse viewing event on April 8, giving the MSU community a chance to view a once-in-a-generation event. Free and open to the public on the MSU Drill Field, proper eyewear will be available at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at noon. Maximum eclipse, which in Starkville will be approximately 90% coverage, occurs at 1:56 p.m., though the eclipse will be visible between 12:37–3:15 p.m. The next solar eclipse that may be seen from North America will occur in 2045. In case of rain or heavy cloud coverage, demonstrations and a live watch feed will be available in the theater of the Bost building. Follow MSU College of Arts and Sciences social media for updates -- on X @MSUArtsSciences, on Instagram @msuartssciences, and on Facebook @MSU College of Arts and Sciences. Look for the hashtag #hailstateeclipse. "This is a once in a generation event, so come to the Drill Field to see it with your fellow Bulldogs," said Angelle Tanner, an MSU associate professor of astrophysics who is helping coordinate the viewing event. "Wearing proper eyewear is of the utmost importance," Tanner said. "Do not look at the sun at any time during the eclipse without eclipse glasses. NO EXCEPTIONS." The eclipse event on the Drill Field is sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of Research and Economic Development. |
| MSU's Wind Ensemble and concert bands give spring performances | |
 | Mississippi State's Wind Ensemble and Campus, Concert and Symphonic Bands are presenting concerts April 9 and 14 on MSU's campus. The Wind Ensemble will close its performance series with a repertoire spanning the ages of the wind band on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. in Lee Hall's Bettersworth Auditorium. The concert will feature the lush timbres and textures of composer Percy Grainger with "The Gumsucker's March" and the "Vienna Jubilation Overture" by von Suppe. The program also will showcase two of the classics in the band repertoire: composer Malcolm Arnold's "Four Scottish Dances" and "Sonoran Desert Holiday" by Ron Nelson. Contemporary literature also included in the program is a recent composition by Aaron Perrine titled "Only Light" and the "Symphony No. V: Elements" by composer Julie Giroux. Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance will conduct the performance. Additionally, MSU's Campus, Concert and Symphonic Bands will perform at 2 p.m. April 14 in Lee Hall's Bettersworth Auditorium. Comprised of musicians representing almost every major at MSU, the groups will perform a comprehensive mix of wind repertoire including orchestral transcriptions, classic works for band, contemporary concert works and "pops" arrangements. The concert will feature pieces by composers Alfred Reed, Ron Nelson, Edward Elgar, JaRod Hall, Julie Giroux and John Barnes Chance. Featured as a soloist with the concert band is Amy Catron, assistant teaching professor of cello. Conductors for the performance include Craig Aarhus and Cliff Taylor, who serve as associate directors of the Maroon Band. |
| Driving Through Meridian: The MSU Riley Center | |
 | Driving through downtown Meridian, the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts stands tall. It serves as a time capsule for what Meridian used to be while also shining a new light on what the city has to offer. In 2023, the Riley Center hosted over 130 events, bringing in people from all over the globe and supporting the local businesses around it. "Almost each and every event contributes to the City of Meridian whether it's through lodging, through our hotel revenue, through our especially our restaurants around here, and even our local shops, they all benefit from it. And so it's wonderful to be able to see 50,000 people come through these doors. Year after year and have something to take back with them," said Director of Conferences, Events, and Operations Morgan Dudley. The Riley Center has opened the door for people to experience what the Grand Opera House offered, not only through its beautiful architecture but also through its musical performances. Not only does it serve as an outstanding theater, but The Riley Center also allows Mississippi State University to have a top-of-the-line facility to host several other types of educational events. "The Riley Center is a great asset for Mississippi State University for conferences like this. When we're able to host conferences where there is great facilities, great downtowns, hotel, that's next door. That just puts all the pieces together that people look for when they're hosting a conference," said MSU Extension Specialist II, Jason Camp. |
| MSU Extension offers free soybean nematode testing | |
 | Mississippi soybean producers may qualify for free nematode testing through the Mississippi State University Extension Service Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. Limited free tests are available between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. To qualify for free testing, soil must be from Mississippi soybean fields and soybeans must have been grown in the sample area during either 2022 or 2023. Five hundred free tests are available on a first come, first served basis. Soil tests should be submitted in nematode bags or quart-size, zip-close bags. Nematode bags are available at the local Extension office. The sample must be accompanied by Extension Form 488. It is available on the lab's webpage at extension.msstate.edu/lab or at the local Extension office. For complete instructions, visit the MSU Extension website at tinyurl.com/v6vxtknh. Soil testing is a critical tool in detecting nematodes, which are microscopic, parasitic worms that damage soybean roots and reduce yields. Symptoms of infestation cannot be detected above ground in the plant. The Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board funded the project, which is aimed at evaluating the abundance and distribution of nematodes in the state and will help scientists offer better management suggestions. |
| Bird flu health risks to public remain low despite human case | |
 | The transmission risk of H5N1 bird flu to humans remains minimal despite a rise in confirmed cases in dairy cows and poultry in several states and the first known case of a person catching the virus from a mammal. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed detections March 25 of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas, more cases have been confirmed in four other states. Then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a human case April 1 -- the first human case in the U.S. in two years and only the second on record. The infected person, whose prominent symptom was conjunctivitis, worked at a dairy farm. The next day, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the U.S., announced it had halted production at its Texas plant and euthanized more than 3% of its flock after a positive HPAI case was confirmed there. As of April 4, no HPAI cases have been reported in Mississippi's commercial flocks this fiscal year. HPAI is a highly contagious strain of avian influenza that can kill entire flocks of infected poultry. The virus can occur naturally in wild aquatic birds and can be spread to poultry and other farm and wild animals. Byron Williams, an associate professor of food science with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, reiterated the CDC's stance on a low human risk to the public. "As long as people are handling and preparing food properly, which they should be doing anyway, ordinary preventative measures should reduce the risk of contracting HPAI," Williams said. "Thorough cooking and proper pasteurization temperatures have been shown to destroy almost all influenza viruses." |
| Roses and thorns: 4-6-24 | |
| The Dispatch writes: A rose to Mississippi State University student-journalists, who combined to win 38 awards at the 2024 Southeast Journalism Conference at Troy University this spring. MSU received more awards than any other university. Nearly two dozen MSU students walked away with top honors -- including first place overall in the Onsite (a live competition conducted during the three-day event) and Best of the South competitions -- for their work in broadcast, print and online journalism. Anthony Jenkins of Columbus, won third place in the TV Feature Reporting category while former Dispatch intern Lizzie Tomlin of Starkville, won fourth place in the Best News Writer category. MSU competed against students from the University of Kentucky, University of Alabama, University of Tennessee, Ole Miss and approximately 20 other universities from across the Southeast. We congratulate all the students and hope it will inspire them to hone their craft as the next generation of journalists. |
| Supes again take steps toward selling OCH | |
| For the second time in seven years, county supervisors have started a process that could lead to privatizing OCH Regional Medical Center. In a special-call meeting Thursday with OCH trustees and administration, supervisors voted in executive session to hire Raymond James Financial Services to perform a "due diligence study" of the county-owned hospital and develop recommendations. The county also retained Butler Snow as its legal counsel through the process. The closed-door meeting with hospital trustees before the vote was meant for "strategic planning" including partnering, selling or leasing OCH or "maintaining the status quo," county board attorney Rob Roberson told The Dispatch. "I honestly think everybody on both boards were very cooperative in their responses and willing to listen to each other," Roberson said. "I wouldn't suggest there is 100% agreement (between the county and hospital boards). Both sides want there to be information that is real, that is tangible for the public, and an ability for us to move forward." A due diligence study is the first required step before a sale or lease could be considered, Roberson said. The study in 2017 recommended the county sell OCH, but more than 58% of voters in a referendum rejected privatization. This study should take about 75 days to complete, after which Raymond James will deliver its findings to both the county and hospital boards, Roberson said. |
| Mississippi state budget is expected to shrink slightly in the coming year | |
 | Budget writers in the Mississippi Legislature will have slightly less money to spend during the coming year than they did in the current one. Top members of the House and Senate met Friday and set a revenue estimate of $7.6 billion for the year that begins July 1. That is a decrease of 1% from the current year. The estimate is experts' best guess of how much money the state will collect, based on economic trends including employment rates and consumer spending patterns. Legislators are in a four-month session that is scheduled to end in early May. During the next few weeks, they are supposed to finish writing the budget for the coming year, deciding how much to spend on schools, prisons, health care and other services. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Friday that legislators will be prudent with money. Mississippi is in the process of reducing its personal income tax under a law that Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed in 2022. In his budget proposal released in February, Reeves said he wants to erase the tax by 2029. Hosemann said Friday that he does not expect movement in that direction this year. "I can't speak for the House. But for the Senate side, I don't think we're going to have any income tax cuts," Hosemann told reporters. |
| Lawmakers adopt FY 2025 revenue estimate | |
 | Lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) heard from the Revenue Estimating Group on Friday regarding General Fund estimates for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. State Economist Corey Miller, representing the estimating group, told members of the committee that the group recommends the General Fund estimate for FY 2024 be changed to $7,677,800,000, which is a decrease of 0.2 percent over actual FY 2023 general fund collections. However, this new recommended number represents an increase of $154 million over the FY 2024 estimate, which was $7,523,800,000. The latest revenue report released earlier this week, total year-to-date revenue collections for the Magnolia State in the current fiscal year is now nearly $179 million more than lawmakers anticipated. There are three months remaining in the fiscal year, which ends June 30th. Furthermore, the estimating group recommended the General Fund estimate for FY 2025 be set at $7,600,100,000. A decrease of 1 percent, or $77,700,000 below the recommendation for the FY 2024 estimate, but an increase of $76.3 million over the initial FY 2025 estimate. The committee voted to adopt the minutes from the previous meeting and the FY 2025 estimate of $7.6 billion. They did not vote to adopt the new FY 2024 estimate recommendation. |
| Legislative leaders set revenue estimate, work begins in earnest on state budget | |
| The Mississippi Legislature will have $76.3 million more to spend than it did during its 2023 session. Members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee met Friday morning and adopted a revenue estimate for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The estimate is $7.6 billion -- up 1% from the final estimate from last year. The estimate is a bit misleading because since the COVID-19 pandemic, as federal funds poured into Mississippi and state revenue soared, the Legislature has spent much less each year than the state collected. For instance, despite a revenue estimate at the end of the 2023 session of $7.5 billion, the state appropriated only $6.66 billion in general funds, creating a surplus that can be used in future years primarily for one-time expenses instead of recurring expenses. Setting the revenue estimate by the 14-member Legislative Budget Committee is a key step in developing a state budget to fund education, health care and other key services for the upcoming fiscal year. Asked if the Legislature had the money to address all the needs during the 2024 session, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said, "We are hopeful. We have been prudent ... We have issues, Medicaid, PERS, education." House Appropriations Chairman John Read, R-Gautier, said there is never enough money to meet all the needs. "The money will only go so far," he said. Read said he asks agencies for priorities, and he focuses on those priorities as he works to develop a budget. |
| Legislature to consider bed tax for sportsplex construction | |
| A sportsplex capable of hosting traveling sports tournaments, regional meets and other large sporting events has been a wishlist item for elected officials from Meridian, Marion and Lauderdale County for years. Now, a bill in the state Legislature will give voters the chance to weigh in on a new tax on hotel and motel stays to fund a sportsplex's construction. Senate Bill 3139, which was introduced by Sen. Jeff Tate, who represents part of Lauderdale County, authorizes the county to collect an additional $5 tax on hotel and motel rooms if voters agree. Rep. Billy Adam Calvert has introduced House Bill 4091, which serves as the House version of the same bill. The $5 tax would only apply to rooms used in overnight stays and would not be charged for the use of conference rooms or other day-use rental facilities. The county already has a 2.5% tax on hotel and motel rooms which is used to fund Lauderdale County Tourism. The new tax will not apply to purchases other than hotel and motel stays. If passed by the Legislature, the issue will be added to the November general election ballot for voters to either approve or reject the new tax. The tax will only go into effect if at least 60% of voters agree to its creation. Elected officials from all three governments agree that the area is missing out on a lot of potential visitors and the economic impact they bring with them by not having a facility that can host larger sporting events. |
| Negotiations begin: Where do House, Senate, governor stand on Medicaid expansion? Is there room for compromise? | |
| The Republican-led House wants to expand health care coverage to upwards of 200,000 Mississippians, and accept $1 billion a year in federal money to cover it, as most other states have done. The Republican-led Senate wants a more austere program, to expand Medicaid to cover around 40,000 people, turn down the federal money, and have the state ride close herd on anyone helped to make sure they are working enough hours. The Republican governor wants neither. He has vowed to veto any expansion of health care coverage for poor working Mississippians and is lobbying hard against it. Thus final negotiations on Mississippi Medicaid expansion begin with a standoff. The measure, House Bill 1725 is now in "conference." The lieutenant governor will appoint three Senate negotiators, the speaker of the House will appoint three, and they'll try to haggle out a compromise over the final weeks of the legislative session. Is there any common ground to find, and if so, is it common enough to get a two-thirds majority of lawmakers to override a Gov. Tate Reeves veto? These questions were on full display when longtime Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville, quizzed House Medicaid Chairwoman Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg, on Wednesday on how strong she was going to push the 52 senators and the lieutenant governor in the conference process to agree to the House's plan. |
| Speaker White on Medicaid expansion negotiations: 'Come for the savings, stay for the compassion' | |
| As negotiations between the House and Senate begin on a final Medicaid expansion plan, Mississippi Today sat down with Republican House Speaker Jason White to discuss his position on what type of deal he's willing to reach with the Senate. The House last week invited "conference" to hammer out a compromise on Medicaid expansion legislation. White will soon appoint three House members, and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann will appoint three senators to negotiate a plan. As the House and Senate conferees start deliberating, White told Mississippi Today: The House would likely not agree to any plan that doesn't take advantage of about $1 billion a year in federal dollars to expand Medicaid coverage -- as opposed to state taxpayers covering the cost as the Senate has proposed. The House is open to plans similar to Arkansas that would expand eligibility to 99% of the federal poverty level through traditional expansion and provide extra subsidies from the state's federal Medicaid money available from the Affordable Care Act to cover people between 100% to 138% of the FPL on the federal insurance exchange. He believes the House has the necessary two-thirds votes needed to override a potential veto from Gov. Tate Reeves. He wants the conference committee meetings to be open to the public. |
| Mississippi House not willing to retreat from their position on education funding | |
| House members are spelling out how much they're willing to stick by their new education funding plan and what that could mean for your child's school district. "It's going to be a position that we're not going to retreat from," said Speaker Jason White Thursday. "Not only do we not want to retreat from it, we feel like we can't with such a large show of support," said Rep. Jansen Owen on Friday. Owen is laying out exactly what "not retreating" on education funding may look like. "Logistically, we've got 125 days the Constitution gives us to be in session," explained Owen. "And if we get to that 125th day, and we don't have our INSPIRE plan passed, we're going home. We'll have to come back at a later date." He says they're willing to leave without an education budget if that's what it comes to. But stresses it doesn't mean your child's school will go without the needed funding. "I'm sure there might be some dramatics or something like that," he said. "But you know, reality is we'll get called back that has happened before. The Governor would have to call us back or you know, in COVID, we held days and we came back once we figured out what we were going to do." Owen says that's how much they believe in their plan that scraps the current formula. House Education Vice Chairman Kent McCarty says they feel a responsibility to keep fighting. |
| Gamblers won't see child support withholdings in Mississippi this year | |
| Though the bill got further this year than ever before, legislation to intercept gambling and sports betting winnings from people who owe child support to the state has died. This law, which exists in several other states, including bordering Louisiana, passed the Senate but was not taken up by the House committee before the deadline Tuesday. Similar bills died during the 2022 and 2023 sessions. Mississippi Department of Human Services, the state's welfare agency that oversees the child support program, is advocating for this policy in order to increase child support collections and had hoped that, with the support of the Attorney General, it would have passed this year. "While we are disappointed in the status of the legislation, MDHS is steadfast in our efforts to continue to seek opportunities to maximize the collection of child support arrearages on behalf of the Mississippi children that we serve," said a spokesperson for MDHS. The child support enforcement program, which touches more than half of the children in Mississippi based on federal data, already targets lottery payouts. Under Senate Bill 2132, slot machine winnings over $1,200 and sports betting winnings over $600 would have been subject to child support withholding. Casinos are already required to keep tabs on winnings over these amounts for the IRS. Under the proposal, they would also have been required to check if a winner has child support arrears before issuing the money. |
| 'It will be the most closely watched court in Mississippi.' Group to collect data on CCID | |
 | Even as attorney Cliff Johnson made arguments to the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2023 challenging the constitutionality of state-appointed judges in a new municipal court in downtown Jackson, he knew a watch dog for the court might be needed. Months later, the supreme court satisfied Johnson and several others' arguments by stating the new court would function just like others, and after a federal court ruled it was in fact constitutional, Johnson's resolve for monitoring the new court was set in stone. "We have expressed our concern about the ways in which (this would) undermine elected leaders in Jackson and in many ways worked as an end around the democratic process in Jackson in Hinds County," Johnson said. "We're keeping a close eye on how this plays out." Johnson, University of Mississippi professor and director for the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, told the Clarion Ledger he is gathering a group of more than 50 dedicated participants from partnering organizations and Ole Miss to sit in and monitor the CCID municipal court and report back to the public on cases that come before it, dubbed the CCIDcourtwatch.com. The CCID municipal court was established with the passage of House Bill 1020 in the 2023 legislative session. It also expanded parts of the CCID, featuring Downtown Jackson and goes all the way to Jackson State University. The CCID will expand this summer to include the west bank of the Pearl River all the way to Northside Drive and continue to encompass most of downtown. Johnson said he has spent the time between last fall and now gathering colleagues and students to monitor the court for transparency with the public. So far, he has partnered with Ole Miss, American Civil Liberties Union, the Mississippi Poor People's Campaign, the Mississippi Center for Justice and the People's Advocacy Institute, to name a few. |
| First opioid summit in Mississippi held in Oxford Friday | |
| More than 170 addiction medicine, social services and law enforcement professionals attended the first opioid summit in Mississippi, hosted by Baptist Memorial Health Care Center of Excellence in Addiction Medicine and MississippiCare. The Mississippi Opioid Summit, held at the Oxford Conference Center, promoted best practices among the recovery community to help address the opioid epidemic in Mississippi and throughout the United States. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch was the opening speaker, and Dr. Stephen Loyd gave the keynote address with additional sessions offered for clinical workers, law enforcement, and prevention and recovery specialists. Fitch, who unveiled her awareness initiative, "One Pill Can Kill," in 2023, said Mississippi lost 258 people in 2023 due to fentanyl overdoses. "The opioid crisis is here in Mississippi and our country," she said. "We have to rally together. We have to fight this crisis, and we have to use everything we can. We're here talking today about how we can empower one another and provide tools and resources. It's all about saving lives. We all have a part of this action plan to save lives." Steven Maxwell, director of MDPS, talked about the evolution of the drug culture, showing pictures of what appears to be candy, but is instead, potentially dangerous drugs that attract a younger clientele. "This is the marketing and branding of today's drug culture," Maxwell said. "And this is what causes you to cringe when your children leave home; when they go off to college, because inadvertent substance use disorder, inadvertent exposure to fentanyl and various other synthetic opioids, leads to drug addiction, drug overdose. And death is much more likely today than ever before." |
| Key voting groups are shifting in the race between Biden and Trump | |
 | There may have been a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Northeast on Friday, but there are indications some political tremors may also be taking place beneath the surface. The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that President Biden and former President Donald Trump are statistically tied, with Biden holding a slim 2-point lead, 50%-48%. The closeness of the contest between the two candidates is to be expected. Given how well-known they are and the fact they ran against each other once already, people might think voters are locked in. But the survey found that plenty of people -- about 40% -- said they are at least open to changing their minds. Some key demographic groups are shifting, too. Young voters, Latinos and independents in the survey are either sliding away from Biden or aren't sold on voting for him. There's a massive shift among nonwhite voters overall, while older voters and college-educated white voters -- men in particular -- are moving heavily in Biden's direction. That has the potential to reshape the presidential map again. It gives Democrats increased hopes of continuing gains in Sun Belt states, like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and New Mexico, where the populations continue to grow more diverse and have fewer blue-collar white voters. Republicans, on the other hand, could increase their grip on parts of the industrial Midwest. "It's a big deal, because we're in the beginnings of a seismic shift in the nature of our parties," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the survey of more than 1,300 adults. "Regardless of what happens in 2024, there's a coalitional shifting going on, and the question is, where does that end up and where are we in 10 years with these trends?" |
| The polls are suggesting a huge shift in the electorate. Are they right? | |
 | Something weird is happening beneath the overall stability of the early 2024 polling -- and it's either a sign of a massive electoral realignment, or that the polls are wrong again. Polls show former President Donald Trump is ascendant with the youngest bloc of the electorate, even leading President Joe Biden in some surveys, as less-engaged young voters spurn Biden. Meanwhile, Biden is stronger with seniors than he was four years ago, even as his personal image is significantly diminished since he was elected last time. That would be a generational shift: For decades, Democratic presidential candidates have overwhelmingly won young voters, and Republicans have done the same with the other end of the electorate. Poll after poll is showing that's flipped this year. If these changes are real, it would have profound effects on the coalitions both campaigns are building for November. No Republican has won young voters since George H.W. Bush's landslide victory in 1988, and no Democrat has carried the senior vote since Al Gore hammered Bush's son, George W. Bush, on Social Security in 2000. Or something's wrong in the polls -- and the mirage of an "age inversion" is really a warning sign of a structural problem in the 2024 election polling. That would be a signal that the polls are once again struggling to measure the presidential race accurately after underestimating Trump in the previous two presidential elections. |
| Trump Says States Should Chart Their Own Path on Abortion | |
 | Former President Donald Trump said abortion should be left to the states, avoiding taking a position on the number of weeks at which the procedure should be banned as he tries to navigate an issue that has animated Democrats. "My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land," Trump said Monday in a campaign video. "Many states will be different...At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people." Trump's stance is unlikely to please religious conservatives who want him to embrace tougher restrictions, and one prominent group quickly expressed its disappointment. And Democrats are certain to continue to blame him for the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended the constitutional right to the procedure. Trump has taken credit for putting three conservative justices on the high court during his administration, and he thanked the court on Monday for "having the courage to allow this long term hard fought battle to finally end." He added: "This 50 year battle over Roe v. Wade took it out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, minds and vote of the people in each state." |
| Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity | |
| The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God's plan for human life. The Vatican's doctrine office issued "Infinite Dignity," a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication. In its most eagerly anticipated section, the Vatican repeated its rejection of "gender theory," or the idea that one's gender can be changed. It said God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and said people must not tinker with that plan or try to "make oneself God." "It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception," the document said. It distinguished between gender-affirming surgeries, which it rejected, and "genital abnormalities" that are present at birth or that develop later. Those abnormalities can be "resolved" with the help of health care professionals, it said. Advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics immediately criticized the document as outdated, harmful and contrary to the stated goal of recognizing the "infinite dignity" of all of God's children. They warned it could have real-world effects on trans people, fueling anti-trans violence and discrimination. |
| Daniel P. Jordan, Monticello Leader in Changing Times, Dies at 85 | |
 | Daniel P. Jordan, who as president of the foundation that owns Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's plantation in Virginia, broadened its educational mission -- and, perhaps most significant, commissioned a study that found that Jefferson had almost certainly fathered six children with Sally Hemings, one of hundreds of people he enslaved -- died on March 21 in Charlottesville, Va. He was 85. Daniel Porter Jordan Jr. was born on July 22, 1938, in Philadelphia, Miss. His father was a dentist, and his mother, Mildred (Dobbs) Jordan, managed the house. At the University of Mississippi, where he played both baseball and basketball, Mr. Jordan studied history and English and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1960. He met Lewellyn Schmelzer, known as Lou, at the university. They married in 1961. After receiving his master's degree in history from the university in 1962, Mr. Jordan served as an Army infantryman in South Korea and Western Europe and taught history to enlisted men on Army bases through a division of the University of Maryland. Back home, he resumed his education at the University of Virginia, which Jefferson founded. He received a fellowship from the Jefferson foundation for his studies, and Merrill Peterson, a Jefferson scholar, was his doctoral adviser. He received a Ph.D. in history in 1970. Before Mr. Jordan arrived, Susan Stein, the Richard Gilder senior curator of special projects at Monticello, said, "it was a mom-and-pop place. There were serious scholars here, but Dan elevated them, and me, and he really reimagined the place. He envisioned it as a university. That made all the difference." |
| Shots fired off-campus leads to lockdown at The W | |
 | Shots fired off-campus sent the Mississippi University for Women into a lockdown Saturday night. According to Columbus Police, they received a report of shots fired from the 1700 block of Bell Avenue. The department says there was no report of injuries and only shell casings were found at the scene. An official with The W says that when the gunshots were heard, the university entered into a lockdown out of caution. The alert was sent out at 8:18 p.m. and the lockdown was lifted around 9:15 p.m. The W's update says that all suspects left the area after the incident. The W is working with the Columbus Police Department to ensure everyone is safe. |
| Women indicted for Oxford fountain destruction | |
 | Five months after they allegedly destroyed a brand new downtown Oxford fountain, the criminal charges against a pair of out-of-state University of Mississippi female students have been filed in Lafayette County Circuit Court. A Lafayette County grand jury handed down a joint felony malicious mischief indictment against Madison Brown, 18, of Davidson, North Carolina; and Abigail Fuqua, 19, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; in early February. Brown appeared in a circuit courtroom Feb. 23, where she waived her right to be arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. Her attorney Swayze Alford filed a motion March 13, asking for discovery -- all the evidence the state has including video of the fountain being destroyed and interviews with both witnesses and people who identified Brown and Fuqua from the surveillance video. Fuqua has yet to appear in court to face her charges. Since she has not formally been served the indictment, her case file remains sealed. It is not clear if she has legal representation. There is speculation in the legal community that Fuqua remains unserved because she left Oxford and returned to Virginia. The University of Mississippi media relations director Jacob Batte said Fuqua was still enrolled at the university as of March 20. |
| Wanted Simpson Co. suspect identified following incident at USM Hattiesburg campus parking garage | |
 | A wanted suspect is headed back to Simpson County following an incident on the University of Southern Mississippi's Hattiesburg campus Friday afternoon. The Simpson County Sheriff's Office has identified the suspect as 25-year-old DaMarcus Tyrese Burkett of the Pinola community in Simpson County. According to the university, campus police were alerted by SCSO at 12:45 p.m., that a person wanted on felony charges was on the campus. At 1:10 p.m., an Eagle Alert was sent to USM students, faculty and staff to avoid the second floor of the parking garage in response to the incident. USM said officers located an armed individual in the parking garage, not affiliated with the university, who was threatening self-harm. After negotiations, USM campus officers, along with members of the Hattiesburg Police Department, Forrest County Sheriff's Office, Lamar County Sheriff's Office and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, were able to resolve the situation without incident. "I commend the work of all agencies and the cooperation of the University community members in responding to today's incident," said USM Campus Police Chief/Assistant Vice President of Public Safety, Rusty Keyes. "The safety of our students is our main priority, and the timely management of today's events demonstrates our conscious efforts to protect the health and well-being of our University community." |
| JSU's Sonic Boom of The South selected to participate in 2025 Rose Parade | |
| Jackson State University's Sonic Boom of the South is gearing up for the 136th Rose Parade presented by Honda. The parade is annually held in Pasadena, California. According to the 2025 Rose Parade and Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Association President Ed Morales, the Sonic Boom was selected to participate in the parade last year after the president said he received video footage of the band's previous performance. "Every time I see them on TV or happen to see them in the Super Bowl, which was a state secret, it was so exciting to see them it's like the best day ever," said Morales. Morales said he notified the Boom last year about their selection to give them enough time to raise money for travel and accommodations to Pasadena. The 136th Rose Parade presented by Honda and the 111th Rose Bowl Game will take place January 1, 2025. |
| Tournament of Roses president visits Sonic Boom of the South | |
 | Jackson State University's (JSU) Sonic Boom of the South welcomed the Tournament of Roses president to campus on Friday, April 5. The marching band has won many awards, competed in many competitions, and recently performed in front of millions during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show. One thing the Sonic Boom has yet to accomplish is marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade. "When I heard the band, the Sonic Boom of the South perform, and it was last summer we all met at Tournament House in Pasadena, and we reviewed their band. My first question was how many times have they been in the Rose Parade? And when I found out that number was zero, I was shocked," said Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales. "So, I'm with you. They should be." Former band member, now turned Associate Director of Bands, Kevan Johnson said that it's amazing to see the rich history of the Sonic Boom and hard work of the current band members pave the way for such a special moment. The Sonic Boom of the South is now preparing for the 136th Rose Parade in 2025. They plan to host several fundraisers. The band is accepting donations online. |
| Millsaps College announces 6 new majors, 2 new master's degrees | |
| Millsaps College in Jackson has announced six new majors will be added to the liberal arts school's curriculum. The new majors, according to a press release, are "designed to help students meet the demands of careers in new and emerging technologies today and into the future." They include user experience design, health and exercise science, public health, computer science, data science, and business analytics. On top of the six new majors, two new master's degree programs have been announced. Those are a Master of Accountancy with Analytics and a Master of Business Administration with Analytics. "Millsaps empowers our students to live lives of meaning, purpose, and professional success. We provide them with the skills and knowledge essential for thriving in a dynamic world, and we're dedicated to providing an education that equips them with the tools to excel in the professional landscape of the future," Millsaps College interim president Keith Dunn said. "We're delighted to announce these additions to our curriculum that reflect our commitment to addressing the quickly evolving needs of business and industry and to meeting the workforce needs of our state and region." |
| 'The stepchildren:' Community colleges struggle to fund buildings for growing workforce programs | |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College was running out of space, so after years of saving, it bought an empty furniture warehouse five minutes outside this small town. The plan is to fill the 350,000 square feet with the college's growing career-technical education programs, setting up everything from classrooms, labs and offices to conference space that could support economic development in the five rural counties that comprise the northeastern-most state lines of Mississippi. "I can see it in my mind," said Chris Murphy, the college's vice president of finance, standing in the mostly empty warehouse on a recent Thursday. Two years later, the warehouse is still mostly empty. In the cavernous space, there are ant hills next to cardboard boxes belonging to a tenant whose business helped the college pay off the building's roughly $3 million note (the total cost was about $7 million). Outside, weeds poke through the cracked pavement. Without help affording at least half of the estimated $15 million in renovations, the warehouse will stay that way, Murphy said. Until then, the community college and its students will make do with the current career-technical facilities, housed in decades-old brick buildings on the main campus, where conditions are moldy, grimy, cluttered and water-damaged. Though $15 million may not sound like much, it's a big ask for the state's historically neglected community college system. And NEMCC isn't alone: Many community colleges across the state are struggling with unmet needs, especially on the infrastructure side, even though lawmakers have drawn from the state's excess revenue to provide what may be more funding than ever before. |
| U. of Alabama will host a public viewing of Monday's solar eclipse | |
 | The University of Alabama's physics and astronomy department will host a public viewing of Monday's solar eclipse on the Tuscaloosa campus. The public is invited to attend the event, which will be held weather permitting at 1 p.m. on the southeast section of the Quad, on the corner of University Boulevard and Sixth Avenue. Complimentary eclipse glasses will be available there as well as outside these UA libraries: Gorgas, Bruno and Rogers. The glasses will ensure safe viewing of the eclipse ad will be available while supplies last. The eclipse is expected to occur around 1:25 p.m. in the Tuscaloosa area. Experts from UA's physics and astronomy department will be on hand to offer insights and educate the public about the eclipse. According to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa will have partly to mostly cloudy skies around the time of the eclipse, with a slight chance or rain and a temperature around 78 degrees. |
| U. of Tennessee renames humanities center after former football player Don Denbo | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville celebrated Volunteer, alumnus and former UT football player Donald "Don" Denbo with the renaming of the humanities center in his name. The Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts is a part of the College of Arts & Sciences focusing on research and writing. Faculty and graduate students can visit the center at 2230 Sutherland Ave. in the Cherokee Mills office park. Denbo graduated from UT in 1971 with a degree in psychology and a minor in history. He's enthusiastic to play another part in UT's history after donating to the center. "These studies framed my life and are continuing to frame it, and endowed me with a deep commitment to see that other people have the same chance to learn and experience a component of being a human being in the same way that I have," Denbo said during the dedication April 2. Originally from Pulaski, Don Denbo attended the flagship Knoxville campus in 1967. He entered the university proficient in reading, writing, chemistry and language. "In short, I came to the University of Tennessee to play football," Denbo said. After graduating from UT, Denbo earned a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics and co-founded Commercial Insurance Associates, one of the nation's largest insurance brokers. |
| UK gave out eclipse glasses with fake credentials. Don't use them, university says | |
 | The University of Kentucky is warning people who picked up eclipse glasses that were given out through its library system not to use them. The Biniki brand glasses "may not be safe for viewing a solar eclipse" and should be thrown away, the university said in a news release Friday. "The product erroneously claimed that it had been approved by the American Astronomical Society (AAS)," UK said. The vendor that sold the glasses notified UK Libraries of the problem Friday morning, according to the release. The glasses were available at campus libraries this week, UK said. "The AAS has published guidelines on identifying fake and counterfeit viewing glasses and filters, as well as a list of approved vendors," the release stated. "We sincerely apologize for the confusion." The American Astronomical Society's list of companies providing safe solar eclipse glasses is available on its website. The organization said late last month that people planning to watch the eclipse April 8 should beware of counterfeit solar eclipse glasses. "Safe solar viewers block all but a minuscule fraction of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV), visible, and infrared (IR) light," the AAS said. "Overexposure to sunlight in these parts of the spectrum can cause severe eye injury, ranging from temporarily impaired vision to permanent blindness." |
| 11 injured as bus carrying U. of South Carolina fraternity crashes in Mississippi | |
| Eleven people were injured when a bus carrying University of South Carolina students blew a tire and hit a concrete barrier in Mississippi. Mississippi state troopers said the driver and a student were critically injured and taken by helicopter to hospitals after the crash Friday, while nine other students were taken by ambulance. The 56 passengers were members of the university's chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and their guests, who were traveling to New Orleans for an event. Troopers said the driver, 55-year-old Tina Wilson of Roebuck, South Carolina, was traveling west on Interstate 10 near Bay St. Louis when a tire blew and the bus hit a center concrete barrier. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said the bus careened away from the collision on two wheels before Wilson wrestled it back down onto all four wheels. Schwartz told the Sun Herald of Biloxi that Wilson "took every piece of strength in her body to hold that steering wheel long enough to get it back down on the road." The windshield blew out, and Wilson was ejected when the bus hit the ground. A student, Paul Clune, then ran up and grabbed the steering wheel, Schwartz said. Clune tried to keep control until the bus skidded to a stop after nearly half a mile, WLOX-TV reported. "If that bus had flipped, we would have had casualties," Schwartz said. "It's the bus driver and student that saved those kids. The bus driver is an incredible hero." |
| Students Are Voting to Support Boycotts of Israel. How Are Colleges Responding? | |
 | Amid a surge in campus activism related to the Israel-Hamas war, more students are voting on whether to call for their colleges to divest from Israel. Colleges have struggled with how to respond to the votes. Two colleges prevented students from voting at all. The latest incident happened at Vanderbilt University, which blocked a student referendum in late March. The measure asked whether students wanted to prevent student-government funds from being spent on businesses with ties to Israel. (The referendum used a list of companies that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has deemed to be "complicit" in violating the rights of Palestinian people.) But Vanderbilt officials said a vote for such a boycott could have violated Tennessee law and federal law. The referendum had the support of around 1,000 students and 18 organizations before the university canceled it. Students outraged by that decision staged a sit-in at Chancellor Daniel Diermeier's office. Four students were arrested, as was a journalist reporting on the event, and dozens of other students were suspended by the university. Standoffs over divestment --- a movement that advocates cutting financial ties with certain countries or organizations to make a moral statement --- are part of an increase in campus tensions since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The efforts by the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition mirror other student groups across the nation as they clash with administrators on where funds and partnerships stand in relation to the war. |
| Survey: Almost all 2023 U. of Missouri grads had a job or other placement 6 months after graduation | |
 | Almost all 2023 University of Missouri graduates got a job, continued their educations, joined the military or are volunteering, according to an MU career outcomes survey. Six months after graduation, 95% of graduates had placements. One of them is Savannah Gonzales, who graduated in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in language and hearing sciences. She's now pursuing her master's degree in speech language pathology in graduate school at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. MU prepared her well for her current situation and the future, Gonzales said in Friday phone conversation. "The clinical experiences with preschool students is very similar to what I'm doing now," Gonzales said. "Not every bachelor's program has that. It's super-helpful to build background knowledge and research skills." There's another aspect of her MU education that is also important, she said. "Gaining different soft skills and interpersonal skills with people is really valuable," she said. "Working with prospective students and in Tiger Pantry and Truman's Closet, I learned a lot of soft skills." The career outcomes survey, conducted in partnership with the National Association of Colleges and Employers, notes that the 2023 graduates were hired by 2,504 employers. Graduates also were accepted at 283 educational institutions. It's an important measure of MU's success, said Jim Spain, vice provost of undergraduate studies, in a news release. |
| New West Virginia University student union says fight against program cuts is not over | |
| Sophomore Christian Adams expected he would be studying Chinese when he enrolled at West Virginia University, with a dream of working in labor or immigration law. He didn't foresee switching his major to politics, a change he made after West Virginia's flagship university in September cut its world language department and dozens of other programs in subjects such as English, math and music amid a $45 million budget shortfall. And he certainly didn't expect to be studying -- or teaching fellow students -- about community organizing. But the cuts, denounced as "draconian and catastrophic" by the American Federation of Teachers, catalyzed a different kind of education: Adams is co-founder of The West Virginia United Students' Union. The leading oppositional force against the cuts, the union organized protests, circulated petitions and helped save a handful of teaching positions before 143 faculty and 28 majors ultimately were cut. Disappointed, they say their work is far from done. Led by many first-generation college students and those receiving financial aid in the state with the fewest college graduates, members say they want to usher in a new era of student involvement in university political life. "Really, what it is for WVU is a new era of student politics," Adams said. The movement is part of a wave of student organizing at U.S. colleges and universities centering around everything from the affordability of higher education and representation to who has access to a diverse array of course offerings and workplace safety concerns. |
| 'First-Generation Students' Can Be a Limiting Category, New Report Says | |
| Colleges can't agree on how to define "first generation" students. And maybe that's OK, according to a team of researchers. But institutions must be aware of even small differences in backgrounds -- because a narrow framing of who's first-gen might cause colleges to miss students who need additional support. That's the central takeaway from the latest report in a series from the Common App, which has spent the past five months examining the complicated effects of students' different parental situations on their academic preparedness and success in college. Brian Heseung Kim, director of data-science research and analytics at Common App and principal author of the report, said "it would be great if everyone could align on one definition for first generation," but "the reality is that different contexts kind of require different identification methods." Higher ed is devoting more attention to first-generation students after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending race-conscious admissions and new state bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Administrators are looking for ways to support disadvantaged students without running afoul of the law. There has been a flurry of activity on college campuses to create "first-generation offices," and Tarleton State University, in Texas, even has a vice president for "first-generation initiatives." The term "first-generation student" was defined in a 1980 federal law as a student with parents who do not have a bachelor's degree. Today, this is the definition used by the Common App and many other colleges. More than half of students in the 2015-16 academic year met that definition, according to the NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. |
| After FAFSA Issues, Education Department Faces 'Crisis of Credibility' | |
 | Hard-pressed college administrators got some welcome news last Thursday, when the Education Department announced an abrupt about-face. A few days after saying that it would not reprocess most of the financial aid applications that have been marred by a tax issue -- around 20 percent of the millions of applications -- the department announced that it would, in fact, do so. It was just one more turn on the roller coaster of mistakes and missed deadlines that have marred the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA). "I wake up every morning cringing about what update we're gonna get today," said Eric Nichols, vice president for enrollment management at Loyola University Maryland. The FAFSA launch, plagued by a series of delays and technical issues, has shaken confidence in the department among college administrators, students and families. At this time of the year, colleges are typically finalizing their incoming classes ahead of the May 1 commitment deadline. But many have pushed off that deadline and are only now sending financial aid awards to students---a process that usually begins in January. At the same time, applications among high school seniors are down, sparking concerns about a potential enrollment drop across the country. |
| Biden's Student-Loan Plan Seeks to Slash Debt for 30 Million Americans | |
| The Biden administration is proposing a sweeping initiative to slash student debt for nearly 30 million Americans, a plan likely to face legal challenges from Republicans who helped kill an earlier White House attempt at large-scale loan cancellation. The proposal, which President Biden is set to describe in a Monday speech in Wisconsin, marks a major new White House effort to appeal to progressives and young voters seven months before the November election, with polls showing him trailing his Republican opponent, Donald Trump, and underperforming among adults under 30. The regulations will be rolled out in the coming months, according to administration officials, who said they hoped the first debt relief will kick in this fall, with millions of Americans potentially seeing large portions of their education loans forgiven by November. Republican state attorneys general are already making plans to challenge the program in court. GOP state officials led a successful effort to overturn Biden's earlier plan, which sought to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year. The Supreme Court ruled last year that Biden overstepped his authority in pursuing such wide-ranging loan cancellation. The latest proposal is another step in Biden's yearslong effort to forgive student debt on a large scale. Critics of Biden's efforts to wipe away billions of dollars in student loans say the program is unfair to people who didn't go to college or who have already paid off their loans. |
| Hillary Clinton Returns to Wellesley, but the Homecoming Is More Complicated | |
| Hillary Clinton returned on Saturday to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to celebrate the opening of a new research and study center that bears her name, more than half a century after she graduated and set off on the path that would make her its most famous alumna. She was met, as ever, by Wellesley faculty, students and alumnae who see her as a rock star, a kind of campus demi-deity who forever elevated the status of this small liberal arts college west of Boston. But as Mrs. Clinton moderated a panel on "democracy at a crossroads" at the new center's inaugural summit, a group of student protesters outside chanted and raised signs objecting to her presence, an angry display of the more critical way many in the latest generation of Wellesley women view her legacy. Near the end of the panel, a student attendee inside the event stood and started shouting, accusing Mrs. Clinton of indifference to violence against Palestinians. "We're having a discussion," Mrs. Clinton told the woman, who was escorted out of the hall by college staff members. "I'm perfectly happy to meet you after this event and talk with you." Protesters who gathered on campus Friday and Saturday to show their disregard for Mrs. Clinton, a former first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of state and Democratic Party nominee for president, declined to speak to reporters or identify the group or groups behind the demonstrations. "Do not talk to the cops, do not talk to the press," a protest leader with a bullhorn reminded them Saturday morning. |
| These scientists think an 'awe'-some eclipse could help unite Americans in troubled times | |
 | To hear Herodotus tell it, a total solar eclipse in 585 BC ended a five-year war between ancient kingdoms in present-day Turkey. Could another total eclipse on Monday bring an end to the partisan wars in America? The idea may sound far-fetched -- until you talk with Paul Piff. The UC Irvine professor of psychology and social behavior has spent the better part of two decades researching what triggers us to set our personal needs aside and shift our focus to the greater good. One of them, he and other scholars have found, is awe: the feeling you get when you contemplate something that is so vast and so mysterious that it forces you to reevaluate your understanding of the world. And few things generate awe like watching the moon blot out the sun and plunge a sunny day into eerie darkness. "People talk about eclipses as one of the coolest or most mind-blowing things they've ever seen," Piff said. For the Great American Eclipse of 2017, Piff launched a research study that showed people engulfed by the moon's shadow experienced more awe than their counterparts who didn't see the sun disappear. What's more, that sense of awe seemed to make them feel more in touch with others, more open to differing points of view, and more inclined to put someone else's needs ahead of their own. Piff is of the opinion that the country could use more of those sentiments this year, as a contentious presidential race threatens to turn political opponents into sworn enemies. Awe "gives you a sense of feeling connected to something bigger than yourself, like your community, your society or your world," he said. "Getting people to feel that way is totally vital to our species' survival and longevity." |
| Will signature achievements occur this legislative session? | |
| Columnist Bill Crawford writes: Will there be signature achievements by the 2024 Legislature or just signature flops? After Gov. Tate Reeves campaigned on complete elimination of the state income tax, the issue was expected to dominate the 2024 session. It hasn't. Two bills introduced by Ways and Means Committee Chair Trey Lamar died in committee. Perhaps that is because state revenue collections year-over-year for nine months have been flat as the phase-in of the 2022 cuts take effect. Of course, no issue is truly dead until legislators go home. Whether a surprise achievement or likely flop, the result will be significant. Meanwhile, the signature flops are accumulating. A new ballot initiative and referendum process was to be another hot item. Both houses worked up proposals. Sen. David Parker, chair of the Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency committee, allowed the final bill to die. It passed but got held on a motion to reconsider which Parker failed to call up before the deadline. Despite legislative leaders and State Treasurer David McRae calling for serious action on PERS financing, Sen. Chris Johnson, chair of the Senate Government Structure Committee, killed the lone PERS bill in his committee. It sought to revamp the PERS board and to stall an increase in employer contributions. |
| Public retirement system debate may not be dead yet this session | |
| Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison writes: Some might mistakenly believe that there is no way for the Legislature to deal with issues surrounding Mississippi's behemoth public employee retirement program with the recent death of a key bill. But people who follow the legislative process know the old saying that nothing is dead in that process until it is dead, dead, dead. And in reality, nothing is really dead until the Legislature adjourns sine die or until the time when the Legislature cannot come back into session until the next calendar year (or if the governor calls a special session). Granted, the Senate Government Structure Committee killed a controversial House bill by not bringing it up for a vote on a key deadline day. But it could be revived. ... While the issues are complex, the duty of the PERS Board is simple: ensure there is enough money to meet the financial obligation to current and future retirees. Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, colorfully points out there are two things he can do personally to ensure the financial sustainability of PERS: stay in office as long as possible contributing to the retirement system as all government employees and officials do, and die soon after leaving office so that he does not collect much in terms of retirement benefits. Bryan said he prefers the first option. It is hard to overstate the importance of PERS. There are 360,000 people in the system – current employees, retirees and those who have worked previously in the public sector but who have not retired. Spouses and other dependents of PERS members also are impacted. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Claims Series Over Georgia With 9-8 Win | |
| In the series finale against Georgia, the Mississippi State Bulldogs recovered from an early five-run deficit to win the rubber match of the series 9-8. The Diamond Dawgs drove two runs in the eighth inning to secure the game-winning run over Georgia. Mississippi State was down five in the third inning but quickly fought back. The Dawgs scored five unanswered runs over the next three innings to tie the game at 5 in the sixth inning. A two-run eighth inning proved to be the deciding factor in the contest. Bryce Chance drove in the eventual game-winning run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly. Chance finished 2-for-3 at the plate on the day with a pair of RBIs. Dakota Jordan also had a multi-hit day, as he went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Evan Siary entered the contest early in relief. He went 2 2/3 innings and struck out three. Brooks Auger grabbed three innings of relief while picking up three Ks. Tyler Davis was the Dawgs' final arm, as he punched out three in three innings en route to his third win of the season. The Diamond Dawgs are back for a midweek contest against UAB. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday and will be broadcasted on SECN+. |
| Baseball: Mississippi State overcomes three separate deficits, takes series from Georgia | |
| The Mississippi State softball team has embraced the concept of "Toughness Sunday" this season, referring to the extra juice the Bulldogs need to bring even while exhausted at the end of a busy weekend. Considering what the baseball squad was up against this week, MSU took that approach to another level. After Saturday night's game in which almost all of State's starting lineup was ejected and MSU ultimately lost by a run on a ninth-inning homer, MSU was in for another battle Sunday even with most of the starters back. Trailing three separate times, State pulled ahead for good with two runs in the eighth to take the critical rubber game from Georgia, 9-8. "They'll compete, and there were so many times today we could have folded, and they just refused," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "It's been like that all year long. This hasn't been an easy year. It's been a pretty fulfilling year, but I feel like the old Rocky movie. We keep getting hit in the nose and keep getting back up. (My team) can play with anybody in the country." MSU (21-12, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) fought back from deficits of 5-0, 6-5 and 8-7, with Bryce Chance's sacrifice fly plating the eventual winning run. Left-hander Tyler Davis was spectacular out of the bullpen, quieting Georgia's powerful offense on just one hit over the final three innings. |
| Mississippi State's Cody Kennedy hasn't changed -- from bus leagues, Subway sandwiches to SEC | |
 | Cody Kennedy remembers standing on Division II sidelines and hearing his father shouting from the stands. Coaching in front of a barren sea of metal bleachers, it wasn't hard for the offensive line coach to pick up what his dad was saying. Yet as his career has brought him into SEC venues, which will include Davis Wade Stadium when he begins his first season at Mississippi State in August, the simplicity of the game remains. "You go up there and it ... ," Kennedy starts but pauses to reflect. "You're playing in front of x amount of thousand people ... ," Kennedy restarts but stops again. "The game never really changed that much," he concludes. Kennedy is in Starkville working under Jeff Lebby leading a key part in the offense that made the first-year head coach a lucrative option for the Bulldogs in November. Kennedy has an office -- though still undecorated after his more from Arkansas -- overlooking three practice fields with a state-of-the-art baseball facility sitting adjacent. He has exceeded far beyond his back-up plan of becoming a physical education teacher. Kennedy was a 2021 Broyles Award semifinalist which is awarded annually to the top assistant in college football. He's in the sport's most prestigious conference. But at his core, Kennedy isn't much different from the ambitious graduate assistant at West Alabama. |
| 'He's ready to get out here': Jimmy Bell Jr. begins practicing with Mississippi State football | |
| Unlike the rest of Mississippi State's football team, Jimmy Bell Jr. is not coming off three-plus months away from the grind of the season. Bell and the Bulldogs' men's basketball team's season concluded only two weeks ago with a first-round loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. But now the fifth-year senior center, who played football in high school and had offers to play the sport at a couple of Mid-American Conference schools, is trying to return to the gridiron. The 6-foot-10-inch, 280-pound Bell practiced with MSU football for the first time Thursday, and while he naturally has a lot of room to grow, head coach Jeff Lebby expressed excitement about what Bell's size and strength can bring to the Bulldogs' offensive line. "We're going to take some baby steps with him and make sure we're setting him up for success," Lebby said. "It'll be a little bit slower of a process than some other guys (with) him coming off the hardwood, but I love the fact that he wants to be out here after a long season. He's ready to get out here and get going, so that says a lot about him." Lebby said Bell approached him and the football coaching staff about switching sports. Bell had exhausted his eligibility in basketball -- he previously played at Saint Louis, Moberly Area Community College and West Virginia -- but NCAA rules allow him to play one more year in a different sport. He practiced briefly with the Mountaineers' football team last year but never appeared in a game before transferring to MSU for his final season of hoops. |
| John Calipari nearing agreement with Arkansas: Kentucky coach taking over Razorbacks is 'imminent' | |
| John Calipari is expected to sign a contract Monday to become the next coach at Arkansas, sources told CBS Sports. Calipari and power players at Arkansas were involved in serious talks over the weekend, and by Sunday night, the school and Calipari entered into a verbal agreement, according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. One source said Calipari becoming the Arkansas coach is "imminent." Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart told CBS Sports that, as of late Sunday night, Calipari had not notified him of talking to Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek about potentially becoming the next Arkansas coach. However, sources said UK officials had been made aware over the weekend through third parties that Calipari was looking into Arkansas and vice versa. The contract terms of Calipari's deal with Kentucky mandate he must inform Barnhart if he engages with another school about a job interview. Calipari's deal is expected to be for five years and pay north of $8 million. The school's biggest donors are also expected to inject millions more into Arkansas' NIL collective, potentially putting the program atop the list in the sport for the largest pool of resources. Sources told Norlander that the family of John Tyson, Arkansas Athletics' biggest donor, is prepared to make a major commitment to land Calipari and pour millions into the men's basketball program. Calipari has a longstanding close relationship with the Tyson family. |
| 'Saturday Night Live' spoofs LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey in opening skit | |
 | There are any number of recent examples showing how the women's NCAA Tournament has risen to a status comparable to the men's. For starters, there's the intense national attention on superstars such as Caitlin Clark of Iowa, Kamilla Cardoso of South Carolina and Angel Reese of LSU. In addition there are the record-setting TV ratings for this year's women's tournament − not to mention an unprecedented volume of sports betting on the Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and LSU. But perhaps the best evidence women's basketball has entered the mainstream is having it featured in the opening skit on "Saturday Night Live." "SNL" cast member Heidi Gardner stole the scene with her hilarious impression of LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey -- poking fun at Mulkey's iconic outfits: "I got this custom-made. I just told them, 'Make me look like the Riddler went to Talbot's.'" "I work my girls hard every day," she said. "I make them run 10 miles breathing in Louisiana swamp gas. Then we practice full-contact. And if I don't see hustle, I'll throw a live alligator on the court." And in a running joke throughout the segment, neither Gardner's Mulkey nor Keenan Thompson as Charles Barkley could remember which two schools were playing in the men's final. |
| NCAA mulls ways for women's basketball teams to 'benefit financially' | |
| NCAA president Charlie Baker said Sunday that he is shooting for unit distribution for the NCAA women's tournament beginning with the 2024-25 season. Currently, teams that make the women's NCAA tournament currently do not earn anything financially, unlike teams that make the men's NCAA tournament, where units are awarded to conferences for each game played before being distributed to schools. Women's coaches have been asking for years for that system to change, not only for equity's sake, but as a way to acknowledge the growth of the game. Now it is on the verge of happening, thanks in part to a new eight-year contract with ESPN to broadcast 40 NCAA championships -- including women's basketball. "We just signed a new contract with ESPN and women's basketball is a big and important part of that deal," Baker said. "It will also send a huge signal to women's basketball generally about the fact you play in the tournament, you do well, you will benefit financially as well as in the other ways." While nothing has been approved just yet, Baker said the finance committee targeted 2024-25 after the ESPN deal got done. |
| As leaders create plans for future, NCAA faces countdown clock on House case | |
| College sports as we know it is facing a countdown clock running out of time. The House v. NCAA class-action lawsuit is slated to begin trial on Jan. 27, 2025, less than 300 days away. Simply put, if the NCAA and Power Four conferences lose, they could owe thousands of athletes some $4.2 billion in retroactive NIL pay and broadcast revenue. And NIL rule changes could take hold that would permit schools and conferences to pay NIL dollars to athletes for any reason, including athletic performance. Every administrator in college athletics is thinking about this lawsuit on a nearly daily basis. Multiple news items grabbed headlines this week. On Wednesday, The Athletic reported about a project called "College Sports Tomorrow" (CST) which is being led by several college presidents, Roger Goodell's top lieutenant at the NFL and Len Perna of TurnkeyZRG, who is serving as the group's leader. The plan calls for a 70-team "Super League" with a 50-plus second division to create a promotion system. The idea pulls structural components from the NFL, Premier League and MLS and attempts to answer questions about the transfer portal and employment. Leaders and stakeholders openly discussing this is a step forward. But the plan does not have any legs at the moment, with multiple collegiate leaders pushing back on the subject. The Big Ten and SEC joint advisory group are surely working out a plan. Multiple sources told On3 that their ideal "Super League" would consist of 30 teams. A SEC head football coach told On3 that he discussed the "Super League" idea with his athletic director Wednesday night, and he agreed the idea has a tough road ahead. "It's nothing," the coach said. "My AD told me that it's DOA. There's no way the SEC will go with the idea." |
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