| Friday, June 14, 2024 |
| Williams talks being crowned Miss Mississippi, goals for her reign | |
 | Following the crowning of 2024 Miss Mississippi Becky Williams Saturday night at the Vicksburg Convention Center, the state's new titleholder sat down with The Vicksburg Post to answer a few questions, which included how she feels after being named the winner, what her goals are moving forward, and how she plans to help promote the state: "I'm a proud graduate of Mississippi State University and a current graduate student. I'm also a student pilot. I love to fly. My older brother's a pilot and so hopefully he'll help me get my license soon. I was on the dance team at Mississippi State all four years. It was the joy of my life -- getting to bring in my favorite passion into college. But looking into the future, I'm so excited to continue pursuing my graduate degree so that I can continue to make a difference in the world of education for Mississippi." |
| Wil Colom aims to wrest Dem chairship from Taylor | |
 | The distance between Cheikh Taylor's and Wil Colom's residences may be only 30 miles, but philosophically, their views of how a state party chairman should approach making the Mississippi Democratic Party viable again are arguably much further apart. Taylor, from Starkville, will be seeking his first full term as the state's Democratic Party chairman when the 82-member executive committee meets June 22 in Jackson. Taylor was elected to take over as party chair last July when the executive committee voted to oust chairman Tyree Irving with one year remaining on his term. Colom, a rare Republican-turned-Democrat in the state, confirmed Thursday he also will seek the position. The Columbus attorney has served in a variety of roles in the Democratic Party over the past 25 years. Taylor, 50, is entering his third term representing District 38 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He wants to raise the party's profile, while Colom's approach is just the opposite. "I want the party to be more time-sensitive in calling out corruption and poor leadership at every turn," Taylor said. Colom, 74, said he'll take more of a behind-the-scenes approach. "You'll hardly notice that I'm there because I'll be working in the trenches," Colom said. "The purpose of politics is policy and winning elections, not issuing press releases about things that don't matter." Colom criticized Taylor's recent press release calling on Democrats to boycott this year's state fair because Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson had held a rally in support of former president and convicted felon Donald Trump at the fairgrounds, which are operated by the state department of agriculture. "It's pointless," Colom said. |
| Judicial candidates in contested elections raise nearly $130,000 in May | |
| The 10 candidates running in a contested election for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Mississippi Court of Appeals collectively raised just over $126,000 during May, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State's office. The candidate who raised the most money during May was 8th District Chancery Judge Jennifer Schloegel who is running for the open seat on the state Court of Appeals. Schloegel's campaign raised over $42,000 last month, totaling over $140,000 she has raised so far this year. Of that money, she has spent around $25,000 this year, leaving her with around $123,751 in cash on hand. The Gulf Coast-based District 5 race that Schloegel and her two opponents -- Pascagoula-based attorney Amy St. Pe and Coast-based prosecutor Ian Baker -- are competing in is shaping up to be the most expensive of the three contested judicial elections this cycle. The second-most expensive race is the contested central district Supreme Court race, in which incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens faces four different challengers. Republican state Sen. Jenifer Branning of Philadelphia is cementing herself as the top challenger in the race by raking in $77,000, for a total of $145,000 raised this year. She's spent $27,000 so far and loaned her campaign $250,0000, leaving her with over $368,000 in cash on hand. |
| Mobile sports betting died again in Mississippi this year | |
| The anticipated negative impacts to the Magnolia State's tourism industry appears to be what prevented the passage of a mobile sports wagering bill during this year's legislative session. Lawmakers have attempted to pass similar legislation in previous sessions but it, too, has died. Placing wagers on athletic events became law in Mississippi in 2018 with the stipulation that the person placing bets be within the walls of a casino. Even though mobile sports betting outside a physical casino is currently illegal, it does occur in Mississippi. As previously reported, research into the number of geospatial checks showed roughly 9.3 million recorded visits to illegal gaming sites by users within Mississippi, one of the highest in the nation. HB 774, authored by State Representative Casey Eure (R), aimed to allow Mississippians who were of legal gambling age to access the services from anywhere in the state via their smart phone or other electronic device. While presenting the bill in a committee meeting in January, Rep. Eure stated that when the service becomes legal in a state, illegal bets are drastically reduced. State Senator David Blount (R), chairman of the Senate Gaming Committee, said the bill died because it went too far, and as such was anticipated to negatively affect the tourism industry in Mississippi. |
| Senators, House Reps speak to community about 2024 session accomplishments | |
| Senators and House representatives broke the fast with Oxford and Lafayette County residents Wednesday while sharing some of the Legislature's accomplishments from the 2024 session during the annual Eggs and Issues event. The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce puts the event on each year to give the community a chance to hear from their representatives about what was done during the session and ask questions. The breakfast was held at the Oxford Conference Center with Sen. Nicole Boyd, Sen. Ben Suber, Rep. Clay Deweese and Rep. Keith Horan. They spoke about statewide achievements, including replacing MAEP with a new funding formula for schools, welcoming two major companies to the state -- Amazon Web Services in Madison and a new battery cell plant in Marshall County, and local projects that received funding. Those include $2.5 million for local bridges, $2 million for city streets, $500,000 for crisis beds, $750,00 for UM Writer's Project, $16.5 million to the University of Mississippi for infrastructure projects, $4 million for the extension of Pegues Road, and the big one -- $160 million for the widening of Highway 7 South. The four-laning of Highway 7 South will go from the Belk Boulevard intersection to the Highway 7/9 roundabout. |
| Former executive of Mississippi Lottery Corporation is sentenced for embezzlement | |
 | A former vice president of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation has been sentenced to five years of house arrest after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement for giving herself unauthorized pay raises, the state auditor said Thursday. Hope Bishop was in charge of human resources for the private corporation that operates the lottery. She was arrested in November, pleaded guilty June 6 and was sentenced Monday in Rankin County Circuit Court. Her sentence was for 20 years in state prison, with 15 of those suspended and five on house arrest, followed by five on supervised probation. A judge also ordered Bishop to pay fines, fees and investigative costs, according to a news release from Auditor Shad White. Employees of the lottery corporation discovered Bishop's misuse of money and reported it to the auditor's office when they were improving lottery operations, the news release said. Since then, the corporation has set additional controls to prevent embezzlement. |
| Study: Mississippi has one of the most recognizable state flags in the U.S. | |
| Friday is Flag Day, and according to a new study, Mississippi has one of the most recognizable state flags in the U.S. According to FreeBets, a betting affiliate site which recently crunched the numbers of a U.S. state flags quiz offered by Sporcle, nearly 67 percent of users recognized Mississippi's flag -- making it the 14th most recognizable state flag. The data came from over 471,000 users who took the quiz. As for the most recognizable state flag, California took the crown as Texas, Colorado, Washington, and Alaska rounded out the top five. Looking at the other side of the table, it was Idaho's flag that users found most forgettable, with just 36.5 percent of people able to identify it. Mississippi recently changed its state flag in 2021 to one that features a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 stars and the words, "In God We Trust," written below. The change became a national headline as lawmakers decided to move away from a 126-year-old flag emblazoned with a Confederate emblem. |
| Jan. 6 panel chair: 'How dare Trump show his face' on Capitol Hill? | |
 | Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, sharply rebuked former President Trump for returning to Capitol Hill on Thursday --- the first time since that infamous day. "After inciting a deadly insurrection that defiled the halls of Congress, how dare Trump show his face on these grounds? Congressional Republicans allow him to waltz in here when it's known he has no regard for democracy," Thompson said in a statement about Trump's visit to D.C. Trump met with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club in the morning and joined Senate Republicans at the National Republican Senatorial Committee's headquarters for a lunch. The visit marked Trump's first return to Capitol Hill since a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, many with the stated goal of preventing the transfer of power from Trump to President Biden. Thompson, in his statement, said Trump has continued to flout the rule of law since the Capitol attack. The Jan. 6 select committee, led by Thompson and then-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), ended its 18-month probe by recommending criminal charges against the former president and releasing an 845-page final report including much of the testimony and evidence gathered in the process. |
| 'All hands on deck': Trump vows to help GOP in House races | |
 | House Republican lawmakers serenaded former President Donald Trump on Thursday, as he urged them and their Senate counterparts to hold the line on hot-button issues like abortion, immigration and trade tariffs --- and work harder to win both chambers in November. Senators, following a separate meeting with Trump, described that session as upbeat and focused on the path to Election Day in November. Like House Republicans, senators said the former president boasted he has raised $400 million in campaign cash. Trump was on Capitol Hill for the first time since a mob of his supporters stormed the legislative hall on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to stop lawmakers from counting Electoral College votes showing Trump lost the 2020 election. It also marked his first appearance on the Hill since becoming a convicted felon two weeks ago, and put him face-to-face with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with whom he has clashed, for the first time in three years. Trump's morning session in private with House Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club was described as something of a pep rally for conservative causes. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and others said the atmosphere was a mix of civil and serious, with some lighter moments. House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., described the session as "a pretty good rally-the-troops kind of speech." Trump will turn 78 on Friday, and several members, with grins, said House Republicans sang "Happy Birthday." |
| Supreme Court preserves access to abortion drug: How will it affect Mississippi? | |
 | Two years ago, Mississippi played a defining role in the U.S. Supreme Court's historical decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, 21 states have implemented partial or full abortion bans, Mississippi among them. On Thursday, the Court flipped the script and unanimously decided to preserve access to the abortion drug mifepristone. The decision went against a group of challengers attempting to restrict the drug, which is used in nearly two-thirds of abortions throughout the nation. The decision to preserve access to mifepristone in turn preserves access to abortion even in states with full bans, including Mississippi. Mississippians cannot access mifepristone at a physical pharmacy. However, the Department of Justice does not prohibit the mailing of drugs used to perform abortions. However, even though Mississippians can access mifepristone through the mail, doing so comes with legal risks. While the most recent Court decision didn't cause major changes, it does open the door for future litigation. Christopher Green, a University of Mississippi School of Law professor, said changes are more likely if the upcoming 2024 presidential election results in an administration change. "Because the FDA's language is very open-ended, it's possible they could change their mind about this in the next presidential administration," Green said. |
| Hyde-Smith denounces Supreme Court ruling on abortion pill access | |
| The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit on Thursday that challenged the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of the abortion pill, mifepristone. The ruling means that the pill will still be available to patients without an in-person doctor visit. It's a significant setback for the anti-abortion movement, whose leaders were attempting to restrict access to the pill. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., decried the decision on Thursday, calling the ruling a "disappointment" and making it clear that she will continue to challenge the lack of FDA regulations on chemical abortion drugs. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for a unanimous court, noting that the doctor's and anti-abortion groups who challenged access to the drug did not have standing to sue. Hyde-Smith did note that she was glad the court recognized "the conscious rights of physicians and affirmed that federal law protects doctors from being forced to participate in abortions." She has remained at the forefront of the lawmakers attempting to restrict access to abortion pharmaceuticals. The ruling is first major Supreme Court case on reproductive rights since the court's conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. |
| Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks for guns | |
 | The Supreme Court on Friday said devices that turn a semi-automatic rifle into something closer to a machine gun are legal, a win for gun rights advocates and a blow to efforts to reduce gun violence that has besieged the nation. The court split 6-3 along ideological lines in deciding that the federal government was wrong to classify a bump stock as a machine gun. "A bump stock does not convert a semi-automatic rifle into a machinegun any more than a shooter with a lightning-fast trigger finger does," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his opinion for the majority. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who read the liberals' dissent from the bench, said the majority used an "artificially narrow definition" to reach a conclusion that will have "deadly consequences." The controversial devices were banned by the Trump administration after the deadliest mass shooting in the nation's history. A gunman who used bump stocks on some of his many weapons fired at concertgoers in Las Vegas in 2017, immediately killing 58 people. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' 2018 conclusion that bump stocks meet the legal definition of a machine gun was a reversal from past decisions. During the Supreme Court's oral arguments in February, the conservative justices -- many of whom have longstanding concerns about the regulatory power of federal agencies -- were troubled about the carnage the devices can cause but also wondered if the Justice Department had too broadly interpreted a firearms law. |
| 'Not a happy election': Why this star-studded Hollywood fundraiser is so crucial for Biden | |
 | In what is likely one of President Biden's last major Hollywood fundraisers before the November election, the Democrat will sweep into town Saturday for a multimillion-dollar, star-studded event in downtown Los Angeles. The state, the city and the entertainment industry have long been the financial backbone for Democratic candidates across the nation. But Saturday's gathering, which will include appearances by former President Obama and actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts, is taking place at a fraught time for the incumbent. The war between Israel and Hamas is front of mind in a city that is home to the nation's second-largest Jewish community, though it is not monolithic about Israel's ongoing response to Hamas. The conflict was spurred by the terrorist group's brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, leading to the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians. And while statistics about unemployment, inflation and job creation show that the nation's economy is steadily improving, voters are still feeling pain at the grocery store and the gas pump. So a glittery event where the top-ticket package costs $500,000 creates a double-edged sword for Biden, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School. "The concern is that he looks out of touch with where Americans are with respect to how much you could ever pay to attend a high-dollar dinner when a lot of people are suffering to put food on table, and during an international crisis where he's arguably out of step with many Democrats," she said |
| Don't Forget to Like, Subscribe and Vote: Biden's Rocky Influencer Courtship | |
 | On a Friday afternoon in late April, President Biden brought celebrities and elite social media influencers together for a White House reception. Fran Drescher and David Cross mingled with Ilona Maher, a rugby star, and V from @underthedesknews, at a mixer meant to generate warm feelings and badly needed pro-Biden content. Jonathan M. Katz, an independent journalist and sharp critic of the administration, was shocked to get an invitation. When he met Mr. Biden, he pointedly asked about military aid to Israel and suggested he was supporting a "genocide." Mr. Biden answered politely, but then appeared to grow impatient. "I know you're a typical press guy," he said. "I trust you as far as I can throw your phone." Aides then ushered Mr. Katz away. The episode, which Mr. Katz recorded on video and shared with his roughly 100,000 followers, was one in a series of Mr. Biden's awkward attempts to manufacture online enthusiasm for his candidacy. For months, the president's campaign has watched as its rival, Donald J. Trump, has surfed on his popularity among the very online. Mr. Trump's supporters produce an endless stream of memes, videos and adoring posts -- all essentially free advertising -- that reach an increasingly crucial slice of voters. Mr. Biden and his allies are working furiously to build a comparable online army, trying to persuade, or in some cases pay, people to sing Mr. Biden's praises to their large followings. They are finding that social media feeds are difficult territory for an 81-year-old president whose policies on Gaza and immigration are unpopular on the left. |
| Gen Z influencers who supported Biden in 2020 turn against him | |
 | In 2020, hundreds of top TikTok content creators banded together in service of a single goal: get Joe Biden elected. They posted videos, hosted online events and spent hours educating followers to help Biden defeat Donald Trump. Four years later, the coalition once known as TikTok for Biden is now called Gen-Z for Change --- and so far, it has not endorsed Biden's reelection. "Biden is out of step with young people on a number of key issues," said the coalition's founder, Aidan Kohn-Murphy, 20, who called "the frustrations of young progressive leaders a barometer of widespread dissatisfaction among Gen Z voters." Across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch, anger and resentment toward Biden are boiling among Gen Z content creators who say they feel disaffected and betrayed by Biden's positions on an array of issues, including the war in Gaza, the climate crisis and the president's decision to support a potential TikTok ban. The rift has been exacerbated by the White House's evolving strategy of courting friendly influencers while shutting out others who have been critical of the administration. Democrats have long struggled to compete with conservatives online. While Trump and other conservatives enjoy the support of a vast cohort of right-wing content creators and platforms, Democrats have tried to recruit influencers to amplify their message. |
| Virginia Hasn't Backed a Republican for President in Two Decades. Is It About to Flip? | |
 | Whether Virginia backs Donald Trump or Joe Biden shouldn't even be a discussion. The state hasn't backed a Republican for president since George W. Bush in 2004. But early polls showing Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, cutting into the Democratic president's lead have served as a wake-up call for Virginia Democrats, who acknowledge headwinds with voters dissatisfied with Biden's leadership. Republicans say that if Virginia is even remotely on the table for Trump, Biden is in serious trouble in traditional battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. "I think Virginia can be a real possibility" for Republicans, said Sarah Chamberlain, president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group that supports center-leaning House Republicans. "Northern Virginia is so Democratic, and that's where the numbers are, so, I'm not there yet," on Trump winning it. But, she added: "The Trump team is doing the right thing, and let's see how it all plays out." On Wednesday, Trump met with Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to discuss ground-game strategy for Virginia, particularly in areas where Youngkin won big in 2021 -- victories the Trump campaign thinks it can expand on, according to a person familiar with their meeting. Trump was asked by Fox News on Thursday if he would consider Youngkin to be his running mate. "He's great," he said. "And I think I could consider that. Yes." |
| These Three Politicians Once Looked Like the Future of the GOP. 72 Hours Later the Dream Was Dead. | |
 | They mounted the stage in the dying of the light. In the small town of Chapin, South Carolina, on the evening of Feb. 17, 2016, Nikki Haley, the nation's youngest governor, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the youngest presidential candidate, had arrived in a bus emblazoned on its sides with "A NEW AMERICAN CENTURY." The next morning in Greenville, they were joined by Tim Scott, the 50-year-old Black senator, and Trey Gowdy, the 51-year-old, white, hipster-haircut-having congressman. Haley in 2010 on the cover of Newsweek had been hailed as a regional trailblazer, and Rubio in 2013 on the front of Time had been dubbed a Republican "savior." And here they formed the foremost half of a visually arresting quartet that was embarking on some 72 hours of a barnstorm to promote Rubio's bid in the first-in-the-South primary. What Rubio was offering was in some sense familiar Republican fare --- limited federal government and anti-Obamacare, pro-Second Amendment, tax cuts and reduced regulations, along with a belief in some path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. But his candidacy was generationally and demographically something irrefutably new -- and tonally, too. The pitch in sum was an unsubtle appeal to GOP voters to select as their standard-bearer someone other than the older, angrier and front-running Donald Trump. |
| Global rush for farmland could trigger world war, documentary argues | |
| A global network of powerful entities, fueled in part by Wall Street, is buying up land and water around the world. This global land rush has led to wrecked wells and lost farms from Arizona to Zambia -- and it risks sowing the seeds for future global conflict, according to "The Grab," a new documentary out today from Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director of "Blackfish." The film follows a seven-year investigation by producer and journalist Nathan Halverson of the Center for Investigative Reporting as he peels back the layers of a deceptively simple question: Why did a state-backed Chinese corporation buy America's biggest pork producer in 2013? "The Grab" hits U.S. markets at a fraught time for food policy: Congress remains deadlocked over the farm bill and critics on both left and right are raising concerns over the impact of corporate consolidation on U.S. agriculture as farms grow ever bigger and more specialized. Republicans in the House and Senate have proposed freezing food aid at current funding levels to direct tens of billions of dollars in additional subsidies to high-income farmers of rice, cotton and peanuts -- crops of which significant percentages are exported to the wider world. When countries like China import food, Halverson notes in the film, they're often doing so "as a proxy for water," which the world's most populous nation is running short of amid population movements and climate change. |
| Ole Miss student lands NASA externship, researches Artemis Accords | |
 | As the world looks to the moon for resources, habitation and exploration, more rules are needed to protect lunar assets, says recent University of Mississippi graduate Caleb Dorris. Dorris, who graduated from the School of Law in May, presented his recommendations at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles on May 23. Dorris wrote his proposal as part of a NASA externship during his final semester of college in the UM Center for Air and Space Law. "Initially, the idea was just that we needed some way to bolster the Artemis Accords because it just isn't enough," Dorris said. "The Artemis Accords are a very basic template for how to not have complete lawlessness and anarchy on the moon." The Artemis Accords are a set of international guiding principles that shape space exploration as it pertains to the moon. The accords are not laws, but rather an agreement between nations with an interest in habitation, construction or mining on the moon. However, the agreement does not empower members to penalize those who violate the rules. "Caleb's research is a shining example of the work we support here at Mississippi's Center for Air and Space Law," said Michelle Hanlon, executive director of the center and Dorris' mentor for the externship. "A future of humans living and working on the moon seems distant, but it's really not." |
| WCU Leads Mississippi Universities in New Best Value College Rankings | |
| Hattiesburg's William Carey University topped the charts this week as Mississippi's best value university, according to a study conducted by financial technology company SmartAsset. The study ranked Mississippi colleges and universities based on tuition, living cost, scholarship opportunities, student retention and new graduate starting salaries. Mississippi State University clocked in at second, followed by University of Mississippi, Rust College and Belhaven University. "A ranking like this helps get us in the public eye of Mississippi and lets people know what we're doing, even as a private institution, to help with the workforce development of all Mississippians," WCU President Ben Burnett said. Burnett added that the ranking also shows that the university's new "Making College Affordable" plan, which increases scholarships by 40% and provides free textbooks to undergraduate students, seems to be working. "Our students are a priority, and we have administration or our campus who really care about the students and then the communities they serve," said Teresa Poole, dean of WCU's school of education. "Being ranked for that, for something that we do just because it's the right thing to do -- it really feels good." |
| Louisiana college leaders sound alarm over possible $250 million budget cut next year | |
 | Louisiana higher education leaders are bracing for the possibility of major budget cuts next year, a prospect they said could be devastating after years of reduced funding for the state's public colleges and universities. Members of the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees public higher education, raised alarms during its Wednesday meeting about the potential budget shortfall if a state sales tax sunsets next year. Board staff said they were told by officials in Gov. Jeff Landry's administration to plan for the possibility of a $250 million revenue reduction in the 2025-26 fiscal year if the tax expires. The four systems that operate nearly 30 of the state's higher education institutions overseen by the Regents would be affected: University of Louisiana, Louisiana State University, Southern University and Louisiana Community and Technical Schools System. The systems will receive about $1.3 billion in state aid this coming fiscal year. A loss of $250 million would equate to a nearly 20% budget cut. The hit would come after colleges and universities were struck with millions in cuts during former Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and when enrollment numbers may see a decrease because of a botched rollout of changes to the federal student aid system. "If you lose that source of revenue, it's going to get really bad for everybody," said board member Blake David. |
| U. of Kentucky's largest budget in school history will include employee raises and a tuition increase | |
 | The University of Kentucky is expected to approve its largest budget in school history -- nearly $8.4 billion -- that includes $18 million for a salary increase pool for employees and a 2.2% tuition increase for students. The budget is $1.6 billion, or 23%, larger than last year's and calls for investing more in UK HealthCare, academics and athletics. The Board of Trustees will vote on the budget at its Friday morning meeting. "This budget reflects an ongoing effort, over many years, to support the people in classrooms, research labs, hospitals and clinics, in our facilities, on our grounds across farm fields and in cities and towns throughout Kentucky who make so much progress possible for our state," UK President Eli Capilouto said. The bulk of the budget increase comes from UK HealthCare. The capital budget includes authorization to build new infrastructure, including $2 billion for a new bed tower at Albert B. Chandler Hospital, $285 million for an agriculture research facility in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and $154 million for campus renovations and asset preservation. |
| U. of Florida bridge building team wins fourth consecutive national title | |
 | The University of Florida's Eckhoff Steel Bridge team on June 1 won an unprecedented fourth consecutive title at the American Institute of Steel Construction's 2024 Student Steel Bridge Competition National Finals. Held at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, UF topped 46 other teams to win its fourth straight championship. No other team has won more than two consecutive titles. "The bridge assembly team has set the standard for the competition with first-place economy scores -- bridge construction speed with the number of builders -- in each of the last four years," said Taylor Rawlinson, the team's faculty advisor. The University at Buffalo finished in second place followed by Lafayette College. Rawlinson hopes this is just the beginning of a historical run. He credits the team's growth and culture for its success. Members, he said, dedicate significant time to design, fabrication and professional development by running workshops and encouraging students to get involved with an emphasis on team continuity every year. Led by student project managers Donald Stowell-Moore and Anthony Perez Ortegon, UF's team placed first in economy, first in lightness -- the bridge weighed 206 pounds -- and fourth in stiffness. Its latter two category scores resulted in a second-place efficiency placement that considers the effectiveness of the bridge in carrying 2,500 pounds of added weight. |
| Bush Library opens new pavilion, restaurant during Bush 41@100 celebration | |
 | The Pavilion, which is free to the public, opened Thursday morning as part of the 41@100 celebration to commemorate what would have been Bush 41's 100th birthday. The facility's atrium is the new permanent home for the Air Force One-themed 4141 Locomotive and one of the Marine One helicopters used during the Bush 41 presidency. The 15-foot-tall, 74.3-foot-long, 315,000-pound model SD70ACe locomotive was made in Bush's honor by Union Pacific in late 2005 and spent a few weeks at Kyle Field before beginning its regular service around the United States. In December 2018, the train returned to Bryan-College Station, escorting the 41st president to his final resting place at his presidential library. The engine returned home for the last time in March 2021 when it was hoisted off its rails and taken to the museum, protected by a metal frame as the pavilion was constructed around it. The Marine One Helicopter 358 --- a Sikorsky VH-3D Sea King --- served the Office of the President in three decades, from the 1980s to the early 2000s, meaning it served Bush 41 during both his vice presidency and presidency. In 2001, the same helicopter was also used by George W. Bush to fly from JFK Airport to Yankee Stadium, where the president threw his now famous opening pitch to begin the third game of the World Series, a little over a month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. |
| Interim dean named for U. of Missouri's College of Education and Human Development | |
 | University of Missouri professor Sarah Diem was named interim dean of the MU College of Education and Human Development, MU said Thursday in a news release. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Matthew Martens made the appointment public in the news release. Outgoing dean Chris Riley-Tillman is taking on the provost role at Washington State University, the news release said. Diem is also a chair for the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. She serves as a faculty affiliate in the Harry S. Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and the Qualitative Inquiry program in the College of Education and Human Development. Her academic focus at MU is research on the social, political and geographic contexts and outcomes of educational policies. Diem holds a doctorate in educational policy and planning from the University of Texas at Austin. |
| After the End of Race-Conscious Admissions, Application Trends Didn't Shift. But the Analysis Has Just Begun. | |
 | The U.S. Supreme Court effectively banned the consideration of race in admissions last summer, and a full picture of the decision's impact on higher education won't emerge for some time. But a new analysis of national data provides an early snapshot of the landmark ruling's immediate aftermath. For all the palpable angst and uncertainty associated with the decision, the high-school Class of 2024 didn't seem to respond "in clear or pronounced ways" to it, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Common Application. The nonprofit organization, which operates the shared online application used by more than 1,000 colleges, analyzed data from more than 6 million domestic applicants over the last five years to answer a question: Did students in the 2023-24 cycle exhibit notably different tendencies than applicants in previous ones did? Not so much. In general, applicants' behavior in the current admissions cycle didn't veer from recent trends. The Common Application found no significant changes in how this year's high-school graduates self-reported their race and ethnicity on the platform, for instance. Nor did the analysis reveal "meaningful deviations" from recent years in terms of the number of applications submitted by students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, the percentage of applicants in all subgroups who applied to the most selective colleges (defined as those with admit rates below 25 percent), or the number of applications students sent to the nation's most sought-after institutions. |
| Judge blocks Biden's Title IX rule in four states, dealing a blow to protections for LGBTQ+ students | |
| The Biden administration's new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students has been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge in Louisiana found that it overstepped the Education Department's authority. In a preliminary injunction granted Thursday, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty called the new rule an "abuse of power" and a "threat to democracy." His order blocks the rule in Louisiana, which filed a challenge to the rule in April, and in Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, which joined the suit. The Education Department defended the rule and said it's reviewing the judge's order. "The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for every student," the agency said in a statement. The Louisiana case is among at least seven backed by more than 20 Republican-led states fighting Biden's rule. The rule, set to take hold in August, expands Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students, expands the definition of sexual harassment at schools and colleges, and adds safeguards for victims. Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, is the first judge to block the rule. It deals a major blow to the new protections, which were praised by civil rights advocates but drew backlash from opponents who say they undermine the spirit of Title IX, a 1972 law barring sex discrimination in education. |
| House Republicans Advance Resolution to Block New Title IX Regs | |
 | Republicans in Congress, who have loathed President Biden's decision to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students in the new Title IX rule since it was rolled out, took the next step Thursday to overturn the rule -- setting up a potential clash with the Senate and the White House. On a party-line vote, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed a resolution of disapproval designed to block what Republicans call an unprecedented redefinition of a decades-old civil rights law. The Biden administration finalized its Title IX overhaul in April, and it will take effect later this summer unless Congress or the federal courts block it. (Late Thursday evening, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the rules from taking effect in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho.) The resolution invokes the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to overturn a federal rule within 60 days. Under the act, a simple majority of lawmakers in the House and Senate can vote to block the administration from carrying out a rule, though a CRA resolution is subject to a presidential veto. The Title IX resolution was one of nine bills considered during Thursday's markup session to review bills and send them to the full House for a vote -- but easily the most contentious. The committee also advanced proposals to set new standards for how colleges and universities respond to reports of antisemitic harassment or other civil rights violations as well as to prevent student athletes from unionizing. |
| An Appeal to Heaven, an attack on the Supreme Court | |
| Magnolia Tribune's Russ Latino writes: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, first for two flags flown by Alito's wife, and this week, for a covertly taped conversation in which Alito agreed with a provocateur that a return to godliness in America would be a good thing. (Shock!) Both controversies are manufactured, part of an ongoing and deliberate attack on the High Court, itself. The strategy is clear -- politicize and erode public trust in the Supreme Court, pack the Court with new justices, and destroy one of the last remaining checks on unfettered government power. Character assassination of justices is simply part of the chess game. Complicit media came first for Justice Clarence Thomas, focusing on his decades-long friendship with a wealthy conservative, Harlan Crow. Thomas did nothing wrong. Nothing. His friendship with Crow violates no ethics' rule, but that has not stopped the steady drumbeat against him. Now, sights are trained on Alito -- the author of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and gave back to the states the right to democratically determine their own policies on abortion. Efforts are underway to paint him as an insurrectionist, white supremacist, or Christian nationalist. None of the characterizations are true, all of them besmirch the reputation of a gifted legal mind and jurist. That does not matter to his attackers. He's a pawn. |
SPORTS
| Making the case for Mike Leach getting a College Football Hall of Fame eligibility exception | |
| In 2025, three years will have passed since Mike Leach last coached Mississippi State football. Typically, that threshold makes a former coach eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame. However, there's a rule hindering Leach's path to an induction. His career, which ended unexpectedly after his death on Dec. 12, 2022, featured a 158-107 record. To be in the hall of fame, a coach must have won at least 60% of his games. Leach won 59.6%. Those arguing against the addition of Leach into the hall of fame rest their case there. However, exceptions can be made. National Football Foundation president and CEO Steve Hatchell made that clear in a recent interview with CBS Sports, in which he said Leach would need a waiver to be inducted. That waiver would need approval from a board of more than 75 members. It's a drawn-out process that could end with Leach still not being included on the ballot. However, when presented with context, here's a look at why a waiver to the rule may be worthwhile in Leach's case. |
| CWS venues history, from Charles Schwab Field Omaha to Rosenblatt Stadium | |
 | The 2024 College World Series begins Friday with No. 12 Virginia's game against No. 4 North Carolina, the first of several matchups that will unfold over the better part of the next two weeks before a college baseball national champion is ultimately crowned on either June 23 or June 24. The start of the event also marks the beginning of a stretch of the calendar in which Omaha, Nebraska assumes its annual place at the center of the broader American sports landscape. Omaha is the ancestral home of the College World Series, which has been held in the city since 1950. In contrast to the Final Four and College Football Playoff, which move around annually or have a rotation of host sites, Omaha and the CWS are synonymous with one other. It's not just the city that's a part of the memories and lore of the CWS, but the stadiums in which it is held, the places where iconic plays are made, legendary players compete and a championship trophy is handed out. The CWS takes place at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, located in downtown Omaha near the banks of the Missouri River. With a construction cost of about $130 million, the 24,00-seat stadium opened in 2011 and hosted that year's College World Series. For all the memories that have been made at Charles Schwab Field Omaha over the past 13 years, the CWS is still most closely associated with a different ballpark. Over a 60-year period, from 1950 to 2010, the College World S was played at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. The venue debuted in 1947 as Omaha Municipal Stadium, but changed its name in 1964 to honor former Omaha mayor Johnny Rosenblatt, who played a significant role in bringing professional baseball and the CWS to his city. |
| 1,000-plus youth baseball teams adjust to loss of general admission College World Series tickets | |
| Mike Thomas has heard all about June baseball in Omaha. So much so that he's about to drive 1,400 miles to see it for himself. The resident of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is justifying the trip like thousands of others from around the country have for years. His son will play in a national youth tournament in town during the day. Evenings are for crossing off the bucket-list item of soaking in the College World Series. Just one problem for his traveling party: No one knows how many CWS games they might get to see. Thomas, who coaches a baseball team for players 11 and younger from Five Star Virginia, has heard about the general-admission CWS options available as recently as 2019. Back then, youth tournaments would include a booklet of 10 tickets for entrants that could be used to sit anywhere in the outfield for any game. Accompanying families could easily find the same booklets for $90 -- $9 a ticket -- at Omaha-area service clubs and Hy-Vees. Now The Greatest Show on Dirt is in its fourth year of reserved-only outfield seats. Great for avoiding long pregame lines behind center field. Not so much for peace of mind and budgets for long-distance arrivals. Thomas's squad is one of 732 that will take part in the Omaha SlumpBuster event. And The Battle of Omaha attracts roughly another 250. Factor in other smaller competitions and more than 1,000 teams -- ranging from grade-school to high school -- will visit Omaha with their families during the nine or 10 days of CWS games. Most traveling from out of state wouldn't do so without the draw of the show at Schwab Field. |
| 'We're going to win,' vows new Gamecocks coach Paul Mainieri | |
 | He didn't leave because he forgot how to coach. Paul Mainieri never considered quitting coaching until his aching neck forced him to. Once that healed, he could again begin listening to his heart. And his heart has always been in baseball. "I was born to coach, and I've coached over 2,300 games. It's all I ever wanted to do," Mainieri said on Thursday as he was officially introduced as South Carolina's baseball coach. "It's an opportunity, it's a privilege, it's not anything I will ever take for granted. I appreciate the confidence Ray has shown in me to make me the coach at Carolina." The obvious question -- is Mainieri, who will be 67 during the 2025 season, young and healthy enough to deal with NIL and the transfer portal, as well as taking over a new team -- was asked as well as how Mainieri plans to compete in an SEC that's only getting harder. Oklahoma and Texas will be in the conference in 2025. Four SEC teams are in this year's College World Series. Since USC last went to Omaha in 2012, all but three teams in the league (including the Sooners and Longhorns) have gotten there at least once and five different teams have won six championships. The answers? They couldn't be revealed on Thursday. But the plan could. With most of the Gamecocks' team present, Mainieri said he would lean on his assistants to handle the early work on NIL and the portal, which will be instrumental in building the 2025 roster. He'll get up to speed as he goes along. |
| Positive Partnership: Librarians Support Student Athlete Academics | |
| For many students, the biggest barrier to accessing support resources is not knowing that the services exist. A July 2023 study by Tyton Partners found 60 percent of students are not aware of the full scope of offerings at their institution, limiting their ability to receive help from campus partners. At the University of Arizona, staff working alongside student athletes wanted to better their reading and writing skills, so they established a strategic partnership with campus librarians to increase awareness and usage of supports. Since launching the initiative in 2021, staff have seen hundreds of student athletes engage with research and writing tutors, helping them achieve regular academic goals. One of the program's goals is to be proactive in connecting students with support, which staff say has been true of the program. Anecdotally, students share they're more likely to use library facilities, more comfortable navigating the website and know where to turn when they do have big projects or essays on the horizon. "I think the students recognize the importance of the support and that it's here for them," Mary Hartman, a senior learning specialist says. "And especially that it's in the building, because then they don't necessarily have to go to the library. We already have that embedded here." |
| Sources: Big 12 exploring naming-rights deal for conference worth hundreds of millions | |
| The Big 12 conference is exploring a naming-rights partnership that may be one of the most lucrative and unique sponsorship deals in college athletics history. In meetings with league administrators two weeks ago in Dallas, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark formally introduced a concept to sell the naming rights of the conference in a deal that would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, multiple sources tell Yahoo Sports. Under the proposal, the conference's name would undergo a significant alteration, prominently incorporating a sponsor's name in the title --- a common trend among bowl games, such the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Reliaquest Bowl, formerly the Outback Bowl. The latest conversations within the conference have centered on retaining "12" in the "Big 12" name and removing "Big." The corporate sponsor name would replace "Big" -- a significant change but one expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars. No major conference in recent college sports history has sold the exclusive rights to its name. Several corporations are expected to be involved in the process for the naming rights, most notably the Allstate insurance company. A possible new name of the league has emerged as "Allstate 12," sources tell Yahoo Sports. The concept is a months-long endeavor spearheaded by Yormark, a former New York entertainment and talent executive who is completing his second year as conference commissioner. |
| Big 12 considering private equity investment of up to $1 billion for as much as 20% of conference | |
| Big 12 members are considering a first-of-its kind private equity investment to ensure the league's long-term financial and competitive security, multiple sources tell CBS Sports. On the table is a possible cash infusion of $800 million to $1 billion from Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners in exchange for a 15% to 20% stake in the league, those sources said. A portion of the money would go directly to the 16 conference members, and the partnership would give the conference access to CVC's investment services and clients. CVC is a global private equity giant that manages over $200 billion in investments worldwide, according to its website. The firm made a presentation to the league at the recent Big 12 spring meetings in Dallas. While one source described the talks as "pretty serious," many league presidents need further convincing. Persons who spoke with CBS Sports preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. No league has ever been this close to a private equity investment of this kind. Big 12 teams are currently earning $31.7 million each with Fox and ESPN in a media rights deal that ends in 2031. Add in the cash infusion from private equity, and the two revenue streams would combine to move the Big 12 "much closer" to the Big Ten media rights deal, according to a person with intimate knowledge of the proposal. |
| House committee approves bill that would prevent college athletes from being employees | |
| A U.S. House committee on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent college athletes from being considered employees of a school, conference or governing organization like the NCAA. The Committee on Education and the Workforce's action marks the first time in college sports officials' recent era of Congressional lobbying efforts that a bill has even received a committee vote. Now, the measure can be brought to the House floor. The bill was introduced by Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who wrestled for Liberty University when it was an NCAA Division II school and later worked for the school as an athletics department administrator. Its all-Republican group of co-sponsors includes Education and Workforce Committee chair Virginia Foxx (N.C.). The 23-16 vote approving the measure was along straight party lines. It remains to be seen whether the Republican-controlled House's leadership will put the bill up for a full vote. It's also not clear how it would be received in the Democrat-controlled Senate. In separate interviews Thursday with USA TODAY Sports before the committee hearing, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who have been active on college-sports issues, indicated they are seeking a more comprehensive measure. "Just picking at one of these threads and not looking at the holistic thing is a little problematic to me," Booker said. |
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