| Tuesday, July 9, 2024 |
| Gas Tank Getaways: Museums at Mississippi State University | |
 | If you like museums, you can check out four of them on the campus of Mississippi State University (MSU) in Starkville. The Cullis and Gladys Wade Clock Museum is located in the MSU Welcome Center building. Cullis Wade had a fascination with time pieces. His collection of more than 400 clocks and watches includes an example from every American maker of clocks going all the way back to the 1700s. Two museums are both located in the Mitchell Library on MSU's campus. One of them is the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. Not only are his documents housed here for researchers to examine, but there is a sizable collection of artifacts from his presidency at the location. Closely associated with Grant is President Abraham Lincoln. There is a large private collection of Lincoln material right beside the Grant Library. In the same building as the Grant Library is the Templeton Music Museum, which was donated by a lifelong collector of mechanical music items like player pianos and music boxes. One more place you may want to pop in and see while you are on the campus is the Mississippi Entomological Museum. There are more than a million and a half inspect specimens at the location. |
| Area law enforcement arrest 15 for DUI over holiday weekend | |
 | Local law enforcement agencies in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties arrested 15 suspects for driving under the influence over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Columbus police led the way with six DUI arrests in that span, according to numbers it released publicly Monday. Lowndes County Sheriff's Office made eight arrests between Thursday and Sunday, including two for DUI. Starkville Police Department Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady told The Dispatch SPD made 14 arrests over the holiday weekend, two of which were for driving under the influence. The department issued more than 70 traffic citations during that span. Captain of Investigations Brett Watson said Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office had five DUI arrests between Thursday and Sunday and 14 arrests total. |
| MHP reports 4 fatal crashes over Independence Day enforcement period | |
 | The Mississippi Highway Patrol has concluded its Independence Day Holiday Travel Period, reporting 6,476 citations issued across the state. The annual enforcement period was longer than usual, considering the Fourth of July fell on a weekday this year. From Thursday at 6 a.m. to Sunday at midnight, state troopers were out in full force to ensure extra safety, according to Capt. Chriss Turnipseed. "We kinda predicted that everybody was going to make an extra long weekend out of it," Turnipseed said on Friday as he explained the motive behind heightening law enforcement presence for an extended period. Of the 6,474 citations, 876 motorists were cited for occupant restraint violations -- or not wearing a seatbelt. The MHP made 149 DUI arrests while investigating 141 crashes that resulted in 45 injuries and four deaths. The fatal crashes occurred in Pearl River, Scott, Sunflower, and Pike counties. |
| Interest on unprecedented amounts of federal cash keeps state budget afloat | |
| Over the last 12 months, the state collected $7.7 billion in revenue, about $18.4 million or 0.24% more than was collected the previous fiscal year. If not for collecting $68.7 million or 84.4% more in interest earnings than the previous fiscal year, the state would have been in the rare situation of collecting less revenue than the previous year for only the sixth time since 1970. Interest earnings were buoyed by high interest rates and unprecedented surplus state cash on hand. The state has accumulated large surpluses in part because of billions in federal dollars that poured into the state in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest revenue report, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, was released recently by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee. The latest revenue report and upcoming monthly reports will be watched closely as some legislative leaders are again advocating for major tax cuts that could impact future state collections and the revenue available to fund services such as health care, education and road and bridge work. House Speaker Jason White has formed a task force to study possible tax cuts and Gov. Tate Reeves continues to advocate for the elimination of the income tax that accounts for about 30% of state revenue. In the first two years after the pandemic, the state -- fueled in part from federal money and inflation resulting in higher sales tax returns -- collected unprecedent revenue. But in the past two years, especially the just completed fiscal year, revenue collections have slowed dramatically. |
| Mississippi hospitals see rising occupancy rates over last four years | |
| Mississippi hospitals are fuller than they were four years ago, according to data collected by the federal government between March 2020 and April 2024. Hospitals with over 250 licensed beds saw a 7.6% increase in average annual occupancy rates, or the percentage of staffed beds filled with patients, from 73.1% in 2020 to 80.7% in 2024. A shortage of health care workers, which limits the number of beds a hospital is able to open, is one factor that contributes to high occupancy rates. "Our staffing hasn't rebounded since COVID," said Kim Hoover, interim president and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association. "... Unfortunately there are some beds that are there but they're not available because there aren't staff there." The nursing shortage is the primary factor limiting hospital bed availability, she said. Only 37.2% of registered nurses in Mississippi work in a hospital setting. Hospital registered nurse (RN) position vacancies skyrocketed to 3,038 statewide in 2022, according to a Mississippi Hospital Association survey in which 82% of Mississippi hospitals responded. Hoover, who is a registered nurse, cited heavy workloads, a desire for regular working hours and higher pay as reasons nurses choose to seek work elsewhere. |
| Mississippi's congressional delegation opposes Biden EV mandate | |
| Mississippi's U.S. Senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, along with three members of the state's congressional delegation, Trent Kelly, Michael Guest, and Mike Ezell, signed onto a letter Monday opposing the Biden administration's EV mandate for heavy trucks. The five are part of a coalition of 157 lawmakers. Congressman Bennie Thompson, the only Democrat in Mississippi's congressional delegation, did not sign on. The letter urges the Biden administration to reverse course on implementing regulations set forth in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles-Phase 3 before they negatively affect the nation's shipping and farming industries. The rule dictates that all trucks, tractors, buses and semi-trucks have zero emissions in the near future. According to the EPA, phase 3 of the rule "sets stronger standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty (HD) vehicles beginning in model year (MY) 2027." It is estimated that there are more than 3.1 million trucks, pickup trucks included, on more than 1.4 million farms across the United States. Combined with the 3.7 million tractors on about 1.5 million farms, farmers will be forced to deal with tighter margins due to the additional expense. "Not only would this rule harm consumers, but it would also exacerbate consolidation by effectively forcing our small trucking companies out of business that cannot afford this hasty transition to electric or hydrogen powered trucks," the lawmakers stated. |
| House to vote on blocking new dishwasher, refrigerator standards | |
 | The House on Tuesday is scheduled to consider two bills to block stricter energy efficiency standards for dishwashers and refrigerators as Republicans continue a push against the Biden administration's updates. The refrigerator bill from Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and the dishwasher bill from Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., would prevent the Energy Department from finalizing or enforcing standards that are "not technologically feasible or economically justified." The bills would also prevent the standards from being implemented unless they result in a "significant conservation of energy," and the department determines they will not increase consumer costs. The Energy Department finalized new standards for dishwashers in April and residential refrigerators in December, with compliance required later this decade. It said these standards will help lower Americans' utility bills while also helping to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that stem from these appliances' electricity usage. The department has noted that the updated standards merely fulfill the requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to reflect changes in technology. But it has increasingly faced pushback from Republicans, who argue the efficiency changes are unworkable for manufacturers and would raise costs. |
| Johnson focuses on threats from China, support for NATO, Taiwan in major speech | |
 | Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday outlined his vision for a foreign policy that bridges the historical Republican view of leadership in the world with criticism from former President Trump that allies are exploiting U.S. investments in defense. Johnson, delivering his first comprehensive foreign policy speech at the Hudson Institute, argued for "a U.S.-led, America First Coalition that advances the security interest of Americans and engages abroad with the interests of working families and businesses here at home, a coalition that's good for everybody." Speaking ahead of the NATO summit that kicks off in Washington this week, Johnson echoed criticisms from Trump focused on the nine NATO allies who had yet to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense spending. He also spoke about the importance of defending Taiwan -- a departure from Trump's ambiguity on whether the U.S. would come to the defense of democratic, self-governing island, which is facing aggression from China. "If for no other reason, semiconductors," Johnson said in response to a question why it's important to America that Taiwan remain safe and secure. |
| Biden is seeing a different world than other Democrats | |
 | President Biden looked out and saw people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with his trademark aviator sunglasses. He viewed signs that read, "Women for Biden-Harris." He heard a crowd chanting, "Four more years! Four more years!" He saw children eating ice cream -- and determined he would like some, too. What he didn't see is what was happening at that very moment Sunday afternoon, on a call among senior congressional Democrats who were worried about the state of Biden's campaign: Several expressed dismay and said he should end his reelection bid, adding to a louder chorus of party officials wanting to change course. Over a span of 72 hours, as Biden campaigned in two key swing states and returned to Washington, what became increasingly clear is just how differently things look to the Democratic standard-bearer than to many in his party. Where they see polls predicting political calamity, he sees a dead heat. Where they see a rapidly aging man who should sit for cognitive tests, he sees no problem that can't be fixed with a display of energy and force. Where they see a 90-minute debate that showcased the state of his mental acuity, he sees it simply as a "bad night" as he fended off a jet-lag-induced cold. Everyone in the party concedes that it is Biden's decision -- and his alone -- whether to continue his reelection bid. But the self-professed congenital optimist now finds himself trying to convince a party that has grown increasingly pessimistic, with an increasing number of Democrats fearful that unless things change, Republicans are poised for a landslide victory and Donald Trump is headed for the White House. |
| NATO Summit Puts Biden's Fitness Under a Microscope | |
 | The White House once hoped the NATO summit that opens Tuesday would showcase President Biden's leadership of the trans-Atlantic alliance and his differences with Donald Trump. Instead, it has become a pivotal test of his fitness for a second term. A solid performance during the three-day gathering of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders could help shore up his candidacy, reminding voters of his support for the 75-year-old military partnership that his predecessor regularly attacked. Another stumble like his debate against Trump last month could only intensify calls for the 81-year-old commander in chief to exit from the presidential race. "He has absolutely no room for any sort of mistakes, any sort of trip-ups," said Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "The sort of gaffes that have become pretty common for Biden and just a factor of who he is as a person and as a president are now going to be seen by European leaders as a broader question of suitability." Biden will open the summit with remarks Tuesday, followed by a day of meetings and a dinner at the White House for NATO leaders on Wednesday and a press conference with reporters on Thursday. He will also hold bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Biden's debate performance has prompted America's allies to question whether they now have to prepare for the ever more likely scenario of a second Trump presidency. Europeans are increasingly on edge about what a Trump return means for NATO, given the former president's frequent criticism of the trans-Atlantic alliance. |
| Support for legal abortion has risen since Supreme Court eliminated protections, AP-NORC poll finds | |
 | A solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a rising number support access to abortions for any reason, a new poll finds, highlighting a politically perilous situation for candidates who oppose abortion rights as the November election draws closer. Around 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don't want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That's an increase from June 2021, a year before the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure, when about half of Americans thought legal abortion should be possible under these circumstances. Americans are largely opposed to the strict bans that have taken effect in Republican-controlled states since the high court's ruling two years ago. Full bans, with limited exceptions, have gone into effect in 14 GOP-led states, while three other states prohibit abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, before women often realize they're pregnant. They are also overwhelmingly against national abortion bans and restrictions. And views toward abortion -- which have long been relatively stable -- may be getting more permissive. |
| USM Center for STEM Education  funds teaching kits for K-12 schools | |
| An initiative of the University of Southern Mississippi's (USM) Center for STEM Education is providing funding for the creation of kits, or mobile outreach demonstration models, designed to facilitate hands-on learning experiences to make research more accessible and exciting. Recently, the center allocated support to supply STEMontheGO kits to 13 recipients at the university as part of a larger $1.5 million U.S. Department of Education award to expand its STEM ecosystem. "We are excited to fund a wide range of creative proposals across the University, supporting faculty, staff, and students," said Dr. Julie Cwikla, director for the Center for STEM Education. "This program aims to help scientists communicate and illustrate their research, while enhancing our efforts to drive STEM awareness and engagement that can ultimately help the region and Mississippi be more competitive." The kit consists of 3D printed plastic atoms with embedded magnets to help students learn about the different bonding patterns of elements and the shapes of molecules. |
| Southern Miss to deploy students in 10-county region to confront 'intense news desert' | |
| Starting next fall, The University of Southern Mississippi will roll out an expansive community journalism project to supply a major news desert with people-centric stories. The project, named the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center, will provide opportunities for students at high schools, community colleges and the university, itself, to serve an undercovered 10-county region in southeastern Mississippi, according to the university's grant submission to the Scripps Howard Fund. "I think what the impact of this program will be is that local, everyday Mississippians are going to see more of themselves and their own experiences reflected in the news," said Mary Margaret White, CEO of Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper and partner of the program. High school students will conduct research, interviews and potentially write first drafts of stories. Community college students will serve as entry-level interns; university students will produce stories; and graduate students will provide research and teaching assistance, according to the proposal. The program's launch comes with the help of a $3 million dollar grant awarded by the Scripps Howard Fund, according to an April 30 press release. The University of Southern Mississippi will receive $1 million annually for three years to set the program in motion. |
| UAB adds programs for students interested in artificial intelligence | |
 | Students interested in studying artificial intelligence can apply for the University of Alabama at Birmingham's new AI in medicine master's degree next year. The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees recently approved a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This new program begins enrollment in spring 2025 and is part of UAB's larger efforts to incorporate AI in health care. "The big picture is by 2025, the UAB School of Medicine will have the largest and most comprehensive program in AI in medicine, not just in the southeast or nationally, but globally," said Dr. Rubin Pillay, assistant dean in the School of Medicine and executive director in the Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation. The programs include a current graduate certificate in artificial intelligence in medicine. The MS program, which took two years to develop, will build on the graduate certificate. Pillay anticipates a new graduate certificate in AI for nurses, and a doctoral program is in development. Students enrolled in the executive doctorate in health leadership will learn about AI within that program. |
| Firing a Faculty Firebrand | |
 | If you ask Brian Salvatore why Louisiana State University at Shreveport revoked his tenure and fired him, he'll tell you it's a classic case of an outspoken professor being punished for his views. It's retaliation, he says, that chips away at the promise of academic freedom. It's "the most significant and consequential faculty free-speech case in the history of our nation." That story is timely, coming amid widespread fear about attacks on faculty rights and a perceived erosion of tenure. It has garnered Salvatore support from professors at other universities, faculty advocates, and members of the community surrounding the fast-growing satellite campus in northwestern Louisiana. But at Shreveport, where Salvatore spent the past 21 years, the university's administrators and many of his colleagues say the full story doesn't fit the well-worn narrative. They argue that years of clashes with the chemistry professor -- featuring feuds over photos of a dead department chair, moldy vents, and dueling sexual-harassment complaints between his wife and the previous chancellor -- wasted limited resources and disrupted shared governance. Sometimes there are clear-cut reasons for terminating a tenured faculty member --- a professor stops coming to work, for instance, or commits sexual misconduct. Salvatore's case, however, is anything but simple, forcing his university to answer unusual questions. Meanwhile, some higher-ed experts who reviewed the charges against Salvatore are conflicted: There's real concern about attacks on faculty rights, but Salvatore's conduct arguably crossed a line. His case could even embolden claims that tenure does too much to protect professors. |
| U. of Tennessee chooses Orion Therapeutics first for $5M startup fund | |
 | The University of Tennessee Research Foundation has selected Orion Therapeutics as the first recipient of its $5 million fund to support startups that bring research from the university's labs to the market. Orion is developing a new way to deliver drugs that use ribonucleic acid, or RNA, to new places in the body. RNA, the single-strand cousin of DNA, is increasingly used in medicines and vaccines to treat conditions ranging from muscular dystrophy to COVID-19. Orion's technology focuses on vascular diseases, such as dangerous buildup of plaque in arteries. It was founded in 2022 by a UT medical professor and her former graduate student. The company will receive $300,000, given evenly by the UT Research Foundation and Launch Tennessee, a statewide nonprofit that supports tech startups. The UT Research Foundation's Accelerate Fund was created in 2023 to support companies that sign license agreements to commercialize university research. UT System President Randy Boyd authorized its initial $5 million in funding. Investments from the Accelerate Fund range from $20,000 to $150,000. While the ideas must come from UT, startup founders do not have to be based at the university. |
| Making a mark: FSU launches new academic logo, reserves Seminole head for sports | |
| Florida State University's website, social media pages and buses are all decked with a new logo following a recent -- and subtle -- rebranding. Moving forward, a logo of simplicity that boldly displays the letters "FSU" in gold with garnet outlining takes the forefront of the university's brand as the new academic mark. Most notable is a markedly reduced emphasis on the Seminole head logo, which the school has called "one of the most recognizable and iconic marks in sports," reserving its use exclusively for athletics. "Previously, FSU was one of the only public universities in the country without three identifying marks," FSU Chief Marketing Officer Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede said in a prepared statement sent to the Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday. She spearheaded the rebranding effort along with FSU's Director of Marketing & Creative Katie Grab. Wesley-Ahlschwede was appointed FSU's inaugural Chief Marketing Officer in January 2023 following a national search and started the role in February 2023. The position was created by FSU President Richard McCullough, who launched the search for the new role shortly after taking office in 2021. "Most prestigious and R1 (Very High Research Activity) universities use a university seal, their primary institution identity which is text, and a primary athletic mark," she said. "For many years, FSU has only had two marks -- the seal and athletic mark." |
| $1 Billion Bloomberg Gift to Hopkins Makes Tuition Free for Most Medical Students | |
 | A $1 billion gift from Michael Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins University, announced on Monday, will allow most students at the university's medical school to attend free of cost and will also increase financial aid for other students in the university's schools of nursing and public health and other graduate programs. Bloomberg Philanthropies, which oversees Mr. Bloomberg's charitable efforts, said in a statement that the gift would ensure that "the most talented aspiring doctors representing the broadest range of socio-economic backgrounds will have the opportunity to graduate debt-free" from the university. Starting with the fall semester, Johns Hopkins will offer free tuition for medical students from families that earn less than $300,000 annually, Bloomberg Philanthropies said. The university will also pay for living expenses and other fees for students from families earning up to $175,000. Mr. Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City and a graduate of Johns Hopkins, said in a statement that the high cost of medical school and graduate school "too often bars students from enrolling" at a crucial time when the United States faces a shortage of medical professionals. "By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they're passionate about and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most," Mr. Bloomberg said. |
| 3 Columbia deans ousted for texts that 'touched on ... antisemitic tropes' | |
 | Three deans at Columbia University have lost their jobs over what the university is calling disturbing texts that "touched on ancient antisemitic tropes." Columbia says the three individuals are on indefinite leave, and will not return to their prior positions. The three were texting each other during a panel discussion on Jewish life on campus last May, mocking and disparaging students' complaints of antisemitism. The texts were recently released by a congressional committee investigating antisemitism at Columbia, and were first reported by The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website. Susan Chang-Kim, formerly the vice dean and chief administrative officer was dismissive of the students' complaints, texting that it "comes from such a place of privilege... hard to hear the woe is me." Cristen Kromm, formerly the dean of undergraduate student life, texted vomiting emojis and wrote, "Amazing what $$$$ can do." Matthew Patashnick, formerly the associate dean for student and family support, suggested Jews on campus were just trying "to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential." Columbia President Minouche Shafik denounced their comments "unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns of and the experiences of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our University's values." |
| Exclusive Ivy League Social Clubs Are Desperate for Members | |
| The Princeton Club in New York City was losing members and bleeding cash before closing its doors in October 2021. Some remaining members explored a last-ditch overhaul to the six-decade-old property that served the Ivy League school's alumni. They explored ways to bring the club into the 21st century, make it less stuffy and more appealing to younger alumni who weren't tied to the club's nearly 160-year history. One proposed modernization called for a new co-working area, a cafe that spilled onto the sidewalk, and a fourth-floor lounge with a bar, according to a presentation to board members viewed by The Wall Street Journal. But those plans stalled before they even got going. A creditor foreclosed on the property late last year, and the club remains closed. Any future renovation at the 10-story clubhouse with a gray limestone facade is uncertain. New York's storied Ivy League club circuit dates back to the 19th century. For years, these membership organizations were considered among the most prestigious in the country. These days, say alumni and former members, the clubs have fallen out of fashion. The venues are victims of dated decor, mediocre food and in some cases lingering dress codes -- for most of their histories, these clubs have required men to wear coats and ties -- out of step with young alums. More recently, the rise in campus activism over the war in Gaza has complicated some younger members' relationship with the clubs. Two recent Ivy League graduates now living in New York City said their colleges' crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests persuaded them not to join one of their alma mater clubs. |
| Many universities are abandoning race-conscious scholarships worth millions | |
| Duke University recently discontinued a 45-year-old scholarship that covered tuition, currently about $66,000 a year, and housing costs of some Black undergraduate students. The University of Iowa has changed the selection criteria for its Advantage Iowa Award, which dispenses more than $9 million a year in financial help to first-year students from historically underrepresented groups. White students, who previously weren't eligible, can now apply. Across the four-campus University of Missouri system, officials are changing the eligibility rules for $17.2 million in institutional and donor-funded scholarships earmarked for students from certain racial or ethnic groups. Race will no longer be considered in scholarship applications. In the year since the Supreme Court ruled colleges could no longer consider an applicant's race as a factor in admissions, a growing number of schools have also applied the principles underlying the ruling to financial aid. Nearly 50 colleges and universities, mostly public institutions, have paused, ended or reconfigured hundreds of race-conscious scholarships worth millions of dollars to comply with the ruling, according to a Washington Post tally. The awards identified are worth at least $45 million, but probably amount to much more, The Post found. |
| College Board executives join FAFSA effort, raising eyebrows | |
 | The dust has yet to settle from this year's disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The U.S. Education Department is still fixing glitches, processing aid forms and working to boost completion rates that lag 11 percent behind last year's. But officials must also turn their attention to next year's form, which is set to launch in just a few months, and they face more pressure than ever to ensure it arrives on time and ready to use. For that, they're bringing in reinforcements. Last month the department appointed Jeremy Singer, the longtime president of the College Board, to be its first-ever FAFSA executive adviser. He'll take temporary leave from the nonprofit to lead the form's rollout for the Office of Federal Student Aid, a move made possible by the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, which allows federal agencies and nongovernmental partners to share staff when needed. Now Singer is bringing a team of College Board executives with him, including Chief Information Officer Jeff Olson, who is also joining through an IPA agreement. There is near-universal agreement in admissions and financial aid circles that the FSA needs all the help it can get after this year's fiasco, especially with everything on its regulatory and policy agenda. But its choice of cavalry has prompted mixed reactions and raised questions about the future of the beleaguered agency. |
| Republicans introduce bill to require FAFSA forms to be up in October | |
| Republicans introduced a bill on Monday to require this year's forms Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) be released in October after the revamped applications' botched rollout last academic year. While the forms typically go out on Oct. 1, Democratic and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns after the Department of Education did not release the 2024-2025 ones until late December, giving students, families and colleges far less time to deal with the process. "The Department of Education has had more than 3 years to properly implement the new FAFSA. Yet, the Department is once again behind on making the FAFSA form available to students by October 1," said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-L.a.), ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee. "Another class of students may skip college altogether because they don't know if they can afford it. This bill holds [Education] Secretary [Miguel] Cardona accountable to ensure students have their financial offers in time to choose the best, affordable college option for them." Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) introduced a similar bill in the House. |
| GOP Platform: 'Make Our College Campuses Safe and Patriotic Again' | |
| The Republican Party's platform for 2024 calls for the creation of "drastically more affordable" higher education alternatives, accreditation reform, the restoration of "classic Liberal arts education" and a reversal of the Biden administration's Title IX regulations, among other policies. A committee finalized the platform Monday behind closed doors. The platform, which largely reflects the Trump campaign's priorities, will be voted on at next week's Republican National Convention. "Only President Trump can restore our economy, restore our Southern Border [sic], and restore America's standing in the world," said RNC chairman Michael Whatley and RNC co-chair Lara Trump in a joint statement. "His 2024 Republican Party Platform is a bold roadmap that will undo the devastating damage that Joe Biden's far-left policies have done to this country, power President Trump to a historic victory in November, and Make America Great Again." The agenda outlines 20 promises, which the campaign says will be accomplished "very quickly when we win the White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate." Only a few relate specifically to higher education, including "keep men out of women's sports" and "deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again." The 16-page document expands on those promises and other commitments but provides little detail about how the policies and promises would work in practice. |
SPORTS
| Here are Mississippi State football's representatives for SEC Media Days | |
| Mississippi State football will send Blake Shapen, Albert Reese IV and John Lewis to SEC Media Days in Dallas, alongside first-year coach Jeff Lebby. The event, scheduled to take place at the Omni Hotel, begins on July 15. The Bulldogs will take the stage on July 17, along with Alabama, Florida and Texas. The Bulldogs brought Shapen in from Baylor to be Lebby's first starting quarterback. Shapen appeared in 27 games for the Bears over the last three seasons. Last year, he passed for 2,188 yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games. Reese played 79 snaps on offense for the Bulldogs last season, splitting his time between tackle and guard. Though he played only a small percentage of the available snaps, he did not allow a sack in 2023. He'll be a junior this season and should step into a more prominent role. The same can be said for Lewis, who started three games last season for Mississippi State. Playing primarily on the defensive line, Lewis contributed 20 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss to the Bulldogs' defense in 2023. |
| Jeff Lebby breaks down confidence in QB Blake Shapen, how portal helped Mississippi State | |
| Jeff Lebby was getting out of the office for a minute in a recent phone call with On3. The Mississippi State head coach was walking over to Polk-Dement Stadium to watch his son at the baseball program's youth camp. It's been nonstop for the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator since he touched down in Starkville in late November. Getting out of the office for a few minutes to watch his son throw the baseball was a nice respite after a busy month of June. The Bulldogs went all out for official visit season, bringing in more than 30 recruits from the 2025 class to campus. "Shoot, man, we're going to catch our breath for a couple of weeks and then get ready to roll," Lebby told On3 in an exclusive interview. Lebby immediately evaluated the roster he had when he started in November. The Bulldogs ultimately lost 27 players to the transfer portal while adding 19. He's also continued to recruit 2025 four-star quarterback KaMario Taylor, who picked the Bulldogs in November but has remained with them since Lebby took over. Taking a minute to think back to the long hours of his first days on the job are still blurry. "One thousand percent it was getting to know the players that are in the building as players from their tape and then also as people, obviously," he said. "That was the immediate part of the job is making sure we were going to attack the portal the way we needed to address needs." |
| NFL star Jeffery Simmons comes home to Macon for second annual Community Fun Day | |
| When Jeffery Simmons was growing up in Noxubee County, the youth football infrastructure was not exactly robust, despite a strong pipeline of players making it to the top levels of college football and even the NFL. Now that Simmons has become arguably the most decorated player to ever come out of Noxubee County High, the Tennessee Titans' star defensive tackle has dedicated much of his time off the field to giving back to his hometown. He was back home in Macon on Saturday for the second annual Jeffery Simmons Community Fun Day -- featuring food, games, live music and fireworks -- and he also spent time with the players in the Noxubee Titans youth football program he founded earlier this year. More than 120 boys and girls aged 5-12 are part of the Noxubee Titans, according to Simmons' business manager, Freddie Poindexter. Simmons played for the Macon Broncos youth program before becoming a dominant force on the football field in high school, helping the Tigers win three MHSAA state championships. The top prospect in his class in Mississippi, Simmons had offers from Alabama, Ole Miss and plenty of other top programs, but he chose to remain close to home and play at Mississippi State. Tyre Phillips, J.T. Gray and Willie Gay, all former MSU players currently in the NFL, were also in attendance Saturday to support Simmons and the Noxubee Titans. |
| Brett Favre is asking an appeals court to reinstate his defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe | |
| Lawyers for retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre will ask a federal appeals court Tuesday to revive a defamation lawsuit Favre filed against a fellow Pro Football of Fame member, former tight end Shannon Sharpe, amid the backdrop of a Mississippi welfare scandal that is one of the state's largest public corruption cases. A federal judge in Mississippi threw out the lawsuit in October, saying Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre's connection to the welfare misspending case. Favre hopes the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will reinstate the lawsuit. Sharpe said during a September 2022 broadcast of the Fox Sports show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" that Favre was "taking from the underserved," that he "stole money from people that really needed that money" and that someone would have to be a sorry person "to steal from the lowest of the low." Mississippi State Auditor Shad White has said that from 2016 to 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services misspent more than $77 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program -- funds intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. Among White's findings was that Favre improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent TANF money with approval from the Department of Human Services. |
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