| Friday, July 19, 2024 |
| Biden's and Trump's ages would prevent them running many top companies -- and for good reason | |
 | Mississippi State University's Brandon Cline writes for The Conversation: President Joe Biden, currently seeking a second term as the Democratic Party's nominee, is 81. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party's nominee, is 78. No one older has run for U.S. president before. That was also true in 2020, when the same two men ran against each other. The candidates' ages, coupled with apparent signs of cognitive and physical decline, have many politicians and other Americans asking questions and expressing doubts about both men's stamina and ability to lead the nation. These concerns are justified by research I and a fellow finance professor, Adam Yore, conducted about older CEOs. One of our observations was that approximately half of the 1,500 largest public companies in the U.S make their CEOs step down when they turn 65 or so. Two high-profile examples are General Electric's storied CEO Jack Welch, who was forced out at age 65, and former vice president Al Gore, who stepped down from Apple's board of directors in January 2024 after serving on it for two decades. Gore, along with a fellow board member, had turned 75 and that made them ineligible for a new term. This corporate practice leads to a logical question: If Gore is deemed too old to serve on Apple's board of directors, does that make politicians his age too old to run one of the most powerful countries in the world? For companies included in the S&P 500 index, which is widely regarded as the best measure of U.S. stock market's performance, mandatory retirement policies are even more common. Nearly 70% of those 500 companies make their board members retire at a particular age. |
| State task force to tackle K-12, college students' mental health | |
| A committee of legislators and state leaders convened at the Capitol this week to discuss mental health issues facing young Mississippians. School and health officials cited a scarcity of mental health professionals for K-12 and college students in Mississippi as a major issue. Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford who sponsored the bill that created the committee, said she was inspired in part by the success of the Senate Study Group on Women, Children and Families, which gave lawmakers the opportunity to study a complex topic before making legislative recommendations. She said she expects the task force to produce legislation and provide an opportunity for state legislators and mental health leaders to connect with one another. "We have networks that can solve a lot of these issues and professionals that can solve a lot of these issues if we pull them together and resource (them) properly," she said. Task force members paid close attention to the connections between Community Mental Health Centers and schools. "Our community mental health centers are a great resource across the state, and what we're seeing is that school districts and our community colleges and universities in some places are not networked up," said Boyd, who chairs the Senate Universities and Colleges committee. |
| New online platform changes how Starkville residents pay utility bills | |
 | Starkville Utilities customers may need to enroll in a new payment portal to pay their next bill, depending on their payment method. Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp said the utility provider has been working to convert to a new software system for more than a year, after a contract with the previous software vendor ran out. The new system comes with a new customer portal, SmartHub. "We're rolling out this new SmartHub, which is the customer portal of that overall software package," Kemp said. "We're really excited about it. It does offer a lot more features and options for our customers, and also, that is going to grow over time as we open up new features." The SmartHub system will allow customers to pay bills, get account notifications, enroll in autopay, compare daily, monthly and yearly utility usage and costs, to get more insight into how they can improve their efficiency. Kemp said customers' next paper bills will also look more user-friendly. All customers will receive their next bill physically, to notify them of the change, he said. |
| Neshoba County Fair kicks off next week in Philadelphia | |
 | The annual Neshoba County Fair returns Friday, July 26, through Friday, Aug. 2, in Philadelphia and plenty of great entertainment is in store for the week of the annual event that is known as "Mississippi's Giant Houseparty." "The Neshoba County Fair was founded in 1889 as a stock and agricultural exhibition and soon expanded to include horse racing, carnival rides, political speeches and musical entertainment," according to the Mississippi Country Music Trail website. The Fair quickly grew in size and length, with the building of a pavilion, an exhibit hall, private homes, hotels, a racetrack and a midway with tent shows. Attendees at this year's fair will enjoy lots of live entertainment from music artists, including River Dan and Paxton Peay and Blackberry Smoke, to name a few. The event also will feature carnival rides, horse races, different types of food and games. "Our fair is updated from year to year as far as political speaking and that Thursday night before the actual fair starts, we are going to have family night," said Natalie Scruggs, Neshoba County Fair association publicity chair in an interview with the Clarion Ledger. "There's a special that night for $30 armbands from 5-10 p.m., then the fair kicks off that Friday, July 26." This year the fair will include a children's petting zoo area with livestock, an arts and crafts station, drone show and more. |
| Neshoba County Fair to feature heightened security measures | |
| This year's Neshoba County Fair will feature heightened security measures. Deputies with the Neshoba County Sheriff's Office will use a thermal imaging drone to patrol the fairgrounds. The announcement follows a string of car burglaries that have taken place in the area in recent years. On Tuesday, the NCSO posted a video on social media showing two males attempting to break into a vehicle parked in one of the lots designated for campers. Since the video was posted by law enforcement, the two men, 21-year-old Jimmie Aaron Smith and 18-year-old Jacob Scott Ladd, have been taken into custody. The two men are accused of six car burglaries and are reported to have stolen items from a cabin and a camper. Both face charges for petit larceny and commercial burglary. According to Sheriff Eric Clark, auto burglaries have become somewhat commonplace at the Neshoba County Fairgrounds leading up to Mississippi's Giant House Party, while the fair is taking place, and afterward. The Neshoba County Fair will kick off on Friday, July 26, and run through Friday, August 2. |
| Allen crowned new Choctaw Indian Princess | |
| Leilani Elyse Allen was crowned the 2024-2025 Choctaw Indian Princess last Wednesday during the opening night of the 74th Choctaw Indian Fair, becoming the 69th young Tribal member to hold the esteemed title. "I hope to promote more of our cultural traditions as well as our values of the Choctaw people," Allen said. "I want to be an inspiration to the youth to embrace their heritage, pursue their goals, and strive for excellence." Allen will graduate from Meridian Community College in August with an associate degree in business information systems. Afterward, she plans to attend Mississippi State University to pursue a bachelor's degree in the same field, with hopes of becoming a web developer. As the new Princess, Allen will serve as the official spokesperson and ambassador for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, succeeding the 2023-2024 Choctaw Princess, Nalani LuzMaria Thompson. Allen said that while excited and a bit nervous, she feels very honored and privileged to represent her tribe and serve as a positive role model for the community. "I'm looking forward to meeting other indigenous communities and supporting each other in cultural preservation," she said. |
| Court says Jim Crow-era felony voting ban in Mississippi can be altered by lawmakers, not judges | |
 | Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the state's practice of stripping voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The state's original list of disenfranchising crimes springs from the Jim Crow era, and attorneys who sued to challenge the list say authors of the Mississippi Constitution removed voting rights for crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons. "Do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change," the majority wrote. Nineteen judges of the appeals court heard arguments in January, months after vacating a ruling issued last August by a three-judge panel of the same court. The panel had said Mississippi's ban on voting after certain crimes violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. To have their voting rights restored, people convicted of any of the crimes must get a pardon from the governor, which rarely happens, or persuade lawmakers to pass individual bills just for them with two-thirds approval. Lawmakers in recent years have passed few of those bills. They passed 17 this year and none in 2023. |
| Feds order Mississippi Legislature to create more Black districts and hold special elections next year | |
| The Mississippi Legislature must adopt new state Senate and House maps with Black-majority districts during its 2025 session and conduct elections to fill those new seats, a federal three-judge panel ruled on Thursday. The judges previously ruled in a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Mississippi Conference of the NAACP and Black voters from across the state that the districts that were drawn in 2022 by the state Legislature diluted Black voting strength. After its ruling, the panel invited the plaintiffs and state officials to submit briefings on whether the state should adopt new maps this year and conduct special elections in November to fill those seats. The NAACP argued that special elections should take place in November, while the defendant, the all-Republican State Board of Election Commissioners, argued the elections should take place next year because it would be nearly impossible to redraw the districts in time for November elections. This would also have required lawmakers to return to Jackson in a special session this year to draw and approve new districts. The state has a Black population of about 38%. Currently there are 42-Black majority districts in the 122-member House and 15 Black majority districts in the 52-seat Senate. |
| Senate Ag Republican: We'd be better off punting farm bill to next year | |
| Senate Agriculture Committee Republican Roger Marshall said Wednesday farmers would be better off if work on a new farm bill is punted into next year, when Republicans could be in control of the White House and both houses of Congress. The Kansas senator's remarks came at an agricultural luncheon he was co-hosting on a farm outside Milwaukee, where the Republican National Convention is taking place this week, and right after House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., told the crowd of delegates, lawmakers and lobbyists that he still hoped to pass a new farm bill this year. "We're not going to get a farm bill done in the near future, it's just not going to happen," Marshall said. "Maybe we'll get something done in the lame duck session. I'm telling you it would be a lot better with Sen. John Boozman as the chairperson of the Ag Committee, and probably with an Amy Klobuchar as the ... ranking member of the Ag Committee. That's when we would get a good farm bill done." The Senate Ag Committee is currently at a stalemate over a new bill, and Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., isn't running for re-election. Boozman, R-Ark., would take over as chair, if Republicans win control of the Senate, an increasingly likely outcome given the turmoil around the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden's re-election campaign. Boozman and Thompson are both pushing for far higher increases in commodity program reference prices than Stabenow supports, and they are also crossing two red lines she has drawn by pushing for a cut in the nutrition title and the removal of climate guardrails around Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding. |
| Joe Biden's campaign chair says he is 'absolutely' still in the race | |
 | Joe Biden's campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said the president is "absolutely" still in the 2024 presidential race in an interview on MSNBC Friday morning. O'Malley Dillon's appearance on "Morning Joe" follows a chaotic week for the president's reelection bid after top Democrats put pressure on Biden to exit the race and he tested positive for COVID. She said despite concerns, Biden is "more committed than ever" to beating former President Donald Trump, who became the official Republican nominee at the party's convention Thursday. She added that while the president's positive test is taking him off the campaign trail at a pivotal moment in the election cycle, he will return to campaigning next week. "Absolutely the president is in this race. Joe Biden is more committed than ever to beat Donald Trump, and we believe on this campaign we are built for the close election that we are in, and we see the path forward." She brushed aside reporting that Biden is considering dropping out of the race as "bad" stories about conversations "he is not having." |
| Trump Accepts GOP Nomination, Bullet Wound to His Ear and Electoral Wind at His Back | |
 | Donald Trump, five days after narrowly escaping an assassin's bullet and with his Democratic rival's candidacy in crisis, accepted the GOP's nomination Thursday in a speech that described in detail the attempt on his life, while painting the nation as deeply troubled and offering himself as the solution. "I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength, and hope," Trump said as he accepted his party's nomination for a third consecutive time. "I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America." Trump spoke in gripping, emotional terms about the shooting, and spent the early portion of his speech asking for a divided nation to find common cause. But as the address went on, wandering on and off script, he stuck closely to his familiar style: casting illegal immigration as a threat to U.S. jobs, portraying criminal indictments against him as political retribution and insulting political rivals, including "Crazy Nancy Pelosi." While advisers have encouraged him not to speak so much about the 2020 election, Trump couldn't resist and touched on that and other items from his greatest hits in a speech that lasted more than 90 minutes. |
| How Lord of the Rings Shaped JD Vance's Politics | |
 | When Donald Trump selected JD Vance as his running mate, he elevated the first millennial who will appear on a presidential ticket. That makes Vance the first politician who came of age during the Iraq War and the Great Recession, an internet native whose political rise coincided with the development of a new group of conservatives what would become the New Right. But perhaps Vance's most millennial trait is just how geeky he is about Lord of the Rings. The trilogy of novels has been a longstanding nerd favorite for decades, but it became the center of culture during Vance's high school years thanks to Peter Jackson's movies. Vance himself has pointed to Tolkien's high fantasy epics as a window into understanding his worldview. In an archived episode of the defunct "Grounded" podcast from 2021 that no longer shows up in podcast feeds, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who sat next to Vance in Trump's friends and family box at the convention Tuesday evening, asked Vance to name his favorite author. "I would have to say Tolkien," Vance said. "I'm a big Lord of the Rings guy, and I think, not realizing it at the time, but a lot of my conservative worldview was influenced by Tolkien growing up." He added of Tolkien's colleague: "Big fan of C.S. Lewis -- really sort of like that era of English writers. I think they were really interesting. They were grappling, in part because of World War II, with just very big problems." Luke Burgis, author of a book about René Girard (another of Vance's intellectual heroes) and Catholic University of America professor, said he suspects "Vance's appreciation of Tolkien is not unrelated to his conversion to Catholicism in 2019. |
| J.D. Vance Left His Venmo Public. Here's What It Shows | |
 | US senator J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican and former US president Donald Trump's pick for vice president, has a public Venmo account that gives an unfiltered glimpse into his extensive network of connections with establishment GOP heavyweights, wealthy financiers, technology executives, the prestige press, and fellow graduates of Yale Law School---precisely the elites he rails against. A WIRED analysis of the account, the people listed as Vance's friends, and, in turn, the people listed as their friends highlights sometimes bizarre and surprising connections. Experts, meanwhile, worry that the information revealed by the peer-to-peer payment app raises the potential for stalking, trolling, and impersonation. Experts say that the visibility of Vance's account could create problems for the high-profile individuals connected to it. "Access to anyone's social connections can reveal sensitive private information and expose them to security risks," Jennifer Lynch, general counsel at civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells WIRED. High-profile politicians like Vance, Lynch argues, may be especially prone to social engineering attacks and impersonation. "If someone who is a candidate for vice president hasn't changed his privacy settings, I don't know how a company can expect the rest of us to stay on top of this." |
| RNC Uses Video From UM Protest Where Frat Member Made Gestures at Black Student in Anti-'Woke' Message | |
| In a video montage praising anti-"woke" college students on Thursday evening, the Republican National Convention featured a clip that showed University of Mississippi students confronting a Black student who was protesting in favor of Palestinian rights. The RNC's montage cut the clip off just before it showed a man who made monkey sounds and gestures at her. Journalist Stacey J. Spiehler shot the original video while reporting for the Mississippi Free Press on May 2. After a diverse group of pro-Palestine supporters gathered to protest against Israel's actions in Gaza, hundreds of mostly white students surrounded them. The media contact for UM For Palestine, Jaylin Smith, was the target of the monkey gestures as well as other obscene gestures. Some of the counter-protesters chanted, "Lizzo! Lizzo! Lizzo!" at her, referring to the music star. The RNC's montage also shows clips of student counter-protesters opposing pro-Palestine activists at other universities, including Louisiana State University. "Giving us some hope there that not all college students have gone woke," the voice of Newsmax co-host Bob Brooks intones as the montage plays the clip showing the UM students. |
| Clip of Ole Miss student making racist gestures at Black woman played at RNC sparks backlash | |
 | A video played at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday evening included a clip of a white University of Mississippi student making monkey gestures at a Black woman on campus earlier this year. The video, meant to praise anti-"woke" college students, used a clip from early May in which pro-Palestinian demonstrators -- protesting the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza -- and counterprotesters confronted each other. As the white fraternity member approaches the Black woman and begins making the racist gestures, the announcer can be heard saying that these students are "giving us some hope there that not all college students have gone woke." The use of the video received backlash from Democrats, including the Biden campaign. "Donald Trump promised unity at his convention," Biden campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told The Hill in a statement. "Instead, he delivered bigotry, division, and straight-up racism that turned dog whistles into bullhorns." |
| EPA grant helps Ole Miss combat climate change | |
 | The University of Mississippi (UM) received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help reduce its carbon footprint for new infrastructure. Billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass and other construction materials and products are required to build, maintain and operate the country's buildings and infrastructure. The EPA estimates that these materials account for over 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. UM's approximately $749,476 grant will support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. The University of Mississippi's project will focus on investigating the potential reduction of embodied greenhouse gas emissions by implementing warm mix asphalt technologies that integrate reclaimed asphalt pavement. UM will also evaluate the mechanical properties and durability characteristics of asphalt mixtures through a comprehensive experimental program. UM's grant is among many awarded to businesses, universities and nonprofit organizations nationwide. Earlier this month, the EPA announced that the Mississippi State University Extension Service would receive a $100,000 grant to support environmental education in Jackson and across Mississippi. |
| Hate the sound of chewing? Sign-up for USM's misophonia study | |
 | Misophonia is a condition that causes sensory sensitivity to sounds that originate from the nose and mouth -- chewing, swallowing, snorting. Dr. Mark Huff, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi, said he'd heard about the phenomena but didn't know it had a name. "Have you ever observed a family member or friend who is sensitive to every day sounds like lip smacking, chewing food, grinding teeth, sniffing or snorting?" asked Huff. "Beyond seeming a little annoyed, you may experience them looking distressed or expressing strong emotional and physical reactions to these common sounds." Now, Huff is leading an interdisciplinary research team that is studying possible attention and memory deficits caused by trigger sound exposure in misophonic individuals. The team won a $455,0000 Misophonia Research Fund grant from the REAM Foundation to fund the project. "Critically, little research has been conducted to determine how this condition may affect core psychological processes such as attention and memory and how impacts to these processes may affect subjective well-being," explained Huff. "Our cross-disciplinary research team seeks to address critical gaps in the basic understanding of misophonia by evaluating how performance on tasks that involve the use of attention, working memory and episodic memory are adversely impacted when misophonia triggers are present versus absent." |
| Southern Miss teacher residency program granted $319K by AmeriCorps | |
| Southern Miss has received a donation to support its efforts in training future educators for a career in teaching. The Golden Eagle Teacher Residency Program at the University of Southern Mississippi was awarded a 2024 AmeriCorps State Grant worth over $319,000 to support educator preparation at the graduate level. "For 30 years, AmeriCorps has united volunteers to strengthen their communities. We are excited to have our USM teacher residents partnering with this wonderful organization through service that enriches both their lives and the lives of those they teach," Andrea Krell, instructor and director of teacher residency at USM, said. "Funding from the AmeriCorps grant will support individuals as they make career transitions to become teachers." Teacher residents will be enrolled in USM's Master of Arts in teaching in inclusive elementary education program which leads to a Mississippi teaching license with endorsements in both elementary education and special education. |
| Miss. Dept. of Education rolling out new system to better track student achievement | |
| A new tracking system for student progress is rolling out across the state of Mississippi. It is expected to address a previous deficiency where Head Start student accomplishments were not being recorded. Members of the Mississippi Department of Education Board of Trustees heard an update on the rollout of MSIS 2.0 during Thursday's meeting. John Kraman, Chief Information Officer, told the Board the rollout began on June 28. "MSIS is meant to help guide with information and insight... decision making that will inform and influence the outcomes for our students helping them prepare for the future," Kraman described. That means the old system, MSIS 1.0, was sunset on that date, Deborah Donovan, Director of Data Analysis and Reporting added. However, the old system will remain operational as data is transferred over to the new system. Leaving the previous system open until September will allow for data entry from last school year to be completed for its accountability run and allow staff to see the historical data until it is transferred to the new system. The update came as the old system came under fire last year when the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) issued a report that found the achievements of students enrolled in Head Start programs were not being recorded. MSIS 2.0 is being put in place in part to address those limitations. |
| U. of Florida president Ben Sasse is resigning after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy | |
| University of Florida president Ben Sasse announced late Thursday that he will leave his position of nearly two years to focus on taking care of his family after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy. In a post on the social platform X, the former U.S. senator from Nebraska said that "after extensive prayer and lots of family tears," he asked university officials that day to start looking for a new president. In a statement, the university said his resignation is effective July 31. "I need to step back for a time and focus more on the needs of my family while we rebuild more stable household systems," Sasse said, adding that he would continue to teach at the university. Sasse's wife, Melissa, who had an aneurysm and a series of strokes in 2007, was recently diagnosed with epilepsy and has been having "a new batch of memory issues," he said. The couple has two daughters in college, and their youngest child is turning 13, he said. Sasse thanked the university for welcoming his family and said he was grateful for the professors and students as well those behind the scenes, like third-shift maintenance crews and the early morning cafeteria workers. |
| In wake of Laken Riley death, UGA announces new security measures ready for fall semester | |
 | The University of Georgia released a statement Thursday announcing that new security measures are in place for the upcoming fall semester. The measures include more security cameras, new lighting, emergency call stations and automatic license plate readers, the latter which is expected to record all vehicles entering and leaving campus property. "The university's $7.3 million investment in new security initiatives this year adds to the more than $16 million in campus security measures enacted during the past eight years" bringing the total package to more than $23 million, according to the statement. The added security measures were first announced in February following the Feb. 22 slaying of Laken Riley on UGA property. Riley, an Augusta University nursing student matriculating at the school's Athens campus, was taking a morning jog at the intramural fields when she was brutally attacked and slain. The suspect, Jose Ibarra, 26, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, is in jail awaiting trial. UGA officials announced that the package of safety enhancements for campus are now mostly in place. Classes for the fall semester begin on Aug. 14. The money for the measures came from several public and private sources including the UGA Parents Leadership Council, UGA Foundation, President's Venture Fund, and the UGA Athletic Association. |
| U. of Kentucky, airports seeing disruptions from global technology outage | |
 | The University of Kentucky reported technological disruptions due to a worldwide outage several businesses Friday. CrowdStrike, a global cybersecurity firm, first started reporting issues around 4:46 a.m., according to downdetector.com. The outage impacted airports, hospitals, banks, media outlets, companies and services around the world dependent on CrowdStrike's software. UK said its UK Healthcare facilities were experiencing disruptions due to the outage. UK systems impacted by the outage are Microsoft Windows desktops and servers and myUK, an online portal for employees, managers and business officers. UK officials are trying to minimize the impact to patient care and patient-care activities, UK said. George Kurtz, President and CEO of CrowdStrike, said on X, said the outage is not a security incident or cyberattack and the issue has been identified. The cybersecurity firm is working with customers impacted by the outage and a fix has been deployed. "We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website," Kurtz said on X. "We further recommend organizations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers." |
| UT's Texas Institute for Electronics secures $840M to develop semiconductor microsystems | |
| On Thursday morning, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency announced that it has selected the Texas Institute for Electronics at The University of Texas at Austin as the recipient of $840 million to build a Department of Defense microelectronics manufacturing center. In a news release, DARPA said the contract was designed to ensure America's national security and global military leadership. According to the agreement, TIE will establish a national open-access research and development and prototyping fabrication facility that will push semiconductor technology forward. The hope is that this facility will enable the DOD to create higher-performance, lower-power, lightweight and compact defense systems. Technology like this could could apply to radar, satellite imaging, unmanned aerial vehicles or other systems. "The University of Texas is honored to use our vast talent and expertise in service to our country," said Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. The project represents a total investment of $1.4 billion into research at UT. In addition to the $840 million award from DARPA, the Texas Legislature has already invested $552 million in TIE -- which has funded modernization of two UT fabrication facilities. For UT, the investment is a significant step towards President Jay Hartzell's 10-year strategic plan for the university to become the world's highest-impact public research university. For students studying at UT, or considering the school, this is also a win as the facilities pull talent directly from the Cockrell School of Engineering. |
| UNC Frat Brothers and Antisemitism Lawsuit Plaintiff Speak at RNC | |
 | The Republican National Convention honored a group of fraternity members from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Wednesday night and gave a graduate of Harvard University the chance to slam his alma mater. The UNC students gained notoriety this spring for protecting an American flag from being torn down during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus; soon after, supporters raised more than $500,000 in donations "to throw these frats the party they deserve," as the GoFundMe page put it. Seven members of various UNC fraternities appeared at the RNC, with one, Alex Johnson, speaking to the crowd about the April 30 protest. "It was all about respect -- not just for the cloth, but for everything that the flag stands for. Too many people have sacrificed everything for it. The least we can do was keep it fly, and tonight, we are proud to honor our flag again," he said. Later in the evening, Shabbos Kestenbaum, a recent Harvard graduate who is suing the university for failing to protect Jewish students during campus protests last fall, spoke to the crowd, calling Harvard "anti-Western," "anti-American" and "antisemitic." He also described discrimination he faced after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, including being harassed by classmates, receiving death threats online and having Israeli and American flags he had planted on campus grounds vandalized. |
| NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson announces his retirement after nearly 15 years in the role | |
| Another chancellor in North Carolina's public university system has announced plans to step down --- this time at the state's largest university by enrollment. North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson declared his retirement plans at the university's trustees meeting Thursday, capping off nearly 15 years in his role. His term will officially end June 30, 2025, Woodson said. His departure marks yet another chancellor vacancy in the University of North Carolina system that is in the process of filling three other openings, including the state's flagship campus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Seventeen schools are members of the system. "I feel good about leaving the institution better than I found it, but I also feel good that the next leader has plenty to do at NC State," Woodson said during the meeting. "This is a great place." With his contract ending next June, Woodson told reporters it was "just a good time" for him to step away from being chancellor. Retirement was something the 67-year-old said he considered for a while. Woodson started in his role as NC State chancellor in 2010. He previously came from Purdue University, where he served as provost, dean of the agriculture college and in various other leadership positions. |
| Proposed Regulations Looks to Increase College Access | |
| New proposed regulations could increase college access for high school students and provide better public data on student outcomes, according to officials at the U.S. Department of Education. The department's proposal -- partly to increase oversight over distance education programs and to promote student-focused student aid programs -- adds changes to the federal TRIO programs, Distance Education, and Return to Title IV. More specifically, the aim is to increase Dreamers' access to higher education through TRIO, to better account for student success and increase oversight of programs offered through distance education, to help students who withdraw from paying outstanding balances, and to increase accuracy and simplicity of calculations for institutions under R2T4. U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona said the regulations, if enacted, would help expand access and affordability to students from low-income backgrounds, students without immigration status, and students with disabilities. "By broadening eligibility for federal programs and placing guardrails that help protect against situations that leave students with debt but no degree, we can open more doors to the life-changing potential of higher education," said Cardona. |
| Biden's SAVE Plan Blocked by Federal Court | |
| A federal appeals court, in an unsigned order, blocked the Biden administration's new income-driven student loan repayment plan Thursday, putting on hold a suite of benefits such as lower monthly payments for more than eight million borrowers nationwide. Undergraduate borrowers had expected to see their payments cut in half this month, and 4.5 million people are currently paying $0 a month thanks to a more generous formula in the plan that determines how much they owe. The plan, known as Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, also waives unpaid interest in an attempt to keep borrowers' balances from ballooning. Those benefits and others under SAVE are now in question following the court order, which granted a request for an administrative stay from seven states that sued to block the plan. Republican-led states have argued in multiple lawsuits that SAVE exceeds the Education Department's authority and amounts to just another version of the broad-based debt-relief plan that the Supreme Court struck down last summer. One lawsuit is awaiting action from the high court, while Thursday's court order stems from a suit filed by Missouri and six other states. |
| Appeals court blocks all of Biden's Save plan for student loan repayment | |
 | A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked President Biden's new student loan repayment plan, leaving millions of borrowers enrolled in the cost-cutting program in the lurch. The decision follows a whiplash of rulings last month in two separate Republican-led lawsuits seeking to end the Saving on a Valuable Education program, commonly known as Save. The flurry of orders from the cases has created chaos for borrowers who want to enroll in the plan or who are already signed up and need to know what their monthly bill will be. In the latest development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit sided with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and five other Republican-led states that requested the court stop the Biden administration from implementing Save amid its ongoing litigation. In a post on X, Bailey called the appeals court decision a "HUGE win for every American who still believes in paying their own way." He said Save is an "illegal student loan plan, which would have saddled working Americans with half-a-trillion dollars in Ivy League debt." Late Thursday night, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the department will place all borrowers enrolled in Save in an interest-free forbearance while the Biden administration continues to defend the plan in court. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State players embracing new college football video game | |
| After a long day of summer workouts on Tuesday, it was finally game time for Mississippi State offensive lineman Albert Reese IV. No, not in real life -- the Bulldogs don't open the 2024 season until Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky -- but in the newly-released EA Sports College Football 25 video game. "I played it for four hours, as soon as I got home from workouts and being at the facility," Reese said Wednesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days. "It was cool seeing myself on there. I was never a huge Madden guy, but I played it a little bit, and I always wondered how it would feel being an NFL player, being able to see yourself on there, so it's cool to experience that." College Football 25 launched Monday, with the standard version releasing Friday. "I played with myself (Tuesday) for the first time," quarterback Blake Shapen said. "I'm not a big gamer, but I did have to play the game because that's pretty cool to be able to be in a college football game. I'm sure they'll have a system up there for us to play, so I'm sure there will be a lot of competing going on in there." The Bulldogs' players are enjoying the game now, but head coach Jeff Lebby emphasized that once fall camp gets started, the focus will be on real, not virtual, football. "We said it on the plane on the way over here (to Dallas)," Lebby said. "You need to play now, because you won't be playing in camp." |
| EA Sports College Football 25, among most anticipated sports video games in history, hits the market | |
| EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has flooded the market as gamers who waited more than a decade for the franchise's next installment rush to play. The game officially launched Friday, with EA Sports increasing its server capacity during early access to handle the crush. "To say we've been blown away by the excitement, energy and anticipation around College Football 25 over the past few months would be an understatement," EA Sports said in a blog post this week. "Just like you, our team has had July 19 circled for months as the culmination of so much work and dedication to build this game, and the chance to see it in players' hands for the first time." EA Sports' college football games used to be released annually, a cultural icon in American sports for much of the franchise's existence. The company froze future editions in 2013 when athletes began questioning why they weren't getting paid to be featured in the games. With athlete compensation rights sorted out in court and now allowed by the NCAA, EA Sports announced in 2021 it would be reviving the franchise. The video-game developer offered Bowl Subdivision players a minimum of $600 and a copy of the game to have their likeness included in it. More than 11,000 players accepted offers. EA Sports has said its goal for the game was "to feel like a love letter to college football and its fans." |
| Five Bulldogs Head To Dallas For SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council Meetings | |
| Mississippi State's Cameron Matthews (men's basketball), Debreasha Powe (women's basketball), Chris Parson (football), Stone Simmons (SAAC, baseball) and Gracie Gibson (SAAC, women's track and field/cross country) will participate in the SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council meetings this week in Dallas, Texas. The five Bulldogs will be joined by a total of 82 student-athletes representing all 16 SEC universities. Attendees include representatives from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Football Leadership Council and Men's and Women's Basketball Leadership Council. During the two-day meeting, attendees will hear presentations from Will Baggett of Emergent Executives on creating and growing a brand and Kristi Dosh on avoiding business management pitfalls. The agenda also includes conversations with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and SEC Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Katie O'Neal. In addition, the group will participate in breakout sessions for their respective leadership council. The SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council provides an opportunity for its student-athletes to engage with campus leaders and conference office staff. Leadership Councils for football and men's and women's basketball, along with SAAC, provide a conduit of communication to the conference office on issues related to student-athlete experience, student-athlete wellness and playing rules. |
| MUW announces athletics partnership with Columbus Orthopaedic | |
| Mississippi University for Women announced the start of an official partnership with Columbus Orthopaedic on Thursday, with the local healthcare organization further endearing itself to local athletics. "We are thrilled and excited to have Columbus Orthopaedics become our official provider for our athletic training-related needs," MUW Director of Athletics Buddy Foster said of the partnership. Columbus Orthopaedic has served as the on-site medical team for Mississippi State athletic events for just over three decades, offering care in the training room and on the sideline, and that partnership service now exists with The W as well. The organization proudly pointed to that relationship with MSU on Wednesday when announcing this new partnership. "Having served as team physicians for Mississippi State University for the past 30 years, it was a natural step for us to extend the same level of care to athletes at The W," said Dr. Aaron Mullane, an orthopedic surgeon with Columbus Orthopaedics. "And we couldn't be more excited for this partnership!" |
| SEC's Greg Sankey explains context to idea he was throwing shade at Florida State | |
 | Greg Sankey may have turned some ACC heads Wednesday during SEC Media Days when he expressed how well Georgia handled being left out of the College Football Playoff last year. "Think last year, (Georgia) was one of the four best teams, period," Sankey said on 1010 XL Radio, per SI. "There's people in your listening audience saying, 'Oh, there he goes again.' "We didn't stomp our feet, we didn't, like, fly banners over places. That was one of the four best teams." Florida State did quite the opposite. On Dec. 3, FSU coach Mike Norvel said he was "disgusted" after the Seminoles became the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to be left out of the College Football Playoff after the CFP committee chose one-loss Alabama to be the No. 4 seed over the ACC champs. There were days and weeks following where the frustration from the Florida State faithful fueled college football. So, it is easy to make the jump that Sankey's comment was a slight at the way FSU handled the news. And maybe it is. However, on Thursday, during a guest appearance on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5 out of Mobile, Sankey added context to the comment he made a day earlier. "People act like I was confident I knew something," Sankey explained leading up the release of CFP last season. "I don't know until the selections are made. We had actually visited with both University of Alabama and University of Georgia about an approach. We really respected the tone they were prepared to share. ... We had a statement that was clear that we had a different view, and we were going to move on." |
| SEC commissioner Greg Sankey tackles expansion, finding new revenue streams in CBS Sports interview | |
| SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is plotting a steady trajectory for his conference, even as headwinds steer college athletics toward uncharted waters. An estimated $22 million annual line item looms for every major university's athletic budget after a recent court case granted players a share of the revenue generated by college athletics. Take a look around the country and you'll see a variety of ideas on the table to make up that difference. While adding two of the sport's bluebloods to its roster is the biggest move the conference has made, it's far from the only one. Sankey is examining a nine-game conference schedule in an effort to generate more money and better position itself in the 12-team College Football Playoff. The conference also continues to monitor the situation in the ACC. "We're a national conference that has a regional platform," Sankey said "I don't think you have the luxury of never saying never in this world, but I think our focus has been appropriate and I think our decisions have been justified based on what's happened over the last three years. We're not reacting. We were on the front and the focus on 16 (universities) is real with the responsibility to be aware of what's happening around us." |
| Social media reacts to ESPN release of preview of graphics and scorebug for SEC football on ABC | |
 | With SEC Football Media Days in the books, the 2024 College Football season is just around the corner. And with kickoff just a little over a month away, college football fans got a glimpse at how the SEC will look on ABC this upcoming season. On Thursday shortly after Day 4 of media day wrapped up in Dallas, ESPN released a preview of the graphics package for the newly named SEC on ABC games, which includes the debut of a new scorebug at the bottom of screens. The upcoming 2024 College Football season is the first year of a new 10-year deal between the SEC and ESPN/ABC, where the networks will flagship station of SEC football showcase games. CBS previously held the broadcast rights for the showcase game of the week in the SEC. The graphics package and scorebug for the SEC on ABC will officially debut on Saturday, Aug. 31 with a triple-header on ABC. The day will kick off with Georgia vs. Clemson at 11 a.m. CT at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, then Florida will host in-state rival Miami at 2:30 p.m. CT before Notre Dame travels down to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. CT. Considering the interest and time that fans put into taking notice of the scorebug, the new ESPN college football scorebug received quite a positive reaction on social media among college football fans. It is worth noting that some SEC diehard fans showed their displeasure of the scorebug based on the fact they wished CBS was still broadcasting the SEC. |
| Sources: Alabama to name field at Bryant-Denny after Saban | |
| The University of Alabama plans to honor former coach Nick Saban by naming its football playing field for him at Bryant-Denny Stadium, sources told ESPN. A meeting of the Alabama system board of trustees is scheduled for Friday, and on the agenda is the "consideration of resolution approving a naming at Bryant-Denny Stadium at UA." A ceremony to dedicate the new field name is expected to be held on Sept. 7 in conjunction with the South Florida game. Saban, who retired in January, won six national championships in 17 seasons at Alabama. He was 108-9 at home as the Crimson Tide's coach, and they won 21 in a row in Tuscaloosa before losing to Texas in Week 2 last season. In his final eight seasons as coach, Saban's only SEC home loss was to LSU in 2019. That LSU team went 15-0 and won the national championship. Saban is now working as a college football analyst for ESPN. He already has a statue of him erected just outside the stadium on the Walk of Champions along with Alabama's other national championship-winning coaches. |
| Could Morgan Wallen sell out a third show at Neyland Stadium? | |
 | Country superstar Morgan Wallen is well on his way to selling out two surprise concerts at Neyland Stadium. Could he possibly do a third? Wallen originally had no plans to make a hometown stop during the 2024 leg of his popular One Night at a Time tour. But a College World Series championship win for Tennessee baseball changed all of that. And in a matter of three days, he had scheduled two shows at Neyland Stadium, marking the first concerts at the venue since 2019. Wallen is slated to perform at Neyland Sept. 20 and 22. Just under two hours after tickets for the first show went on sale July 17, a second date was added "due to overwhelming demand." If tickets continue to sell out fast, the Billboard chart-topper and Gibbs High School graduate might have to add a third, which could fit in his busy schedule. Prior to arriving to Knoxville to take over Neyland, Wallen will be closing out his first-ever European tour. The final European show is Sept. 8 in Dublin, Ireland and he'll have about two weeks before his next concert, the Sept. 20 show in Knoxville. Neyland Stadium's seating capacity is 101,915, nearly five times that of Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, a far more frequent venue for concerts. Over 150,000 fans are expected to attend Wallen's shows across both nights, according to a press release from Essential Broadcast Media. |
| House v. NCAA long-form settlement expected to be filed next week | |
| The House v. NCAA long-form settlement could be submitted to the Northern District of California for approval next week. Plaintiffs' attorney Jeffrey Kessler is anticipating the suit's settlement to be sent to Judge Claudia Wilken next week, he told On3 on Thursday afternoon. After it's submitted, the settlement will need to go through a formal approval process which will take months. During that time, class members and third parties will have the opportunity to reject. Questions remain since the NCAA and Power 5 conferences voted to sign off on the settlement agreement in May, agreeing to pay $2.77 billion in back damages to athletes over 10 years. The second piece of the settlement is revenue sharing, allowing institutions to pay $20-22 million annually to athletes. The two sides have been combing through the final details of the settlement in recent weeks. Roster limits have come to the forefront. On Thursday, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports reported commissioners are closing in on 105 as the roster limit for football programs. That would allow programs to offer 20 more scholarships than the current maximum of 85. Coaches in other NCAA sports have already been openly talking with recruits about the impending roster limits. One power conference women's soccer coach told On3 that he anticipates his roster will be reduced by 25%. |
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