| Wednesday, July 24, 2024 |
| Barr Ave. traffic limited during scoreboard maintenance project | |
 | A section of Barr Avenue in front of Davis Wade Stadium will be limited to one lane of traffic Thursday [July 25] to Aug. 2 for the operation of a crane required to complete maintenance on the scoreboard located in the north end zone. Workers with flags will be onsite to coordinate normal traffic operations. Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area if possible. Please contact the Facilities Management Service Desk at 662-325-2005 with questions. |
| Texas rains to flush out giant poisonous worms that regenerate when chopped in half: 'You get two' | |
 | Everything is bigger in Texas. Heavy rains around Houston are expected to bring out poisonous, foot-long worms that regenerate if cut in half, officials warned this week. The nightmarish hammerhead flatworm is an invasive species that secrete toxins that can cause skin irritation to humans if touched. The creepy crawler, which thrives in hot tropical climates, can also be poisonous to pets if ingested and is known to carry parasites. The pests prey on earthworms, which are vital for crops, gardens and natural environments. They paralyze the earthworms by slathering them with their toxic slime before stretching out their "mouth" over part of the earthworm's body and digesting it, Dr. Blake Layton Jr., an entomology expert with Mississippi State University, told KHOU. The disabling toxin is the same poison that causes skin irritation in humans and makes animals sick. Hammerhead worms, which are native to Asia, are thought to have come to the US by hitchhiking across plant trade routes. They've been reported in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. |
| Ex-investment banker turns to mushroom farming in Brooksville | |
 | Until about two years ago, Pierce Moore spent a lot of his time behind a desk in Jackson, working as an investment banker and originating municipal bonds in Mississippi that were sold on Wall Street. But if you looked for Moore on Monday, you would find him at Blue Courage Farms -- his family farm -- cutting okra, planting 60 tomato plants, working on the farm website, and sterilizing shiitake, lion's mane, and oyster mushrooms in his mushroom hut. In July 2022, Moore and his wife Jaime moved back to his hometown in Brooksville. This year, Moore made the jump to full-time farming, including his mushroom crop. Blue Courage Farms puts its mushrooms and vegetables in customer's mouths a few ways. Pierce said they sell at farmers' markets, as well as to a few local restaurants. But in March, the Moores started an online subscription and delivery service. The Blue Courage Farms e-grocery service delivers to Oktibbeha, Lowndes, Winston and Noxubee counties weekly or biweekly. It partners with affiliate farmers to also bring meat, honey and rice to their customers from farm-to-doorstep. The Moores are also hoping to partner to sell eggs in the future. "If you place an order by Wednesday, it'll be waiting on your doorstep on Friday," Pierce said. "All you have to do is leave a cooler out on your front porch for me and I'll come by with your products, with your beef, your honey, your mushrooms." |
| Effects of last year's drought still impacting Mississippi landscape | |
| It's been nearly a year since Mississippi was dried out by a record-breaking drought, but the state's farmers and timber landscape are still feeling the aftermath. "No one has been exempt from the effects of that drought last fall," said Russell Bozeman, State Forester for the Mississippi Forestry Commission. Right now, Bozeman says conditions for trees to recover from last year's drought are optimal, but the damage left behind will be felt for years to come. "Even if we keep moisture moving through the state," he said. "These trees are still going to be seeing the effects of that drought for three to five years." In several areas of Central Mississippi, WLBT 3 On Your Side has seen contracting crews cutting down dead trees and removing stumps. Bozeman says that's going to be a familiar sight for a while, as all of that dead timber could be future fuel for more widespread wildfires. While the amount of rainfall we've seen this year may help prevent a widespread drought later this year, Mike McCormick with the Mississippi Farm Bureau says it has prevented several farmers from getting specific crops planted before they wash out. "We got a lot of rain earlier in the year, which was much needed to put down some sub-moisture, but it also caused some of the crops to be delayed," said McCormick. "Rain is important to get when you need it, but it's kind of important to go away when we need to get the crops or the hay in," he said. |
| Swiss manufacturing giant Liebherr to set up shop in Tupelo with $176M investment | |
| One of the world's largest construction equipment manufacturers will be setting up shop in northeast Mississippi. The Mississippi Development Authority announced Tuesday that Switzerland-based company Liebherr plans to locate distribution and manufacturing operations in Lee County. The project represents an initial corporate investment of $176 million and will create at least 180 jobs by 2026, though the company could potentially invest up to $238.4 million and create up to 342 jobs to support its new functions. "I am thrilled to welcome Liebherr to Mississippi. The company's decision to expand its North American footprint in our state is indicative of the strength of our business climate and the capabilities of our workforce," Gov. Tate Reeves said. Liebherr selected the Hive Business Park in Tupelo to facilitate its production in Mississippi. The company will develop a new campus on a 118-acre site enabling the construction of more than one million square feet of building space. The Mississippi Development Authority is assisting this project through the state's flexible tax incentive program. Lee County, the city of Tupelo, and Accelerate MS are also aiding the project. |
| Swiss manufacturer Liebherr building advanced distribution and manufacturing center in Lee County | |
 | In what is being hailed as a "transformational project," an international manufacturer will invest $176 million and create at least 180 jobs by 2026 in the HIVE Business Park. The Liebherr Group, one of the largest manufacturers of construction equipment in the world, will build a 1-million-square-foot distribution and manufacturing operation inside the Lee County-based industrial park. "It's the culmination of about nine months of work," said Community Development Foundation President and CEO David Rumbarger, who made the announcement before the Lee County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday morning. Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan and Chief Operating Officer Don Lewis also attended. "We started this project back in November with our first visit, where we were screened with over 400 cities, evaluated with about 40, then site selection was down to about 10 cities they looked at across the South." "This project is transformational," Rumbarger said. "It establishes just exactly what you envisioned in the HIVE Business Park -- an advanced manufacturer, advanced technology, highly compensated for those individuals who will be there. It will become a premier employer for this region." |
| Corps of Engineers updates residents on Yazoo Backwater Study | |
| The U.S. Corps of Engineers is hosting a series of public meetings to get feedback from residents on ways to prevent ongoing flooding. The meeting on Tuesday morning was held at the Vicksburg Auditorium, where members of the community were able to learn about and weigh in on the Yazoo Backwater Study. The study dates back to 1941 and analyzes ways to eliminate flooding from the closure of the Steele Bayou when the Mississippi River levels are high. When that water control structure is closed, rainwater can pool behind the levee within the drainage system, causing flooding in places like Eagle Lake, which has been devastated by flooding in the past. "This started in 1941, now 80 years later, they've done nothing," said Redwood resident Lora Scallions. "I'm sure I can speak for everyone in the Yazoo Backwater area, we're tired of hearing the talk. Talking is not helping. Until we get alternative two pumps in, nothing is going to help that area." Engineers said they've had to take into consideration the impact the pumps would have on humans and wildlife. "It's been that balance between the wildlife in wetlands and people in the industry," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Project Planning and Review Robyn Colosimo. |
| Place for boats, cars and man caves are a 'thing' in major cities -- and now on the Coast | |
 | Storage units that double as a man cave are available all over Texas, Arizona and South Florida, and now they're coming to South Mississippi. Garage condos are the hot new thing for storing cars, boats and other toys in climate-controlled units and convenient locations. "There's a big demand," said Steven Carter, the developer of the $8.6 million Bayside Luxury Garage Condominiums in Biloxi on what was a casino site. A boat launch is only 400 yards away, he said. Unlike household storage units rented by the month, these garages are condos -- "You buy it. You own it," Carter said. Prices start at $139,000, he said, and people who want to store boats and classic cars together tell him it's more affordable than renting spaces, he said. The Paddock is another new condo garage under construction at 2215 Government Street in Ocean Springs. Owners of the eight units will be able to securely store their cars, jet skis and motorcycles out of the weather and walk or drive their golf cart to downtown restaurants and festivals. John Boothby, owner of Apple Construction, and Cam Roberds, owner of C. Roberts General Contractors, partnered to bring The Paddock to Ocean Springs after seeing the idea in Arizona. The website calls the units "a lifestyle upgrade," and says, "Our condo garages feature spacious living areas and wet bars, making it the perfect spot to unwind after a day of adventure." |
| Mayfield appointed to Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources | |
| Gov. Tate Reeves has appointed Matthew Mayfield to the Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources (MACMR) representing commercial fishermen. Mayfield was sworn in at an MACMR meeting last week, with his appointment going into effect immediately. His first term will end on June 30, 2026, with the Mississippi Senate's approval. In 2021, Mayfield founded Eagle Point Oyster Company. He is also the owner of Tays Barbeque with locations in Moss Point and Pascagoula. A chef by nature, he also co-wrote On the Coast, a cookbook that shares Gulf Coast-based recipes and essays showing the relationship between the food industry and residents. After graduating from Pascagoula High School, Mayfield attended Mississippi State University. He continued his education at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Mayfield currently resides in Ocean Springs with his wife and two daughters. The MACMR is composed of five members appointed by the governor representing the following areas: commercial seafood processors, nonprofit environmental organizations, charter boat operators, recreational fishermen, and commercial fishermen. |
| Amazon's venture into Mississippi: A detailed overview | |
| An investment of $1,000 in Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) stock 20 years ago would be worth $90,500 today, an annualized return of 24 percent. (Durn.) Not bad for a bookseller that expanded into selling other products online, then shifted into providing cloud services, and now also operates grocery stores, health clinics, and an online pharmacy. In January, Amazon committed to a $10 billion investment over the next 10 years via Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build data center campuses in Madison County. The project represents the greatest singular investment in Mississippi. Amazon ranks second on the Fortune 500 list, only behind Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). AWS is its fastest-growing, most profitable segment. Since 2011, AWS has invested more than $108 billion in its infrastructure across the U.S. to support customers of all kinds, and across all industries, in their digital transformation, said Roger Wehner, AWS director of economic development. "Building on this, we're excited to expand our operations into Mississippi through this planned $10 billion investment, which will tap into the burgeoning tech sector across the state to create new, well-paying jobs and boost the state's Gross Domestic Product each year. We look forward to delivering new workforce development opportunities and educational programs that support the next generation of talent across the Magnolia State." |
| Branning makes campaign stop in Meridian | |
 | Longtime Philadelphia attorney Jenifer Branning made a stop in Meridian Tuesday as she campaigns for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. The court is made up of nine justices, with three elected from each of the north, central and southern districts. Branning, who is running for a central district seat, must cover more than 22 counties in her bid for a spot on the highest court in the state. Branning, who since 2016 has served residents of Senate District 18, which includes parts of Leake, Neshoba and Winston counties, in the Mississippi Senate, said her 20-year career as an attorney and 9-year run as a senator has prepared her well for the Supreme Court role. Branning said it is important to her that the court is seen as operating fairly. The Supreme Court, she said, must be impartial in its rulings. "That's the role of the judiciary, just to be fair and impartial in those rulings," she said. The Meridian and Lauderdale County area is an important part of the central district seat, Branning said, and Tuesday's visit was an opportunity to meet local voters and hear about the issues they care about. Branning is one of four candidates challenging incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens, who has served on the court since 2008. Also appearing on the ballot will be Abby Gale Robinson, Ceola James and Byron Carter. |
| Netanyahu address creates a dilemma for Democrats | |
 | While Republicans are looking forward to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Wednesday afternoon speech to a joint meeting of Congress, most Democrats are approaching the occasion with bated breath and dread -- if they plan to attend at all. The elected leader of Israel will arrive to a Capitol Hill complex with a significantly ramped up security presence and barricades to keep out the many different anti-war and religious groups planning to protest his speech, a sign of a remarkable change to the once-vaunted U.S.-Israel special relationship. Congress has long led the way on that relationship, with both Democratic and Republican administrations repeatedly having to work to catch up with and implement many different pro-Israel policies. Those laws include generous weapons assistance, the location of the U.S. embassy and how the U.S. government is allowed to engage with and support the Palestinians. But the ongoing war in Gaza has complicated things for Democrats. American and Israeli opponents of Netanyahu's speech have derided it as a PR stunt, aimed at trying to improve his own sinking political fortunes back home. Notably, Vice President Kamala Harris --- the presumed Democratic presidential nominee --- will not preside with Johnson on the dais behind Netanyahu when he addresses Congress. Instead, Harris will be in Indianapolis on Wednesday, giving a keynote speech at a conference of a historically Black sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. The decision not to attend the Netanyahu speech, which has been scheduled for weeks, is seen as a calculated statement by the White House, where relations with Netanyahu and his far-right government -- already frosty prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel -- have grown even more difficult. |
| What Would a Harris Presidency Mean for the Economy? | |
 | Kamala Harris is well known for her forceful defense of abortion rights, her role within the Biden administration on immigration and border security, and her legacy as a prosecutor and attorney general of California. But the economy is a central election issue, and there, her positions and policy goals haven't yet been as clearly defined. Her record does reveal, however, some clues about her priorities, including a focus on low-income workers, women, small businesses and middle-class families. As vice president, Harris has largely moved in lockstep with President Biden on economic issues, and some analysts see this record as a road map. "In general, we think she'll pick up the Biden-Harris mantle," policy analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note Tuesday. Before her time in the administration, she sometimes differed with Biden -- specifically in trade and climate-related policy -- often by favoring bigger governmental interventions in the economy. She shed light on some of her economic priorities Monday in an address to campaign staff. As president, she said, she would push for paid family leave and affordable child care. "Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency," Harris said. "Because we here know when our middle class is strong, America is strong." |
| Kamala Harris: Gen Z Meme Queen | |
 | Almost as soon as President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, America's internet warriors got to work, cranking out meme after meme of the Veep. The Kamala for President memes crafted by Black Twitter, Gen Zers on TikTok and other denizens of the internet are closely tied to pop culture and viral social media trends, showcasing her quirky interests -- Venn diagrams! -- funny phrases and "girlboss" moments. These memes and videos are largely served up by Gen Z -- a critical bloc of voters that's been lukewarm on Biden given concerns about his age and his support for Israel. Many of the memes serve a purpose: to propel her to the White House: As @Ritz_Th posted on X: "we absolutely MUST meme this woman into the presidency. This enthusiasm from young voters represents a stark contrast to last week, when the Democratic ticket was hemorrhaging support from this demographic -- an AP-NORC poll reported that those between the ages of 18 and 44 were very dissatisfied with Biden by more than 2 to 1 over Democrats over 45. While the presidential debate in June spotlighted concerns surrounding Biden's fitness, in reality, both Biden and Trump have dealt with concerns surrounding their age. The most recent ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll revealed that 60 percent of Americans say Trump is too old for a second term. But with Biden stepping aside, the game has been fundamentally altered: Trump is now the oldest presidential nominee in history -- giving Harris the opportunity to present herself as the candidate more in touch with America's youth. |
| Secret Service encourages Trump campaign to stop outdoor rallies | |
 | Secret Service officials encouraged Donald Trump's campaign to stop scheduling large outdoor rallies and other outdoor events with big crowds after the assassination attempt on the former president in Butler, Pa., according to people familiar with the matter. In the aftermath of the shooting, agents from the Secret Service communicated their concerns about large outdoor rallies going forward to Trump campaign advisers, three people familiar with the matter said. For upcoming events, Trump's team is scouting indoor venues, such as basketball arenas and other large spaces where thousands of people can fit, people familiar with the request said. The campaign is not currently planning any large outdoor events, a person close to Trump said. Trump has held hundreds of outdoor rallies since launching his first presidential bid, often bragging about -- and sometimes falsely inflating -- his large crowds. They have become something of a cult favorite among his most passionate fans, with tailgate parties in parking lots, vendors lining open areas near the rally and large parades of traffic, often with gargantuan pickup trucks. The rallies have long been viewed as onerous by the Secret Service because they include complicated outdoor venues with thousands --- if not tens of thousands --- of people. Most other former presidents rarely appear in public, and when they do, they usually appear in settings such as conferences and restaurants with fewer people. Trump requires a much larger security footprint than other past presidents because he holds so many large events. |
| Oil Billionaires Bet on Trump's Energy Agenda | |
| As Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination last Thursday, he reminded the megawealthy coterie of oil tycoons backing him why he is their man. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far, we are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy," Trump said during his prime-time address. Energy policy is shaping up as a key campaign issue. Some of Trump's allies immediately attacked Vice President Kamala Harris's energy record this week as she moved to nail down the Democratic nomination following President Biden's withdrawal from the race. Harris previously backed a ban on fracking as a presidential candidate in 2019, but was also part of a Biden administration that presided over record oil production. The oil executives are banking on promises from the former president and his allies for an energy agenda that is more stridently pro-fossil fuel than Trump's first administration. Many of Trump's top oil backers are openly skeptical about the effects of climate change, in contrast with the industry's biggest companies, and want to slash regulations and subsidies for green energy. "The fundraising has been epic," Kash Patel, a senior Trump adviser, said of donations from the oil-and-gas industry. |
| USM students repairing the Gulf's oyster industry with a living shoreline | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi students are working to repair the oyster industry one bag at a time. "Ever since I was a little girl, I just wanted to help save our oceans, and in my backyard here, I am helping save a little bit of our ocean and a little bit of our shoreline which is super exciting," USM Marine Biology Major Ryleigh Sprague says. USM Marine Conservation professor and Chief Scientist of Callie Mae Sea Foundation Virginia Schweiss is looking to make a splash in conservation efforts with 18,000 pounds of oyster shells. The goal is to build up vegetation and increase the amount of oysters produced in the Gulf. Students and staff have been preparing for weeks and are now seeing progress. "We looked at the salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH just to make sure it was a good location and that was kind of the start of this area," Schweiss says. "This is only the second time we've been out to the area. Everything else has been on land. The hardest part was moving all that shell. Students say they may be back next summer to create another living shoreline on a different stretch of the coast. |
| JSU first HBCU, Mississippi university to receive major award | |
 | Jackson State University (JSU) set Mississippi and HBCU history by receiving a flagship award from the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). JSU announced Monday its achievement of earning the Founder's Award from the organization with over 4,600 members. It is presented to institutions significantly contributing to NAI's success by enhancing its reach, promoting access, diversity and a commitment to innovation and invention. The university became the first institution statewide and the first HBCU nationally to receive the NAI award. For JSU President Marcus Thompson, the award is a testament to the impactful research and innovation at Jackson State. "This recognition further underscores our dedication to academic excellence, economic development and societal progress," Thompson said. "It is a significant milestone not just for JSU, but for all Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the state of Mississippi." As one of the NAI's Charter Member Institutions, JSU has played an integral role in the organization since its inception. Mississippi State University and The University of Southern Mississippi are also among the over 260 institutions part of NAI worldwide. |
| WCU medical students begin partnership with SCRMC | |
 | Medical students from William Carey University School of Osteopathic Medicine are now set to get real-world experience at South Central Medical Center through its regional hub site program. "It's so cool to see how much we've been working in the classroom over the last two years to finally get to translate and be able to work with patients now in third year," said Lindsey Meding, a medical student. The school is partnering with the hospital to train 10 3rd-year medical students over the next year by medical professionals at the new hub site. "The students are going to be engaging in what we call the core rotation," said Dr. Deepu Thoppil, WCU's Designated Institution Official. "These are the absolute basics that every physician should learn." "I think that intimate interaction with the physician is kind of like the thing I'm really looking forward to to gain all that knowledge," said Michael Coffin, a medical student. Students will learn about internal medicine, obstetrics and pediatrics. Dr. Thoppil said with limited options for medical schools in the state, the partnership could give a boost to the healthcare system. |
| U. of Alabama System campuses each close DEI offices, reassign staff | |
 | All three University of Alabama System campuses will be closing their diversity, equity and inclusion offices and opening new offices under different names. The schools cite a law recently signed by Gov. Kay Ivey that bans DEI offices, programming and training in public colleges and other state agencies. SB129 becomes effective Oct. 1, 2024. "Our mission has not wavered, and we remain committed to our institutional goals to welcome all, serve all and see all thrive and succeed," University of Alabama President Stuart Bell wrote in a statement. A UA spokesperson said no Tuscaloosa staff have been fired. In Tuscaloosa, the Division of Opportunities, Connections and Success has been opened and will be led by Christine Taylor, who formerly led the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Bell said UA remains committed to diversity of speech and thought. "Differences, including differences of opinion shared with civility, strengthen our campus community. Our faculty, staff and students will continue to engage in free speech, exercise academic freedom and join in wide-ranging thought and discussion on issues that impact our world," Bell wrote. |
| LSU researchers receive $6 million grant for research into climate-resistant soybeans | |
| A group of LSU AgCenter scientists are part of a project that has received a $6 million grant to research more climate-resistant soybeans, the university announced in a release Tuesday. Plant pathologist Jong Ham has been investigating how soybean seeds treated with bacterial agents can help soybean plants fight stress, especially following a period of extreme drought across Louisiana in the past year. Funding for the project comes from the National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Ham's Interdisciplinary Program of Advancing Climate Extreme Resilience in Soybean is one of 14 projects that were awarded $77.8 million in funding, LSU said. The iPACERS project, led by a geneticist and professor in the Clemson University Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, also includes researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Mississippi State University as well as Ham and four other scientists from the LSU AgCenter. The four-year project will see the team study two varieties of soybeans, one of which tolerates hot and dry conditions better than the other. |
| U. of Florida board of trustees votes unanimously to appoint Kent Fuchs interim president | |
 | The University of Florida community over the next year should be ready for a lot of "fun and joy" and "hard work." That was the message delivered by former UF President Kent Fuchs on Tuesday afternoon after he was unanimously approved by the university's board of trustees as the interim president following the sudden resignation of President Ben Sasse last week. "I want to personally thank Dr. Fuchs for agreeing to take on this role at such a critical time to ensure a smooth transition as we prepare to begin our search for a new president," board Chair Mori Hosseini said. "... We owe you a huge debt of gratitude." The appointment -- effective Aug. 1 -- must still be ratified by the Florida Board of Governors at its next meeting. Fuchs, who served as UF president from 2015 to 2023, is currently teaching an electrical engineering class in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering after taking a one-year sabbatical, according a news university news release. After the vote during Tuesday's virtual meeting, Fuchs thanked board members for their confidence in him to lead the university on such short notice. Sasse spoke briefly after the vote to appoint Fuchs as interim president. "I want to thank Kent for his wisdom and his love for this place an his willingness to serve," he said. |
| The science section of the ACT exam will now be optional | |
 | The science section will now be optional on the ACT exam, and the exam duration will be decreased, the organization announced earlier this week. The writing section was made optional in 2005. Students can now opt between several versions of the test: the ACT core exam (which includes reading, math and English), the ACT plus writing, the ACT plus science or the ACT plus science and writing. "With this flexibility, students can focus on their strengths and showcase their abilities in the best possible way," the organization said. The average score from the core subjects will generate the composite score. All subjects will still be scored on a scale from 1 to 36. Students will continue to be able to choose between taking the test online or with paper and a pencil. Additionally, the duration of the core exam will be reduced from three hours to two hours by making reading passages shorter and cutting out 44 questions total. "This change is designed to make the testing experience more manageable for students, enabling them to perform at their best without the fatigue that often accompanies longer exams," ACT said. |
| What Students From Rural Communities Think College Leaders Should Know | |
| During her first semester at Southern Methodist University, Savannah Hunsucker went on a retreat with the other students enrolled in her leadership scholars program. The event took them away from the Dallas campus and into the Texas countryside. "I remember everybody looking up and being surprised to see stars in the night sky, and I thought that was so odd," Hunsucker says. Stars were a familiar sight for her, having grown up in a small town 30 miles north of Wichita, Kansas. Yet seeing her classmates' awe at an experience she took for granted made her realize that her rural upbringing set her apart. Helping more students like Hunsucker feel that they belong at selective colleges is the goal of the STARS College Network. The initiative launched in April 2023 with a group of 16 public and private institutions that committed to improving their efforts at attracting and retaining students who grew up in rural communities. Programs at member colleges include hosting summer learning opportunities and on-campus recruitment events for high schoolers, sending more admissions staff out to high schools in small towns, and tapping current college students to serve as peer mentors to freshmen arriving from places with sparse populations or low density. This week, the consortium announced that it is doubling its membership --- to include 32 colleges and universities. |
| Uncertainty Abounds at Annual Business Officers' Conference | |
 | Hundreds of college financial officers gathered in the Windy City this week -- many delayed by travel issues caused by the CrowdStrike outage -- to share insights about the state of higher education. The annual National Association of College and University Business Officers conference offered the higher education business community a chance to commiserate over enrollment challenges, rising costs and political tensions on campus, among other things. During three days of panels and discussions, attendees shared tales from the trenches, best practices and worries about the political, social and financial issues looming on the higher ed horizon. Beset by soaring costs, sprawling scandals and a barrage of criticism from elected officials -- particularly Republicans -- higher education has experienced a public crisis of confidence in recent years. Opinion polls show that the sector, once a bastion of public trust, has suffered significant reputational damage in recent years. Last year, a Gallup poll found public confidence in higher education at an all-time low. Those concerns sprang up in numerous panels and conversations at NACUBO. Catharine Bond Hill, managing director of the higher education consulting firm Ithaka S+R and a trustee at Yale University, argued that reputational damage stemming from the protests, which were unpopular off-campus, "is a major source of risk going forward" for all institutions -- even though they were concentrated at highly selective, well-resourced universities. |
| Better Late Than Broken: Associations Say 'Fully Functional' FAFSA Is Paramount for the Fall | |
 | The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, must be fully functional for students and colleges this fall -- even if its arrival is delayed by two months. That's what the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) and four other associations wrote in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona on Tuesday. As the start of the 2025-26 financial-aid cycle approaches, the letter says, "we are wrestling with the trade-off between timeliness and functionality, and have concluded that the consequences of releasing a product that does not come with full end-to-end functionality for students, families, state agencies, and aid administrators would be too great." The federal-aid crisis isn't over. College-access experts and financial-aid officers expect at least some of the problems that dogged the FAFSA this year to continue into the next aid cycle. Many have grappled with a key question: Would it be better for the FAFSA to become available on time, or for the application to work properly? Many experts see this as an either-or proposition. Throughout higher education, the apparent consensus is that the 2025-26 FAFSA would be better late than broken. |
| Harris will address a historically Black sorority as her campaign hopes to win women of color | |
 | Voters in Indiana haven't backed a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 16 years. But when Vice President Kamala Harris heads to the solidly Republican state on Wednesday, she'll speak to a constituency she hopes will turn out for her in massive numbers in November: women of color. Just three days after launching her bid for the White House following President Joe Biden's departure from the race, Harris will address the biennial gathering of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta in Indianapolis. It's a moment for Harris, a woman of Black and South Asian descent, to speak to a group already excited by her historic status as the likely Democratic nominee and one that her campaign hopes can expand its coalition. In a memo released on Wednesday, campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon pointed to support among female, nonwhite and younger voters as critical to success. For Democrats, Black women would likely make a fundamental difference in November, and Harris has already shown signs of galvanizing their support. After Harris announced her candidacy, roughly 90,000 women Black women logged onto a video call Sunday night for her campaign -- a sudden show of support for an alumni of Howard University and sister in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who has made Beyonce's song "Freedom" her walk-on music at events. |
| Black Sororities and Fraternities Line Up Behind Kamala Harris | |
 | As Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign rushes to shore up its base, its efforts will be bolstered by a ready-made coalition: the more than two million members of Black Greek-letter organizations who have quickly united to mobilize Black voters nationwide. Before Ms. Harris had even hosted her first official campaign event as the de facto Democratic nominee, the heads of the "Divine Nine," the country's nine most prominent Black sororities and fraternities, were planning a giant voter organization effort. When President Biden announced on Sunday that he was stepping aside and endorsing Ms. Harris, excitement over her ascent spread swiftly among these groups' members in group chats, Facebook groups and conference calls. After all, Ms. Harris, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha since her undergraduate days at Howard University, is one of them. Civic engagement and public advocacy sit at the heart of the missions of most Black sororities and fraternities. But this year, their efforts could counteract a persistent enthusiasm gap among Black voters, who in polls and conversations before Mr. Biden stepped aside said they were considering supporting former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican candidate, or staying home altogether. Leaders of the Divine Nine are still discussing whether they will pool their resources to fund a joint voter engagement effort. But for many, particularly sorority leaders, the moment itself has generated considerable energy. |
| What a Kamala Harris Presidency Will Mean for Higher Education, DEI, and History | |
| Election 2024 continues to surprise. After President Joseph R. Biden dropped out of the presidential election Sunday, he quickly endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to replace him at the top of the ticket. Biden's decision created a whiplash within the Republican base. GOP leaders launched swift attacks on Harris, labeling her as a "DEI" candidate. But despite the attacks, experts agree that a Harris presidential candidacy is as groundbreaking as Biden's late withdrawal. "It's unprecedented. Kamala Harris would be the second person of color who ever served as president," said Dr. Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University who is a regular commentator on cable news. "We're one of the last democracies in the world [that's] never elected a woman to the highest office. The silver lining is, even though it's late in the game, it's not too late. And it's before the convention." The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a union of 1.7 million pre-K through 12 and higher education teaching professionals, offered Harris their full endorsement Monday. Dr. Alí Bustamante, director of the Worker Power and Economic Security Program at the Roosevelt Forward, a progressive think-tank, also released a statement in support of Harris, citing her efforts toward student debt cancellation. |
| 'Don't Miss': Does Academic Freedom Excuse Offensive Posts About Assassination Attempts? | |
| As the news broke about a gunman's July 13 attempt to kill former president Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally, John James, an English instructor at Bellarmine University in Louisville, posted on Instagram above one of the latest headlines: "If you're gonna shoot, man, don't miss." The next day, James deactivated his Instagram account, he said. But Libs of TikTok, an X account that often personally targets liberals, had already broadcast a screenshot of his post to its millions of followers, and hateful messages began pouring in to him and university employees. That university said it received a bomb threat July 15 connected to anger over the post, though police eventually determined the threat wasn't credible. Bellarmine fired James the next day, three days after the shooting, he said. "I wasn't given an opportunity to clarify my statement, to apologize or anything," he said. These are the types of faculty member statements that test the boundaries of traditional academic freedom protections. They often crop up at times of intense controversy, such as this. And James wasn't the only academic to post something about the assassination attempt that attracted social media and media attention. All these statements about the assassination attempt -- whether faculty members actually made them or not -- revive again the ancient academic freedom debate: When faculty members speak outside of their classrooms or scholarship on political issues, when does their speech cross a line that should involve punishment? |
| China-US research collaborations are in decline -- this is bad news for everyone | |
| China's scientific collaboration with other countries has declined since the pandemic, driven by falling partnerships with the United States, an analysis shows. Scientists have been warning that political tensions between China and the United States, combined with the pandemic, have affected research collaborations between the two countries. But it takes time for evidence of this sort of decline to accumulate in research databases. The latest evidence comes from an analysis conducted by Springer Nature's team in China. (Nature's news team is editorially independent of its publisher, Springer Nature.) The authors used InCites, a tool owned by publishing-analytics firm Clarivate, based in London, to analyse internationally co-authored articles that were published between 2013 and 2023. InCites draws on papers indexed in the science-citation database Web of Science. They found that in 2022, the total number papers co-authored by researchers from China and their international peers declined for the first time since 2013. The proportion of research papers with Chinese and international co-authors has been falling for even longer. The decline in US-China collaborations echoes findings from a 2022 analysis conducted for Nature, which found that the number of researchers with dual US and China affiliations on research articles in Elsevier's Scopus database had fallen by more than 20% between 2019 and 2021. China's collaborations with other countries have also tapered off since 2020, but not as markedly as those with the United States. |
| Legislature Must Slam Door on Foreign Land Ownership | |
| Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson writes: Last week I attended the Republican National Committee with our Mississippi delegation. On Wednesday night, President Donald J. Trump's former press secretary and current Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke to the energetic crowd. Her powerful speech supporting the America First agenda electrified the floor. To roaring applause, Gov. Sanders reminded Americans that Arkansas was the first and only state to kick China off Arkansas farmland and out of the state. She is right, but with legislative support, Mississippi could be next. During the 2024 Legislative Session, our Mississippi Legislature missed a great opportunity to follow Arkansas' lead. Rather than banning foreign countries, including our enemies, from buying up Mississippi farms, the Legislature opened the door even wider to foreign control by passing the "Mississippi Foreign Land Ownership Act." ... Food security is national security, and our land is Mississippi's most valuable asset. As Gov. Sanders said, Arkansas was the first state to kick China out. Mississippi should be next. While I am disappointed this year the Mississippi Legislature did not put a full ban on foreign enemies' ownership in Mississippi farmland, I strongly encourage the Legislature to fix this law and slam the door shut on China in 2025. |
| Biden's choice was more like that of Wilson in 1920 than Lyndon Johnson in 1968 | |
| Columnist Sid Salter writes: The easy political comparison to President Joe Biden's decision to with withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential race is to point to incumbent Democratic President Lyndon Baines Johnson's decision not to seek the presidential nomination of his party in the 1968 campaign. While that comparison would be reasonably accurate, it would not reflect the rather stunning differences between the decisions made by those two presidents. Mired in the national division over the conduct of the Vietnam War and under political attack from both the Republican Party and his fellow Democrats, LBJ was 59 years old when he withdrew from the 1968 campaign. Biden is 81. While burdened with poor physical health and what biographers and wife Lady Bird Johnson would confirm was a pervasive battle with anxiety and depression (mostly about his physical health and fear of his health leading to incapacitation), Johnson's cognitive abilities and mental acuity were not in question. ... Johnson withdrew months before the 1968 Democratic Convention. The 1968 election was rocked by the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis and later Robert F. Kennedy Sr. in Los Angeles. Biden withdrew less than a month before the 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Biden's decision came just days after a failed assassination attempt on the life of GOP nominee former President Donald Trump. |
SPORTS
| Jeff Lebby on opening road games at Georgia, Texas: 'That is part of the league' | |
| Mississippi State won't be able to catch a break during the 2024 regular season. The Bulldogs' SEC schedule presents a tough road for them down the stretch this season -- and it starts almost right away. First-year head coach Jeff Lebby makes his SEC debut at home against Florida in a game that could go either way on paper. After that, they'll endure the toughest two-game stretch of the season with consecutive road trips to both Texas and Georgia. "To me, that is part of the league that we're living in," Lebby said of Mississippi State's strength of schedule at SEC Media Days. "I've continued to talk about this. You want to do it with the best. You want to do it against the best. We're going to have every opportunity in the world to show everyone actually who we are as a program and as a football team, and I look at that as an opportunity for our guys." After that, Mississippi State will enjoy three-straight home games spanning from Oct. 19 vs. Texas A&M until the Nov. 2 matchup against UMass. They'll host Arkansas in between. The Bulldogs will go through another tough stretch after that for the final three games of the regular season. They'll travel to Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Nov. 9 before enjoying a BYE the following week. They wrap up the regular season at home against Missouri and a trip to Oxford for the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss. |
| Six Bulldogs Named To 2025 Shrine Bowl 1000 Watchlist | |
| The 100th East-West Shrine Bowl announced its Shrine Bowl 1,000 Watchlist on Tuesday, with six Bulldogs landing on the prestigious list that identifies the best draft-eligible players across the country. Mississippi State's representatives on the watchlist are Corey Ellington, Kelly Akharaiyi, Trent Hudson, Blake Shapen, Montre Miller and Ethan Miner. Ellington enters his fourth season wearing the Maroon and White in 2024. The senior from Lexington, Miss., has appeared in 31 career games with nine starts. Akharaiyi comes to Starkville after two impressive seasons at UTEP. In 2023, Akharaiyi began to turn heads with an outstanding junior campaign. Akharaiyi comes to Starkville after two impressive seasons at UTEP. In 2023, Akharaiyi began to turn heads with an outstanding junior campaign. A 2022 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Shapen begins his lone season at Mississippi State with an impressive resume. In three seasons at Baylor, Shapen threw for 5,574 yards and 36 touchdowns with a career completion percentage of 63%. Miller, who enrolled at State in June of 2024, makes his way to Starkville after stops at Kent State and West Virginia. Miner, who was the second-best offensive lineman in The American by PFF last season (81.5), spent one year at North Texas before his time at Arkansas State. The 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl will be held in AT&T Stadium on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally on NFL Network. |
| Physicality and endurance win the World Series of perhaps the oldest game in North America | |
| As the drummers walk onto the field, the players behind them smack their hickory sticks to the beat. The rhythm envelops the stands and a palpable sense of anticipation flows through the crowd. Indigenous peoples have been playing stickball for hundreds of years, and every summer since 1975, teams have competed in Mississippi to become champion of perhaps the oldest game in North America. A game of physicality and endurance, stickball is often referred to as the grandfather of field sports and the annual tournament in Mississippi is the game's premier event. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has been producing some of the country's best players for generations. A team from Mississippi will almost certainly be the one to beat in any tournament or exhibition game in the country. Stickball, known as ishtaboli in the Choctaw language, is played with 30 players on the field, each carrying two netted sticks called kabotcha, and a small woven leather ball painted bright orange, called a towa. Stickball fans say it remains pure. There are no pads, no timeouts and no mercy. Players typically don't even wear shoes. It is not uncommon for people to leave the stickball field with broken bones from full contact, or gashes from taking a stick to the face. Any player possessing the ball can expect to be tackled or torn down by their jersey or breechcloth. "It makes your heart just beat like a drum. Just the intensity of the sport," Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Chief Cyrus Ben said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what color jersey or what team, it's being Choctaw." |
| Will Hall sees golden opportunity for Southern Miss in college athletics evolution | |
| Will Hall, Southern Miss' fourth-year head football coach, is one of many expecting a major reconfiguration of the Division I college athletics landscape. Instead of worrying about it, he's encouraging fans of his program to capture what he sees as an opportunity. Changing times in college sports were punctuated most recently by the folding of the Pac-12 conference, along with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. Most believe the tectonic plates of conference alignment will continue shifting into a system that solidifies the already well-defined gap in resources among America's collegiate programs. Some expect it to fracture altogether. Hall holds to the latter, predicting DI college football schools will be cleaved into three tiers. At the top, he thinks 16 to 32 of the NCAA's highest-resource programs will form their own league, while those programs that already struggle to make ends meet will be left behind. "Obviously, you'll have the elites of the elites -- your Ohio States, your Michigans, your Georgias, your 'Bamas, your Texases, and so on -- that'll have their way of doing things," Hall said. "Then, you'll have a level that can't do anything and can't pay players at all. They'll be playing for scholarships." An athletics program like Southern Miss, which has the second-lowest athletic budget in the Sun Belt Conference, is one that many would label in danger of losing its footing in the national picture and slipping into the lowest tier that Hall speaks of. While the head coach recognizes the urgency of the black and gold improving its position, he sees an opportunity for the program to move into a better position than ever. |
| Rose Bowl asks to be left out of College Football Playoff semifinal rotation | |
| The Rose Bowl has requested to be left out of the College Football Playoff semifinal rotation moving forward so it can continue playing its game annually on Jan. 1, Rose Bowl management committee chair Laura Farber confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. The CFP this season is moving to a 12-team format, in which four of the New Year's Six bowls will host the quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, with the other two hosting semifinals on Jan. 8 and 9. The Rose Bowl, which just hosted a semifinal (Michigan–Alabama) last season, is already scheduled to be a Jan. 1 quarterfinal for the next two seasons. However, the CFP earlier this year reached a new six-year deal with ESPN to begin in 2026, and the bowl rotation for that season and beyond has not yet been announced. The Rose Bowl, which was already losing its traditional Big Ten vs. Pac-12 matchup, would prefer to host a quarterfinal every year to maintain its traditional date rather than host one of the semifinals a week later. "We prefer to have a game on Jan. 1," said Farber. Farber told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the bowl would be "flexible" about maintaining its traditional 2 p.m. PT kickoff time. While the CFP and ESPN announced their new agreement in March, a long-form contract has not yet been finalized, new CFP executive director Rich Clark recently told The Athletic. "The big pieces are done, but there's still some finer details to be worked out," he said. While not addressing the Rose Bowl's situation specifically, Clark said, "We are committed to our bowl partners and helping to keep those New Year's Six bowls viable. They're as much a part of college football as anything." |
| How college sports video games became the entry point to dismantle the NCAA's amateurism rules | |
| Sonny Vaccaro knew nothing about the law. He did know a lot about college sports and was sure the athletes who were driving millions of dollars in revenue to their schools should be paid. Michael Hausfeld knew nothing about college sports, but it didn't take long for the attorney who built his reputation challenging oil companies and Swiss banks to conclude the way the NCAA was doing business looked illegal. "I went to him and said, 'I think these (athletes) are getting screwed,'" said Vaccaro, the former sports executive perhaps best known for helping Nike sign Michael Jordan out of college. "Then (Hausfeld) said to me something that really wasn't on my mind. He said, 'Well, now you gotta find me a guy who's gonna sue.'" Searching for an entry point to challenge a system they viewed as unfair to college athletes, Vaccaro and Hausfeld found it in former All-America basketball player Ed O'Bannon, the MVP of UCLA's 1995 national championship team. He signed on as lead plaintiff of a lawsuit in 2009 after seeing his image in a popular video game from EA Sports authorized by the NCAA that he was not being paid for. O'Bannon challenged the NCAA's right to make money off the use of athletes' names, images and likenesses and other plaintiffs in the antitrust case included Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell. Vaccaro was there in 2014 when they won. A decade after that court ruling, the NCAA's longstanding collegiate model of amateurism is pretty much dead, with the association and five major conferences agreeing in May to a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that includes a plan to share revenue with athletes. |
| Attorney: Full settlement agreement of antitrust lawsuits involving NCAA expected to be filed Friday | |
| The full settlement agreement of antitrust lawsuits involving the NCAA and college sports' wealthiest conferences is expected to be filed with a federal court by the end of the week, an attorney for the defendants told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I expect that we will file Friday," said Steve Berman, the Seattle-based attorney of the Hagens Berman law firm. The NCAA along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference agreed on May 23 to the framework of a $2.77 billion settlement of multiple antitrust lawsuits that were challenging limits on college athlete compensation. Berman said he was unsurprised the full term sheet was not ready to be filed in time to meet the 45-day deadline he requested. "It's both slow and what I thought because we've got five conferences plus the NCAA. So you've got the conference lawyers and then they're reporting to all their schools and the schools have lawyers, and they have presidents, many of whom are lawyers, and they're all wanting to weigh in on every word," Berman said. Berman said other than the pace of progress, the negotiations are going fine. "We're very close to wrapping," Berman said. "The amount of disputes right now are tiny." |
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