| Friday, June 18, 2021 |
| Mississippi State welcomes tours back on campus this summer | |
 | Mississippi State is opening its doors to individual and group tours this summer. As COVID-19 restrictions are eased, the university's welcome center is resuming personalized tours. Student volunteers with MSU's Maroon VIP Program lead the strolls through campus. Tours should be booked two weeks in advance for all age groups, including children. The welcome center provides tours Monday through Friday from 9 until four. Prospective student tours are arranged through MSU's Office of Admissions and Scholarships. |
| Bulldog Bash is back this fall | |
 | Bulldog Bash is returning this fall, Mississippi State University announced Thursday. The celebration is held annually and features a free outdoor concert. This year's Bash is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 17 in downtown Starkville at the intersection of Jackson and Main streets. The following day, MSU football team travels to the Liberty Bowl to face the Memphis Tigers. Bash director Liv Hunter said the decision to move the date to a non-home football game weekend was a well-thought-out evaluation of the event by both the Bulldog Bash committee and the city of Starkville. The pandemic put the Bash on halt in 2020. |
| Researchers use 'hotels' to monitor tiny frecklebelly madtom catfish | |
 | It's a tiny fish most have never heard of and fewer have encountered, but, in Mississippi, frecklebelly madtom catfish get the VIP treatment. Researchers build tiny "hotels" for the black and orange spotted catfish and are alerted electronically when the fish check in and out. They may only be finger-sized fish with itty-bitty whiskers, but researchers are making a big effort to study and protect their populations. Mike Colvin is an associate professor of fisheries at Mississippi State University in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center and has been working to develop better methods of monitoring the fish, which prefer fast-flowing streams with clear water and gravel substrates. They are found in portions of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Although they inhabit several states, their populations face serious challenges. The hotels aren't new. Colvin said they have been in use for years to attract the fish, which are hard to observe because of their size, their habit of hiding, and their nocturnal nature. However, over time, MSU researchers have bumped up the quality of the catfish digs, including adding radio frequency identification antennas that record and transmits signals when chipped frecklebelly madtoms check in and check out. The data can help researchers determine whether the restocking efforts are effective at boosting frecklebelly madtom catfish populations. |
| Solar Triangle: Large scale solar energy production in Golden Triangle didn't arrive by happenstance | |
 | The old saying goes, "Cut your own firewood and it will warm you twice." That idea, applied to economic development in the Golden Triangle, goes a long way in understanding the sudden arrival of a new industry, solar power. Over the last 15 months, three large-scale solar energy facilities have been approved by TVA -- two on adjoining properties in west Lowndes County and another in Clay County. Florida-based Origis Energy will build and operate all three facilities, which when fully operational, will generate a combined 550 megawatts of solar energy and 300 megawatts of battery, or reserve, solar power. The first of the three facilities is scheduled to begin solar power production in October 2022 while its sister facility will come on line in the fall of 2023. The Clay County facility should be operational in 2024. Starkville-Oktibbeha county officials have signed a tentative fee-in-lieu agreement for the potential development of a facility there while the Clay County site has an additional 2,000 acres available for future expansion. It might be a bit of a reach to say that the Golden Triangle has become the Solar Triangle, but the arrival of an emerging industry built on renewable energy will have a real impact on the community. While the solar facilities won't produce many permanent jobs -- no more than four or five employees are needed to maintain operations once the hundreds of thousands of solar panels are installed -- it will produce millions of dollars in tax revenues for local government and schools. |
| Tropical Storm Claudette expected to form Friday in Gulf of Mexico | |
 | A tropical system is taking aim at the Gulf Coast, bringing the potential for heavy rain and flooding. The system -- currently called Potential Tropical Cyclone Three -- could strengthen into Tropical Storm Claudette as early as Friday as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said in its 7 a.m. update. Powerful winds could hit the coast starting at about 8 p.m. Friday, and the system is forecast to reach land in southern Louisiana by 1 a.m. Saturday. A tropical storm warning stretches from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle as parts of the region brace for flooding and up to 12 inches of rain. A flash flood watch is in effect as coastal Mississippi could see 6 to 10 inches of rain, with higher amounts in some areas, forecasters said. "Moderate rainfall flooding may prompt several evacuations and rescues," the National Weather Service's New Orleans office said Friday morning. Up to 3 feet of storm surge is possible in areas that are low-lying or near the shore. Forecasters said potential impacts will be "limited," with the potential for dangerous driving conditions, rough surf and some flooding. There's also a chance of isolated tornadoes starting overnight Friday in southern Mississippi and parts of Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center. |
| Tropical system to bring heavy rain, flooding to Gulf Coast | |
 | Officials ordered a floodgate and locks system closed in southeast Louisiana and readied sandbags in Mississippi and Alabama as a broad, disorganized tropical weather system began spinning bands of rain and brisk wind across the northern Gulf of Mexico coast Friday. The system had not yet reached tropical storm strength as of mid-morning. But, in anticipation of strengthening, a tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Children could still be seen playing on the beach under cloudy skies, with a rougher-than-usual surf roaring, at Gulf Shores, Alabama. Business owners kept an eye on the weather, hoping it wouldn't ruin a Father's Day weekend for the tourism-dependent coast. At Tacky Jack's, a popular restaurant on the Alabama coast in Orange Beach, "the winds are blowing pretty fast today so hopefully that wind will make the storm move faster and blow on out of here," kitchen manager Greg Paddie said Friday."I hope it just gets in and gets out," said Greg Paddie, manager of Tacky Jack's, a restaurant at Alabama's Orange Beach. |
| Catalytic converter thefts on the rise in Northeast Mississippi | |
 | Criminals looking to make easy money have been crawling under vehicles across Northeast Mississippi with saws and stealing catalytic converters. The thieves are attempting to cash in on the precious metals -- platinum and rhodium -- contained within the catalytic converters, which help reduce harmful emissions from a car's exhaust. For just a few minutes of "work," someone can earn several hundred dollars. "Someone with a cordless sawzall (reciprocating saw) can cut through an exhaust system and have a converter out in about five minutes," said Roger Hussey, owner of Muffler Master in Tupelo. "And a junk (used) converter can go for $100 to $200 apiece." Since the weather warmed up in April, there has been a steady stream of people who have returned to their vehicles to find a key component of their exhaust system missing. There have been more than a dozen thefts reported in Tupelo and Lee County since early April. The Corinth and Oxford police departments have seen a marked increase in these types of thefts. Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar said he's seen only a few thefts in the county, but there have been numerous reported in Baldwyn and Booneville. Tupelo Police Department spokesman Capt. Chuck McDougald and Detective Brittney Williams said most of the recent reports have been at businesses or in commercial areas under the cover of night. "We are dealing with more than one person, it's not just here in Tupelo," Williams said. "But I don't know if this is an organized effort. It is probably more word-of-mouth." |
| New Orleans health system pushes further into Mississippi | |
| A large New Orleans-based health system with hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi plans a merger that will deepen its presence in Mississippi. Ochsner Health and Rush Health Systems said in a news release Thursday that officials expect a proposed merger to become final in mid-2022 pending regulatory approval. Ochsner has 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, plus more than 100 health and urgent care centers. Rush, based in Meridian, Mississippi, owns six hospitals in east Mississippi and one in west Alabama, along with more than 30 clinics. All but one Rush's hospitals are small and rural. Officials say more than 400 Rush employees making $7.25 an hour will earn Ochsner's $12 minimum wage after the merger. The two systems have had a strategic partnership since 2019. The University of Mississippi Medical Center has said in the past that it was concerned that patients might be diverted out of state by competition from Louisiana and Tennessee-based hospitals. UMMC declined to comment about the proposed Ochsner-Rush merger. |
| Mississippi Lottery Corporation announces May 2021 transfer to state | |
 | The Mississippi Lottery Corporation (MLC) announced its May transfer of $14,189,448.06 to the Lottery Proceeds Fund in the Mississippi State Treasury. With one month remaining in Fiscal Year 2021, this brings the total transfer so far to $129,182,547.36. To date for FY 2021, the MLC has sent $80 million to road and bridge needs around the state, along with $49,182,547.36 to the Education Enhancement Fund. "For all of us at the MLC, we feel a great sense of accomplishment," said MLC President Tom Shaheen. "None of this could have been possible without the dedication and efforts of our retailer partners, vendors, our board of directors, our employees and the players! I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of people and to be a part of Mississippi history." Per the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law, the first $80 million in net proceeds goes to road and bridge needs around the state for 10 years. Net proceeds over $80 million go to the Education Enhancement Fund. |
| Mississippi's crime lab still struggles with autopsy backlog despite new positions and legislators' promises | |
 | Two months after lawmakers approved new positions for the state's crime lab amid talks of increased salaries for some of the positions to make Mississippi more competitive, those who investigate homicides in the state's most populous county say they haven't been able to tell if those actions are making a dent in the lab's backlog of autopsies. "Before last year, we had 88 autopsies that were outstanding before the Mississippi State Crime Lab. And as you know, we had 137 murders in our county last year," Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens said during a January interview. That number has since increased to around a hundred, Owens told WLBT last week, indicating the backlog continues to be a burden for those who try these cases in court. In April, 3 On Your Side reported lawmakers approving six new death investigator positions to help cut through that pileup. DPS also hired back Mississippi's former chief medical examiner, Dr. Mark LeVaughn, on a contractual basis to provide his expertise as well. Those changes thus far haven't produced the results that law enforcement have hoped to see. Lawmakers had also talked about significantly increasing funding to the crime lab during the 2021 legislative session, but that didn't happen. The appropriations bill signed by Gov. Tate Reeves said the crime lab's performance target is 1,200 autopsies for the year. |
| Supreme Court upholds ACA, turns focus back to Medicaid expansion | |
| The U.S. Supreme Court this week eliminated one of the reasons cited by Mississippi Republican leaders for not expanding Medicaid. The nation's highest court rejected, in a 7-2 decision, a lawsuit asking that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- better known as Obamacare -- be struck down. It was the third such lawsuit rejected by the Supreme Court in recent months. The lawsuit was filed by Texas and joined by 17 other Republican-led states, including by former Gov. Phil Bryant on behalf of Mississippi. A key provision in the Affordable Care Act is the expansion of Medicaid to provide health care coverage to primarily the working poor. The lawsuit rejected Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court asked that the entire law, including the expansion of Medicaid, be tossed out. One of the reasons state leaders, such as Gov. Tate Reeves, has used for not expanding Medicaid is that there was no assurance, they claimed because of the lawsuits, that the program would remain in place. They argued that if they expanded Medicaid in Mississippi and the program was dropped by the federal government, the state would be left responsible for providing health insurance to up to 300,000 Mississippians or dropping their coverage. If the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Texas lawsuit, that could have placed health care coverage in jeopardy for 31 million Americans and could have placed in jeopardy coverage of pre-existing conditions for millions more. |
| ACA Survives Lawsuit, Saving Coverage For 111,000 Mississippians | |
| Nearly 111,000 Mississippians will keep their health care after the U.S. Supreme Court, for the third time in nine years, rejected an effort by Republican-led states to invalidate the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch was one of 18 Republican state attorneys general who, last June, asked the nation's high court to invalidate the entire law, known colloquially as the "ACA" or "Obamacare." A decision affirming that request would have not only ended coverage for 100,000 Mississippians, but about 31 million Americans nationwide. "I'm glad to know the Supreme Court of the United States understands the necessity of the Obamacare," U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson, who voted for the law's creation 11 years ago, said in a tweet after the court announced today's decision. The Supreme Court first upheld the ACA in 2012 after Republicans argued that its individual mandate, which required Americans to have some form of health insurance, was unconstitutional; the court said the provision, which some thought necessary for the law to work, was technically a tax penalty and therefore legal. The high court upheld the ACA again in 2015 with a 6-2 ruling against an attempt to invalidate it over its language about "health care exchanges." In Mississippi, ACA enrollment grew at a record pace in 2020, growing by 12% amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Working Mississippi individuals and families whose income does not fall below the federal poverty level nor exceed 400% of the federal poverty level qualify for subsidies to pay for health insurance through healthcare.gov. |
| Energy Department Seeks to Keep Grant-Backed Technology Jobs in U.S. | |
 | The Biden administration is moving to end exemptions that allowed technology developed with U.S. government research funding to be exported for manufacturing overseas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in an interview. The change affects billions of dollars of grant money allocated by the Energy Department and is the latest effort to boost the country's competitiveness with China. It primarily blocks small companies and nonprofits -- largely universities and their spinoff businesses -- from exceptions that allowed them to outsource manufacturing of technology developed with federal help, according to the department. The department is making the change as part of President Biden's supply-chain initiative, a strategy announced last week for boosting domestic manufacturing across high-tech industries. Those include semiconductors, rare-earth elements and large-capacity batteries used in electric vehicles, all industries in which Energy Department grants often feed key research and development. "If we're going to pay for your research and development, you need to manufacture it here," Ms. Granholm said. "If the seed was planted here, the tree should grow here." While the initiative may be a logical response to the national interest, all of the efforts have a cost, said Paul Saunders, a George W. Bush administration veteran and president of Energy Innovation Reform Project, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization. A rule like this will require the department to manage programs more actively -- and quickly -- to be sure grant recipients are complying and that they promptly get exemptions they need when domestic manufacturing really isn't viable, he added. |
| Lawmakers rally around cyber legislation following string of attacks | |
 | Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scrambling to introduce legislation to address a devastating spike in ransomware and other cyberattacks on critical organizations such as Colonial Pipeline and JBS USA. The effort marks a rare area of bipartisanship in an increasingly divided Congress, with lawmakers under pressure to confront cyber threats emanating from both foreign nations and cybercriminal groups making millions from holding companies for ransom. "We think it's essential for us to get our hands around this issue of ransomware, Colonial Pipeline is the biggest example, and then JBS, the meatpacking company, but it happens every day, and it happens to smaller companies too and individuals," Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ranking member Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told The Hill Thursday. "We need a better federal defense and offense on it, and we need to be sure it's a partnership with the private sector," he added. Portman is currently working with Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.) on legislation to address the increase in ransomware and other crippling cyberattacks on critical organizations. Peters told reporters last week that the legislation would be "comprehensive" and was necessary as cyberattacks have increasingly become "attacks on our very way of life." |
| Senate confirms Chris Inglis as President Biden's top cyber adviser | |
 | The Senate on Thursday confirmed Chris Inglis to be President Joe Biden's national cyber director, installing the former NSA deputy director as Biden's top cyber adviser at a time when many lawmakers are pressing the White House for a muscular response to a series of high-profile hacks. As head of the new Office of the National Cyber Director inside the White House, Inglis will coordinate federal agencies' disparate work on cyber issues and oversee the development of the U.S.' digital defense strategy. The Senate confirmed Inglis on a voice vote one day after the Homeland Security Committee unanimously approved his nomination. The recent ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and the meat processing giant JBS, both attributed to Russian cybercrime gangs, as well as the SolarWinds espionage campaign that intelligence agencies linked to Moscow, thrust cybersecurity into the spotlight on Capitol Hill and prompted renewed scrutiny of the challenges facing the federal government, including its limited understanding of attacks on private companies. With his mandate largely undefined, Inglis will have a unique opportunity to shape the role of the cyber director. But in the short term, he will have to contend with a more prosaic problem: Congress still has not funded his office, despite authorizing him to hire 75 employees. |
| Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, as President Biden signs bill | |
 | It took 30 months for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach the slaves in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. It took less than half that time for legislation commemorating that day, known as Juneteenth, to make it to the president's desk. President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on Thursday after the bill passed rapidly through both chambers of Congress this week. In an East Room signing ceremony, Biden connected consecrating Juneteenth to his legislative agenda, including efforts to counter restrictive voting laws being adopted in Republican-controlled state legislatures. "The emancipation of enslaved black Americans didn't mark the end of America's work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning," said Biden. "We can't rest for the promise of equality is fulfilled for every one of us in every corner of this nation. That, to me, is the meaning of Juneteenth." Biden's quick signing will give the federal government's 2 million employees an unexpected day off this Friday or paid time-and-a-half if they must work. The bill became effective immediately upon being signed, so this June 19 is now a federal holiday. Because that's a Saturday, "most federal employees will observe the holiday tomorrow, June 18th," the Office of Personnel Management confirmed Thursday. |
| States making it harder for needy families to access federal food-assistance programs | |
 | States around the country are attempting to make it harder for needy families to access federal food-assistance programs. Republican lawmakers in Ohio, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana and others have proposed more restrictive policies to qualify for food assistance, cutting off benefits to those who have saved a little money or who drive a halfway decent car, or adding paperwork requirements to document tiny changes in income and efforts to find work. The moves come even as more than 20 million adults reported their households sometimes or often did not have enough to eat in the week ending June 7, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Federal food assistance for low-income Americans was expanded during the pandemic, with broad bipartisan support for removing barriers to programs such as SNAP (food stamps), WIC (for mothers and young children) and the benefit-card program that took the place of free and reduced-price school meals when schools were not in session. But even as the Biden administration and the Agriculture Department, which administers these food-assistance programs, discuss extending additional benefits beyond the pandemic and recession, Republican-controlled state legislatures are balking. The idea is, by removing the safety net, people would be more eager to fill jobs in industries that are facing worker shortages. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell mentioned on Wednesday during a news conference that the expiration of federal unemployment benefits over the summer months is expected to push more workers back into the labor force. |
| Automation is replacing more workers than outsourcing, study says | |
| Over the last four decades, workers without a college education have found it hard to get ahead. High school dropouts and grads are making less money than they did in 1980, adjusted for inflation. Economists and policymakers have long debated why. Is it outsourcing of manufacturing jobs? Automation replacing people? Weaker unions? A new working paper from top economists argues the main reason is machines. It concludes that wages in America are increasingly unequal, and the biggest factors are related to automation. Machines are replacing workers who perform routine tasks. Think elevator operator and toll collector. That means "there are fewer of these jobs," according to the paper's lead author, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu. "You have to compete for these jobs or go to something else where you don't have the right skills. And you're going to experience a decline in your wage as you make that transition," he said. In the past, workers replaced by machines often found new jobs that were more productive and lucrative. But Acemoglu said that will not just happen by itself. It only comes "if we invest in new technologies that create new tasks and new opportunities for workers." And he worries those breakthroughs are lagging. |
| Grant to boost adult learning and literacy programs at Jackson State University | |
| Jackson State University's adult literacy efforts are receiving an $8,000 boost, thanks to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. JSU announced Thursday that it had received the award, which will go toward supporting adult literacy efforts at the School of Lifelong Learning's Continuing Education Learning Center. "Literacy is extremely important in transitioning students into engaged and productive citizens," said Carlos Wilson, director of the school. "Providing this service to the Jackson metro area is vital to increasing the available workforce and improving the socioeconomic trajectory of our communities." Adult education classes at the learning center provide individuals with the opportunity to earn high school credentials. They also help measure individuals' career and college readiness skills. Learners recruited for the program will be underserved residents in the Hinds, Madison, and Rankin County areas. |
| This office used to be a front for alleged welfare fraud. Now it's a child care resource center. | |
| Standing between two large, plastic trunks -- faux branches and leaves crowding the ceiling of a former hotel-turned-government-office -- Mississippi welfare officials announced the opening of a new child care resource center. The colorful, well-decorated office, stocked with educational materials, toys and craft supplies, exists as a place for child care providers and parents to share ideas and receive training. The language officials used to describe the new downtown Jackson center -- "interactive space," "lending library," "resource and referral", "network of support" -- evoke images of the disgraced welfare program, Families First for Mississippi, that occupied the space before it. The fake trees, previously purchased by embattled nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center using money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, embodied the nature of that now-defunct program: a façade. But the new Resource and Referral Centers have a more defined mission to bolster and support private child care centers, the primary vehicle for early childhood development in the state, and they are funded by the Child Care Development Fund, not TANF. "I'm so glad that we've been able to put this together. These are ideas that our child care division put together themselves. They designed this space themselves. Except for the trees, which were already here," Mississippi Department of Human Services Director Bob Anderson said at the Wednesday ribbon cutting, eliciting laughter from press conference attendees. "They didn't design the trees. We inherited those." |
| U. of Arkansas Chancellor Joe Steinmetz abruptly steps down today | |
| University of Arkansas Chancellor Joe Steinmetz announced Thursday evening that he is stepping down effective today from his role as leader of the state's largest university. Steinmetz, 66, began as the top administrator for the school Jan. 1, 2016. His announcement was made within hours of a special meeting of the University of Arkansas System board of trustees to discuss a personnel matter, though the board took no action and no individual was mentioned by name. Steinmetz faced criticism in recent weeks over his role in decisions on the campus legacy of former U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright given the senator's opposition to civil rights in the 1950s and '60s. "I still strongly believe in the mission of higher education, yet given the many challenges found trying to manage a university in today's polarized society, I need to do what's best for my family and I feel ready to make way for others," Steinmetz said in a statement addressed to the faculty, staff and students. Earlier this month, Steinmetz faced criticism from state legislators over what he called his "compromise" recommendation to move a statue of Fulbright to a different campus site. A UA committee of faculty and staff members students and alumni had recommended its removal from campus altogether after spending months studying the issue. While lawmakers fumed at "cancel culture" and voiced opposition to change, earlier in the year on the UA campus, an anti-racism march and rally organized by students called for removal of the statue as well as for Fulbright's name to be stripped from the university's arts and sciences college. The announcement of Steinmetz's sudden departure made no mention of who will take over. |
| U. of Arkansas Chancellor resigns after questionable photos surface on social media | |
| University of Arkansas Chancellor Joe Steinmetz has resigned. In an email to students Thursday, Steinmetz said his resignation will be effective Friday, June 18. He did not give a reason. Steinmetz's resignation comes just hours after a special meeting held by the UA Board of Trustees, during which members entered an executive session, which is typically done when discussing personnel matters. Immediately following that meeting, board members told reporters there was, "no action taken." Neither the university nor Steinmetz cited a reason for the resignation, which comes just days after KNWA asked the university to explain an online account containing provocative photos, appearing to show the University of Arkansas chancellor. UA spokesperson Mark Rushing has denied the photos are of Chancellor Steinmetz. In a phone call with KNWA, Rushing called it, "an obvious attack" and "a hoax." He cited other "deep fakes" as examples of the extreme lengths some people go to in order to embarrass others on social media. Rushing claims the university contacted Twitter about the account, which appeared to have been created in July 2017, and disappeared about 20 minutes after KNWA first contacted the chancellor's office. |
| LSU medical school chancellor in Shreveport steps down the day after being reinstated | |
 | LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor Dr. Ghali E. Ghali announced Thursday afternoon that he would resign, effectively immediately, as head of the medical school in Shreveport, just a day after he was reinstated to the post. Ghali, who became chancellor in February 2016, wrote that he would return to work as a faculty member. "We have accepted Dr. Ghali's request, and Dr. David Lewis, who has been serving as acting chancellor, will be interim chancellor while we conduct a search for the next chancellor," LSU President Tom Galligan said in an email to LSU Health Shreveport employees. Ghali was put on administrative leave for about two months following claims from physicians and staffers at LSU Health Shreveport that he had retaliated against them for raising sexual misconduct allegations against top administrators at the medical school. An investigation into the claims, which has not been released publicly, cleared Ghali of improper conduct, Ghali said in a statement Wednesday night. LSU confirmed his statement and reinstated Ghali as chancellor Wednesday. Galligan had suspended Ghali as chancellor on April 12 but allowed the oral and maxillofacial surgeon to continue seeing patients. Four women, including two physicians, at the LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport filed federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints claiming Ghali denied promotions and made working conditions difficult because they had tried to help at least 16 medical students report incidents of sexual misconduct. |
| Trial of UT Knoxville researcher accused of hiding Chinese ties ends in hung jury | |
 | The first jury trial of a university professor tried as part of the Department of Justice's controversial China Initiative ended in a hung jury and a mistrial Wednesday, prompting renewed calls for the department to suspend the initiative and investigate concerns about racial profiling and targeting of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists. Anming Hu, a former associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, potentially faced decades in prison on three counts each of wire fraud and making false statements. Federal prosecutors accused Hu of deliberately concealing a professorship he held with Beijing University of Technology on forms submitted to UT Knoxville and to NASA. Hu, a Canadian citizen originally from China, is one of about a dozen university-based researchers who have faced fraud-related charges for allegedly lying about Chinese funding or affiliations on federal grant applications, visa applications or tax forms under the auspices of DOJ's China Initiative. While the initiative, launched in November 2018 during the Trump administration, was framed as targeting economic espionage, hacking and trade secret theft, none of the cases brought against academics have involved spying-related charges. All involve allegations of fraud related to nondisclosure of Chinese sources of funding or affiliations with Chinese universities or the Chinese military. |
| Board approves largest budget in U. of Kentucky history; includes 1% tuition increase | |
 | A 1% bump in the University of Kentucky's tuition and student fees, an increase in the hourly minimum wage, a $1,000 bonus for some UK employees and paid family leave were among the topics discussed in Thursday's UK Board of Trustees budget meeting. The board approved the proposed $1.5 billion budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the largest in university history. Checking in at $700 million more than that for 2019-2020, the budget includes provisions for UK students, faculty and staff. According to data from the university, there are currently in excess of 12,000 staff and 2,000 faculty members, with 31,110 students enrolled in the fall 2020-2021 semester -- 22,246 of them undergraduates. For students, the budget will include a 1% increase in tuition and fees in fall 2021, bringing the cost of in-state tuition up from $6,242 to $6,305 and out-of-state from $15,647 to $15,804 per semester. Following a cutback due to COVID, the budget will re-implement the 2-1 retirement match for employees. UK executive vice president for finance and administration Eric Monday said the budget is formed primarily by growth seen in UK HealthCare, which now accounts for almost half of the university's budget. |
| New leader selected for Texas A&M diversity, equity and inclusion work | |
 | Texas A&M University's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts will now be overseen by senior professor Frank Ashley, who said multiple positions he has held in his three decades at the school have prepared him well for this new task. Ashley, senior associate dean for academic affairs at The Bush School of Government & Public Service, has had 10 different titles over his years at A&M, including working in the admissions office and serving as vice chancellor for diversity and recruitment for the A&M System. Being selected for the new role is an honor, Ashley said. "It's nice when people think that you can make a difference," he explained, "so I hope I can make a difference." In January, the Texas A&M System Board of Regents approved a four-year, $24.75 million plan to address diversity. The action plan was a direct response to needs identified in a report by the 45-member Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that former President Michael K. Young initiated last year. The action plan outlines several goals, including increasing the number of scholarship recipients and fellowship participants for certain programs and efforts aimed to increase diversity in the school's faculty and student populations. A task force to tell the story of A&M's history through displays and iconography was also formed as part of the plan. It was announced in January that any work the task force did would add to monuments on campus rather than consider removing the school's statue of Confederate general and former university president Lawrence Sullivan Ross, as many protesters called for last year. |
| Arizona executive order bans universities from requiring students to receive COVID-19 vaccine | |
| Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order on Tuesday mandating that public colleges and universities cannot require students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or require students to submit proof that they received the vaccine to attend in-person classes. Ducey's executive order also mandated that students cannot be required to get a COVID-19 test or be required to wear a mask in order to be on campus. Exemptions are given for those students working inside hospitals, clinics, group homes, and other healthcare facilities, that may require students or staff to show proof that they have been vaccinated. A college or university can only require a COVID-19 test in the event of a "significant COVID-19 outbreak in a shared student housing setting that poses a risk to the students or staff," a move that would require prior approval from the Arizona Department of Health Services, according to the executive order. "The vaccine works, and we encourage Arizonans to take it. But it is a choice and we need to keep it that way," said Gov. Ducey said. Gov. Ducey's action appears to be in response to Arizona State University's updated policy that all students are expected -- though not required -- to have the COVID-19 vaccine prior to the start of the fall semester. |
| Google announces $50 million in grants for HBCUs | |
| On Thursday, Google announced that it will be giving 10 historically black colleges and universities a total of $50 million in grant funds, with a goal of addressing the diversity gap in tech. "This financial commitment is our largest to date for HBCUs," Google chief diversity officer Melonie Parker wrote in a company blog post announcing the grants. "Each institution will receive a one-time unrestricted financial grant of $5 million, providing institutions with the flexibility to invest in their communities and the future workforce as they see fit." The full list of HBCUs receiving grant funds: Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College, Tuskegee University and Xavier University of Louisiana. "This is a powerful endorsement of our HBCUs," said Harry L. Williams, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Williams also noted that Google's $50 million in grants represents the largest gift of unrestricted funds ever awarded to HBCUs by a tech company. Other recent grants from Google include a pledge of $25 million toward empowering women and girls empowering women and girls back in March, $12 million to fund civil rights groups last summer and hundreds of millions in coronavirus relief during the pandemic. |
| Biden administration announces new protections for transgender students | |
| Education Department officials on Wednesday announced transgender students are protected under Title IX, a reversal from the Trump administration's rescission of Obama-era discrimination protections for transgender people. The agency's interpretation of the law, which now includes prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, is expected to roil an already tense policy showdown between the federal government and states over transgender student rights. The department's Office for Civil Rights has vowed to "fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance from the department." For now, it is unclear what actions the department will take against states that have passed laws in recent months to ban transgender women and girls from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, was the first to sign a bill into law this year that limits the rights of transgender athletes. Before signing it, he wrote on Twitter that the legislation would "protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities." |
| Empower's panels illuminate plans to advance state | |
| Mississippi newspaper publisher and columnist Wyatt Emmerich writes: I was planning to drop in on Empower Mississippi's four-hour conference, check out the scene for 30 minutes or so and then leave. I ended up staying the entire time. The panels were great. The issues were important. And the setting made me feel very uptown. Every time I walk into the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum I am awed by the splendor of the building and its exhibits. The museum's conference room is equally impressive with state-of-the-art audio/video, excellent lighting, acoustics, seating and decor. The entire event gave me the feeling of progress. One of my reasons for coming was to learn a bit more about Empower Mississippi. My publications have been running some of their opinion pieces for quite some time. Their agenda seems to be deliberately progressive and non-partisan -- two perspectives my publishing company tries to attain. ... The room was full of movers, shakers and highly engaged citizens. These are people who love Mississippi and are committed to seeing our state progress. We need more such people. There were three panels on three big issues: education, crime and the economy. |
SPORTS
| College World Series: How Mississippi State baseball has made Omaha a routine destination | |
| Landon Sims recalls the conversation vividly. Mississippi State was playing Stanford in the 2019 Starkville Super Regional. The Bulldogs beat the Cardinal in two games to punch the program's 11th ticket to the College World Series. Sims, now a second-year freshman for Mississippi State, was asked by his parents if he wanted to take a trip to Omaha to watch his future college baseball team compete for a national championship. "I was like, 'Let's save the money,'" Sims said, "Because I have a really good feeling we're going to take a trip or two to Omaha while I'm here." He was right. Sims and the 2021 Bulldogs (45-16) are headed back to the College World Series after an 11-7 victory over Notre Dame in Game 3 of the super regional. It's Mississippi State's third straight trip. No other team in the country has matched that feat. MSU coach Chris Lemonis said that's the way it should be. If not, he said, "then everybody is disappointed. It's not like that everywhere else in the country." "Obviously when you decide to go to Mississippi State, you're going to a program where that's the aspiration," Lemonis said. "That's why we have the ballpark we do, the fan base we do. Our goal is to keep it moving and keep it moving forward. The nice part is all these young players in the program right now, they've experienced it. They want it. That just continues to grow and set the expectation further." |
| Orange crush: Previewing Mississippi State's bracket at the College World Series | |
| Mississippi State fans taking in the College World Series are going to see a lot of orange in the stands. There will be plenty of maroon and white packing the bleachers at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, but each of the Bulldogs' three opponents in their four-team bracket features the same color. If Mississippi State is to make it to the best-of-three championship series, the Dawgs will have to get through the orange crush of No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 Tennessee and unseeded Virginia along the way. And just like each school brings a different shade of orange to Omaha, each will present a different challenge for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' journey begins against the Longhorns at 6 p.m. Sunday, but MSU will face at least one of the other two opponents before its third straight Omaha run is done. Here's the book on Mississippi State's three opponents as the 2021 CWS gets set to begin. |
| Former MSU star Jake Mangum says it's the Bulldogs time in Omaha | |
| Video: Jackson Prep product and Mississippi State baseball legend Jake Mangum believes that MSU is due for a national title. The Bulldogs are in their third straight College World Series and Mangum as their for two of those runs. He sheds light on what MSU is dealing with right now at this time of the year and how MSU can be successful. |
| College World Series events kick off Friday | |
| The College World Series is back and the fun starts Friday night. Although it won't look 100% the same due to the pandemic, most people are just excited to have the event back in Omaha. You can feel the excitement in the air, not only because of the College World Series but because there are open bars, live music and people back in Omaha. "I'm so excited. I am such a people person and I love exciting events and I'm excited to be back here in my hometown and I'm excited to be able to host the rest of the country," said Omaha resident Abby Higgs. "Meeting new people and learning how the CWS works because this is my first and basically just having fun with everybody," said Lily Quelette. Although the ballpark will not be having their opening ceremony, Omaha Baseball Village and the Old Mattress Factory has a list of DJs performing over the next 13 days. |
| College World Series officials outline changes for 2021 | |
| Ready or not, we're just days from the kickoff of the "Greatest Show on Dirt," the College World Series. The eight teams arrived in Omaha, Wednesday. There are no opening ceremonies this year because of the pandemic, and that's far from the only change. Organizers are still ready to put a show on for the fans. Officials tell KETV Newswatch 7 that this year is all about the baseball and in spite of the changes, it will be a CWS to remember. "Fan fest will be limited," Jack Deising, Chairman of CWS, Inc. said. "There won't be a banquet for the team and a march down. There won't be closing ceremonies and a 'Road to Omaha' run. The national anthem will be virtual, but tailgating goes on." The clear bag policy remains in effect at the ballpark. Like events at the CHI Health Center, TD Ameritrade Park has transitioned into a cash-less system. There still will be an expansive food menu at the park, including favorites like the Grand Slam Nachos. "This year's going to be a little bit different," Duren said. "Because we weren't able to enjoy the ballpark food last year in 2020, this year, we'll have a special focus on reintroducing some of our standing fan favorites." |
| Heading to CWS? Here are the ways you can navigate through all of the traffic | |
| Traffic isn't too bad at the moment in Omaha, but expect that to change as fast as a lightning bolt come Saturday. "It's a good idea to get there early," said Kristyna Engdahl, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority. That's because the U.S. Swim Trials will be wrapping up as the College World Series gets started. That means finding a place to park just got tougher and a lot of the parking meters near the stadium are also bagged up. "Know where you're going before you come here," said Omaha Police Captain Mark Desler. Desler said Thursday that will help keep things as orderly as possible. "Have a plan." Here's what you can do if you're looking for ways to get around throughout the weekend. |
| Council Bluffs to get boost from full capacity College World Series | |
| You don't have to live in Omaha to feel the power of the College World Series. "There's just a vibrancy there," described Drew Kamp, who lives in Council Bluffs. "There's just so much excitement." You can feel it on the other side of the river. "It's really second to none." When hotel and motel rooms fill up in Omaha, guests find a place to stay in Council Bluffs, they head to casinos and the restaurants are a welcome spot for out-of-towners looking for breathing room. "It's more so the entire scope of the College World Series that really impacts the economy." A full capacity College World Series is just what the doctor ordered. Between no CWS in 2020 and massive flooding in 2019, the Visitors Bureau projects more than $4 million in travel revenue was lost. The pandemic also cost Iowa casinos about 20 percent of its income, according to the Racing and Gaming Commission. Kamp said Thursday he's ready for a recovery. "It's super exciting to have this back and in full swing." According to estimates from Visit Omaha, the CWS has a yearly impact of about $70 million on the local economy. |
| CWS teams on homer binge will be challenged at Omaha stadium | |
| Home runs -- lots and lots of them -- have defined the NCAA baseball tournament so far. A total of 381 have been hit in 123 games, the highest total through super regionals since at least 2005. History suggests it is unlikely homers will come at the same rate when the stage moves to TD Ameritrade Park for the College World Series beginning Saturday. When the ballpark opened in 2011, it quickly earned a reputation for being the place where home runs go to die. While the number of CWS homers has increased since the NCAA went to the less air-resistant, flat-seam ball, teams that are most successful find gaps in the expansive outfield for extra-base hits and advancing runners. And, of course, strong pitching and defense help. Home runs have been up all season. The rate of 0.87 per team per game through May 30 already was on track to be the highest since 2010. That figure is 1.55 in tournament games. Teams combined for five or more homers in 33 regional and super regional games, according to Associated Press research. How will that homer-heavy offense carry over to Omaha? "The easy answer would be as much as they've leaned on the home run down the stretch, it has potential for them to not be nearly as effective because it's so much more difficult to get the ball out of TD Ameritrade than most ballparks," said ESPN analyst Chris Burke, a three-time All-American for Tennessee from 1999-2001. |
| The weather delay, rain delay savior: A history of the College World Series tarp | |
 | Something essential to keep the College World Series moving each year is the tarp that covers the baseball field. The College World Series has been played in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1950, but the tarp wasn't introduced until 1965, according to the book The College World Series: A Baseball History 1947-2003 by W.C. Madden and Patrick J. Stewart. During its section on the 1965 College World Series, the book states: Omaha purchased a tarpaulin for the infield during the off-season to protect the field from the rain, which poured down like a waterfall the year before and delayed the Series for five days in all. NCAA officials didn't want a delayed Series to occur again. What occurred in 1965 was that the first day of the tournament was completely rained out on Monday, June 8, 1965. Two games took place Tuesday. Four games were scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 1965, to get back on schedule, but the rain only allowed one to take place. Again on Thursday, June 11, they could only get one game in around the rain. Rain also completely washed out games on Sunday, June 14 and Tuesday, June 16. Finally, Minnesota won the 1964 College World Series on Thursday, June 18. The Gophers went 3-1 and defeated Missouri 5-1 in the national title game. |
| A Starkville Super-Scholar | |
| Mississippi State track and field and cross country runner, Reese Dunne, has been selected as a 2021 Astronaut Scholar, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) announced June 9. The ASF annually awards these scholarships to promising students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. They look to inspire those chose to embody the respected astronaut characteristics of intelligence, ambition, self-motivation, high ethical standards, persistence, tenacity, adaptability, and a passion for science, exploration, and innovation. He and his Mississippi State peer Britain Steele will be recognized at the 2021 Astronaut Scholarship Gala in Orlando this coming August. This isn't the first time Dunne has been recognized for his academic successes. Far from it, in fact. In April of 2021, he was selected to receive the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. He was the 19th MSU student to be recognized with that scholarship since its inception. Overall, 1,256 students were nominated, and the Foundation named 410 Scholars. The Starkville native is an MBA Venture Pathway program student, a G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Presidential Scholar, and is a senior mechanical engineering major. He is also a recipient of the James Carl and Hazel Forbes Endowed Scholarship through the college of engineering and is a member of the Shackouls Honors College. In 2019 he was also awarded the Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi Endowed Scholarship. |
| First Steps to Tokyo | |
| Mississippi State track and field has seven current and former student-athletes competing for a spot on the United States Olympic Team at the USATF Olympic Trials in Eugene. Alumni Erica Bougard, Tiffany Flynn and Curtis Thompson along with current student-athletes Sarah Blake, Keshun Byrd, Cameron Crump, and Jesse Henderson have either qualified for or declared entry to the 2020 Olympic Team Trials for Team USA. Bougard will compete in the heptathlon, Flynn in the long jump, and Blake in the javelin. For the men, Byrd is a triple jumper, Crump is a long jumper, Henderson is a 110m hurdler and Thompson is a javelin thrower. Unfortunately, Byrd suffered an injury prior to the Trials and will not be competing. The Trials officially begin on Friday, June 18, at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field, but no Bulldogs will compete until Saturday, June 19. The United States Olympic Team will be announced on July 4. |
| Tupelo's Hayden Buckley enjoys strong start at U.S. Open | |
| On a challenging first day for many golfers at the U.S. Open in San Diego, Tupelo's Hayden Buckley was keeping good company. The 25-year-old former Missouri golf standout shot a 2-under 69 on Thursday and was tied for fifth as play was suspended due to darkness. The start of the tourney at Torrey Pines had been delayed 90 minutes in the morning due to fog and conditions were windy for much of the day. Buckley, who's been chasing his PGA Tour card on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, was a regional qualifier for the U.S. Open a week ago. His solid round on Thursday included three birdies and one bogey. After an early afternoon tee time on Thursday, Buckley begins his second round at 8:56 a.m. (Central) today. TV coverage is on the Golf Channel this morning and on NBC in prime time. Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen were tied for the lead at 4-under when darkness fell. Henley had already completed his round of 67, while Oosthuizen had played 16 holes -- one of 36 players still on the course when play was suspended. Buckley was part of an eye-popping group at 69 that includes golfing household names Brooks Koepka -- a four-time major champion -- Jon Rahm and defending Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. |
| John Rhys Plumlee called Rich Rodriguez griping about Tucson's heat | |
| Rich Rodriguez was the Ole Miss football offensive coordinator in 2019, and he preceded that by being the Arizona Wildcats football head coach from 2012-17. So when Ole Miss baseball and two-sport athlete John Rhys Plumlee faced the Arizona Wildcats in the NCAA Tucson Super Regional on June 11-13, Plumlee called one of the coaches involved with recruiting him to Ole Miss for football and baseball that knew about life in Tucson. Rodriguez revealed on his podcast "Hard Edge Football with Rich Rod" details of Plumlee's call to him during the Tucson trip. "He FaceTimed me when they first got to Tucson," Rodriguez said of Plumlee. "I said, 'What's up John.' He said, 'Gosh coach, it's hot out here.' I'm like, 'It's hot in Mississippi, too.' He goes, 'No, it's like really hot, and I'm not sweating but I'm really hot.'" Ole Miss and Arizona played all three games at night, but the temperature at first pitch was still 102 degrees on June 11, 104 degrees on June 12, and 108 degrees on June 13. Arizona went 2-1 against Ole Miss in the Tucson Super Regional to advance to the College World Series. "Jay Johnson, another good friend, the baseball coach at Arizona," Rodriguez said on the podcast, "has just done a phenomenal job there." Rodriguez is set to start his first season as an offensive coordinator for the Louisiana-Monroe football team. ULM football is scheduled to open its 2021 season at Kentucky on Sept. 4. |
| Madison couple gives $10 million gift to name The Pavilion at Ole Miss | |
| After being open for over five years, The Pavilion at Ole Miss has a new name. The basketball arena has been officially named the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss in recognition of a $10 million gift from the Madison couple. The Institutions of Higher Learning's Board of Trustees approved the naming during their monthly meeting on Wednesday. Longtime supporters, the Blacks said they've been fortunate financially and want to make a gift they could enjoy with their family: three adult children, eight grandchildren and a great-granddaughter -- most of whom attended Ole Miss. The Blacks' latest gift is their third contribution to the Vaught Society, the philanthropic leadership group of the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation. In 2015, the Blacks made an $11 million gift to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the largest private gift ever received by UMMC in a single year. Since then, the Blacks also made a major gift to renovate the guest house at the chancellor's home on the Oxford campus. The arena has been called The Pavilion at Ole Miss since it opened in 2016. On July 31, 2014, ground was broken on the 225,000-square-foot arena. |
| Vanderbilt, Tennessee rivalry on hold with both Omaha bound | |
| A showdown between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at the College World Series with a national championship on the line would have all the emotions of their rivalry bubbling up like a family brawl. The schools separated by 194 miles are on opposite sides of the CWS brackets, so a championship matchup is possible. It also makes it easier for coaches to shower each other with compliments about what it means in the state for both to heading to Omaha, Nebraska. "It creates energy inside of this state for 8, 9, 10, 11 year old that looks up and see Tennessee on TV, Vanderbilt on TV, and it inspires kids to want to play, and that's all that matters," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. His Commodores are the reigning national champs, and Corbin said he's happy the Tennessee Volunteers are among the three Southeastern Conference teams in Omaha. Corbin said he knew after his Commodores took the lone series between the teams 2-1 in April that the Vols would reach Omaha. Corbin said that's why he looks past the rivalry between the programs. "Tony's done such a good job with his team," Corbin said. "When we played them, I think I made mention to, might've been the players but certainly the coaches how that's going to end up being an Omaha team. You could just feel it. They were very aggressive, tenacious. They played hard." Corbin said because a team is good enough to be in Omaha doesn't mean they get there. Just look at No. 1 national seed Arkansas. |
| LSU proposes university NIL policy as state awaits decision on legislature-approved bill | |
| A proposal for a new university policy is up for approval at Friday's LSU Board of Supervisors meeting that aims to meet the requirements within a legislature-approved bill that will allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. Senate Bill 60, unanimously approved by the Senate 35-0 last week, would become effective immediately upon the signature of Gov. John Bel Edwards. There are 19 other states that have already signed NIL legislation into law, and the earliest of them will become effective July 1. Depending on the timing of Edwards' decision, Louisiana could become the first state to officially enact an NIL law. The timing of LSU's proposed NIL policy change follows an urgency to be prepared: the board does not have another scheduled meeting until Aug. 6. Senate Bill 60 mandates that the management boards of each institution "adopt policies to implement the provisions" of the proposed law. The LSU system's 12-part policy defines how players can profit off their likeness, outlines key prohibitions and presents guidelines on how its institutions will educate its players on their rights within the proposed law. The proposed policy prohibits players from earning compensation according to their likeness so long as the payment is "not provided in exchange of athletics performance," not provided as a recruiting incentive, aligns with market value, and is not provided by the institution or its employees. |
| NIL testimony from Vanderbilt's Kaira Brown in front of U.S. Senate | |
 | Vanderbilt's Kaira Brown ranks second all-time in program history as a member of the outdoor 4×400-meter relay. The track star ranks seventh and eighth all-time, respectively, in Vanderbilt's indoor and outdoor 400-meter race. If the junior had the desire to become a track coach in her free time to make some extra money, she'd be unable to advertise herself as a Vanderbilt track athlete - the main attribute qualifying her to coach the sport. The reason? Under the NCAA's current name, image, and likeness rules, it would be considered getting paid for athletic ability or reputation. Brown presented this scenario, along with many others, to a group of U.S. senators Thursday as part of the "NCAA Student Athletes and NIL Rights" hearing. Three athletes, including Brown, and Martin McNair, founder of the Jordan McNair Foundation, spoke to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the hope their voices would be heard. Christina Chenault and Sari Cureton, former Division I athletes with UCLA and Georgetown, along with Brown provided personal testimonies regarding the NCAA's NIL rules, along with anecdotes experiencing unequal treatment in regards to Title IX. Brown offered the challenges she's experienced while at Vanderbilt, referencing unequal treatment when it came to team nutritionists and access to the athlete dining hall when it came to the football team. She believes the key to improving the gender disparity between men's and women's sports could be a new NIL law. |
| Hopes Fade for Imminent Federal Deal on College Athletes, Pressuring N.C.A.A. | |
 | Congress is not expected to move this month to override a crush of state laws that, as soon as July 1, will challenge the N.C.A.A. rules that have kept college athletes from making money off their fame. The absence of an accord, or even a clear timeline for one, by the start of July would be a blow to the N.C.A.A. and its most influential and wealthy conferences, which have spent many months and millions of dollars seeking intervention from Washington. Although an agreement could still emerge this year, the prospects for a federal measure to advance before the state laws have gone from a long shot toward essentially nonexistent. "I know that that date is imminent, so I think it's probably safe to say something is not going to make it through the halls of Congress by that date," Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington and the chair of the Senate committee that has been examining college sports issues, said after a hearing on Thursday. "But I do think that the deadline is continuing to put pressure on us to produce what that agreement could look like, and so I'm still hopeful that before we adjourn for the July Fourth recess, we'll be able to say what the shape of that looks like." On Capitol Hill on Thursday, when the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation met for the second time in eight days to hear testimony about college sports, the divide between congressional negotiators was clear with a glance at the dais: Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the panel's ranking Republican, was absent. On Wednesday, Wicker, who has particular influence because of the Senate's 50-50 split, announced a survey of college athletes "to solicit their views on what they would like to see" in a federal measure. Responses are due on June 25, around the time senators are expected to leave Washington for a recess that is tentatively scheduled to last until July 12. Asked in an interview outside the Senate chamber on Thursday afternoon whether he saw a path to a deal by the end of this month, Wicker replied, "It would be a surprise to me at this point." |
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