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☆ Beyoncé is opening the door for these Black country artists
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Beyoncé has some people excited about country music. But they aren’t the only ones whose careers could benefit from Queen Bey’s entrance into country music. Andrew Nelles /The Tennessean/USA Today NetworkRVSHVD (pronounced Ra-shad) is another Georgia native who is making his way in the country music industry. Apple TV+Ashlie Amber may not have won a TV competition meant to open doors for underrepresented country artists, but she’s definitely winning fans. Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesTwins Derek Campbell and Brandon Campbell are fighting for inclusivity in country music in more ways than one.

Persons: CNN — Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé, can’t, Dolly Parton’s, Jolene, ”, Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Tiera Kennedy, Linda Martell, Reyna Roberts, Brittney Spencer, Derek White, Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, Twain, “, ” Twain, ” Kylan Boykin, we’re, Nytere Boykin, Carter ”, ” Nytere Boykin, RVSHVD RVSHVD, Andrew Nelles, Clint Rashad Johnson, Keith Urban’s, — Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Angel Rewis, Johnson, She’s, Amber Ashlie Amber, Amber, she’s, Reese Witherspoon, Kacey Musgraves, Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton, Orville Peck, ” Micaela Kleinsmith, ” Amber, “ Beyoncé, Derek Campbell, Brandon Campbell, Jason Kempin, we’ve, ” Derek Campbell, WSMV4, Hart, Trea Swindle, Danica Hart, Devynn Hart, Chapel Hart, Evan Agostini, “ Jolene, –, Danica, Trea, America’s, ” Parton, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, The Recording, CMT, USA, Billboard, Florida Georgia Line, Apple, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Winery, Getty, inclusivity, ”, Rolling Stone, Chapel, Channel, Nashville Locations: Atlanta, Nashville, Georgia, Florida, Nashville , Tennessee, Kentucky, Winery Nashville, Versailles , Kentucky, America, Austin , Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana

Some bills would bar financial institutions from discriminating against those who refuse to participate in DEI programs. Meanwhile, Democrats have filed about two dozen bills in 11 states that would require or promote DEI initiatives. The Supreme Court’s June decision ending affirmative action at universities has created a new legal landscape around diversity programs in the workplace and civil society. Rob Standridge, who has authored four bills aiming to hollow out DEI programs in the state, said it has become a salient campaign theme. In a 2023 report, White said Mississippi’s public universities are spending millions on DEI programs instead of student scholarships.

Persons: JACKSON, Republican Oklahoma Sen, Rob Standridge, Standridge, “, Trump, ” Mike Gonzalez, Josiah Magnuson, ” Magnuson, Kevin Stitt, it’s, Sen, Marko Liias, Liias, Ron DeSantis, ”, Shad, White, Becky Currie, Currie, Spencer Cox, Cox, Robin Vos, Jonathan Butcher, ” Butcher, Fentrice, ” Driskell, Trisha Ahmed, David Lieb, Hannah Schoenbaum, Todd Richmond, ___ Michael Goldberg Organizations: Republican, Associated, Democratic, Republican Oklahoma, Heritage Foundation, Rep, Republican Gov, Oklahoma State Regents, Higher Education, ”, Washington, Utah Gov, The Heritage Foundation, Democratic House, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: Miss, Washington, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Jefferson City , Missouri, Salt Lake City, Madison , Wisconsin

(AP) — Mississippi's state auditor filed court papers Monday renewing his call for Brett Favre to repay the state for welfare money that the auditor says was improperly spent on projects backed by the retired NFL quarterback. White said in 2020 that Favre had improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent welfare with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was to go toward a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. “Favre had no legal right to the possession or control of this $1.1 Million,” White's attorneys wrote in the court filing Monday. No criminal charges have been brought against Favre, although a former department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.

Persons: JACKSON, Brett Favre, Shad, White, Favre, “ Favre, ”, Shannon Sharpe, who's, Pat McAfee, McAfee Organizations: —, NFL, Favre, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Mississippi Department of Human Services, University of Southern, Associated Press, Department of Human Services Locations: Miss, — Mississippi's, Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi

☆ Can groundhogs or other animals predict the weather?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Punxatawney Phil, the central character of the annual rite of winter known as Groundhog’s Day, isn’t great at his job. Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesThe Old Farmer’s Almanac has aggregated a couple dozen adages about insects, animals and their ability to predict weather patterns. Researchers in Germany also looked into whether various species of animals could detect an oncoming earthquake. Fact vs. folkloreOther tropes about animals’ ability to predict seasonal conditions, however, are wrong. But in reality, the “caterpillar’s coloring is based on how long (the) caterpillar has been feeding, its age, and species,” according to the National Weather Service.

Persons: CNN —, Phil, isn’t, Theresa Crimmins, phenology, ” Crimmins, “, ”, it’s, Max, Gordon Miller, ” Miller, Crimmins, Miller, Rachel Carson Organizations: CNN, National Phenology, United States —, USA National Phenology Network, University of Wisconsin -, Max Planck Society, Dolbear’s, Oceanic, Administration, Seattle University, National Weather Service Locations: United States, Germany, University of Wisconsin - Madison, North America, Mendota Heights , Minnesota, Tennessee

☆ Opinion | Stop Corporatizing My Students
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Beth Ann Fennelly | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I have taught creative writing in Mississippi’s flagship university for over 20 years, and I’ve witnessed a powerful outcome: students who master written and spoken communication can change the world. He cited a Texas bill signed into law in June that overhauls how the state funds its community colleges. Money for those colleges in Texas is now allotted based off student outcomes that prepare them for the work force. Mr. White said the Mississippi Legislature should create a study committee of work force experts to outline the most- and least-needed programs and design a university funding structure with the state’s work force and economy in mind. It’s worth noting that nowhere in the eight-page report is educational value discussed in relation to anything other than money.

Persons: I’ve, Shad White, . White, White, John Keats ’ Organizations: College Locations: Mississippi’s, Mississippi, Texas

☆ Can Humanities Survive the Budget Cuts?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Anemona Hartocollis | More About Anemona Hartocollis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The state auditor of Mississippi recently released an eight-page report suggesting that the state should invest more in college degree programs that could “improve the value they provide to both taxpayers and graduates.”That means state appropriations should focus more on engineering and business programs, said Shad White, the auditor, and less on liberal arts majors like anthropology, women’s studies and German language and literature. Those graduates not only learn less, Mr. White said, but they are also less likely to stay in Mississippi. More than 60 percent of anthropology graduates leave to find work, he said. “If I were advising my kids, I would say first and foremost, you have to find a degree program that combines your passion with some sort of practical skill that the world actually needs,” Mr. White said in an interview. (He has three small children, far from college age.)

Persons: Shad White, White, Mr Locations: Mississippi

(AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against fellow retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe, ruling that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre's connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi. Discussion of Mississippi welfare spending on “Undisputed” took place after extensive news coverage about allegations of Mississippi's largest public corruption case. Favre is not facing criminal charges, but he is among more than three dozen people or businesses the state is suing to try to recover misspent welfare money. In addition to suing Sharpe, Favre filed defamation lawsuits earlier this year against White, the auditor, and sportscaster Pat McAfee, who is a former NFL punter. Favre has repaid $1.1 million he received for speaking fees from a nonprofit group that spent TANF money with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

Persons: JACKSON, Brett Favre’s, Shannon Sharpe, Sharpe, Favre's, Keith Starrett, Favre, “, ” Favre, Skip, Shannon, ”, Shad White, Starrett, ’, ” Starrett, Michael Shemper, Pat McAfee, McAfee, White, Favre’s Organizations: —, District, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Fox Sports, Mississippi Department of Human Services, Prosecutors, University of Southern, Twitter, Associated Press, White, NFL, McAfee, Favre, of Human Services Locations: Miss, Mississippi . U.S, Mississippi, U.S, University of Southern Mississippi, alma

☆ Shad Tuten: Penalized for failing to properly replace his ball, golfer agonizingly loses chance of first ever PGA Tour card
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The American golfer had finished his closing round at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh, Indiana looking set to secure his first ever PGA Tour card. Tuten was penalized for failing to properly replace his ball en route to a birdie at the par-five 15th hole. Former PGA Tour player James Nitties described the incident as “heartbreaking.”“It makes me sick as a past player,” Nitties said on the Golf Channel broadcast. The Georgia-born golfer has played 132 tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica since turning professional in 2015, winning once, and ends the season as world No. Eighteen of the graduates are PGA Tour rookies, including brothers Parker and Pierceson Coody, who became only the second twins in history to attain simultaneous PGA Tour membership status after Allan and Curtis Strange in 1981.

Persons: Shad Tuten’s, Tuten, Mike Mulholland, Korn, Jim Duncan, ”, James Nitties, ” Nitties, France’s Paul Barjon, Puerto, Rafael Campos leapfrogging Tuten, Parker, Pierceson Coody, Allan, Curtis Strange Organizations: CNN, PGA Tour, Victoria, Korn Ferry, NBC Sports, ” CNN, PGA, Golf Channel Locations: Newburgh , Indiana, Georgia

(AP) — One of the people being sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services over allegations of misspending welfare money has filed a separate lawsuit against Gov. Austin Garrett Smith filed the suit Wednesday and described himself in court papers as “politically powerless.” Smith's suit says Reeves should sue Republican former Gov. The ongoing suit seeks to recover more than $20 million of the roughly $77 million in welfare money that the state auditor said had been misspent between 2016 and 2019, during Bryant's second term as governor. Smith is a nephew of former Mississippi Department of Human Services executive director John Davis. The Democratic nominee for governor, Brandon Presley, said Reeves is tainted by the welfare misspending that occurred when Reeves was lieutenant governor and had power to oversee how the Department of Human Services was operating.

Persons: JACKSON, Tate Reeves, Austin Garrett Smith, ”, Reeves, Phil Bryant, “ Reeves, Jim Waide, Shelby Wilcher, Governor Reeves, Smith, Brett Favre, Shad White, John Davis, Bryant, Smith's, ” Waide, Brandon Presley, Presley, Todd Reeves, White, Favre, “ Tate Reeves, ” Presley, Clifton Carroll Organizations: Mississippi Department of Human Services, Gov, Republican, of Human Services, NFL, University of Southern, Davis, Democratic Locations: Miss, U.S, Bryant, The State, Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, “

It's a long way from the Wembley mudfest in 2007 when the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in the first London game. The league said the NFL Academy's TikTok channel has the highest engagement of its channels on the the popular video-sharing app. The NFL won't overtake the Premier League for popularity in Britain but it says it has 14 million fans with 3 million deemed “avid” fans. Results of a survey by media consulting firm Altman Solon indicate good consumer trends for the NFL in Britain. The Jags' game on Oct. 8 against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham will be run by the league.

Persons: It's, ”, Henry Hodgson, —, ” Hodgson, Altman Solon, Matt Del Percio, Maria Gigante, Shad Khan, Daniel Levy, Tottenham —, ” “, Clint Black, “, ” Gigante Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Wembley, Buffalo Bills, Tottenham —, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, Britain . League, Sky Sports, BBC, ITV, London, NFL, Premier League, Jaguars, Tottenham, Houston Texans, EverBank, Denver Broncos, Premier League soccer, Fulham, English Football Association, Jacksonville Locations: Germany, Spain, Europe, Britain, London, Ireland, JAGS, Jacksonville, U.S

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman convicted of killing and dismembering a former boyfriend and scattering his body parts at various locations was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole. A Brown County judge sentenced Taylor Schabusiness, 25, for the February 2022 killing of Shad Thyrion, 24. Prosecutors said Thyrion and Schabusiness had smoked methamphetamine in the basement of Thyrion’s mother’s Green Bay home before Schabusiness strangled, decapitated and dismembered him. Schabusiness’ defense attorney, Christopher Froelich, told the court she would speak on her own behalf before Walsh sentenced her. But when the judge asked Schabusiness if there was anything she’d like to say, she replied simply, “No, there isn’t."

Persons: dismembering, Brown, Taylor Schabusiness, Shad Thyrion, Schabusiness, Thyrion, Thomas Walsh, Christopher Froelich, Walsh, Froelich, there's Organizations: Prosecutors, Brown, Green Bay Press, Gazette Locations: GREEN, Wis, Wisconsin, Green

☆ Tomorrow Is Earth Day. Let’s Celebrate Our Harbor.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( James Barron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Weis, a professor emerita at Rutgers University and a former president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, nominated the estuary. “That’s not the people I was hoping to reach. “We haven’t met the goals of the Clean Water Act,” he said. “The spring runs of American shad up the Hudson River were once legendary,” he said. “Now it’s just a fraction of what it was.” He said the same was true of herring and other migratory fish.

☆ Brett Favre Sues Shannon Sharpe, Pat McAfee and Mississippi Auditor for Defamation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Brett Favre and around 30 others were sued last year for allegedly misusing welfare funds. He has denied wrongdoing. Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre sued the Mississippi state auditor and two sports commentators, Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee , for defamation, saying they made false statements about him on TV and online shows. Mr. Favre alleged that the auditor, Shad White , and Messrs. Sharpe and McAfee made defamatory statements about him last year in connection with his ongoing welfare fraud case. The state sued him last year for allegedly misusing federal welfare aid meant for poor families.

☆ Brett Favre files motion to dismiss lawsuit in Mississippi welfare fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Laura Strickler | Laura Strickler Is A Washington-Based Investigative Reporter With The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Attorneys for former NFL star Brett Favre filed court papers in Mississippi on Monday seeking to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him tied to a state welfare fraud scandal. Favre was sued in May by the state welfare agency after he received $1.1 million in federal welfare funds intended to lift children out of poverty in the poorest state in America. Favre’s attorneys say that he and his organization, Favre Enterprises LLC, repaid the funds and that Mississippi officials are to blame for the misspending. "Mr. Favre never had any control over how Mississippi spent its welfare funds. Six people have been charged in what state and federal officials call a massive fraud scheme to misspend state welfare funds, including the former director of the state welfare agency, who is cooperating with the FBI and federal prosecutors.

☆ Brett Favre helped an experimental drug maker get $2M in welfare money. Experts doubt the drug can work.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

And he did more than evangelize, court records show — he successfully lobbied Mississippi state officials who granted the company $2.1 million in federal welfare money that was intended to help poor families. The payment was illegal, state officials allege in a lawsuit — part of a huge Mississippi welfare misspending scandal that has tarnished Favre’s reputation. Favre, who is being sued by Mississippi, has consistently said that he did not know the money he was seeking from the Mississippi Department of Human Services—the state welfare agency—was welfare money. Six people have been charged in what state and federal officials call a massive fraud scheme, including the former director of the state welfare agency, who is cooperating with the FBI and federal prosecutors. Favre is among 38 defendants in a civil lawsuit by the state seeking to recoup the welfare money, including the funds devoted to the volleyball facility and the unproven concussion drug.

The Mississippi state auditor said Favre never gave the speeches and demanded the money back, with interest. In an interview with the website Mississippi Today, Bryant said he never knew the grants came from welfare money. The former head of the state welfare agency, John Davis, has pleaded not guilty to state charges of bribery and conspiracy, and law enforcement officials say the investigations continue. Favre defended himself in a series of tweets last year against allegations from White, the state auditor, that he accepted state money for speeches he never intended to give. Marcus Dupree, a former college football star, also received $370,000 in welfare funds, which prosecutors say partly went to fund his horse ranch.

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