Mississippi
Mississippi is the latest state sued by tech group over age verification on websites
JACKSON, Miss. — A new Mississippi law requiring users of websites and other digital services to verify their age will unconstitutionally limit access to online speech for minors and adults, a tech industry group says in a lawsuit filed Friday.
Legislators said the new law is designed to protect children from sexually explicit material. The measure passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate without opposition from either party. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed it April 30, and it is set to become law July 1.
The lawsuit challenging the new Mississippi law was filed in federal court in Jackson by NetChoice, whose members include Google, which owns YouTube; Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
NetChoice has persuaded judges to block similar laws in other states, including Arkansas, California and Ohio.
The Mississippi law “mandates that minors and adults alike verify their ages — which may include handing over personal information or identification that many are unwilling or unable to provide — as a precondition to access and engage in protected speech,” the lawsuit says. “Such requirements abridge the freedom of speech and thus violate the First Amendment.”
The lawsuit also says the Mississippi law would replace websites’ voluntary content-moderation efforts with state-mandated censorship.
“Furthermore, the broad, subjective, and vague categories of speech that the Act requires websites to monitor and censor could reach everything from classic literature, such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘The Bell Jar,’ to modern media like pop songs by Taylor Swift,” the lawsuit says.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch waits to speak at a Trump for President rally in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, June 6, 2024. Fitch was named a defendant in a lawsuit filed Friday, June 7, 2024, in federal court over a new Mississippi law requiring users of websites and other digital services to register their age. The suit by the tech industry group NetChoice contends the law will unconstitutionally limit access to online speech for minors and adults. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is the defendant named in the lawsuit. The attorney general’s office does not comment on active litigation but “looks forward to defending the State’s law that gives parents the help they need to protect their children online,” communications director MaryAsa Lee said.
Utah is among the states sued by NetChoice over laws that imposed strict limits for children seeking access to social media. In March, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed revisions to the Utah laws. The new laws require social media companies to verify their users’ ages and disable certain features on accounts owned by Utah youths. Utah legislators also removed a requirement that parents consent to their child opening an account after many raised concerns that they would need to enter data that could compromise their online security.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State hit seven home runs and scored 19 runs to defeat Louisiana 19-5 in the Starkville Regional final Sunday night.
Jacob Parker and Ryder Woodson each hit two home runs for the Bulldogs. Parker went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and five runs scored, while Woodson finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Early power surge
Mississippi State took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on solo home runs by Gehrig Frei and Parker. Woodson added a solo homer in the second inning to make it 3-0.
Louisiana’s Nate Lewis hit a solo home run in the third inning to cut the lead to 3-1.
Bulldogs pull away with four-run fourth
Mississippi State scored four runs in the fourth inning. Kevin Milewski drove in Reed Stallman with an RBI single, Frei added an RBI hit and Ace Reese hit a two-run homer to right-center to make it 7-1.
Woodson drove in a run with a single in the fifth inning. Louisiana scored one run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 8-3.
Five-run seventh extends lead
Mississippi State scored five runs in the seventh inning. Parker hit an RBI double, Vytas Valincius followed with an RBI double and Stallman hit an RBI triple. Woodson capped the inning with a two-run homer to left to extend the lead to 13-5 at the end of the seventh.
Parker, Valincius deliver final blows
Parker hit his second home run of the game in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that made it 15-5.
Valincius hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to push the lead to 19-5.
Strong performances throughout lineup
Frei finished with four hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Noah Sullivan had three hits and scored three runs.
Ryan McPherson pitched five innings for Mississippi State, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Up Next
Mississippi State now heads to the Athens Super Regional where they will face 3-seed Georgia, a team that swept the Diamond Dawgs this season.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball beats Cincinnati 10-5, moves within one win of regional title – SuperTalk Mississippi
Tomas Valincius struck out 10, Ace Reese and Kevin Milewski homered, and Reed Stallman knocked in three runs to lead Mississippi State to a 10-5 victory in the winner’s bracket game of the Starkville Regional on Saturday night.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (42-17) managed early behind another standout performance from Valincius, who allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to earn his 11th win of the season.
Valincius was supported offensively by Reese’s solo home run in the first inning, a run two-seed Cincinnati (38-21) responded to in the second to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs broke open the game with three runs in the fifth inning, then followed with four more in the sixth and two more in the seventh to build a 10-1 lead.
As part of the surge, Stallman knocked in three runs on two doubles, Gehrig Frei hit a two-run single, Bryce Chance drove in one, and Milewski hit a two-run shot. Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ brother, crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
Cincinnati worked to chip away late, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Bearcats scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth before Mississippi State reliever Ben Davis limited the damage by getting the final outs to end the ballgame.
Mississippi State is now just one win away from winning its first regional championship since 2021 – the same year the Bulldogs won the College World Series. Mississippi State will play the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Cincinnati and Louisiana at 7 p.m. If Mississippi State drops the game, a winner-take-all final will be played Monday.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State got a dominant performance from Tomas Valincius and a 13-hit offensive performance to defeat Cincinnati 10-5 on Saturday night at Dudy Noble Field, moving on the the Starkville Regional Championship.
The Bulldogs broke open a tight game with a three-run fifth inning before adding four more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Reese gets it started
Ace Reese started the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the first inning, giving the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. Cincinnati answered in the second when Christian Mitchelle doubled to shallow left, scoring Enzo Infelise to tie the game at 1-1.
Bulldogs score three in the fifth
Mississippi State scored three runs in the fifth inning, beginning with an RBI infield single from Bryce Chance to shortstop that scored Jacob Parker. Gehrig Frei followed with an infield single to second, plating Reed Stallman and Kevin Milewski to push the lead to 4-1.
Four more in the sixth
Mississippi State added four more runs in the sixth. Stallman delivered an RBI double to left to score Parker before Valincius crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Cincinnati’s Alex Gonzalez. Two batters later, Milewski launched a two-run homer to right field, stretching the Bulldogs’ lead to 8-1.
Stallman extends lead in the seventh
The Bulldogs extended the lead in the seventh when Stallman ripped a double to right, scoring Noah Sullivan and Parker for a 10-1 advantage.
Cincinnati added two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, making the final 10-5.
Valincius dominates on the mound
Valincius worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. He threw 112 pitches and recorded his 10th strikeout before exiting in the eighth inning. Maddox Webb took over after that and walked two batter. Ben Davis closed the game for State, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two.
Offensive leaders
Mississippi State finished with 13 hits.
Stallman led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. Chance collected three hits and drove in a run, while Frei finished with two hits and two RBIs. Reese added his first-inning homer, and Milewski’s two-run blast highlighted the sixth-inning surge. Parker scored three runs.
Up next
The Diamond Dawgs now head to the Starkville Regional Championship, where they will face the winner of the Cincinnati and Louisiana elimination game. State will only need one more win to advance to a Super Regional.
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