| Wednesday, December 13, 2017 |
| Congress debates the role of artificial intelligence in America | |
 | Lawmakers on Capitol Hill met Tuesday to discuss advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, wanted to discuss the new and emerging role of AI in the nation's growing digital environment. Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the increase in data collected from Americans through the use of the internet and mobile devices has contributed to the advances in the industry. Witness and Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Mississippi State University Dr. Cindy L. Bethel discussed some of the areas she has been studying the benefits of AI integration including for law enforcement, logistics and health care. Mississippi State also studied AI for automating cargo deliveries and the creation of Therabot. |
| @SenatorWicker Convenes Hearing on Artificial Intelligence Technologies | |
 | U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, on Tuesday conducted a hearing to explore the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital economy and best practices to ensure proper use of this technology. Dr. Cindy Bethel, an Associate Professor at Mississippi State University's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, participated in the hearing. In his opening statement, Wicker said, "The excitement surrounding this technology is deserved. AI has the potential to transform our economy. AI's ability to process and sort through troves of data can greatly inform human decision-making and processes across industries, including agriculture, health care, and transportation. In turn, businesses can be more productive, profitable, and efficient in their operations." The software industry supports 7,000 jobs in Mississippi and contributes more than $800 million to the state's economy. |
| AI experts caution Senate against heavy regulation | |
| Enterprise and academic experts cautioned the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation against a heavy-handed regulatory approach to AI, citing concerns of stifling innovation and progress. At a hearing Tuesday, experts did call for open data policies, as AI systems will only be as good as the data they can draw insight and learn from. Yet data policies today are also in the midst of change as privacy considerations and fair use policies face scrutiny. Education and understanding are key to formulating a well-rounded AI policy and culture, beginning with better STEM education at early ages. Higher education will also need reinforcement because industry recruiting has "thinned the ranks" of academia who conduct research and train the new generations of AI experts, said Cindy Bethel, associate professor at Mississippi State University. |
| What's government's role in AI? | |
| At a Senate hearing on the future of machine learning and artificial intelligence, legislators wanted to know about the government's role as both an end user and enabler of the technology. "One of the things I think we should be thinking about is our role as an actually user," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said in the Dec. 12 hearing held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. She was specifically interested in what AI could do to improve cybersecurity. AI-enabled robotics also could benefit law enforcement agencies, according to Cindy Bethel, an associate professor in the computer science and engineering department at Mississippi State University. Bethel is working with computer vision and sensing to help robots gather information and make decisions about a situation or environment before putting the lives of law enforcement officers on the line. |
| Team designs new filter to improve Vit Plant safety | |
| A team of engineers from Bechtel National Inc. and the Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (ORP) joined industry and academia experts to develop a first-of-a-kind high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter for the Hanford Vit Plant in Richland, Washington. The filter helps protect the public and environment during operations. The filter recently passed tests performed under Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA)-1 conditions by the Institute for Clean Energy Technology at Mississippi State University (MSU) to confirm it met safety requirements and codes in an environment that simulated extreme operating conditions. The performance of the filter design was also validated by code compliance testing at MSU, Underwriters Laboratories, and the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. |
| Mississippi First talks early learning tax credit at Rotary | |
 | Starkville Rotarians received a lesson on how to support pre-K programs in Mississippi while getting some money taken off of their taxes Monday. Starkville High school alumni and founders of Mississippi First Rachel Canter and Sanford Johnson spoke to the club about the tax credit available through the 2013 Early Learning Collaborative Act. The act was written by Mississippi First, which champions transformative education policy solutions in Mississippi. The act provides for a system of state-funded pre-K sites in Mississippi. So far, 14 early learning collaborative have been started statewide, including one serving Starkville and Oktibbeha County. "When Sanford and I founded Mississippi First, one of our earliest goals was to get a state-funded pre-K law passed," Canter said. "At the time that we started in 2008, Mississippi was one of 11 states that did not put any state dollars towards pre-K." Carter explained the importance of pre-K to children and communities. |
| Revenue collections for November still up | |
 | Most sources of tax revenue, with the exception of corporate tax collections, are up year over year, according to the revenue report for the month of November, released recently by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee. Overall, revenue collections are up only $15.5 million or .75 percent. But last year's collections were buoyed by one-time sources of revenue, such as funds from settlements of lawsuits by the Office of Attorney General. When not factoring in such one-time sources of revenue, collections are strong -- not as they relate to historic trends but when compared to collections in recent years. Collections for the year are $15.5 million or 0.75 percent above the estimate that legislators used to fund the budget for the current fiscal year. |
| State has no standard process for reporting sexual harassment | |
| When it comes to reporting sexual harassment, Mississippi has no standard process for making complaints, investigating claims or seeking redress for victims. News that the resignation of 22-year veteran Rep. John Moore, R-Pearl, came after multiple complaints of sexual harassment shook the capital city on Monday, sparking questions about how harassment allegations in state government are handled. Inside the Capitol, House leadership handles sexual harassment allegations differently than Senate leadership. Both those bodies handle harassment claims independently of the state personnel board, which oversees complaints from 129 state agencies and departments. |
| 5th Circuit hears argument over votes in a 2015 House race | |
 | 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has heard oral arguments in the case of five Smith County voters who ballots were thrown out by a House committee in deciding to seat Republican Mark Tullos over longtime Democratic Rep. Bo Eaton in 2016. The voters filed a lawsuit in federal court in Jackson, but U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves ruled the court didn't have jurisdiction over the matter and dismissed it. The voters then filed an appeal with the 5th Circuit. Last week, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit heard arguments on the appeal Mike Wallace, attorney for House Speaker Philip Gunn and the members of the committee who voted to seat Tullos argued for dismissal of the voters' lawsuit, saying the Legislature has immunity and applied Mississippi law correctly. John Corlew, attorney for the voters, said the lawsuit is about whether the right of voters has been denied. |
| Mississippi school ratings may mask achievement gap, analysis says | |
| Mississippi's A-F grade scale could mask achievement gaps, according to an analysis by independent reviewers released Tuesday. The review praised the ambition behind Mississippi's plan for or the Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA for short, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act., But it questioned whether the state's current A-F accountability system would allow districts to receive high grades even if there is an achievement gap between different subgroups of students. The Bellwether Education Partners in a partnership with the Collaborative for Student Success convened a panel of bipartisan accountability experts to provide feedback on the state's plan. |
| No debate on tax bill among Mississippi's GOP congressmen | |
| As negotiations on a final tax-cut package continue on Capitol Hill, Mississippi's Republican congressmen say they are backing the proposal because they think it will turbocharge the state's economy and make businesses more competitive. In interviews with Mississippi Today on Capitol Hill, the Republican members were on the same accord that legislation -- now facing final revisions after separate versions passed the House and Senate -- will help individuals by providing an average $1,200 tax refund, simplify the federal tax code and help Mississippi corporations create more jobs. The state's only Democrat serving in Congress, Rep. Bennie Thompson, voted against the House tax bill and expressed strong views against the bill after Senate passage. |
| Sen. Wicker proposal for 355 ships signed into law | |
 | U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., on Tuesday announced that his bicameral, bipartisan "Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act" was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump as part of the FY2018 "National Defense Authorization Act" (NDAA). Wicker's proposal makes it the official policy of the United States to achieve the Navy's minimum requirement for a 355-ship fleet. Currently, only 279 ships are in the battle fleet. Wicker is Chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee. The defense bill authorizes nearly $700 billion in funding for America's service members, military installations, and industrial base. The bill includes a nearly $5 billion increase for shipbuilding above President Trump's budget request, and gives active-duty military personnel a 2.4 percent pay raise. |
| Doug Jones shocks political world, defeats Roy Moore in Alabama U.S. Senate race | |
 | A deafening roar fell over the Birmingham Ballroom inside the Sheraton Hotel in the Magic City as supporters of Doug Jones watched the two large projectors tuned to CNN that showed the Democratic Senate candidate in Alabama's special election inching closer to Roy Moore. At the time, Jones was still in a hotel room gathering with his family. A night that began with cautious optimism among Jones's supporters grew into euphoria minutes later as the election was called for Jones - a race where the Democrat in a dark-red state faced long odds at the start of the campaign; a Democrat had not won an Alabama Senate seat in a quarter century. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Jones, a former federal prosecutor who successfully led the cases against two men behind the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, was leading Moore, 50 percent to 48 percent, according to unofficial results. |
| McConnell allies see Moore loss as fatal blow for Bannon | |
 | Top allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) see Tuesday's election results in Alabama as a deep -- and possibly fatal -- wound for Stephen Bannon, their arch-rival in the battle for the soul of the Republican Party. Bannon, the former chief strategist in President Trump's White House who left under pressure in August, enthusiastically campaigned for former state Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore even after public allegations that Moore pursued relationships with teenagers several decades ago. Moore lost the race for an open Senate seat on Tuesday to Democrat Doug Jones, the first time in a quarter century a Democrat had won a Senate seat in deep-red Alabama. Republicans running for Senate seats in other key states had once sought Bannon's endorsement. But his support for the critically damaged Moore, the McConnell advisers said, would make those candidates question the value -- and the downsides -- of Bannon's endorsement. |
| Jones victory in Alabama puts Democratic Senate within reach | |
 | Democrats need a series of miracles to win the Senate in 2018. They got their first one on Tuesday night. Democrat Doug Jones's stunning victory over Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race will stir big, existential questions about the Republican Party and its warring factions. But its most immediate impact is on the simple arithmetic of next year's midterm election: Democrats now need to gain only two -- instead of three -- Senate seats to win a majority. Republicans worked very hard to elect a Republican president and increase the majority in the Senate," said Austin Barbour, a veteran Republican strategist based in Mississippi. "They certainly don't want to give back the majority they worked so hard in 2016 to gain by losing in places like freaking Alabama. It's ridiculous." Now, he said of the GOP Senate majority: "It's a one-vote swing. I'm absolutely worried. Fortunately in 2018 there are a lot of good Republican opportunities, but we have to nominate the right kind of candidate coming out of the primary." |
| NOAA nominee's financial conflicts, efforts to curb agency's role draw rare criticism from former chiefs | |
 | Three former administrators of the agency responsible for the government's vast weather forecasting system have serious concerns about the businessman President Trump has nominated to be its next leader, and two of them say the nominee has conflicts of interests that should disqualify him, documents and interviews show. It is the first time in the half-century history of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, that former administrators have voiced such strong opposition, agency veterans say. The nominee, Barry Myers, is among a growing number of controversial figures Trump -- who has promised to disrupt and downsize the federal government -- has selected for key posts. Myers, 74, is chief executive of AccuWeather, a private forecasting firm he and two brothers have turned into a multimedia weather and marketing powerhouse, using free data gathered by NOAA's global network of satellites and sensors. |
| Sigma Alpha Epsilon shuts down Ole Miss chapter for behavior, health and safety concerns | |
| Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national fraternity headquarters has suspended the University of Mississippi's SAE chapter due to "health-and-safety concerns and an inability to adhere to the national organization's standards and expectations." SAE, founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, was the first Southern-founded fraternity. The Mississippi Gamma Chapter of SAE was founded at Ole Miss in 1866, a decade after the alpha chapter was founded at the University of Alabama. It is one of the largest national social fraternities in the country. SAE was named one of the "deadliest" fraternities in the country in December 2013 by Bloomberg News after several student deaths were linked to hazing, alcohol consumption and drug use at chapter events. Earlier this year, several members of the University of Southern Mississippi's SAE chapter were dismissed and placed on probation following several violations that occurred at a homecoming party in 2016. |
| National fraternity closes longstanding Ole Miss chapter | |
 | A fraternity's national office has closed its longstanding University of Mississippi chapter, citing health and safety concerns and violations of national standards. Local media reported Tuesday that Sigma Alpha Epsilon, based in Evanston, Illinois, had made the move. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Brandi Hephner LaBanc said in October that Ole Miss was investigating four fraternities or sororities for hazing. It's unclear if the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter was one of them. University spokesman Jon Scott didn't immediately respond Tuesday night to a request for comment. |
| U. of Arkansas professors want to stall vote on changes they say would upend tenure | |
 | It's hard to build faculty consensus on anything, but professors across Arkansas and colleagues elsewhere are speaking out against proposed changes to the University of Arkansas System's personnel policies -- changes they say would make them tenured or working toward tenure in name only. Of particular concern is proposed language that would make being a bad colleague a fireable offense. The university system says it's not trying to limit tenure but rather make its terms clearer. Many professors remain unconvinced. "Tenure would be kind of like a hollow shell, or the appearance of tenure without the actual protections" under the proposal, said James Vander Putten, associate professor of higher education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and vice president of the state's conference of the American Association of University Professors. He added wryly, "The impetus here is nothing more than a wish list for university attorneys, to make it easier to get rid of troublemaker faculty members like me." |
| UGA climbs 7 spots in research rankings | |
 | The University of Georgia climbed seven spots to No. 54 among all U.S. universities, colleges and research institutions in the latest National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development rankings. In the new rankings, which reflect fiscal year 2016, UGA's total research expenditures reached $410 million, up from $374 million and a ranking of 61st the year before. UGA also moved up when it comes to federally supported research expenditures, with $144 million -- up eight spots from the prior year. Data for fiscal year 2017 shows continued growth in research activity, with $458 million in total research and development expenditures -- an increase of 12 percent over fiscal year 2016. |
| UGA bus driver charged for bringing loaded gun into residence hall | |
| A University of Georgia student bus driver was recently arrested for bringing a loaded pistol into a school safety zone and left the semiautomatic pistol in a men's rest room at the Brumby Hall dormitory building, according to a UGA police report. The 30-year-old man, identified in the report as a student driver for UGA Campus Transit, told police he was driving his route on Dec. 6 when he parked his bus at the Russell Hall bus stop so he could walk over to Brumby Hall to use the men's room, according to the report. The bus driver took off the holster that held his gun and placed it on a handicap rail behind the toilet, the report noted. He left the gun behind when leaving the rest room to resume his bus route. |
| State gives permission for U. of Kentucky, Lexington to swap land for roads | |
 | State officials have granted the University of Kentucky permission to give the city of Lexington about 250 acres of land to help lure new employers in exchange for control of several roads around campus. The swap will give the city about 50 acres in Coldstream Research Park, off Citation Boulevard, that could be ready immediately for new construction, and 200 acres for a new industrial park at the back of Coldstream, close to Interstates 64 and 75, off Georgetown Road. The UK Board of Trustees approved the deal Tuesday. A memorandum of understanding could be signed by UK officials and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council as soon as January. The 200-acre parcel currently holds UK dairy cattle and research facilities, which will move. The 50-acre parcel is part of UK's existing 735-acre Coldstream Research Park. |
| Two more Aggies joining National Academy of Inventors | |
 | The National Academy of Inventors announced Tuesday that Texas A&M's Carrie L. Byington and Leif B. Andersson are among its 155 newest fellows, bringing the total members of the academy at Texas A&M to seven. Byington -- who is a member of the A&M class of '85 and serves as dean of the Texas A&M College of Medicine, senior vice president of the Texas A&M University Health Science Center and vice chancellor for health services at The Texas A&M University System -- has acted as a principal or co-investigator with funding totaling nearly $80 million since 1998. Andersson came to Texas A&M in 2013 as part of the 2013-2014 class of Hagler Institute for Advanced Study fellows before accepting a joint appointment as professor in the A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and as professor in functional genomics at Uppsala University, Sweden. |
| New U. of Missouri law dean embraces mentorship, scholarship and lifelong learning | |
 | At 25, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky had job offers from a large law firm in New York City and the U.S. Department of Justice -- but she knew where her heart was. At the suggestion of her now husband, she applied for a teaching position at the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. To her surprise, she got it. "I was just unbelievably fortunate to get my dream job at the age of 25," Lidsky said. "It was everything I wanted. Every day since then, I've been grateful." After 23 years at the University of Florida, Lidsky became dean of the MU School of Law on July 1. She is also the Judge C.A. Leedy Professor of Law there. Lidsky was drawn to MU by its Research 1 status and vibrant faculty, she said. "I really wanted to be part of an institution that fundamentally valued both the scholarly mission of the law school as well as the teaching mission," she said. |
| House Republicans Press for Higher-Ed Overhaul in 2018 | |
 | Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives began in earnest on Tuesday to finalize an ambitious bill to reauthorize the main federal law governing higher education. The House's Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, kicked off a marathon session, expected to run into Wednesday morning, to consider amendments and other changes in a draft of the Higher Education Act legislation that she introduced this month. Ms. Foxx's proposed changes in current law are meant to streamline student aid, pare regulations, and open the federal coffers to a wider variety of institutions that offer skills training. "No American -- no matter their walk of life -- can afford for us to simply reauthorize the Higher Education Act," said Ms. Foxx in her opening remarks. "They need us to reform it." |
| GOP higher ed update clears committee after marathon markup | |
| After debating and voting on amendments all day Tuesday, the House education committee advanced to the full chamber on a party-line vote a rewrite of the federal law governing higher education in the U.S. The legislation, called the PROSPER Act, would change accountability for colleges and universities, alter the student financial aid landscape, and loosen restrictions on short-term and for-profit programs. Representative Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the education committee, said Americans can't afford simply a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, but need real reform of the law. Her Democratic counterpart, Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, however, said Republicans chose to do so in a partisan manner, behind closed doors and with no input from committee Democrats. He said the U.S. could support multiple pathways to higher education while adding support for programs that provide student aid and help colleges promote student completion. |
| Toyota: A history of milestones, successes in Blue Springs | |
| Glenn McCullough Jr., executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, writes: "Global leaders worldwide recognize Mississippi's automotive industry is a powerful economic driver. Each day, thousands of Mississippians work to ensure automotive manufacturers and suppliers deliver top-quality products to their consumers. Since 2011, Toyota's Mississippi team has produced the Corolla, the world's best-selling vehicle model, in Blue Springs. The plant and its 1,550 team members have achieved numerous milestones putting Toyota Mississippi and our automotive industry in the global spotlight, demonstrating 'Made in Mississippi' is a stamp of quality around the world." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs face toughest test in top 10 tussle | |
| Mississippi State has picked right back up where it left off last year when it finished as the national runner-up. The Bulldogs are ranked fifth in the country and are currently off to a 9-0 start. However, MSU faces its toughest test of the young season as it hosts No. 9 Oregon at 6 p.m. tonight on SEC Network. "I'm anxious to see us play (tonight)," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "I'm anxious to see us go up against Oregon and a top 10 team. I think it'll give us a great barometer of where we are." The Bulldogs have won 31 straight non-conference games during the regular season and have not lost a non-conference game in Starkville since March 30, 2014, a span of 30 games. State is 5-0 at Humphrey Coliseum so far this year and coming off a lopsided 86-48 victory against Little Rock on Sunday. |
| No. 9 Oregon faces huge challenge for No. 5 Mississippi State | |
 | Kelly Graves knows the challenge Vic Schaefer faced when he took over the Mississippi State women's basketball program. Graves understands rebuilding projects because he has done it throughout his career as a head coach. In stints at Saint Mary's (Calif.) and at Gonzaga, Graves developed programs that were among the most consistent in the nation. While at Gonzaga, Graves' teams faced off against Schaefer when he was an associate head coach at Texas A&M. When Schaefer took over at MSU in 2012, Gonzaga and MSU played in the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in November in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. MSU lost to Winthrop, UC Santa Barbara, and UCF at the tournament as part of a 13-17 season. "I spoke with him that first year. He had a good attitude," Graves said. "I watched them a couple of times in the tournament. They weren't very good." Schaefer has won more games every season since then. Last season, MSU won a program-record 34 games and lost to South Carolina in the national title game in its first appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. At 6 tonight (SEC Network), Graves and Oregon will take on No. 5 MSU (9-0) at Humphrey Coliseum. |
| Jordan Danberry hopes to help Mississippi State set tone on defense | |
| Vic Schaefer has made it clear he doesn't need a loss to get his attention. The Mississippi State women's basketball coach is equally transparent when it comes to the expectations he has for his team's defense. Every game, Schaefer routinely barks out instructions for his players -- usually his guards -- to get up closer to their players and to apply ball pressure. The commands are designed to help the Bulldogs set the tone on defense and make life miserable for their opponents. Little Rock encountered 10 minutes of misery Sunday afternoon in Humphrey Coliseum. Buoyed by the ball-hawking of transfer Jordan Danberry in her MSU debut, the Bulldogs limited the Trojans to 1-for-14 shooting in the third quarter. MSU parlayed that defensive energy to a 25-2 period that is used to pull away for an 86-48 victory. No. 5 MSU will look to build on that performance at 6 p.m. Wednesday (SEC Network) when it plays host to No. 9 Oregon in what should be a great test for its defense. |
| No. 25 Cincinnati sends Mississippi State to first loss | |
| No. 25 Cincinnati had plummeted to the fringe of the rankings and needed a confidence boost. The Bearcats got it against a previously unbeaten team. Jacob Evans III had 24 points and eight rebounds as Cincinnati recovered from its back-to-back losses and handed Mississippi State its first defeat, 65-50 on Tuesday night. The Bearcats (8-2) were coming off losses to crosstown rival Xavier and Florida that dropped them from No. 11. They ended the slump with a solid defensive showing against the Southeastern Conference's last unbeaten team. Mississippi State plays at UT Martin on Saturday. |
| Report: Auburn banned Corey Myers from campus 2 days before Clint Myers retired | |
 | Former softball associate head coach Corey Myers was banned from campus two days before his father, head coach Clint Myers, retired in August, according to an ESPN report. The ban was issued in a letter sent by the university's Title IX coordinator Kelley Taylor on Aug. 21. Clint Myers announced his sudden retirement on Aug. 23. "We have determined there is sufficient evidence ... to conclude that you violated the policy prohibiting 'pursuing or engaging in romantic relationships' with more than one student whom you supervised or taught while you were employed as associate head coach of the softball program," the letter, which was obtained by ESPN, read. The Title IX complaint was filed by former walk-on softball player Alexa Nemeth on May 31, just days after the conclusion of the season. She alleged abusive treatment, that Clint Myers "knowingly let his son Corey Myers have relations and pursue relations with multiple members of the team," and that the school attempted to cover it up. |
| Georgia football player arrested on forgery charge | |
| A Georgia football player is facing a felony charge of forgery in the first degree. Freshman defensive back Latavious Brini was booked into the Clarke County Jail Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. and was released on a $5,700 bond at 9:23 p.m. The arresting agency listed is the Clarke County Sheriff's Office. Brini, from Miami Gardens, Fla., has not played this season. He sustained a hamstring injury in the preseason and is headed for a redshirt season. Brini is the third Georgia player arrested since the SEC championship win on Dec. 2. |
| GoFundMe page: A&M defensive lineman Zaycoven Henderson 'wrongly accused' | |
| A GoFundMe.com fundraising page has been created to help offset the legal costs of Texas A&M defensive lineman Zaycoven Henderson so he can fight "a crime he did not commit," according to the post. The crowdsourcing campaign, created Tuesday by Zazja Henderson, is asking for $10,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, the campaign had raised $1,691 from 10 donors. "My brother is being wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit," the campaign page says. "We are going to fight this, but we are asking for a helping hand in this time of need." Among those who donated Tuesday were names matching those of several current and former Aggie football players. Former A&M and NFL defensive end Julien Obioha gave $500, matching the donation of former Aggie safety and current Washington Redskin Deshazor Everett. Current A&M senior wide receiver Damion Ratley gave $30. |
| College coaches' salaries increase despite threat of new tax | |
| A potential new tax on seven-figure salaries for employees of non-profits hasn't deterred schools from doling out huge contracts to new coaches. Football powers aiming for a national title have continued to pay the market rate for proven coaches, topped by the 10-year, $75 million deal for Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. If the GOP tax overhaul becomes law -- perhaps before the end of the year -- the school could be on the hook for $15 million in new taxes over the life of that contract. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill include a new 20 percent excise tax on salaries of $1 million or more paid by universities and other nonprofits. Universities also would take a financial hit from the elimination of a tax deduction for the donations that many schools require for the right to purchase season tickets. Donors currently get to deduct 80 percent of those contributions. Without the tax break, giving could plummet. How schools would absorb those costs is an open question. |
| How Does The FCC’s Deregulation Of Net Neutrality Impact College Athletics? | |
| The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) votes tomorrow (Dec. 14, 2017) to repeal Obama-era regulations on what is referred to as "net neutrality," a phrase coined by Tim Wu in his ground-breaking 2003 article. Wu argues that in order to achieve a goal of open and public access to information and ideas, all Internet content should be treated equally. The spirit of net neutrality is to prevent telecom companies from discriminating against various types of web traffic when it suits their business needs. What FCC chairman Ajit Pai's has proposed will not only change the way individuals and businesses conduct all aspects of their daily lives (commerce and social), but it has the potential to dramatically upend legacy revenue streams in the sport industry. |
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