| Wednesday, September 5, 2018 |
| Mississippi State to offer new graduate-level military engineering concentration | |
 | Recognized as one of the top universities in the nation for military-connected students, Mississippi State University is adding to that reputation by launching a new concentration in military engineering for its master of engineering program. The master of engineering concentration will be a multidisciplinary degree program that offers students flexibility as part of a planned individual program of study. It will be a 30-hour program with students required to take at least 18 hours of graduate-level engineering courses. The remaining 12 hours can be split between engineering classes and approved courses in other academic disciplines. "We're excited to offer this new concentration in military engineering to our Master's of Engineering students," said Jason Keith, dean of the Bagley College of Engineering. |
| Phil Hardin Foundation helps Meridian teachers follow their dreams | |
 | In a classroom full of colorful signs and new words on the board, Apryl Johnson is excited about doing something she's been waiting a long time to do. Johnson, who teaches at Parkview Elementary, is one of many educators in the Meridian Public School District helping students this year thanks to a grant from the Phil Hardin Foundation. The grant makes it possible for teachers to obtain their certification at MSU-Meridian. Jeff Leffler, director of graduate studies and associate professor of elementary education at MSU-Meridian, said the Meridian Public School District, like many other school systems, is struggling with a teacher shortage, and this partnership addresses that need. |
| Minimal damage reported in South Mississippi from Tropical Storm Gordon | |
 | After a night of uncertainty for many Coast residents, the worst seems to be over. The National Weather Service has canceled the tropical storm and hurricane warnings for the coastal counties of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson as Tropical Storm Gordon has moved through the area. And from early estimates, the damage caused by the arrival of Gordon seems to be minimal. Example: An outdoor basketball goal and several trash cans were tipped over in one Gautier neighborhood. Jackson County Emergency Management Director Earl Ethridge said there was no major damage reported overnight, but about 6,000 customers did lose electricity temporarily. The National Weather Service Mobile said the storm came ashore at Dauphin Island with sustained winds recorded at 62 with gusts to 74 miles an hour. |
| Chris McDaniel Cites Kinship with Bernie Sanders, Ronald Reagan at Petal Rally | |
 | "Contrary to what you might hear about me, I do not have horns on my head," Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel told a crowd gathered to listen and ask questions in Petal, Miss., on Aug. 30. "There's no tail, there's no pitchfork." It was the kickoff event for the Ellisville state senator's "Contact With Mississippi" tour with supporters holding signs designed to look like the Confederate-imagery-laden state flag with the words "Chris Country." The self-styled Reagan conservative spoke more in shades of Donald Trump, delivering right-wing salvos that aimed his ire not just at Democrats, but at "fat cats," corporate special interests and the leaders of his own party. Two times, McDaniel faced questions about his voting history. He appeared caught off guard when one participant asked him if he voted for Hyde-Smith when she was the Republican nominee as Mississippi's commissioner of agriculture and commerce in 2011 and 2015. |
| Chuck Middleton resigns from Mississippi House after more than 20 years | |
| Rep. America "Chuck" Middleton, D-Port Gibson, has become the fourth member of the Mississippi House to resign this year. Middleton, 58, announced his retirement Friday. "I want to thank the people of District 85 for giving me the opportunity to serve them for so long," Middleton said in a news release. "Through this position I was able to represent the best people in the state for over 20 years." Middleton was first elected in 1995. "I have found Chuck Middleton to be a man of honesty, integrity and great conviction," said House Speaker Philip Gunn. "I count him as a dear friend, and he will be sorely missed as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives." |
| With Kavanaugh Hearings Underway, Supreme Court Ads Fill the Airways | |
 | In Washington, all eyes may be on Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, but people who would rather watch "Bachelor in Paradise" won't be able to escape the Supreme Court debate either. That is especially true in some key states, where interest groups on both sides of the aisle have continued to spend on advertising seeking to influence senators who have not announced their positions on whether they will support President Donald Trump's second nominee for the nation's highest court. Tuesday kicked off a week of confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with plenty of fireworks that might find their way in future 2018 ads (or perhaps, 2020 presidential ads). |
| Signs grow for Dem wave in House race | |
 | Signs of a blue wave are increasing as lawmakers return to Washington for their final few weeks of legislative work before the crucial midterm elections. Democrats have led Republicans by at least 11 points in five of the last six polls asking voters whether they favor a generic Democrat or a generic Republican in the race for Congress. That margin only slightly trails the Democratic advantage in 2006, when the party won back control of Congress. Democrats also enjoy a fundraising advantage, one that is perhaps bolstered by polls showing their party is more enthusiastic about turning out to vote this November, figures borne out by higher turnout in Democratic primary contests in states across the country. Republicans take solace in a Senate map that bolsters their chances of growing a narrow majority, though Democrats also hope to break through and win the Senate majority. |
| Who wins 2018? Predictions for Every House & Senate Election | |
 | POLITICO analyzed every midterm race for the House, Senate and governor to determine who we think will win. We used historical trends, the latest polling data, evaluations of both parties' campaign strategies and extensive reporting in our analysis. Read about it here. Every race is rated on a scale. Solid seats heavily favor a particular party. The party has a narrow edge in a Lean seat. Likely seats fall somewhere in between while Toss-ups are races we think are too close to call. The House leans in favor of the Democrats. The Senate will likely go to the Republicans. |
| Donald Trump maintains attacks on Bob Woodward, calls for changes in libel laws | |
 | Stung by the latest tell-all book to hit his White House, President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on author Bob Woodward by suggesting Wednesday that the government tighten libel laws. "Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," Trump tweeted. "Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?" Trump also suggested changing the libel laws back during his presidential campaign -- in response to news stories he didn't like -- but has made no specific proposals in that area since moving into the White House in January of 2017. And Supreme Court rulings give speakers wide latitude to criticize and report on public officials. |
| Southern Republican senators reject Trump's criticism of Jeff Sessions | |
 | Southern Republican senators defended Jeff Sessions after an explosive new book by Bob Woodward recounted how President Trump called his attorney general a "dumb Southerner" and mocked his accent. In the forthcoming chronicle of Trump's White House, "Fear," Woodward writes that the president privately called Sessions a "traitor," saying: "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner ... He couldn't even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama." The remarks are said to have come during a conversation between Trump and his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, about Sessions's decision to recuse himself from the Russian investigation. They represent the most withering insults the president has directed at his attorney general in months of largely one-sided sniping. In a message on Twitter Tuesday night, Trump denied making the remarks. |
| Ole Miss can contextualize Confederate monuments, court finds | |
| An effort of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to block a University of Mississippi diversity plan, which includes the contextualizing of Confederate monuments, streets and campus buildings, has been rejected by the Court of Appeals. In a unanimous decision announced Tuesday, the 10-member court upheld a decision of Lafayette County Circuit Judge John Kelly Luther in favor of Ole Miss. The Court of Appeals rejected all of the arguments of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Judge Tyree Irving, writing for the Court of Appeals, said "this matter affects the public interest and may be brought, if at all, only by the attorney general or a district attorney. We find that SCV's members have no private right that entitles them to require that (the University of Mississippi) refrain from implementing its diversity plan." |
| Confederate group loses fight over Ole Miss' Civil War monuments changes | |
 | The state Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans to prevent the University of Mississippi from renaming Civil War monuments and statues on campus "This matter affects the public interest and may be brought, if at all, only by the attorney general or a district attorney," the Court of Appeals' opinion issued Tuesday said. "We find that SCV's members have no private right that entitles them to require that UM refrain from implementing its diversity plan. This issue is without merit." In 2014, Ole Miss announced a diversity plan to move, rename or recontextualize Confederate monuments, street names and building names at the Oxford campus. |
| UNC 'Silent Sam' statue debate resembles Ole Miss contextualization process | |
 | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received approval over Labor Day weekend to relocate the recently toppled "Silent Sam" statue to a "safe, legal and alternative location," according to a statement from Chancellor Carol Folt. Folt shared a letter last Friday explaining that the UNC System Board of Governors has granted her and the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees permission, for the first time in UNC history, to move the controversial statue. Last year, the University of Mississippi gained similar permission from the state attorney general to relocate a statue of a Confederate soldier after the statue's base and contextualization plaque were struck by a drunk driver. The statue, dedicated in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, currently stands in the Circle on Ole Miss' campus. After the collision, some students hoped the university would remove the statue. Instead, the base of the statue was repaired for more than $10,000 and a new plaque was installed. |
| Group blasts new LSU admissions policy, calls 'holistic' process 'lowering standards' | |
 | A group headed by a member of the Board of Regents blasted LSU President F. King Alexander on Tuesday for the university's recent decision to stop automatically disqualifying applicants who score too low on college board admissions tests like the ACT. "We must stop King Alexander from lowering standards at LSU!" a group called Put Louisiana First stated on its Facebook page, complete with a photo of Alexander wearing a crown. "It took years of dedicated effort to raise LSU's average ACT score for admitted freshmen from below 20 to 27. This is an incredible increase. ...For many years high performing students left for other state Flagship Universities never to return. Now students with the skills to build a bright future for Louisiana are remaining in state to contribute." "I hate to see King Alexander tear all of that down; that's my personal opinion," Richard Lipsey, a longtime member of the Board of Regents, said in an interview with The Advocate on Tuesday. |
| Suspended U. of Florida frat's 'Big Brother' event ended in hospital visit | |
 | A University of Florida fraternity's four-year suspension came after an alcohol-related hazing event that left one fraternity pledge hospitalized in critical condition with a blood-alcohol level four times the legal driving limit. A sworn complaint filed by UF Police suggested criminal hazing charges be brought against three UF Delta Chi brothers reportedly involved in the incident. The charges were dropped by the State Attorney's Office on July 13 due to what prosecutors said was a lack of sufficient evidence. The affidavit paints a picture of the February night that led to the fraternity's suspension, which ends in 2022. Delta Chi International Interim Executive Director Jerod Breit didn't respond to voicemails and a text message Tuesday afternoon. |
| Appeal filed in 2014 cyanide death of Texas A&M student | |
 | The family of a Texas A&M student who ingested sodium cyanide in a biochemistry lab and died in 2014 has filed an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, arguing that Texas A&M should be held responsible for the death. Attorneys representing the family of Christian Taylor filed the appeal last month after the Texas 10th Court of Appeals rejected arguments that the university could not claim sovereign immunity in the case. Kevin and Michelle Taylor, the 20-year-old's parents, filed a wrongful death action in August 2016 alleging that A&M was negligent in providing their son with a lab access key and in failing to properly secure the sodium cyanide within the lab. The suit argued that it is likely that A&M was aware of Taylor's mental condition, as he sought counseling through the university before the October 2014 incident. |
| No More Hard Liquor at Fraternity Houses, National Group Says | |
 | A large swath of fraternities will no longer allow hard liquor in chapter houses or at parties in most circumstances, according to a new policy approved by the major national association for fraternities. The North-American Interfraternity Conference's resolution is another sign that national fraternity leaders are phasing out their traditional hands-off approach, amid a wave of recent hazing deaths that have provoked widespread outrage. The resolution, approved last week at the group's annual meeting, states that its 66 member fraternities must "adopt and implement a policy by September 1, 2019, that prohibits the presence of alcohol products above 15% ABV in any chapter facility or at any chapter event, except when served by a licensed third-party vendor." The alcohol content of beer, wine, and malt beverages is typically below 15 percent. |
| In Race for Students, Colleges Offer to Match Tuition at Rival Schools | |
 | Escalating the heated battle for students, some private colleges are offering to match public in-state tuition. Oglethorpe University near Atlanta will match the tuition of any state flagship university for high-achieving students, and Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh said last week it will charge Pennsylvania residents the same price as local public universities. The discounts aren't limited to private schools. Public universities in Michigan, South Dakota and Nebraska now let students from other states pay as if they were locals. Some colleges, facing dwindling populations of local high school graduates, are motivated to attract students from across the country. Others are battling the perception they aren't affordable or just looking to boost their academic profiles. Schools are getting the word out via billboards and social-media campaigns. |
| Confederate flags fly at Clemson, and here's how students responded | |
 | Clemson University's student government is pushing back after the Confederate flag appeared near the Upstate South Carolina campus last week. Clemson's student Senate approved a resolution on Monday denouncing displays of the flag around campus, calling the flag "a symbol of hatred, racism, slavery and white nationalism." The resolution goes on to say the flag is associated with the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party. "The display of this flag is not illegal," the resolution reads. "(H)owever, it does promote racial tensions at a university which prides itself on its core values of honesty, integrity, and respect." On Aug. 26, several people were seen waving Confederate flags along S.C. 93 in Clemson and from the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 123. Images of the flag-wavers circulated on social media, sparking a reaction from students on the state's second-largest college campus. |
| Why White Parents Need to Do More Than Talk to Their Kids About Racism | |
| Margaret Hagerman, an assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State, writes for TIME: In a moment of deep racial and political divides, when explicit racism frequents our news and our communities, white parents have concerns about how to raise white kids who are kind, compassionate and, importantly, not racist. The advice they most often receive is simple: talk more to your kids about race and racism. This is certainly important. But I have seen first-hand that it is not enough. For two years, I studied 30 affluent, white families in a Midwestern community. My research shows that a crucially influential aspect of raising white kids in America is often overlooked: the social environments in which they grow up. |
| Lottery's passage a tribute to Alyce Clarke's persistence | |
 | Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: The word out of Jackson is now that Gov. Phil Bryant has signed the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Act into law, it will take about a year to get the lottery up and running. When that transpires, Mississippians who want to play the lottery and those non-gamblers who will merely benefit from the tax revenue should give pause to remember the great lady for whom the lottery act was named. There are few Mississippi legislators for whom I have greater personal and professional respect than Rep. Alyce Griffin Clarke, the Democrat from Jackson who represents District 69 in Hinds County. A home economist and nutritionist by education, the Yazoo City native is a 1961 graduate of Alcorn State University. The first African American woman to serve in the Mississippi Legislature, Mrs. Clarke's tenure in the Mississippi House began in 1985 and her committee assignments are those befitting a House member with 33 years of experience. |
SPORTS
| Humbled Nick Fitzgerald returns for No. 18 Mississippi State | |
 | Nick Fitzgerald has been one of the Southeastern Conference's better quarterbacks the past two seasons. That's why the first week of his senior season was such a humbling experience. Instead of preparing to lead Mississippi State against Stephen F. Austin, the veteran QB was running the scout team, serving a one-game suspension for a "violation of team policy" that happened last spring. "It was rough -- I take full responsibility for the reason I was out," said Fitzgerald, who declined to elaborate on what that reason was. "I embraced my role as scout team quarterback when I was in there. Just tried to give the defense the best look I possibly could." Despite the suspension, Fitzgerald appears to have the full backing of his team. |
| Mississippi State faces most pivotal game of 2018 | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Logan Lowery writes: Mississippi State sports are usually the to go-to topic of conversation when someone approaches me for small talk. And while I am perfectly capable of discussing a variety of other topics, people always want some sort of inside scoop on the Bulldogs. I get it and am used to it. It sorta just goes with the job. During the dog days of summer, folks tend to be looking ahead to football season and want to talk about key games on the schedule coming up in the fall. Ole Miss is always one of those contests and this year, Florida joined the mix as a highly-anticipated game. But the most pivotal game for No. 18 MSU, to me, is coming up Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Kansas State. |
| Texas A&M names new director of compliance | |
| Texas A&M named Jonathan Bowling its senior associate athletics director for athletics compliance on Tuesday. Bowling served as Tennessee's associate athletics director for football compliance and administration starting in 2016. He also worked at Alabama in the NCAA compliance field. Bowling replaces David Batson who was hired by the Southeastern Conference as assistant commissioner for compliance. |
| Nike's Kaepernick ad could affect sales of Tennessee Vols gear | |
 | Tennessee football fans have supported their team through losing seasons, a tough coaching search and a 14-year drought without a divisional championship to call its own. But some fans will no longer be supporting the Vols by wearing team gear as long as it has a swoosh mark on it. Some Volunteer fans are choosing to get rid of UT Nike gear and not buy any more apparel in response to Nike's new Colin Kaepernick advertisement, causing some concern for local business. "I don't want to represent a company that rewards Kaepernick's disrespect," longtime Vols fan Rachel King said in a Facebook message. "I even just bought a bunch of Nike gear for my nephew, but now he won't be wearing it." Kaepernick has not taken an NFL snap since 2016, but the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has continued to make headlines since he chose to sit and kneel during the national anthem that season to protest racial injustices. |
| Here's what we learned on Week 1 of the college football season in Mississippi | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: What we learned from the first week of Mississippi's college football season (and what we didn't)... Not sure what we learned at Starkville other than Stephen F. Austin will not be applying for SEC membership any time soon. State romped, 63-6, without its starting quarterback. If Ole Miss is Wide Receiver U., then State is Defensive Front U. The Bulldogs had 17 tackles for losses including three and a half each from Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat. It really was like men and boys. ...And, Joe Moorhead's first State team appeared sharply focused and ready to play. When you are a 48-point favorite and cover easily, that's a good day. |
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