| Monday, October 1, 2018 |
| Commissioner of Higher Education Al Rankins talks challenges, opportunities during Meridian visit | |
 | The state's new commissioner of higher education focused on challenges and opportunities during his visit to MSU-Meridian Friday morning. As part of a listening tour, Al Rankins held a forum to learn about issues in higher education. Rankins said challenges in higher education include funding cuts and keeping high-achieving students in the state. Another barrier, he said, is when the public accepts low outcomes. If students see a high bar being set, then achievement levels will rise, Rankins said. "We should raise the bar," he said. Terry Dale Cruse, head of campus at MSU-Meridian, noted the success of several programs at the school. They include the new professional MBA program, physician assistant program, and the alternative route certification program for teachers. |
| IHL Commissioner makes stop in Meridian | |
 | The head of higher education in Mississippi made a stop in Meridian Friday. During his visit to MSU Meridian, he took questions and provided answers on an array of issues. This was all part of his state-wide listening tour. Dr. Alfred Rankins, Junior says his plan of action is one for progress. The former Alcorn State University president was appointed to the state's highest education position in July. For almost two months he's been on a mission to visit all 8 of the state's publicly funded universities. He says he's not discouraged by the estimated 1% overall drop in enrollment at state universities this fall. "I don't think that it was due to tuition," says Dr. Rankins. "I think that it was just a function of really exceptional growth in past years. You see ebbs and flows in enrollment, and I think we're just at that point." |
| Starkville aldermen to decide on annexation | |
 | After nearly a year of work on an annexation study, Starkville's board of aldermen is poised to make a decision on whether the city will press on with annexing new territory. Aldermen will vote whether to approve an annexation plan and move ahead with an annexation ordinance. The decision point comes more than a month after consultant Mike Slaughter, with Oxford-based planning firm Slaughter and Associates, presented the findings of the study's second phase to aldermen. Starkville began the annexation study last fall, and it has progressed through the year since in two phases. In the first phase, aldermen set potential annexation areas for the study, and Slaughter's firmed researched demographics in those areas. The second phase focused on the costs of and new revenue from annexation and the changes Starkville's departments would need to make to properly serve the new areas. |
| How Mississippi farmers are bracing for tariff impacts | |
 | Roundabout midday, the sky darkened and it rained, visibility on the roads dropping fast, until the deluge exhausted itself and the horizon began to brighten. Out on Houston-Palestine Road, Tony Campbell looked up and around. Clouds still swelled overhead, but the air was clear of rainfall. To the south, there was sunshine instead of storm. "All right, I think we can get the rest of it," Campbell said. At the Campbell farm shop -- Baldwyn address, but just across the Itawamba County line, near the corners of Lee and Prentiss counties -- the business of the day was loading soybeans. A tractor-trailer sat waiting to be filled. The beans were bound for Decatur, Alabama. It's a bad time to be in beans, a crop that's become a fulcrum of economic pressure as the United States and China maneuver for trading leverage. |
| 'They're great little animals': The dusky gopher frog goes before the Supreme Court | |
 | When does the mood strike for a dusky gopher frog? In the winter or spring. At night. When the water in a unique kind of pond in a distinct kind of forest is at a specific depth. And it is raining. With such a finicky libido, it might come as no surprise that Rana sevosa -- spotted, big eyes, about three inches long and with a mating call that has been compared to a human's snore -- is one of the most endangered amphibians in the world. The fate of the dusky gopher frog will be the first order of business for the Supreme Court as it opens its new term Monday, one member short and at the center of a national debate over the man nominated to fill that position, Brett M. Kavanaugh. While that battle rages, the justices will focus on a frog. The frog, once thought to be extinct, lives in the wild exclusively in Mississippi, in the De Soto National Forest. |
| In Mississippi Senate race, an African American Democrat faces a Republican using a Confederate symbol | |
| For the past five months, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy has tried to remind Mississippians how he has served them in the past: a son of the Delta with three terms in the U.S. House who spent time as Bill Clinton's agriculture secretary. But even Espy's most ardent supporters worry that when many voters go to the polls on Nov. 6, what Espy has done will matter much less than what he is: a black man running for one of the highest elected offices in a state with a Confederate emblem on its flag. One of his opponents is hearkening to another version of the past: Republican Chris McDaniel, a conservative fond of provocative statements whose yard signs boast the "stainless banner" -- the second flag of the Confederate States of America. Espy is one of three prominent African American candidates running for statewide offices in the South in November. But the South has not suddenly morphed into a post-racial utopia. |
| Mike Espy campaigning nationwide for help with long-shot Senate upset | |
 | Mike Espy is traveling across Mississippi talking to voters at Rotary Clubs, churches and union halls. But sites in Mississippi aren't his only campaign stops. The Democrat is crisscrossing the country trying to convince donors and power brokers from New York to Chicago to contribute to his long-shot bid to become the first African-American senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Raising money out of state is crucial for many candidates, but it's even more critical for Espy whose core supporters in Mississippi's rural communities lack the deep pockets to help him mount a robust challenge to his two Republican rivals. Some political observers believe Espy has a shot, but say it's an uphill battle in the ruby red state and much of his chances depend on boosting African-American turnout and capitalizing on the fierce battle between his Republican opponents. |
| Mike Espy: Hyde-Smith is 'Irresponsible' and 'Wrong' on Kavanaugh | |
 | U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith drew fire from her Democratic rival, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, for her position on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who faces allegations of sexual assault. Ahead of accuser Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Hyde-Smith said in a Senate floor speech that it was her "duty" as Mississippi's first female in Congress to defend Kavanaugh. "These are serious allegations that merit further inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Espy said in a statement Friday afternoon. "Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith repeated her unwavering support for Judge Kavanaugh before Dr. Ford ever spoke. Voting on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court without a full investigation is irresponsible, wrong, and not the kind of leadership Mississippi deserves." The criticism is notable. Throughout the campaign, Espy has shied away from criticizing his opponents, telling the Jackson Free Press in August that he prefers to focus on his own ideas instead. |
| 'Believe Survivors,' Baria Tells Wicker and Hyde-Smith on Kavanaugh Vote | |
| Democratic U.S. Senate candidate David Baria on Thursday criticized both of Mississippi's U.S. senators for comments they made about the women who have accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. On Wednesday, Sen. Roger Wicker, whom Baria is seeking to unseat in November's midterm elections, praised a speech by fellow Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. In the remarks, she suggested Kavanaugh's accusers are participating in "character assassination." After Ford's testimony Thursday, Baria slammed the two Republican senators. "'Last minute character assassination' and 'no further delay' in confirmation aren't the type of comments made by a person who has an open mind to hearing what these women have to say," Baria tweeted, adding the hashtag, "#BelieveSurvivors." |
| Mike Espy Pulls out of U.S. Senate Debate in Jackson, Citing 'Hypocrisy' | |
| Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy has pulled out of an Oct. 4 debate in Jackson because the incumbent, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, will not attend. "A debate where the person occupying the office is not present is unacceptable to us," Espy campaign manager Oleta Fitzgerald wrote Friday in an email to the debate's sponsors. On Sept. 14, the Hyde-Smith campaign Communications Director Melissa Scallan told the Jackson Free Press the senator couldn't come to either the Oct. 4 debate or one scheduled for Oct. 23 because of conflicts with her Senate schedule. However, in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday, Espy campaign spokesman Danny Blanton pointed out that Hyde-Smith's recently announced rally in north Mississippi with President Trump on Oct. 2 is on a Tuesday. Espy and Hyde-Smith's Republican challenger, Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel, accused both opponents of "cowardice." |
| Espy says if Hyde-Smith not debating, he isn't either; McDaniel calls it 'a coordinated effort' | |
| Mike Espy, the leading Democratic candidate in the Nov. 6 Senate special election, is now saying he will not participate in a planned debate unless it also involves interim U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Republican Hyde-Smith, appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant in April to replace veteran Sen. Thad Cochran who resigned for health reasons, was the only one of the four candidates in the special election not to commit to the Thursday debate at Millsaps College, sponsored by both the college and Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Hyde-Smith had said the fact that the Senate is still in session in Washington, D.C., most likely would prevent her from participating. Friday afternoon, the Espy campaign, said if Hyde-Smith was not participating neither would he. "Secretary Espy believes it is important for Cindy Hyde-Smith to participate since she is holding that seat," said Othor Cain, a spokesman for Espy. |
| Analysis: Endorsements in 'blender' of what voters consider | |
 | Candidates in a U.S. Senate special election in Mississippi are promoting endorsements they're receiving from other politicians. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is backed by President Donald Trump, and they are scheduled to appear together at a rally Tuesday in northern Mississippi's DeSoto County. Democratic challenger Mike Espy is endorsed by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who have both traveled to Mississippi for him. Republican challenger Chris McDaniel is endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who issued a news release last week. Paul was the Libertarian nominee for president in 1988 and a Republican candidate for president in 2008 and 2012. A University of Mississippi political science professor, Marvin King, says most endorsements are unlikely to sway an election. |
| State attorney general wants to tax, regulate e-cigarettes | |
| Attorney General Jim Hood will propose during the 2019 legislative session that a use tax be placed on e-cigarettes or vaping devices similar to what is levied on cigarettes. The proposed tax will be part of a package of legislation designed to strengthen state regulations on the growing vape industry. Hood is part of a coalition, including the state Health Department, the non-profit Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, the state Youth Court judges and others, working to warn people (particularly parents) of the dangers of e-cigarettes. "These products are just ways to deliver nicotine -- a highly addictive substance, as anyone who has tried to quit smoking cigarettes knows," said state Health Officer Mary Currier. Hood contends the tax imposed on e-cigarettes should be equivalent to the 68 cents per pack on regular cigarettes. The only current tax on e-cigarettes is the 7 percent sales tax. |
| Canada agrees to join trade accord with U.S. and Mexico, sending new NAFTA deal to Congress | |
| Canada agreed late Sunday to join the trade deal that the United States and Mexico reached last month, meeting negotiators' self-imposed midnight deadline designed to allow the current Mexican president to sign the accord on his final day in office and giving President Trump a big win on trade. The new treaty, preserving the three-country format of the original North American Free Trade Agreement favored by business groups and congressional Republicans, is expected to be signed by Trump and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts in 60 days, with Congress likely to act on it next year. Senior administration officials told reporters on a late-night conference call that the deal validated Trump's approach to trade policy and fulfilled an important campaign promise to overhaul an agreement he had disparaged as one of the worst trade deals ever made. |
| Community is invited to MUW's Oktoberfest festival | |
| On Friday, Oct. 12, Mississippi University for Women will host its annual Oktoberfest event. Festivities will take place from 5-8 p.m. at the Bryan Green Gazebo on campus. Oktoberfest is one of the largest events planned by Student Life, according to Jessica Harpole, director of Student Life. Approximately 50 student organizations set up tables that include food, crafts, games and other entertainment. The W has celebrated Oktoberfest for several years. The family-oriented event is an opportunity for student organizations to raise money and involve the community. All interested individuals are eligible for the costume contest. There will be different age categories. Registration is from 5-5:45 p.m. The costume contest will begin 6 p.m. The rain location for Oktoberfest is Pohl Gym. |
| Violin and piano duo to present recital at MUW's Poindexter Hall | |
| Classical violinist Christopher Thompson and pianist Laura Thompson will present a recital on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Poindexter Hall. The program will feature masterworks from the standard violin repertoire written by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Eugene Ysaye and Jeno Hubay, as well as compositions by Mississippi University for Women composers Joe L. Alexander and Valentin M. Bogdan. The event is free and open to the public. |
| 'Healthy children learn better': UMMC clinics bring health care to Jackson, Delta schools | |
| Family nurse practitioner Anne Norwood took a student's head in her hands during a routine examination Thursday morning, and joked with the third-grader about a grey hair. "It's my lucky spot!" said Jashon Jones, a giggly student who attends Johnson Elementary School in Jackson. Jones was in his school's in-house clinic for a wellness checkup, something all the students there can receive thanks to a partnership between the University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Nursing, and the Jackson Public School District. The 425 students who attend Johnson Elementary have access to in-house medical care. UMMC runs clinics inside Johnson and Galloway elementary schools in Jackson, as well as four schools in the South Delta School District. Both district and UMMC officials say the programs help improve attendance and save parents the hassle of getting their child to a doctor. |
| Southern Miss academic reorganization one year later: 'Work in progress' | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi's efforts to reorganize its academic structure recently passed the one-year mark. University officials Tuesday convened a panel of five faculty members involved in the reorganization to talk about how it has progressed. The Hattiesburg American also contacted faculty members outside the process to get their opinions. Faculty involved are giving their efforts high marks toward improving collaboration and cooperation between disciplines and faculty. They say, ultimately, the reorganization will benefit the university's No. 1 customer -- the student. But other faculty are a little less enthusiastic. One described the reorganization process as "confusing" and a "work in progress," while the other said "students are struggling." Reasons for the reorganization included combating the steady decline in state funding, moving toward a trend in more scholarly collaborative work, reducing struggles with declining enrollment and confronting challenges related to student learning and disciplinary knowledge. |
| New U. of Alabama building to be named after couple | |
 | The University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business launched a fundraising campaign Friday for a new academic building that will be named after Marillyn A. Hewson and her husband, James, the alumni who have donated $15 million toward the project. "The University of Alabama is a special place for James and me," said Marillyn A. Hewson, who is chairwoman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. "We met here, we were married here, we worked here. We both launched our careers here." Standing in front of Bidgood Hall just down the block from the Gorgas House where they were married, the couple said they felt it was important to give back and wanted to make an impact with education. "It is this place and this building that brought us back," James Hewson said. |
| Auburn, Bama food drive competition kicks off Monday | |
 | Since 1994, Auburn University and the University of Alabama have taken part in a competition that has nothing to do with football. Each year, both schools host a food drive competition to benefit their local communities, and this year marks the 25th anniversary. Auburn's Beat Bama Food Drive and Alabama's Beat Auburn Beat Hunger efforts have raised more than six million pounds of food throughout the competition, according to a press release from Auburn University. "It is absolutely the largest food drive of the year for us," said Martha Henk, executive director of the Food Bank of East Alabama. "The timing of it is absolutely wonderful, because it helps to set us up with food that we can distribute through the holiday season. So, the timing really couldn't be better." |
| U. of Alabama diversity officer to speak Tuesday | |
| The University of Alabama's vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion will speak Tuesday during an event organized by the League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa. Christine Taylor, UA's first chief diversity officer, came to UA in 2017 after holding similar roles at other campuses including Purdue University. The event will be from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday at Hotel Capstone, 320 Paul W. Bryant Drive. Admission is free and non-members are welcome. An optional buffet lunch will be available for $11. |
| Black faculty, staff group at U. of South Carolina raises concerns about inclusion in leadership | |
 | A group of black faculty and staff at the University of South Carolina is calling out the school because they say it's too white at the top. The Black Faculty and Staff Association at USC issued a statement Friday morning that said a "major" salary gap exists between black and white employees at USC. "In addition, there are very few African-American deans, vice presidents, department chairs, or the heads of departments at the University of South Carolina," the statement read. The association released information about some of the highest paid faculty and staff at USC, not including the athletic department. Data released by the group shows that white people far outnumber black people in high-paying careers and leaderships positions at USC. |
| U. of Tennessee breaks ground on $129M engineering building | |
 | The University of Tennessee at Knoxville broke ground for a new research and engineering building Friday afternoon. Construction on the $129 million, 228,000 square foot building is scheduled to be completed in 2021. University officials, donors and students attended the groundbreaking ceremony, which was held at Gate 26 of Neyland Stadium due to weather. "This new complex will continue to allow us to provide an excellent education for our students," Mark Dean, interim dean of the Tickle College of Engineering, said. The building will be used by the Tickle College of Engineering and house the freshman fundamentals curriculum, the Joseph C. and Judith E. Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program, the Min H. and Yu-Fan Kao Innovation and Collaboration Studio, the department of nuclear engineering, and laboratories for research. The building will include 23 laboratories for the nuclear engineering program. |
| Common Core law hampers LSU Regents study on admissions standards | |
 | Four years ago, seething tea-partiers and their allies stormed the State Capitol to stop Louisiana from joining Common Core, an effort to raise academic standards in the nation's schools. Dozens of bills were debated. Only one truly succeeded: a measure by then-Rep. John Schroder, R-Covington, that criminalized sharing student data without parental permission. Today, Common Core is the everyday curricula. And the Board of Regents is wondering how -- with their hands tied by Schroder's privacy law -- their auditors can take a deep enough dive into college admission standards for an audit demanded after LSU administrators unilaterally changed theirs. Why aren't we looking deeper?" asked Regent Edward D. Markle, a New Orleans attorney. "Clearly we need standards and we also need to know what happened in the past. ... Isn't there information out there for us to grab that we would allow us a better understanding of performance?" Well, no, replied Deputy Commissioner Larry Tremblay. In fact, the Regents had been specifically forbidden from accessing high school transcripts and student data by Schroder's privacy law. |
| Civil rights figure James Meredith tells audience at LSU Lab School fight for equality not over | |
| James Meredith, the first black student to enroll at all-white University of Mississippi, suggested Friday that, despite all the progress of the past 56 years, his fight is far from over and he's still fighting it, as he always has, on his own terms. Meredith's successful effort to integrate Ole Miss in 1962, with the help of thousands of federal troops sent by then President Kennedy, earned him a place in history. A lifelong loner and sometimes political conservative, Meredith famously rejected the mantle of civil rights icon and the movement that went by that name. "I could have been the biggest, richest black in America if I'd wanted to cooperate," Meredith said. Speaking to an audience in the auditorium at LSU Lab School, Meredith explained that he saw "civil rights" as limited to just "three or four" rights that the movement was promising to blacks. But that was not necessarily all the rights white Americans enjoyed. |
| UGA physician tracks tuberculosis using cellphone records | |
 | Tuberculosis is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide, and though the World Health Organization has said the average global burden of disease is on the decline, some areas of the world continue to feel its impact. Researchers at the University of Georgia have received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to understand the local epidemiology of TB in African urban settings and help these communities develop targeted interventions to reduce transmission. Led by physician and epidemiologist Christopher Whalen at UGA's College of Public Health, the team will estimate where TB is being transmitted by combining information about patient movement with genetic information from the bacteria itself. Understanding where transmission is happening is the key to effective control, said Whalen. |
| Texas A&M's Young, other university leaders discuss issues facing higher education | |
 | As the Texas Legislature prepares to meet in January, leaders in higher education have their eyes on the upcoming session to see if there will be any changes to state funding. Four leaders from Texas universities throughout the state met with Dallas-based State Sen. Royce West to discuss the economics of higher education in a panel Friday morning at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Currently, 30 percent of public universities' funding comes from the state, with 31 percent coming from students and their families and federal and institutional resources making up the remaining 39 percent, Texas Tribune higher education reporter and panel moderator Shannon Najmabadi said. Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young was among the leaders on the panel, which he said offered both the reality of higher education and a reality check. |
| U. of Missouri research projects may help English language learners, students with disabilities | |
 | Separate education research grants in progress at the University of Missouri may help English language learners understand algebra and open careers in STEM fields to students with disabilities. The projects also have implications related to legislation approved in Missouri to create an online science, technology, engineering and match curriculum. The first research project is a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study "flipped instruction" of algebra. In flipped instruction, teachers send video lessons home with students to view, then class time is used for discussion and problem solving. This is the second year of what is to be a three-year project. Zandra de Araujo, MU associate professor of math education, is one of the researchers. "We are in the first significant year of data collection," de Araujo said. "We're in 30 classes this year." |
| 'This Is Much More Important': How Professors Taught the Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing | |
 | Satish Kolluri, an associate professor of communication studies at Pace University, often shows students in his political-satire course clips from The Colbert Report and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. But the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing he streamed during his class on Thursday, looking into whether the Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh committed sexual assault in high school, was a break from the usual. It was a historic moment that, in itself, could relate to his courses. The discussions prompted by the hearing have extended to campuses across the country. While some professors canceled their classes so students could watch the hearing, others incorporated it into their courses to help students understand the proceedings, and watch history unfold together. |
| M.B.A. Applications Keep Falling in U.S., This Year Hitting Even Elite Schools | |
 | Applications to American M.B.A. programs dropped for a fourth straight year, with even elite universities starting to show signs of struggling to lure young professionals out of the strong job market. For the first time in nearly a decade, waning interest in the traditional master of business administration degree hit business schools that draw the most applications, including Harvard and Stanford universities, according to a survey of 360 schools by the Graduate Management Admission Council, a nonprofit that administers the GMAT admissions exam. Those top-tier programs were until recently thought to be immune to the shakeout plaguing less-prestigious programs. Until recently, international students had been a bright spot for U.S. business schools. Now, foreign students face steeper hurdles to getting work visas after graduation, leading fewer to apply to U.S. schools, university administrators say. |
| Biologists irate at NSF's new one-proposal cap | |
| The National Science Foundation (NSF) in Alexandria, Virginia, has made several tweaks to its grant proposal policies in recent years to keep staff and reviewers from being overwhelmed by the rising number of submissions. But some biologists say the latest change goes too far. Last month, NSF's biology directorate announced that researchers could submit only one proposal a year in which they are listed as a principal investigator (PI) or co-PI. The cap applies only to the directorate's three core tracks and excludes several other NSF programs from which many biologists receive support. The new limit is intended to reduce the number of rejected proposals resubmitted without major changes, says Alan Tessier, the biology directorate's deputy assistant director. NSF would like scientists to collaborate at a deeper level than just "carving up the science" and listing each other on the grant proposal's cover sheet, Tessier says. |
| Student at center of U. of South Alabama noose incident has racist past | |
 | A student who admitted to hanging two nooses from a tree on the campus of the University of South Alabama has made racist and inflammatory remarks on his social media accounts. Al.com reports that Reagan Barr, 22, who was studying botany at USA, has been suspended after admitting to hanging the nooses from a campus tree. The incident happened Tuesday night. The following day, USA President Troy Waldrop issued a statement condemning the activity. Fox10 in Mobile reports that school officials initially denied the presence of the nooses. The Tuscaloosa News via AP reported that school officials said the nooses were placed because it is getting close to Halloween. According to AL.com, Barr said he has a form of autism, was also known as the Confederate-Cowboy on Twitter where he made a series of racist, homophobic and otherwise inflammatory comments. Barr's social media presence has since been scrubbed. |
| First impressions set the tone | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: As it has been said time and time again, "You only get one chance to make a first impression." Unfortunately, it appears that many of the 21st century youth fail to understand that this applies to written communications as well as professional attire. For example, writing letters to request someone to craft a letter of recommendation or thanking someone for having done something especially thoughtful in a professional setting are formal letters. Therefore, they should not begin with "Hey." They should also not end with "Cool," "Catch you later," "Take care," or simply the individual's first name. |
| Uncertainty dims hallelujah economic times for Republicans | |
 | Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: Stimulated by Trump's tax cuts, the national economy grew 4.2% in the second quarter (final BEA estimate), up from 2.1% in the first quarter. Corporate profits jumped 3.0%, up from 1.2%. The national unemployment rate at 3.9% is the lowest since December 2000. Total nonfarm employment is nearly 150 million, the highest ever. And average wages are the highest ever. This should be hallelujah time for those in charge, i.e. Republicans. It's not. That nasty thing called uncertainty is the problem. "The one thing all human beings do when they are confronted with uncertainty is pull back, withdraw, disengage," said former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, "and that means economic activity, which is really dealing with people, just goes straight down." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State turf crew works round clock to get field ready | |
| Joe Moorhead and many of his Mississippi State football players barely have time to gather their things and to leave Davis Wade Stadium by the time maroon-clad men take the field again. By the time one of the members of the turf management crew mounts a lawnmower Saturday, it has been barely two hours following Florida's 13-6 victory against then-No. 23 MSU. But the process of maintaining the playing surface at Davis Wade Stadium almost never stops. "Safety is always No. 1," MSU's superintendent of sports turf Brandon Hardin said. "We do a field hardness test on this field to make sure that it's where it needs to be. Playability, those are always the top two. Then you get to looks. Fans always tell me, 'Oh the field looks great. You make it look great.' That's not what we're shooting for. We're shooting for safety and playability first, then all the paint stuff comes in." |
| Study may explain why that big buck disappeared | |
| Two years of data from a 3-year study is already revealing insight into buck movement and core home ranges. "Sixty percent of the bucks have a sedentary personality," said Steve Demarais, professor of wildlife ecology and management at the Mississippi State University Deer Lab. "They basically live in one contiguous area. "Forty percent are living in two home ranges during the (hunting) season that are separated by several miles. They're living in more than one home range during the season. We're seeing two different personalities. Sixty percent are sedentary and 40 percent are more mobile." Identifying two distinctly different personalities among mature white-tailed deer bucks is just some of the information that is beginning to come to light from a study of deer movement conducted by the MSU Deer Lab and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. |
| First practice in the books for Mississippi State men | |
| The Mississippi State men's basketball team held its first official practice of the 2018-19 season on Friday at the Mize Pavilion inside Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs are led by fourth-year coach Ben Howland who guided Mississippi State to a 25-12 record and a NIT Final Four appearance. The 25 victories were the fourth-highest season total in program history only behind the 1995-96, 2001-02 and 2003-04 squads. Mississippi State returns its top six scorers from last season who combined for 2,264 points and 83.4 percent of the team's scoring. The Bulldogs also have brought in a talented group of newcomers and a consensus top 20 recruiting class. Mississippi State faces Austin Peay for its regular season opener on Friday, Nov. 9. The Bulldogs are slated to face eight non-conference opponents who made postseason play a season ago. |
| Bulldogs split scrimmage at Jacksonville State | |
| In its lone scrimmage of the fall, Mississippi State baseball split a pair of five-inning contests at Jacksonville State on Sunday helping the Gamecocks open up the brand-new Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Offensive leaders included Jake Mangum with two hits and one run scored in the two games. Justin Foscue had a pair of extra base hits -- one in each game -- scored twice and drove in one run. JT Ginn and Basiel Williams each reached base twice and scored a run in game two; Ginn with two walks and Williams with a walk and a hit. Cole Gordon was the lone Bulldog hitter to drive in multiple runs with his two-RBI single in game two. |
| Mullen victorious in his return to Starkville | |
| When Florida needed a fourth-down stop late in the fourth quarter, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham made a bold call with a safety blitz. Coach Dan Mullen knew the risk of leaving that part of the field open and loved it anyway. "I've learned one thing through the years," the offensive-minded Mullen said with a grin. "Shut my mouth in that situation." A few moments later, Florida's Donovan Stiner blasted through the line of scrimmage, sacked Nick Fitzgerald and put an exclamation point on the defense's dominant performance in a 13-6 victory over No. 23 Mississippi State on Saturday night. |
| Auburn recharges, reloads ahead of first SEC away game at Mississippi State | |
| After a long day turned to night, and a weary trudge across a rain-soaked field last Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn football team got back together for practice Sunday -- to keep on trudging, and to keep working to improve as tough sledding is only gets tougher for the Tigers. Banged-up, reshuffling and still ironing out corrections, Auburn is getting set to travel for an SEC road game at Mississippi State this Saturday in Starkville, Miss. It'll mark Auburn's first away game of the season, after a neutral-site matchup with Washington in the opener and then four straight home games, and it'll come after the Tigers survived Southern Miss 24-13 in a homecoming game that was delayed for two hours and 44 minutes, and saw Auburn lose three offensive starters for the game with injuries. But by the time the Tigers got back together Sunday, the team was ready to keep working, and keep moving toward more challenges ahead, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said. |
| LSU football honors basketball player Wayde Sims, who was killed Friday | |
| On a rain-soaked Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, LSU held a moment of silence before its game against Ole Miss to honor basketball player Wayde Sims, who was shot to death one day earlier. "LSU mourns the loss of one of our own," LSU public-address announcer Dan Borne said. "He will be missed by us all." For several moments, all that could be heard was the hum of a helicopter overhead. Borne also changed his normal introduction of "It's Saturday Night in Death Valley" to "It's Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium." Sims, who grew up near campus and followed his father's footsteps to play basketball at LSU, suffered a fatal gunshot wound during an altercation outside a Subway restaurant early Friday morning. He was 20. At a news conference Friday, stunned school administration members gathered and spoke of their grief. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said it was perhaps "the saddest day I've ever experienced in my career." |
| Trial expected to explore 'underbelly' of college basketball | |
| When Brian Bowen Jr., one of America's brightest high school basketball stars, announced in June 2017 that he would attend the University of Louisville, a school that had not been on anyone's radar as his possible destination, sportswriters called it a coup that "came out of nowhere." Louisville coach Rick Pitino agreed. "In my 40 years of coaching," he said, "this is the luckiest I've been." In a trial that begins Monday, federal prosecutors will argue that the signing wasn't luck at all but the result of a payoff to Bowen's father. Former sports agent Christian Dawkins, former Amateur Athletic Union coach Merl Code and former Adidas executive James Gatto have all pleaded not guilty to charges they plotted to pay Bowen's father $100,000 in exchange for his son's promise to commit to Louisville. |
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