| Wednesday, October 3, 2018 |
| Rep. Gregg Harper to donate papers to Mississippi State | |
 | Mississippi State University announced on Monday that U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper will donate his congressional papers to the university during a formal ceremony on campus Friday, Oct. 5. The university said in a media release that Harper and MSU President Mark E. Keenum plan to sign the donor agreement during at 2:30 p.m. ceremony at the Old Main Academic Center. The collection will be housed in MSU Libraries' Congressional and Political Research Center, which now includes 10 congressional collections and numerous other state and local officials' collections. Friday's ceremony is free and open to the public and will also include remarks from U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Harper announced in January that he would not seek reelection. As a security precaution, MSU is asking those entering the Turner A. Wingo Auditorium at Old Main Academic Center to be mindful of metal detectors. Anyone planning to attend the event is encouraged to arrive early. |
| Trump train rolls into Southaven | |
 | On their T-shirts, some supporters called themselves bikers, while others identified as veterans. Throughout the line outside the Landers Center in Southaven, there were women, students, police officers, firefighters and simply Mississippians. Emphatically, all were "For Trump." The 45th President rolled into the Magnolia State to speak alongside U.S. Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith on Tuesday. The rally was slated to start at 6:30 p.m., but the patriotic party in the parking lot kicked off much earlier. "I was really thrilled and excited when I heard that he would come to Mississippi," Lee County Republicans Vice President Jimmy Stephens said. "There's so much energy here and so many people here that are so excited about some of the changes that President Trump has made." Supporters at the front of the line said they arrived before 9 a.m. By 2 p.m., medical staff were busy passing out ice packs, while opportunistic salespeople advertised two bottles of water for $5. |
| Crowds fill Southaven center to hear Trump defend Kavanaugh, urge Republican votes | |
 | People started lining up as early as 4 in the morning Tuesday for a chance to see President Donald Trump -- who arrived in Southaven just after 5:30 that night. Trump came to Southaven to stump for Cindy Hyde-Smith's campaign for the U.S. Senate, but the audience came for a variety of reasons. "We're just here to support the president," said Mike McCarter, wearing an Ole Miss shirt and a Make America Great Again hat. Lisa McCarter's shirt read, "Adorable deplorable." McCarter said he hoped to hear how the president will stand behind his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault but has denied the accusations. He also wanted to hear about the midterm elections. Buddy Coggin, a farmer from Nettleton, Mississippi, said he appreciated Trump's endorsement of Hyde-Smith. In the midst of the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct, Washington needs a woman in office, he said. |
| Trump's Southaven stop energizes support | |
 | President Donald Trump touched on familiar themes as he rallied support for Republican candidates before a packed Landers Center crowd estimated at about 12,000 Tuesday evening. The President in particular spoke in defense of his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, and went a bit on the offensive in speaking about the woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault more than 30 years ago, Christine Blasey Ford. "Guilty until proven innocent," Trump said. "That's very dangerous for our country." While the President spent much of his time on Kavanaugh, while relating the administration's successes and the Democratic party's efforts at obstructionism, the main reason for his arrival in Southaven Tuesday was to offer his support for Mississippi U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who he called "a true Mississippi patriot." Republicans supporting Hyde-Smith hope Trump's appearance in DeSoto County can help tip the scales in her favor. |
| Trump defends Kavanaugh, stumps for Hyde-Smith in Southaven | |
| President Donald Trump defended his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's qualifications -- amid allegations of sexual misconduct against him -- during a stump speech for U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's election campaign in Southaven Tuesday night at the Landers Center. Trump mentioned Hyde-Smith about 30 minutes into his 70-minute speech Tuesday night, billed as a Trump rally. Thessalia Merivaki, assistant professor of American politics at Mississippi State University, said Trump's appearance in Southaven is a sign of the race's competitiveness. "Judging from the success of Mr. (Ron) DeSantis in Florida, in winning the Republican (gubernatorial) nomination for Florida after Mr. Trump endorsed him on Twitter, the president's endorsement is expected to work in Mrs. Hyde-Smith's favor," Merivaki wrote in an e-mail. |
| President Trump holds rally in Southaven | |
| President Donald Trump declared U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith a friend and an ally of his agenda during a packed-house campaign stop in Mississippi Tuesday night. Winding up with a recitation of his political achievements and commentary on current events, Trump eventually invited Hyde-Smith onto stage for a full-throated endorsement. "A vote for Cindy is a vote for me and 'Make American Great Again,'" Trump said, identifying Hyde-Smith with his signature campaign slogan. Her most high-profile opponents in the jungle-primary style special election are Chris McDaniel and Mike Espy. Trump didn't mention McDaniel, but slammed Espy, tying him to Democrat congressional leaders Chuck Schumer in the Senate and Nancy Pelosi in the House. For her part, Hyde-Smith drew a subtle distinction between herself and McDaniel, who supported Ted Cruz for president throughout much of the 2016 presidential primaries. |
| Trump, citing Kavanaugh fight and GOP agenda, ignores McDaniel and rallies for Hyde-Smith | |
| Minutes before President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday, Carol Humphries expressed strong support for state Sen. Chris McDaniel, the anti-establishment conservative gunning for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. But as Trump walked off the stage after enthusiastically endorsing Hyde-Smith, Humphries admitted she had reconsidered her support for McDaniel. "You know, I'm having second thoughts on that one," she said. "I didn't realize how much she'd helped the president. I believe the president changed my mind. He did it. He accomplished his mission. I believe I will (vote for her.)" Swaying the minds of McDaniel supporters was the top priority for the national and state Republican Party on Tuesday. Though McDaniel doesn't have the president's support, his presence in the 2018 midterms was evident Tuesday night at the rally. When Trump introduced Hyde-Smith and at several other times when Hyde-Smith was mentioned during the speech, a group of about three dozen McDaniel supporters booed. |
| In Mississippi, Trump mocks Ford's claims against Kavanaugh | |
 | President Donald Trump ignited a crowd at a campaign rally in Mississippi on Tuesday by mocking a woman who has claimed she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh decades ago. The audience laughed as Trump ran through a list of what he described as holes in Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She testified that Kavanaugh pinned her on a bed, tried to take off her clothes and covered her mouth in the early 1980s, when the two were teenagers. Kavanaugh has denied Ford's allegations. It marked the sharpest criticism by Trump of Ford since she came forward publicly with the allegation last month. As Republicans fight headwinds ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm election, Trump sought to rally his supporters behind GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. |
| Trump mocks Kavanaugh accuser at Mississippi rally | |
 | President Trump mocked the account of a woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of assault and told a Mississippi crowd that the #MeToo movement was unfairly hurting men. Trump, in a riff that has been dreaded by White House and Senate aides, attacked the story of Christine Blasey Ford at length -- drawing laughs from the crowd. The remarks were his strongest attacks yet of her testimony. "'I don't know. I don't know.' 'Upstairs? Downstairs? Where was it?' 'I don't know. But I had one beer. That's the only thing I remember,' " Trump said of Ford, as he impersonated her on stage. "I don't remember," he said repeatedly, apparently mocking her testimony. Trump then told the crowd that men were going to be fired from their jobs after being unfairly accused of sexual harassment. Trump made the remarks at a freewheeling rally that comes as the FBI investigates allegations that the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted female students while in high school and college. |
| Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford testimony at Mississippi rally | |
 | President Trump at a rally on Tuesday night mocked testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. "36 years ago, this happened," Trump said at the rally in Mississippi, referring to the party in 1982 where Ford alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. Trump then launched into a mocking imitation of Ford as she testified at last week's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, prompting applause and laughter from the audience. Trump's statements were a sharp departure from his comments last Friday, where he referred to Ford's testimony as "very compelling." Kavanaugh has unequivocally denied Ford's allegation and provided his calendars from the period, which do not show the party she described. |
| Trump mocks Blasey Ford, endorses Hyde-Smith at Southaven rally | |
 | U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the controversy surrounding Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation hearing, endorsed incumbent U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's candidacy and touted his successes at a "Make America Great Again" rally in Southaven on Tuesday evening. Around 5:30 p.m., before Trump took the stage, Ole Miss student and Miss Mississippi 2018 Asya Branch sang the national anthem. After praising Gov. Phil Bryant, Trump invited him to the stage. Trump also gave shoutouts to other Mississippi politicians Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, U.S. Reps. Trent Kelly and Gregg Harper and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. "Finally, I want to introduce the person we are all here tonight to support -- a true Mississippi patriot, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith," Trump said. Trump ended the rally by urging constituents again to vote for Hyde-Smith and Wicker. |
| Democrats have a shot at Mississippi Senate seat in November | |
 | President Trump is rallying in Mississippi Tuesday evening in support of Republican Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith. Both Senate seats in Mississippi have elections this year; Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is up for re-election, and Hyde-Smith is seeking victory in a special election, after she was chosen by Gov. Phil Bryant in March to fill Sen. Thad Cochran's seat after he retired. Hyde-Smith's victory is no sure thing, since she is facing a challenge from the right by another Republican candidate, Chris McDaniel, and Democrats have put forward a surprisingly strong candidate in former Rep. Mike Espy, who was the agriculture secretary during the Clinton administration. The divided Republican electorate could benefit Espy. Espy may have a slight advantage over Southern Democrats who have run in the past few cycles, given that he is running in a year that voter enthusiasm among Democrats has been strong. |
| Espy takes aim at special election opponents | |
| Striking a combative stance in Lee County Monday night, Mike Espy took heavy swipes at his two most significant opponents in a U.S. Senate special election. Without mentioning either Cindy Hyde-Smith or Chris McDaniel by name, he unmistakeably singled out each of these candidates for sharp and pointed criticism. "We don't want someone who makes judgments without facts, and we don't want someone who's just plain-old racist," Espy said. "I am offering a reasonable alternative." Hyde-Smith drew Espy's criticism for her stance on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. McDaniel drew Espy's fire for remarks offered in response to a question about black voters in Mississippi. Espy's comments directed toward McDaniel echoed in more strident fashion criticisms from Gov. Phil Bryant and state GOP chairman Lucien Smith. |
| Espy, McDaniel buoyed by polling as Trump stumps for Hyde-Smith | |
 | An NBC News poll released Tuesday shows Mississippi U.S. Senate candidates Mike Espy and Cindy Hyde-Smith neck and neck, with Chris McDaniel remaining in striking distance and a large number of undecided voters. Both Democrat Espy and Republican McDaniel viewed the poll as welcome news, coming on the same day President Donald Trump planned to hold a rally in support of Republican Hyde-Smith in Southaven. "This poll, just like others, shows the momentum Mike Espy has in Mississippi," his campaign manager, Oleta Fitzgerald, said in a release. "This poll confirms that Mississippi voters are tired of the same old Left versus Right political rhetoric." McDaniel campaign spokesman Tanner Watson issued a statement that said, "Whether you're referencing (a poll done for a McDaniel-supporting PAC) that has us leading by 8 points or NBC's poll that has us within 5, the numbers demonstrate what we are seeing on the ground in Mississippi ... Powered by hard-working volunteers across Mississippi, our momentum is surging, and Hyde-Smith's campaign is fading." |
| NBC poll: Gov. Bryant gets high marks; confidence in economy, legislature tepid | |
| State Economist Darrin Webb told legislative leaders during a September budget hearing more of the same -- the Mississippi economy is not doing as well as the national economy. "The state's economy has struggled to gain the momentum in the years since the Great Depression," which started in 2008, Webb said, echoing his comments from recent, previous meetings with legislative leaders. Regardless of what the employment numbers or the state economist might say, Mississippians' opinions are almost evenly split on the health of the state economy, according to an NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll released Tuesday. Poll results reveal 50 percent of Mississippians find the economy very good or fairly good and 49 percent saying it is fairly bad or very bad. According to the poll, 52 percent of Mississippians approve of the job of President Donald Trump with 35 percent strongly approving and 46 percent disapproving (37 percent strongly disapproving.) |
| Amid Positive Polls, Jim Hood to Announce Run for Mississippi Governor | |
| Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood will kick off a campaign for governor on Wednesday, Oct. 3, he announced in a statement on Monday, Oct. 1. Hood's expected decision comes in the wake of a Millsaps-Chism State of the State Survey released Tuesday showing him with a 23-point net positive approval rating; 50 percent of Mississippians approve of the job he's doing compared to just 27 percent who disapprove. Among independents, Hood's approves lead disapproves by 28 points. Among Republican-leaning voters, approves lead by 21 points. Even among voters who describe themselves as "strong Republicans," Hood is 15 points above water. Chism Strategies is a Democratic pollster in the state. |
| Rep. Chris Johnson announces he'll run for retiring Billy Hudson's seat | |
 | It's been one day since Sen. Bill Hudson, R-Hattiesburg, announced he would not seek reelection in 2019, and already someone has thrown his hat into the ring. Rep. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, said Tuesday he will seek the seat of the retiring Hudson. Hudson made his plans clear Monday at a Forrest County Supervisors meeting. Johnson, 40, praised Hudson for his distinguished record of public service, including more than a decade as senator serving Forrest and Perry counties. Johnson, a small business owner, was first elected to the Mississippi House in 2015, serving an area that includes Forrest and Lamar counties. In the House, Johnson has served on several committees and is vice chairman of the Public Health and Human Services Committee. |
| McConnell Presses Kavanaugh Vote as FBI Probe Nears an End | |
 | Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pressed Tuesday to hold a vote as soon as possible on Judge Brett Kavanaugh, with the FBI expected to wrap up its probe into allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by the Supreme Court nominee as soon as Wednesday. Mr. McConnell was vague on the timing of his next steps. While he made clear the FBI's findings wouldn't derail plans for a vote, he retained flexibility to address the concerns of three undecided GOP senators -- Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. At a political rally in Mississippi late Tuesday, President Trump mocked the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist who alleged Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a Maryland house party when they were teenagers. Judge Kavanaugh, now 53 years old, has categorically denied the allegation. It was the first time the president has aimed direct public criticism at Dr. Ford. |
| Betsy DeVos Mississippi visit: What education advocates want | |
| Supporters of traditional public schools say Mississippi has an important lesson to offer Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who will visit the state Thursday as part of her department's back-to-school tour. Details of DeVos' visit had not been made public as of late Tuesday evening but officials with the Holmes County Consolidated School District confirmed to the Clarion Ledger last week that they were planning to showcase the district's participation in an initiative spearheaded by the Global Teaching Project that envisions increasing access to advanced placement classes in rural school systems. The pending visit will bring DeVos to a state that has long struggled to meet its own mandate for fully funding public schools, grappled with the effects of entrenched poverty and struggled to be competitive with teacher pay. |
| Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father | |
 | President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. But The Times's investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father's real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. The president declined repeated requests over several weeks to comment for this article. |
| Kavanaugh's drinking spotlights Trump's 'abnormal' abstinence | |
 | President Donald Trump, a teetotaler who says he's never even had a beer, finds himself in the awkward position of fiercely defending a Supreme Court nominee under harsh scrutiny for his past heavy drinking. The more Trump embraces his embattled nominee and publicly comments on accounts that Brett Kavanaugh drank to excess, the starker the contrast becomes --- shedding light on what Trump on Monday called "one of my only good traits." Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump denied that he was bothered by reports of Kavanaugh's past drinking habits, which several former classmates have described as excessive. "I remember my college days; everybody was drinking. It was, like, normal," Trump said. "I was abnormal. ...So I don't see anything wrong." In booze-soaked Washington, where senators, lobbyists and White House staffers regularly drink stiff cocktails in wood-paneled downtown bars, Trump's abstinence is a rarity -- and a quality his aides are acutely aware of. |
| The Long, Strange History of the Presidential Text Alert | |
 | Donald Trump plans to text you Wednesday, whether you want him to or not. The first nationwide test of the government's Presidential Alert system will unfold at 2:18 pm ET, when every cell phone user in the United States will receive a text message from FEMA saying, "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." The test alert -- which has already spawned numerous jokes about President Trump's Twitter habits -- is actually a rare public display of the classified side of FEMA's daily work. The agency best known as the public face of the federal government's response to major natural disasters originally started as -- and continues to be -- its secret doomsday planner, overseeing the so-called "continuity of government" efforts that would ensure the evacuation of key officials to mountain bunkers and airborne command posts after a catastrophe. In fact, Wednesday's test of the Wireless Emergency Alert System is only the latest in the country's odd history of national doomsday alerts. |
| Alcorn State University launches nationwide search for new president | |
| College Board trustees announced Tuesday that they will launch a broad search for a new president of Mississippi's Alcorn State University. "There was a consistent theme that we heard from all the constituent groups today, which is that they wanted to engage in a national search for a leader who met all the qualification they had in mind," Shane Hooper, president of the trustees, told The Associated Press after a day of trustee listening sessions with campus groups at the 3,800-student university. Al Rankins Jr., Alcorn's president since 2014, became higher education commissioner on July 1, overseeing the state's eight public universities. Hooper will chair the search committee. Other trustees on the committee include Ann Lamar, Jeanne Luckey, Chip Morgan and Hal Parker. A full national search typically takes four to six months. |
| Ole Miss Moves Swiftly to Address Latest Racial Controversy Image | |
| When Daniel Payne, a white junior at the University of Mississippi, saw that a major benefactor of the journalism school he attends had posted racially insensitive comments on social media, he immediately thought "it was going to be really, really bad." The post on Facebook was written by Ed Meek, 77, a Mississippi graduate and media entrepreneur. In his post, Mr. Meek complained of deteriorating property values around the university campus and declining enrollment. He attached a photo of two young black students wearing party dresses, suggesting that they -- or people who looked like them --- were responsible for the problems on campus and in town. The post spread quickly on social media, and within hours it looked as though the University of Mississippi, a name almost synonymous with racial strife, would be rocked by yet another controversy. But students, faculty and community members have been surprised by how the episode was handled. |
| UM ASB Senate adopts resolution to encourage bias training | |
| The Associated Student Body Senate will now promote bias training for the legislative branch in reaction to the recent controversial comments and photos posted by Ed Meek, the university's former assistant vice chancellor for public relations and marketing. However, many ASB officials believe this action will not be enough to truly make a change at Ole Miss. Among several senators, Attorney General Austin Fiala spoke in strong opposition to the resolution during the ASB Senate's meeting on Tuesday night. "In effect, it doesn't do anything," Fiala said. "The resolution does not compel members of the legislative branch to go to bias training. All it simply does is it states the ASB Senate's goal to have their members go to bias training." ASB President Elam Miller addressed the senators about the roles of all branches of student government at Ole Miss, specifically about how ASB can effect change on campus through legislation. |
| BRAVE group visits Ole Miss, discusses civil rights, other social issues | |
| Several young faces were turned in curiosity on Tuesday evening at the Lyceum. Their first time on the University of Mississippi campus, they talked about issues such as racism and sexual violence with Ole Miss students. They are the girls of BRAVE, an organization founded by University of Mississippi alumna, India Baird. The group arrived at Ole Miss as part of their civil rights road trip. BRAVE was designed to empower, inspire and invest in female leaders. Girls aged 14-18 are trained as journalists and activists in order to tell their stories and connect with other women leaders, ultimately working to make an impact in our world. The group interviews men and women and write for local newspapers; they also have a regular column in The Cape Times in Cape Town, South Africa. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi hosts immigration forum | |
 | University of Southern Mississippi students learned more about the subject of illegal immigration Tuesday during a first-ever forum on campus. Immigrants rights activists, an attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Consul of Mexico from New Orleans gathered for the event at the Liberal Arts Building. Topics such as sanctuary cities, detention procedures and English requirements for citizenship were discussed. "I feel like college students definitely need an environment like this, because it helps bringing all the different perspectives," said student Maggie Matteson. "I think it's very valuable to inform everybody about what's going on," said Larry Hodnett, another USM student. USM's Center for Human Rights and Civil Liberties hosted the forum. |
| Big change: LSU restricts Greeks from tailgating at houses for rest of football season | |
 | Tailgating at Greek houses and on the LSU Parade Ground for Greeks and other student groups will be banned for the rest of the football season because of a lack of security, officials said Tuesday. The revamped rules stem from the news that Lofton Security is ending its coverage. "Lofton has informed the university that it will no longer provide security for tailgating at Greek houses," Angela C. Guillory, associate dean/director of Greek Life, said in an email to chapter presidents and others. "No other security is willing to provide this service," Guillory wrote. "Without security, tailgating can no longer take place at the Greek houses for the rest of the 2018 football season," she said. "Tailgating at the Parade Ground will also be prohibited." The Parade Ground ban also applies to other student organizations. |
| Ex-colleagues: Tennessee prof accused of sexual misconduct had 'creepy' behavior for years | |
 | A former colleague and a former adviser have come forward with examples of sexual misconduct and harassment from former University of Tennessee professor Henri Grissino-Mayer dating as far back as 2011 while he was at UT and 1988 at a different university. A UT professor since 2000, Grissino-Mayer resigned "in lieu of termination," effective Monday, amid an investigation into reports he was having a relationship with a student and had sexually harassed multiple current and former students. The Office of Equity and Diversity at UT received the initial report of his relationship with a student on Aug. 7, with more complaints submitted the next day, according to UT documents obtained in a News Sentinel records request. According to letters in his personnel file, Grissino-Mayer informed the university on Aug. 31 of his intention to resign. The investigation into the sexual misconduct complaints is ongoing. |
| U. of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture gets $7.5M for potato-based defense study | |
| The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is receiving up to $7.5 million for a study that will use potatoes to detect nerve agents, radiation and plant pathogens to help deployed troops and civilians in war-torn areas. The institute says the money comes from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Advanced Plant Technologies program. Researchers at the university and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will team up for the four-year effort. |
| Pitbull tells U. of Florida students story of struggle before stardom | |
 | He is known to his fans as Pitbull, Mr. 305 or Mr. Worldwide. But before close to 1,200 people at the Phillips Center on the University of Florida campus, Armando Christian Perez told stories before stardom, of an upbringing bouncing from neighborhood to neighborhood and school to school in his native Miami. He said he referred to himself as Chris in middle school because he was ashamed of his father, Armando Perez Sr., who was absent from his upbringing due to drug and alcohol addictions. "I told my mom I hated my father," he said. "My mom said 'no you don't hate anyone. You may dislike him, but hate is not in your heart.'" The 37-year-old Cuban-American megastar drew close to a capacity crowd that included UF students, faculty and close friend Lazaro Mendez, known by fans as D.J. Laz. Pitbull was paid $130,000 plus travel expenses to speak, with the tab picked up by UF's ACCENT speakers bureau and Hispanic Heritage Month. |
| Water Coalition praises UGA prof, water projects | |
 | Two University of Georgia projects and a UGA professor are among 13 "clean water heroes" honored by the Georgia Water Coalition this year. The coalition named the three as it released its 2018 "Clean 13" report recently, noting people, industries, businesses, nonprofit groups and government agencies such as UGA whose "extraordinary efforts have led to cleaner water in Georgia." UGA's honored projects include the partial removal of a dam in the Middle Oconee River near Athens earlier this year, efforts by UGA researchers in South Georgia to encourage farmers to use more efficient irrigation practices, and Jenna Jambeck, whose efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution have garnered global attention and praise. |
| Texas A&M AgriLife to spearhead border security center | |
 | The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has selected Texas A&M AgriLife to lead the consortium behind a new Center of Excellence for cross-border threat screening and supply chain defense. DHS announce on Monday that Texas A&M University was chosen to spearhead the teaming of academic, industry, government and laboratory partners. The directorate awarded a $3.85 million for the Center of Excellence's first operating year of a 10-year grant program. Each Center of Excellence is led by a U.S. college or university alongside multiple partners and focuses on specific high-priority DHS challenges. The cross-border threat screening and supply chain defense center will research and develop solutions for "unknown biological threats to the nation's people, agriculture and economy." |
| U. of Missouri scientist one of three winners of Nobel Prize in chemistry | |
| Three researchers who "harnessed the power of evolution" to produce enzymes and antibodies that have led to new drugs and biofuels have been named winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Half of the 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) prize goes to Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology. The other half is shared by George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England. Smith developed a method to evolve new proteins and Winter used the method to evolve antibodies, which are disease-fighting proteins in the blood. Reached by The Associated Press Wednesday, Smith credited others for the work that led to his breakthrough. "Very few research breakthroughs are novel. Virtually all of them build on what went on before. It's happenstance. That was certainly the case with my work," he said. |
| New door lock switches could keep active threats out of U. of Missouri classrooms | |
 | Since April, more than 300 University of Missouri classrooms have been equipped with yellow-gold active threat door lock switches or some other door lock. Four types of locking mechanisms have been installed, said Sara Diedrich, MU public safety information specialist. They're meant to keep an active threat out. MU expects to spend about $1 million in the next few years to upgrade and replace locks around campus, Diedrich said in an email. Although not every classroom has a door-locking mechanism, each MU department is assessing and prioritizing which of its classrooms should be equipped with one next, Diedrich said. It isn't feasible that these mechanisms will be placed in every classroom on campus, MU spokeswoman Liz McCune said. |
| Trump bemoans that men are now 'guilty until proven innocent' | |
 | President Donald Trump on Tuesday bemoaned "a very scary time for young men in America" following allegations of sexual assault against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The comments earned Trump sharp rebukes from advocates for sexual assault survivors. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, "My whole life I've heard you're innocent until proven guilty, but now you're guilty until proven innocent -- that is a very difficult standard." "This is a very difficult time. What's happening here has much more to do than even the appointment of a Supreme Court justice," Trump said. The Trump administration has long railed against what it perceives as a lack of due process in campus sexual assault investigations. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos last year withdrew guidance from 2011 surrounding Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal gender antidiscrimination law protecting against sexual violence. DeVos said the Obama-era rules had been unfairly slanted against accused students. |
| After colleges promised to increase it, hiring of black faculty declined | |
| Robert Palmer knows how uncomfortable it can feel to be a black professor at a predominantly white college. "He comes out of nowhere and says he used to be a bouncer and would keep his friends from saying ... he actually said the word," said Palmer, still taken aback by the memory. The awkwardness of that encounter and others like it helped push Palmer to Howard University. There he joined the disproportionate number of black, tenure-track college and university instructors -- one out of every five -- who are clustered at 72 historically black four-year institutions that report the race of their employees. Meanwhile, many predominantly white four-year public and nonprofit colleges and universities that have been promising for years to improve the diversity of their teaching ranks have made almost no progress in doing so. |
| International Students' Grad Enrollment Is Down, Study Finds; Some Say U.S. Policy to Blame | |
 | Graduate enrollment by international students in the United States has decreased for the second time since 2003, according to an annual report by the Council of Graduate Schools. The report, "Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, 2007 to 2017," released on Wednesday, shows that first-time graduate enrollment of international students fell 4 percent from 2016 to 2017. After the Supreme Court upheld President Trump's ban on travel from several countries, most of them with Muslim majorities, experts said the policy could be a significant factor in a possible decrease. The decline wasn't across the board. Universities categorized as "highest research activity" under the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Learning saw a 3-percent increase in international graduate enrollment from 2016 to 2017, said an author of the report, Hironao Okahana. |
| Report says international graduate enrollments were down for the second straight year | |
| First-time international graduate enrollments in U.S. institutions fell 3.7 percent from fall 2016 to fall 2017, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate Schools. While the council isn't certain what caused the drop, it's hard for it -- or anyone else -- not to think of the Trump administration's stance on immigration. While actual visa and other policy regulations appear to have impacted relatively few prospective students, "the climate and reputational side of U.S. grad ed" may be a different story, said Hironao Okahana, associate vice president for research and policy analysis at the council. "That's an area we're looking into at the moment." There also have been reports of students being rejected for visas, signaling that even if rules haven't yet changed all that much, enforcement has. Institutions with the highest research productivity, by Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, saw no such decline: their enrollments actually increased 3 percent year over year. But for doctoral- and master's degree-granting universities with lower research profiles, "it might be the case that prospective graduate students are looking at institutions elsewhere in the world," Okahana said. |
| Former Georgia Tech prof sues for 'inaccurate' investigation he says destroyed his career | |
| A former Georgia Tech professor is suing several current and former university officials, accusing them of conducting an "incomplete and inaccurate" investigation that ruined his reputation and resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in potential earnings. The plaintiff, Joy Laskar, was suspended by Georgia Tech and indicted in December 2014 on charges he and others funneled institute funds to a company Laskar owned. Laskar an electrical engineering professor, was the first director of Tech's Electronic Design Center and secured more than $70 million in grants and research contracts. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney dismissed the charges in October 2016. The defendants in the lawsuit include Georgia Tech's Chief Audit Officer Phillip Hurd and Jilda Garton, Tech's Vice President for Research. |
| Study Anthony Bourdain for college credit at Nicholls State University | |
 | When Nicholls State University professor Todd Kennedy first considered a class on Anthony Bourdain, he didn't think it was a serious idea. "The more I thought about it, the less shallow I thought it would be," said Kennedy, who teaches in the department of language and literature and directs the film studies program at the university in Thibodaux. Kennedy admired Bourdain, but he never considered himself a major fan. When Bourdain died in June, however, Kennedy was profoundly affected in a way he'd never been by the death of other celebrities, writers or artists. On his television series, "Parts Unknown" on CNN and before that "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel, Bourdain traveled the globe, often heading to countries that other travel shows rarely visited. Bourdain, Kennedy realized, was a master in his series of tying together literature and film to illuminate the countries he visited. |
| Reeves, Hood matchup will be an old school political street brawl | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: A 2019 gubernatorial battle between incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves of Rankin County and incumbent Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood of Chickasaw County stacks up as an instant classic old school political street brawl -- the likes of which hasn't been seen in Mississippi since Republican Haley Barbour squared off against Democrat Ronnie Musgrove in 2003. ...A Reeves-Hood matchup pits two proven public officials who each have been able to command popular vote majorities in four consecutive elections. |
SPORTS
| Joe Moorhead: Leaders keep Bulldogs unified | |
 | This week, the keys to winning are bigger than the usual statistical emphases. Mississippi State head football coach Joe Moorhead knows a 0-2 start to Southeastern Conference play has his team in a tender spot as it hosts No. 8 Auburn (4-1, 1-1 SEC) 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2). The man who usually places his focus on winning statistical battles such as explosive plays and turnover margin made one of his focuses keeping the team together. It took him no time to see steps toward that goal. "Had a great meeting with our captains and our leadership council on Sunday night, discussing the things that went wrong with the game and the things that need to improve," Moorhead said. |
| Why Getsy says there won't be schematic shakeups in Moorhead's offense | |
| Mississippi State offensive coordinator Luke Getsy hasn't lost an ounce of optimism. Not even after he and MSU head coach Joe Moorhead's offense produced 201 and 202 yards in successive games, something Getsy said "can't happen again." Not even after totaling one touchdown in those two matchups. Not even after the Bulldogs received more boos than former head coach Dan Mullen here last Saturday night when the MSU lost 13-6 to Mullen's Florida Gators. No, Getsy said this Mississippi State offense will eventually work. And he said it with conviction. "We believe in what we do, we're not wavering, we're in attack mode," Getsy said. "It's important when you face this little bit of adversity that we have right now that we stick to our plan, that we stay true to the culture that we're trying to set here. By no means are we in any kind of panic mode." |
| Bulldogs looking for answers on offense | |
| Twenty three times, the Mississippi State football team has thrown on third down just to produce an incompletion. Through five games, MSU has failed to convert on third down 34 times. It is a microcosm of MSU's reality: when it needs an efficient passing game, it has been unable to produce one. There are more numbers to describe MSU's passing inefficiencies -- 13th in the Southeastern Conference in quarterback rating (127.74) and last in completion percentage (48.3) -- but with 6:30 p.m. Saturday's (ESPN2) game against Auburn coming up, those are not MSU's concerns. Its focus is all on the fix. "At the end of the day, it's about us as coaches making sure we put together a good game plan that puts the kids in a good position to be successful, that we practice it well throughout the week with great physicality and improved precision, and when we make the good calls we have to execute them," head coach Joe Moorhead said. "It's how we can improve our execution going forward." |
| Mardye McDole named Mississippi State's 2018 SEC Football Legend | |
 | Mardye McDole, one of the greatest wide receivers in Mississippi State history, has been selected to the 2018 SEC Football Legends class, the league office announced Tuesday. Still the only three-time All-SEC wide receiver in Bulldog history, McDole led the conference in receptions (48) and yards per reception as a sophomore in 1978. That year, McDole became the first player in MSU history with over 1,000 receiving yards in a single-season (1,035), a mark that remains the school record. The Mobile, Alabama, native was tabbed an All-American by The Sporting News following his senior year in 1980. He finished as the school's all-time leader in receiving yards (2,214) and catches (116). McDole then was selected in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He spent three seasons there and also played for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL and the Memphis Showboats of the USFL. He was inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. |
| Re-emerging Kam Martin will be 'first guy out there' if Whitlow misses Mississippi State game | |
 | Kam Martin knew what was coming. His teammate in the backfield, JaTarvious Whitlow, had gone down with injury, and wasn't returning to the game. And on a drenched field in Jordan-Hare Stadium, as Auburn was working to put away Southern Miss on soaked, stormy afternoon turned to evening, Martin knew the No. 9 on his jersey was going to get called. "I just told myself, 'Man, it's time to step up and be that guy,'" he said. "That's what I did." Martin rushed for 73 second-half yards and totaled 90 for the game last Saturday as Auburn survived Southern Miss 24-13 --- and if Whitlow can't play, the junior running back will be the Auburn offense's spearhead again this weekend as the Tigers return to SEC action at Mississippi State, head coach Gus Malzahn said. |
| Auburn sticking with Nick Brahms at center despite recent offensive line issues | |
 | Auburn's offensive line play has dropped off the last two games, both of which have seen Nick Brahms start at center, but Gus Malzahn does not expect to make a chance on that front as the Tigers prepare for their first true road game of the season. "Right now, Nick is going to be our center again," Malzahn said. "... Any time you have a new center, there's going to be a few growing pains. But one thing I'll tell you about Nick, he's tried to be very physical. I really think you'll see him improve." Brahms took over as Auburn's starting center prior to the Arkansas game two weeks ago, replacing Kaleb Kim in the middle of the offensive line. Since then, however, the unit has collectively regressed in wins against the Razorbacks and Southern Miss. "I think more than anything is the cadence," Malzahn said. "We had four false starts, which is obviously unacceptable." That will be one of the biggest points of emphasis this week as No. 8 Auburn (4-1, 1-1 SEC) prepares for its road trip to Starkville, Miss., to take on Mississippi State (3-2, 0-2) at Davis Wade Stadium. It will make for a difficult environment for a first-year starter at center like Brahms. |
| How injuries at running back, offensive line could affect Auburn at Mississippi State | |
| Gus Malzahn didn't have any updates to offer on Auburn's three injured offensive starters during his news conference Tuesday. Running back JaTarvious Whitlow (shoulder), left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho (leg) and right tackle Jack Driscoll (leg) -- who left last week's win over Southern Miss with injuries and did not return -- "are going to try their best to play and be a part" of Saturday's game at Mississippi State, the head coach said, but also that he wouldn't know much about their status until after Tuesday's practice. But all three players at the very least questionable to suit up Saturday in Starkville, Miss., it's fair to take a look at how their potential absences (or if they do play, health-related limitations) might affect No. 9 Auburn as it looks to win its first true road game of the 2018 season. |
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