| Thursday, February 28, 2019 |
| Search committee in place for Mississippi State provost and executive vice president | |
 | Mississippi State President Mark E. Keenum on Thursday provided the campus community with an update on the search for the university's next provost and executive vice president. A 19-member search committee now in place includes 10 elected faculty and nine faculty, staff, student and administrative members appointed by Keenum. The committee, chaired by MSU Vice President for Finance and CFO Don Zant, will hold its initial meeting on Monday, with Keenum presenting the group with its charge at that time. "This search committee represents a broad base of our faculty, students and staff and is in keeping with established search protocols for this vital position," said Keenum. "I have every confidence that MSU will attract a strong pool of candidates from across the nation who are interested in being a part of our university's momentum and growth. From that pool, I have equal confidence that our search committee will choose an experienced and visionary leader who can help us build on that momentum." |
| Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey: Judge William Alsup, 'Won Over' | |
 | Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey on MPB Radio: Our guest today has dedicated his life to transforming the nation's consciousness on race through law, social science and the arts. Judge William Alsup is here to talk with us about his new memoir, "Won Over". A story of a boy born in Mississippi to parents who believed in segregation and that boy's journey, during the epic events of the civil rights movement, over to the right side. (Alsup, a 1967 Mississippi State mathematics honors graduate, will discuss "Won Over" today during a 2 p.m. presentation in Colvard Student Union’s Foster Ballroom.) |
| Drone technology taking off in Mississippi | |
 | Drone technology is taking off in Mississippi and drones are showing up everywhere. Hinds Community College has offered the Unmanned Aerial Systems Program for the past seven years. "(There's) no syllabus, no road map to follow when we started this," HCC instructor Dennis Lott said. "When we started this, there were only about two or three community colleges in the nation that (offered drone classes). We were the only one in the Southeast." The students who complete the course will graduate with an associate's degree, along with industry and FAA certifications. They will be ready for jobs that are expected to grow in the state in the fields of construction, mapping, land surveying, media, commercial real estate and in one of Mississippi's largest industries -- agriculture. Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said the possibilities with drone technology are limited only by one's imagination. "It is the wave of the future, and Mississippi is uniquely positioned for this," Hosemann said. |
| Kademi hosting Mars book signing | |
| Kademi will stay open a bit later Thursday evening to host a book signing with the authors of a recent release featuring stunning and largely unreleased Civil Rights era photography taken in Neshoba County by a prominent local. James T. Campbell and Elaine Owens, authors of Mississippi Witness: The Photographs of Florence Mars, will be signing books at Kademi Thursday, February 28 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. For Kademi co-owner Dawn Lee Chalmers this is a project she has seen develop over the course of her life. Florence Mars was her second cousin, Chalmer's grandfather and Mars' father were brothers, and she grew up with their backyards connected. Courtney McCreary, Publicity and Promotions Manager of University Press of Mississippi, said that the book tracks Mars' "shocked" reaction to the ferocity of white Mississippians' reaction to the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling against racial segregation. These events prompted Mars to buy a camera “to document a racial order she knew was dying.” |
| Terry Burton back at Capitol weeks after a stroke | |
 | A state senator has returned to the Mississippi Capitol, just over a month after he had a stroke. Republican Sen. Terry Burton of Newton received a standing ovation Wednesday from his colleagues and spectators in the Senate chamber. He waved and blew kisses in response. Burton had a stroke Jan. 24, a week before his 63rd birthday. |
| Bryant: GOP Would've 'Hollered' If Obama Pushed Criminal Reform | |
| "You're the only president that can do this," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he privately told President Trump last year, as he urged the fellow Republican to support criminal-justice reform. Behind the scenes, Bryant says he pushed a reluctant Trump to embrace the First Step Act, a modest law the president eventually agreed to and signed into law in December that eases highly punitive sentences for federal crimes. Trump's son-in-law and senior White House adviser, Jared Kushner, recruited Bryant to coax the president into supporting the bill. Bryant, a former Hinds County deputy sheriff, recounted the story during a criminal-justice reform panel at a Feb. 23 National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C. "People did not know that we had a secret weapon in convincing Donald Trump that this was smart policy, and that secret weapon is sitting to my left," Jones said, gesturing leftward at a laughing Bryant. "I think it helped being a conservative, I think it helped being a former law-enforcement officer," Bryant said. |
| Half of Mississippi's rural hospitals at risk of closing, report says | |
| Mississippi has more rural hospitals at risk of closing than any other state in this country, meaning the most medically underserved state could soon lose even more doctors. Thirty-one of Mississippi's 64 rural hospitals, or 48 percent, are at "high financial risk," according to a national report of rural hospitals from independent consulting firm Navigant. This is more than double the rate nationwide, where just 21 percent are listed as being in danger of closing. The list of 31 at-risk Mississippi hospitals, which Mississippi Today obtained, include public and private hospitals spanning every corner of the state, from Merit Health in Natchez and Rush in Meridian to the award-winning North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville. "High financial risk" means a combination of poor profits, high debt and low cash reserves. Some hospitals on the list have just a few days of cash on hand. |
| Hattiesburg Councilwoman Deborah Delgado to run for state Senate | |
 | For 18 years Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado has been working to make Hattiesburg a better place. Now she wants to take that experience and use it at the state level. Delgado has thrown her hat in the state Senate ring, hoping to gain the District 34 seat, currently held by Juan Barnett. The district encompasses parts of Forrest, Jones and Jasper counties. Introducing Delgado, a Democrat, to a small crowd that gathered Wednesday night at the Laurel Train Depot, Forrest County Supervisor Rod Woullard said Delgado "is the right person for this time" to join the Senate race. Among her priorities is education, pay raises for state employees and teachers, economic growth and development, Medicaid expansion and criminal justice reform. |
| White House disputes characterization of recent comments by Chris McDaniel | |
 | Senior White House officials are pushing back on what they're characterizing as a messaging overreach by state Senator Chris McDaniel. In recent weeks while publicly musing a run for higher office, McDaniel has pushed the narratives that he has been in communication with President Donald Trump. McDaniel is using language like, "he's shown an inclination to support me whatever I decide." McDaniel also stated, "Right now I am talking with the president ... He wants to help. It will be interesting." McDaniel insists that he was in contact with Trump in recent months following the 2018 US Senate Election, for which Trump endorsed one of McDaniel's opponents, US Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. But their conversation shortly after the election was characterized by a White House source as a "political condolence call", which is made by party elders to unsuccessful candidates on a regular basis. There's concern by those close to Trump that McDaniel's public characterization of the call may be well overstated. "The President does not issue blanket lifetime political endorsements," the source told Y'all Politics. |
| 'Sometimes you have to walk': Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un ends without a deal | |
 | President Trump cut short his summit with Kim Jong Un on Thursday, rejecting the North Korean leader's offer to dismantle a major nuclear complex in exchange for the removal of U.S. economic sanctions. Trump said the U.S. wanted more concessions from Kim and that talks would continue. But the president wouldn't commit to holding a third summit after two high-profile meetings have failed to produce a concrete agreement on rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons program. "Sometimes you have to walk," Trump told a news conference here in the Vietnamese capital before departing for Washington on Air Force One. "This was one of those times." The sudden breakdown in talks Thursday came just hours after Trump and Kim demonstrated a growing chumminess and expressed optimism about making actual progress. |
| 'Damaging precedent': Conservative federal judge installed without consent of home-state senators | |
 | Seattle attorney Eric Miller was confirmed as a judge on the country's most liberal appeals court this week without the consent of either home-state senator, a break from tradition that Democrats say Republicans will come to regret. Historically, senators from the state where a federal judiciary nominee lives may submit opinions, known as "blue slips," or choose not to return them. Before this week, a nominee had never been confirmed without the support of at least one home-state senator, the Congressional Research Service told The Washington Post. But neither Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) nor Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) returned blue slips on Miller's nomination to serve on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Nonetheless, Miller was confirmed Tuesday on a 53-46 vote, allowing Trump to continue to move toward a more conservative federal judiciary, one of his key campaign promises. |
| Flooding forces UM Kappa Delta residents to evacuate | |
 | Nearly half of the 64 Kappa Delta house residents cannot live in their sorority house for the rest of the semester, as the ceilings caved in when the house flooded after five days of heavy rain fell in Oxford last week. Kappa Delta residents shared pictures of the damage to the house on social media. In the pictures, trash cans were scattered around the house to collect water leaking through the roof. There was also significant damage to the flooring. The wood floor was warped, and the ceilings in some rooms were also beginning to cave in. In an email released to Kappa Delta members on Sunday, the housing corps president Margaret Anne Alias said the flooding was because of clogged drains on the building's roof. "Three of the drains on the roof were, unbeknownst to anyone, almost stopped up due to sand from the shingles," Alias said. |
| Victim, other witnesses testify in Tiger Transit rape trial | |
 | Wednesday marked the first day of trial for a former Tiger Transit driver who is charged with the September 2017 sexual assault of an 18-year-old Auburn University student. Tony Martin Patillo, 53, of Columbus, Ga., is facing charges multiple charges. "'Knocked out, huh?' Remember that phrase, it's important. 'Knocked out, huh?' Remember it now, throughout the trial and into your deliberations," Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said, beginning his opening statement to the jury. "'Knocked out, huh.' That's what the defendant, Tony Patillo, says when he sees (the victim) laid out when this Tiger Transit bus, you'll see it, don't take my word for it, you'll see it, you'll hear it on video," Hughes continued. |
| Report: Dennis Llinas leaving LSU Tiger Band for U. of Oregon director position | |
 | Dennis Llinas is leaving his post as associate director of LSU Bands and director of the Golden Band from Tiger Land to take a similar job with the University of Oregon, according to a report from The Daily Reveille. Llinas broke the news through his own personal Facebook page, the report said. Llinas was named Tiger Band director in 2016 after former director Roy King was fired. "I have accepted the Director of Bands position at the University of Oregon for next year," Llinas said in his post. "I owe so much to LSU and will never forget the amazing students and faculty that I have grown so fond of for the past 7 years." |
| UGA prof, former student examine 19th century through a movie lens | |
 | A new book edited by a University of Georgia history professor and his former student uses the big screen to illuminate 19th century history as portrayed in the movies. Matt Hulbert, now teaching at a Texas A&M-Kingsville, wasn't sure how Inscoe would react when he suggested the book. They both loved movies, use them in their teaching and had spent a lot of time talking about them, but Inscoe was already working on a similar project on how Appalachia has been portrayed on film. But Inscoe was enthusiastic, so they picked out a list of movies and then recruited two dozen historians, some established and some younger, to write about them. Their list included well-known recent films and older classics, some great and some awful. |
| U. of Missouri lands $10M grant to establish mental health center for rural schools | |
 | The University of Missouri will use a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a National Center for Rural School Mental Health to work on projects to improve programs supporting the emotional and psychological needs of students. For four years, primary investigator Wendy Reinke of the College of Education has worked with a team of researchers to develop a survey intended to identify behavioral and emotional problems in rural school populations. The team has collected data from every public school student and teacher in Boone County as part of the project. Within five years, the research team plans to work with at least 110 rural schools in Missouri, Virginia and Montana to assess whether or not schools that implement the surveys and trainings experience improved social, behavioral and emotional outcomes from students, an MU news release stated. |
| Michael Cohen testifies that Trump threatened colleges over any release of his grades | |
 | Donald Trump and his representatives threatened the colleges he attended and the College Board that he would sue them if records about his academic performance ever became public, Michael Cohen said Wednesday in testimony to a House of Representatives panel. In explaining why he calls the president a con man, Cohen said, in prepared testimony, "When I say con man, I'm talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores. As I mentioned, I'm giving the committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump's direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump's grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission." he letter said that Trump had become aware that journalists were asking for his grades, and so he wanted to reach out. The letter said that Trump would "hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law" for any release of his records. The P.S. to the letter changes tone and says, "Mr. Trump truly enjoyed his two years at Fordham and has great respect for the university." |
| Michael Cohen Testifies That He Threatened Colleges and College Board if They Released Trump's Records | |
 | Michael D. Cohen, a former personal lawyer for President Trump, said in testimony on Wednesday before the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee that, at Trump's direction, he had threatened legal action against the College Board, Trump's former high school, and the universities he attended if they released the president's academic records. Trump spent two years at Fordham University, in New York, before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania's business school for his undergraduate degree. In a 2015 letter to Fordham, Cohen cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, writing that the institution could not release Trump's academic records without permission and would be held "liable to the fullest extent of the law." Cohen also wrote that releasing Trump's records without approval could lead to "criminal and civil liability and damages including, among other things, substantial fines, penalties, and even the potential loss of government aid and other funding." |
| Two new government reports examine questions of Chinese government control over Confucius Institutes | |
| China has directly provided more than $158 million to U.S. universities to host Confucius Institutes since 2006, according to a report from the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released in advance of a hearing on China's impact on the U.S. educational system scheduled for this morning. More than 90 U.S. universities host the CIs, which supporters say offer critical resources for foreign language learning at a time when such resources are hard to find. But they have not been uncontroversial. At least 10 U.S. universities have moved to close their Confucius Institutes over the past year as scrutiny of the Chinese government-funded centers for language and cultural education has intensified and lawmakers from across the political spectrum have raised concerns about Chinese influence over American higher education. While faculty groups have been raising concerns about CIs for years -- the American Association of University Professors recommended in 2014 that universities either close their CIs or renegotiate their agreements to ensure "unilateral control" over all academic matters -- the recent closures follow on criticism from political figures, mainly but not exclusively from the Republican Party. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State seeks share of SEC title tonight | |
 | No. 5 Mississippi State can secure at least a share of its second-straight SEC championship with a win over LSU tonight at 7. The Bulldogs (25-2) enter tonight's game at 13-1 in conference play, a game ahead of South Carolina. Those two teams meet Sunday in Columbia to close the regular season. MSU has already soundly defeated LSU earlier this year, claiming a 68-35 victory in Baton Rouge on Jan. 31. The Bulldogs limited the Tigers to just 12 made baskets and 21.1 percent shooting in that contest. Andra Espinoza-Hunter paced State with 16 points in the previous meeting with LSU while Teaira McCowan added 13 points and 20 rebounds. The Tigers (16-10, 7-7 SEC) have won two of their last three games but lost last time out at Kentucky on Sunday, 57-52. |
| Lady Tigers better prepared this time to face SEC-leading Mississippi State | |
| Time is getting short for an LSU women's basketball team residing on the NCAA tournament bubble, and Thursday it faces the tallest of orders. The Lady Tigers (16-10, 7-7 in SEC play) need wins of any kind, but it won't come easy on Senior Night in Starkville against No. 5 Mississippi State (25-2, 13-1) at 7 p.m. LSU hit its low point for the season the teams' previous meeting, a 68-35 loss which tied for the second fewest points in Lady Tiger history. LSU was never in the game, falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter. "We watched a lot of film," LSU point guard Khayla Pointer said. "That game was nothing less than embarrassing. We weren't ourselves. They jumped out on us and we lost our confidence and our poise. We'll have a different game plan and be more prepared this time." |
| Why Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer said it's time for Teaira McCowan to 'move on' | |
 | Last week, the Ole Miss Rebels essentially employed a 'stop Teaira McCowan at all costs' type of defense. One Rebel player, senior Crystal Allen, even said the game plan of the night was to "pack it in" on Mississippi State's All-American senior center. That meant fronting her with multiple bodies any time she stepped foot in the paint. It meant shoving a forearm into her backside any time she got the ball. And it meant hacking her any time she went up for a shot. None of that was new for McCowan. Vic Schaefer, head coach of the No. 5 Mississippi State Bulldogs (25-2, 13-1 SEC), said opposing teams' game plans are to "attack" McCowan. The season's first 27 games, have taken quite a toll on McCowan's body. She crashes to the floor multiple times on any given night. At 6-foot-7, it's not easy for a girl of her size to take that kind of punishment. |
| Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer a candidate to repeat as coach of the year | |
| Vic Schaefer won the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award last season and is up for the honor again this year. The Mississippi State coach has guided the Bulldogs to a 25-2 record and a No. 5 national ranking. MSU is also 13-1 in Southeastern Conference play and can secure at least a share of its second straight league championship with a win over LSU on Thursday. Schaefer is one of 15 coaches named as a late season candidate for the award and the only coach from the SEC. |
| Meet The New Dude: Mississippi State's $68 Million Showplace | |
| College baseball's building boom has only intensified over the last decade, and particularly in the SEC, where the arms race never ends. However temporary, Mississippi State now takes its place at the top of the heap with the rebirth of Dudy Noble Field. The Magnolia State is uncommonly crazy for college baseball, and its two SEC powers both introduce major projects this year: a giant $20 million facility for players at Ole Miss' Swayze Field, and at Mississippi State, the new, $68 million Dudy Noble Field, which has already come to be known as the New Dude. So let's get to know the New Dude better. |
| State snaps losing skid against the Lions | |
| Prior to Wednesday, Mississippi State had lost six straight games to Southeastern Louisiana dating back to 2010. The 12th-ranked Diamond Dogs were determined to change that trend. MSU jumped all over the Lions right from the start with a grand slam by Justin Foscue in the first inning and carried that momentum to a 12-0 shutout victory. "I think we were fortunate tonight," said MSU coach Chris Lemonis. "We got that first inning going. We had a bad base running play from probably our best base runner and Foscue picks him up and get that big hit to kind of take the pressure off you. And then guys were able to relax and hit. I do think we've got a good offense but I don't think you're going to get 12 (runs) every night." Foscue's bases-clearing blast in the first inning sailed into the Left Field Lounge. It was Foscue's fourth homer of the season. |
| Mississippi State baseball notches another midweek win at Dudy Noble Field | |
| There's never a perfect time for a rain delay, but when it started pouring at Dudy Noble Field on Wednesday night it felt like a clean break in the action between Mississippi State and Southeastern Louisiana. For the Bulldogs, anyway. MSU starting pitcher Peyton Plumlee had just finished his sixth inning of work and was likely done for the night whether the rain came or not. Plumlee had a career-high nine strikeouts, two walks and one hit en route to picking up his first win of the season in Mississippi State's 12-0 smashing of Southeastern Louisiana. Plumlee sat out last season because of an NCAA violation. In his comeback campaign, Plumlee has a 2.13 earned run average in 12.2 innings of work. He has 14 strikeouts to just three walks. Plumlee said he trusts his pitches a lot more now than he did two years ago. |
| Tennessee basketball: Ole Miss fans throw trash to protest late call | |
 | In the end, Ole Miss men's basketball coach Kermit Davis revealed he was sweating -- a lot --- and Ole Miss fans -- decided to trash their basketball floor. It all happened in the closing seconds of Wednesday's game in Oxford, Miss. The No. 7 Vols won 73-71 on a basket by Grant Williams with 4.3 seconds left to play to rally against the Rebels (19-9, 9-6). Later, Admiral Schofield drew a charge near midcourt as Ole Miss' Devontae Shuler attempted a shot with 1.1 seconds to play, drawing the ire of Davis, who took off his coat and revealed a soaked blue shirt. Davis drew a technical foul, leading to a Williams free throw. On the next play, Tennessee's inbounds pass was not handled by Jordan Bowden, but the officials ruled time had expired. Ole Miss fans, already upset by the foul call, pelted the court with cups, drinks and other assorted trash. |
| Kneeling During the Anthem at Ole Miss: 'I Needed to Stand Up for My Rights' | |
 | As the news began to percolate that pro-Confederate and white supremacist groups were planning to march at the University of Mississippi last Saturday, Devontae Shuler was becoming increasingly anxious. The violence that had unfolded at similar events in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 had crossed his mind, a menacing video was circulating on social media and Shuler wondered if he and other African-Americans might somehow become targets of physical attacks. So, last Friday, he did what he often does when something troubles him: He called his mother. Linda Shuler patched in her oldest son, D.J., and they listened as Devontae, a sophomore guard on the Ole Miss basketball team, relayed the depths of his feelings. Troubled by the mood on campus, he was considering sitting out his team's game against Georgia. His brother, though, noted an action like that was more likely to punish his team, and himself. Perhaps, D.J. Shuler suggested, he could take a knee during the national anthem instead. Devontae said he would think it over. The next afternoon, shortly before the game, Linda's phone rang. "He said, 'Momma, I'm going to do it,'" Linda said. |
| Mizzou focused on keeping seniors wanted by other SEC programs | |
| Five days away from the start of spring football practice, coach Barry Odom faces the same conundrum that has confronted him since Jan. 31. That's the day the NCAA handed down sanctions for the actions of a rogue tutor in 2015-16. Those sanctions included a postseason ban, and with the postseason ban came a caveat that Missouri football's seniors could transfer out and play somewhere else without having to sit out a year. Missouri spokesperson Nick Joos confirmed that four SEC schools had done so: Tennessee, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Auburn. Two weeks ago, during a Kansas City Tiger Club event, Odom aired his frustrations about teams attempting to poach his seniors. The next day he addressed his peers directly at the Southeastern Conference's annual coaches' meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. Odom said the conversation went well and that he respected the way Commissioner Greg Sankey handled the meeting. But he's still recruiting his own players. |
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