Tuesday, April 10, 2018   
 
Mississippi State physics student named Goldwater Scholar
A Mississippi State University physics major was recently named the recipient of the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The honor represents the fourth time in seven years that a MSU student has received the scholarship. Nicholas A. "Nic" Ezzell, a senior physics major from Laurel, is the university newest recipient of the award and the only Mississippian to receive the honor this year, according to a MSU news release. The university says Ezzell has accumulated significant research experience as an undergraduate student and is a member of MSU's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. Tommy Anderson, professor of English and director of the Shackouls Honors College's Office of Prestigious External Scholarships, said the scholarship recognizes Ezzell's achievements as an undergraduate researcher across disciplines -- in both physics and chemistry.
 
MDOC, Mississippi State partner on transition program
Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Corrections will partner with the goal of improving post-release outcomes for offenders, while offering MSU students the opportunity to make a positive impact on society. MDOC and MSU launched the Noxubee Community Work Center Transitional Program in 2017, with the 12-week program geared toward teaching life skills to those transitioning back into communities, according to a MSU news release. The ultimate goal is to help reduce recidivism across the state. May, along with Amanda Cook, an assistant professor of criminology at MSU-Meridian, also bring in group speakers every week during the program.
 
Winning MSU-Meridian students seek more DECA honors
Six business administration seniors at Mississippi State University-Meridian are traveling to Virginia to represent their home state at the DECA International Career Development Conference. Formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America, DECA Inc. includes students focused on a variety of business career areas. Taking place April 11-14 in Arlington, this year's conference involves more than 1,000 competitors in such categories at business management and administration, entrepreneurship, finance and accounting, hospitality and tourism, and marketing and communication. To reach the top challenge level, each member of the MSU-Meridian group finished high in respective categories during the state DECA event.
 
Mississippi Horse Park hosts annual barrel race
The Mississippi Horse Park hosted over 2,000 contestants this weekend for a barrel race competition, adding to Starkville's 2 percent food and beverage tax. This weekend marked the 8th annual Lucky Dog Productions barrel race competition, with contestants hailing from 14 states. The payout for the weekend event totaled $80,000. Director of the Mississippi Horse Park Bricklee Miller said when the competitors come into Starkville for their runs, they have time to venture off into the city. Miller said she loves seeing the contestants post on social media about the restaurants and shopping in the area, because she knows it's a streamline of funds for the city and county. She said having the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson see the grounds with full activity on Friday, further showed the need for the facility.
 
Fuel sampled, inspected at Pearl gas station
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce is investigating after they've received complaints about watered down gas in Rankin County. A picture circulating on Facebook appears to show a person putting water in fuel tanks. MDAC tells WJTV they received three complaints about the Sunoco located at 2715 Old Brandon Road in Pearl. Officials said each call was based on Facebook posts, with no fuel actually purchased by the complainants. They said they inspected the gas on site and no water was found in the fuel storage tanks. Fuel samples obtained will be analyzed at the State Chemical Laboratory at Mississippi State University.
 
Governor indicates transportation special session possible
The conclusion of the 2018 legislative session does not mean efforts to find consensus on a plan to spend more money on transportation have ended for the year, multiple officials have said. And if those efforts are productive, Gov. Phil Bryant could call a special session of the Legislature to adopt them. "Gov. Bryant is working with House and Senate leadership to find common solutions for infrastructure. That includes consideration of a special session," Clay Chandler, a spokesman for the governor, said Monday via an emailed response. Almost immediately after the 2018 legislative session ended on March 28, speculation began that the governor would call a special session to address the transportation issue.
 
Cindy Hyde-Smith sworn in as Mississippi's latest senator
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) was sworn in on Monday to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Vice President Pence administered the oath on the Senate floor to Hyde-Smith, who was formerly Mississippi's commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. Fellow Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (R) accompanied Hyde-Smith, as did GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch (Utah), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) Susan Collins (Maine) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), along with Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Hyde-Smith has close ties to the Trump administration and was reportedly considered for the role of Agriculture secretary after serving as a co-chair on President Trump's Agriculture Advisory Committee during his presidential campaign. But White House officials reportedly told Bryant that Trump would not endorse Hyde-Smith if she runs in November, fearing her past as a Democrat could be a ballot box liability.
 
Cindy Hyde-Smith Sworn In as Mississippi's Newest Senator
Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith was sworn in to the U.S. Senate on Monday, becoming the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. She took her oath of office as a member of the Senate at 3:04 p.m., with Vice President Mike Pence on hand to swear her in. "I know I speak for senators on both sides of the aisle in welcoming our new colleague," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in his opening remarks to the chamber as it returned from a two-week recess. Hyde-Smith's arrival gives the GOP some potentially critical support as the chamber gears up to consider nominees to fill vacancies at the helm of the State and Veterans Affairs departments, and the CIA. Hyde-Smith plans to focus her time in the Senate on military issues and rolling back federal regulations, she told a local news outlet. She plans to run in the November special election to fill out the rest of Cochran's term, which expires in 2021.
 
Cindy Hyde-Smith becomes first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress
Cindy Hyde-Smith was sworn in Monday to the U.S. Senate, making history as the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress and helping set a record for the number of women serving in the Senate. Hyde-Smith fills the unexpired term of Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who was serving his seventh term in the Senate. Cochran, 80, citing health reasons, announced plans last month to step down early. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Hyde-Smith, the state's agriculture commissioner, to temporarily replace Cochran, whose last day was April 1. Cochran's term would have ended January 2021. "I'm ready to go to work,'' Hyde-Smith told Vice President Mike Pence after a mock swearing-in ceremony later in the day. She told The Clarion-Ledger she felt "absolutely awesome. I'm so humbled and so honored."
 
Cindy Hyde-Smith sworn in as 1st female Mississippi senator
Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith made history Monday when she was sworn in as the first woman to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate, a milestone that strategists hope will propel the former agricultural commissioner and early President Donald Trump supporter when she faces a tough election in fall. Vice President Mike Pence arrived at the Capitol to swear her in as colleagues looked on. Hyde-Smith was tapped by the state's Gov. Phil Bryant as a surprise pick to fill the seat for GOP Sen. Thad Cochran, 80, who resigned April 1 amid health concerns. "I know I speak for all senators on both sides of the aisle in welcoming our new colleague," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Fellow Mississippi GOP Sen. Roger Wicker and others joined in the chamber. In a twitter message, Hyde-Smith said she was "grateful and honored" as she started the day, "pretty historic in my life, for sure, and for the state of Mississippi."
 
Vice president swears in Cindy Hyde-Smith; Lincoln County cattle farmer takes U.S. Senate oath of office
With a group of Brookhaven friends and family cheering her on, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith made history Monday when she was sworn in as the first woman to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Roger Wicker, her GOP colleague from Mississippi, escorted her to the front of the Senate chamber so Vice President Mike Pence could swear her into office in a ceremony televised on C-SPAN2. The Brookhaven cattle farmer and former state commissioner of agriculture and commerce clutched a large, white family Bible in her left hand and raised her other hand as Pence performed the 30-second ceremony on the Senate floor of the U.S. Capitol. Senators in the chamber applauded and some came forward to shake her hand, including Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said immediately after the ceremony, which was held at the beginning of the Senate session, that Hyde-Smith brings a wealth of experience with her to Washington.
 
Thad Cochran's Scheduler Opened His First Office and Will Close His Last
Few people could claim seniority over former Sen. Thad Cochran. Doris Wagley, who was his scheduler since before he was sworn in to the House in 1973, is one of them. "I showed up at 9 o'clock. He was there, but he didn't take his oath in the House until 12 noon. So he started talking about me having three-hour seniority over him," Wagley said. Cochran resigned on April 1, and now Wagley is cleaning out their office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building before she retires herself. "Here we are. I had no idea as we went on -- there was just no reason for me to leave. And he never fired me," said Wagley, 74. But what kept her around for all these years was Cochran himself. "He took serious what needed to be taken serious, but he didn't take the frivolity seriously. He was a master at taking chaos and making calm out of it," she said.
 
Rep. Gary Chism out of hospital after mild stroke
State Representative Gary Chism is out of the hospital after suffering a "mild" stroke over the weekend, his colleagues have confirmed. District 39 Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus) told The Dispatch that Chism suffered a stroke on Saturday and had been hospitalized. Smith confirmed Monday morning Chism was released sometime Sunday afternoon or evening. Chism, a Republican from Columbus, represents District 38 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The district includes portions of Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. "Gary comes across as very conservative and very independent-minded," he said. "We've known each other since we were 16. He's really a soft-hearted guy. He's super-conservative, but one of the few members of Legislature you can get to change his mind."
 
F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump's Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen; Trump Calls It 'Disgraceful'
The F.B.I. raided the Rockefeller Center office and Park Avenue hotel room of President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, on Monday morning, seizing business records, emails and documents related to several topics, including a payment to a pornographic film actress. Mr. Trump, in an extraordinarily angry response, lashed out hours later at what a person briefed on the matter said was an investigation into possible bank fraud by Mr. Cohen. Mr. Trump accused his own Justice Department of perpetrating a "witch hunt" and asserted that the F.B.I. "broke in to" Mr. Cohen's office. The search is an aggressive move for the Justice Department, which normally relies on grand jury subpoenas to obtain records from people who are represented by lawyers and are cooperating with authorities.
 
Millennial poll: Historic youth wave coming in 2018, Dems outnumber GOP 2-1
Younger Americans have long told pollsters that they plan to vote and they are set to make good on that promise this fall in historic numbers. And when they do, it will be a wave favoring the Democrats, according to a new survey of voters aged 18-29 from Harvard University's Institute of Politics being released Tuesday. The survey found that 53 percent probably or definitely will be voting. And of those most likely to vote, 55 percent lean Democratic and 21 percent Republican. Many in Washington politics have long heard that younger voters plan to storm the voting booths in the fall only to see their numbers and enthusiasm taper off as voting day nears. But this year may be different. Harvard's IOP gave some statistical reasoning for raising expectations that younger voters, particularly unsupportive of President Trump and Congress, mean business this fall.
 
Mississippi tributary called nation's most endangered river
An environmental organization identified a tributary of the Mississippi River on Tuesday as the nation's most endangered river of 2018 after a retiring senator revived a decades-old flood drainage plan. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to curb flooding in Mississippi's delta region threatens the Big Sunflower River and 200,000 acres (80,938 hectares) of surrounding wetlands, American Rivers said. The project was pushed for years by U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican who retired this month. The project was thought to be dead after the Environmental Protection Agency vetoed it in 2008, citing the Clean Water Act. But recently surfaced bill language authorizing the project has jarred environmental conservation groups awake, reinvigorating their efforts to end it once and for all.
 
Health officials report TB case at Ole Miss, 500 to be tested for exposure
The Mississippi State Department of Health has confirmed a case of active tuberculosis in a University of Mississippi student and will be testing about 500 students and staff who have been potentially exposed. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers explained that cases of TB are seen every year in the state and sometimes these kinds of investigations in school and university settings are necessary. "Ensuring that individuals potentially exposed to active TB disease are tested and treated if needed is an activity MSDH conducts routinely," Byers said. The student who developed active TB has not been on campus since being diagnosed, said Ryan Whittington, Ole Miss director of marketing and brand strategy.
 
Tuberculosis case identified on Ole Miss campus, 500 to be tested
The state Department of Health has identified a case of active tuberculosis on the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. Health Department and university officials are working together to identify any students or staff who may have been exposed to the bacterial infection, according to a Monday news release. They plan to test around 500 people for initial TB infection, which is not contagious and does not have symptoms but can develop into active TB disease. "The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff is a top priority for the University of Mississippi. We will continue to work closely with the Mississippi State Department of Health and appreciate and trust their guidance and assistance to ensure the public health of our community," Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Brandi Hephner LaBanc said in a statement.
 
Long Beach celebrates groundbreaking for USM student housing
City leaders stood alongside project contractors and developers outside the former Triton building at the Southern Miss Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach on Monday morning for a ceremonial groundbreaking. Soon, the building will be a place for more than 120 students to call home. Friendship Oak Village is a private venture through the Kentucky-based company Encompass to provide the first student housing offered to USM Gulf Park students. "We took a look at the building, physically walked out of the building one day, and looked across the railroad tracks and saw the campus. And that's what initiated the initial thought that perhaps this could be something for the community as it relates to the student housing," said building owner Jim Parrish.
 
Jackson State donating 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to community
Sweet potatoes will be dumped on a street in Jackson Tuesday morning, and it's all for a good cause. The Society of St. Andrew is partnering with Jackson State University for a food distribution project. 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes will be dropped on Pearl Street and volunteers will sort and bag them so they can be given away to residents later in the morning.
 
East Mississippi Community College hosts annual awards ceremony
Several students from East Mississippi Community College's Mayhew and Lion Hills campuses were honored Thursday, April 6 at an awards ceremony on the Mayhew campus. Overall, approximately 100 students were honored from both academic and career/technical programs. Awards were also given for service to EMCC's Syzygy literary magazine. "Thank you for being here to honor all of our students, the students who get it, who understand why we're here, and what our mission is," said Golden Triangle campus Dean of Students Cathy Kemp. EMCC President Tom Huebner echoed Kemp's comments. EMCC student Blair Madison of Columbus won several awards and spoke highly of her EMCC experience. "I had visited with Dr. Huebner, and I talked to him, and when I left after talking to him, I felt so much encouragement and hope that I just decided to come here," Madison said. After she graduates, Madison plans to continue her studies at Mississippi State University majoring in public relations.
 
Cyber experts at SEC conference: U.S. needs to act fast
You are not a secret. No matter how digital savvy you think you are, or how distant you think you can make yourself from all things Internet, someone somewhere in the cyber world likely knows more about you than you would like. And whether you are a high-profile target with quality online safeguards, or someone who says, "so what, I've got nothing to hide," those in the know with data about you will determine themselves how important it is, based on who wants to buy your information and how much they'll pay. So say the experts concerned about cybersecurity in the United States, which is why they say conferences such as the one taking place at Auburn University early this week are deemed critically important in spurring leadership from the academic world in providing the nation with greater cybersecurity. That's also why this year's SEC Academic Conference, hosted by Auburn with the focus on cybersecurity, is being attended by representatives from all 14 Southeastern Conference universities, as well as experts and recruiters from many of the nation's top technology firms, the military and the federal government.
 
UGA undergraduates display their research in CURO Symposium
University of Georgia undergraduates showed off their research projects Monday in the university's annual CURO Symposium at the Classic Center. Working under faculty mentors across many disciplines, hundreds of UGA students participate in the program each year, learning the methods of research in their particular fields, and using them to work on problems that often have real-world consequences. CURO -- for "Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities" -- began nearly 20 years ago as a program for a handful of students in the UGA Honors Program, recalled UGA President Jere Morehead, who was director of the Honors Program at the time. At first it was just a way of supporting Honors Program students, but now it's grown into much more, he said -- a national model for getting undergraduates involved in real university research.
 
LSU receives $1 million federal grant for quantum sensing research
Louisiana State University will receive nearly $1 million over the next five years to develop quantum technologies designed to improve the performance of quantum computers and sensors, according to the university. A university news release Monday stated LSU physics professor Jonathan Dowling received the "Quantum control based on real-time environment analysis by spectator qubits" grant from the U.S. Army Research Office. More than $7 million in funding has been awarded to a team of researchers from LSU; University of California, Berkeley; Dartmouth University; Duke University; Johns Hopkins University Applied Research Lab; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and the University of Oregon, as part of the Department of Defense's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program.
 
UF/IFAS event celebrates Florida's agriculture industry
Farmers, investors, chefs and researchers gathered at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Monday for what could have been the classiest tailgating party, if football were involved. The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences hosted its fifth annual Flavors of Florida, a celebration of plants, animals and honey that's grown, raised and made in the state. To ensure food can be produced in Florida, UF/IFAS works to breed reliable and sustainable agricultural varieties. Plants bred by UF researchers can have more nutrition and a longer shelf-life and require less water to grow, said Jack Payne, senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. "This is a celebration of all of that," Payne said.
 
U. of Tennessee's Sex Week kicks off panels; Franklin Graham criticizes event
Sex Week 2018 is now in full swing at the University of Tennessee. The event, featuring a week of panels and events focusing on sex, sexuality and gender, kicked off on Friday with its "Send Nudes Art Gallery" at the Bird House. Its programming went into full gear on Monday with multiple panels at different locations on campus. This is the sixth year of UT's Sex Week, which is organized by Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee. UT's Sex Week is no stranger to push back. In 2013, lawmakers ruled against using state funds to support the event. On Friday, the day Sex Week 2018 kicked off, Franklin Graham criticized the event on his Facebook page. Graham shared a Fox News opinion piece by Todd Starnes, called the event's programming filthy trash and said Tennessee pastors should speak out against it in his post.
 
Most College Presidents Worry That Speech Issues Could Trigger Violence
Seventy percent of college presidents are somewhat or very concerned about the prospect of violence on their campuses as a result of issues related to free speech and inclusion, a new survey has found. The American Council on Education questioned 471 college presidents of both public and private institutions for the study, which was released on Tuesday. The wide-ranging survey comes at a time when many college leaders have wrestled with how to handle invitations extended to controversial speakers -- including white supremacists like Richard B. Spencer -- to appear on their campuses. The survey found that the most common methods leaders use to "manage the tension between free speech and inclusion on campus" include public statements that lay out institutional values, community forums, and the monitoring of social media "for potential causes for concern."
 
Survey finds strong support by college presidents for free speech on campus
A new poll of college presidents finds strong support for free expression on campus, and strong opposition to the tactic -- seen on a number of campuses in the last year -- of shouting down controversial speakers. The poll of 471 college presidents was released today by the American Council on Education. Seventy-eight percent of those responding were at four-year colleges and universities. The poll follows a recent poll by Gallup and the Knight Foundation that found college students value a diverse and inclusive environment more than free speech. College presidents, too, were more likely to say a commitment to inclusivity was "extremely important" than to say the same about a commitment to free speech (82 to 74 percent). But an overwhelming majority of college presidents (96 percent) said they supported campus policies that "allow students to be exposed to all types of speech, even if they find it offensive or biased."
 
When a College Employee Shoots a Student
College administrations are in a difficult position. To maintain armed security forces means to take on the risk that something will go terribly awry, that a student or someone else will be wrongly shot. But to not maintain armed security could mean that students and professors lack adequate protection. The current preference tends to be to arm campus police officers, but administrators may soon find that preference more untenable as the political dynamics around guns shift. One clue as to the contours of the debate ahead: Many colleges and universities have implied their support for emboldened high-school student activists -- particularly those who have been vocal in support of gun control. Will those students find their administrations remain warm to their views once they arrive on campus?
 
13 humanities grants in 4 Deep South states
The Delta Blues Museum in Mississippi is getting $460,000 to create an exhibit about the history and influence of American blues and the music's connection to the Mississippi Delta. It's among 199 grants totaling $18.6 million nationwide announced Monday by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Thirteen, totaling $825,000, are in four Deep South states. Eight in Georgia include $185,000 for the University of Georgia Research Foundation to complete a database and online maps showing settlement and movement of Native, European and African populations in North America from 1500 to 1790. Two in Alabama include $6,000 for University of Alabama assistant professor Claire Cage to research a book about the relationship between forensic science and law in 19th-century France.
 
State's K-12 teachers seem to have other priorities
Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "The last mass protest by Mississippi teachers was in 1985. This year, with summer approaching and the Legislature adjourned, there's no sense that state teachers will ramp up to march on the Capitol for more pay as their counterparts have been doing in other rural states -- West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Thirty-three years ago, the state's 26,000 teachers were averaging $16,000 year. Their demand was for across-the-board $3,500 raises, which would have left Mississippi teachers $200 short of the 11-state Southeastern average, then $19,700. Today, Mississippi teachers, by some reckonings, remain 50th in compensation at an annual average of almost $43,000 per year. Other tallies say 47th, 48th or 49th."


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State hopes dramatic baseball win leads to more success
There are six more Southeastern Conference weekend series left for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and they have suddenly found some momentum. After taking two out of three games from the Ole Miss Rebels last weekend, the Bulldogs have a renewed hope they can make a move up the SEC standings. Luke Alexander hit a two-run walk off home run on Sunday as MSU defeated Ole Miss 7-5 in 11 innings. Even though the victory only got the Bulldogs to 17-16 overall and 4-8 in the SEC West, which is still tied for last place with Auburn, the latest result gave them a much better feeling about what the rest of the season holds. Mississippi State plays a non-conference game at Alabama State Wednesday before making the trip to Auburn.
 
How Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald is making progress by doing less
It all looked so familiar. Nick Fitzgerald took the snap. Farrod Green beat Chris Rayford and Mark McLaurin down the right hashes. Fitzgerald threw a strike to a moving Green for a 70-yard completion. Touchdown. With Fitzgerald celebrating after the play, it was easy to forget the realities on Saturday -- but only for a moment. The reminders were too obvious. Fitzgerald was the only Mississippi State quarterback in a yellow jersey and his right ankle was bundled with tape. Then there was also this: Fitzgerald made that throw during the 7-on-7 period that preceded Mississippi State's scrimmage and he didn't participate beyond that portion. These aren't perfect circumstances after Fitzgerald suffered a gruesome ankle injury in the Egg Bowl, but Fitzgerald is on the field and "doing everything at practice unless it's a live rush," he said. And that's a major positive for him, Joe Moorhead and Mississippi State.
 
Ole Miss formally objected to Michigan transfer Shea Patterson's waiver appeal
Ole Miss is objecting to Shea Patterson's assessment of the conditions within the program that the quarterback claims caused him to transfer from the school amid an NCAA scandal, his attorney tells CBS Sports. The objection recently sent to the NCAA could impact Patterson's ongoing transfer waiver appeal as he is looking to immediately become eligible to play for Michigan in 2018. The objection is part of a response delivered to the NCAA last month, according to attorney Thomas Mars. Patterson is seeking a waiver of the NCAA's traditional year-in-residence rule for transfers before becoming eligible. The approval of such a waiver would presumably have a significant impact on the Wolverines' 2018 season. "Whoever wrote that response for Ole Miss either wasn't paying attention last year or had a case of selective amnesia," Mars said.



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