Friday, February 8, 2019   
 
Mississippi State's student veterans get support
West Point gives back to the Mississippi State Veterans Center. West Point representatives presented over $3,000 to the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans. The proceeds are from the town's Veteran's Day parade that took place in November. The money goes back to student Veterans to help support them while they're in school. "We use this money for various things so it can either be scholarships, either help pay tuition, hardships, scholarships. We do a lot of programs and services for our student Veterans here, so we can use this money very easily," Brian Locke the Director of the Veterans Center said. Last month, the university was named a top 10 Military Friendly School.
 
Flu season spikes in Northeast Mississippi. What to do to keep yourself healthy.
As flu cases have spiked over the past week, area physicians and state health officials are encouraging people to keep their germs to themselves. Going back to work and school too soon is likely fueling the rapid spread of the virus and other respiratory illnesses. Across the state and the country, flu season has shifted into higher gear. Based on data from the week of Jan. 26, Mississippi was one of 45 states with geographically widespread flu and one of 23 with high flu activity. It's not just children who are being hit by the flu. Since the beginning of flu season, the Mississippi State Department of Health has handled at least 18 outbreaks in long term care settings, said communications director Liz Sharlot. "It is peak flu season," Sharlot said.
 
Senate advances bill to protect property owners from lawsuits after two-hour debate
How much, if any, liability should business owners incur for crimes committed by third parties on their property is at the center of debate on legislation that is being considered this session. On Thursday, the Senate passed legislation by a 32-17 margin that opponents said would relieve property owners or businesses of any liability even if the business owner failed to take precautions, such as having adequate lighting or security personnel to protect customers. Proponents of the legislation say the proposal primarily puts into law how the courts already are handling civil lawsuits involving crimes committed by third parties against customers at businesses. But those who saw fault with the legislation on the Senate floor included conservative Republicans, such as Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, and Judiciary A Chair Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg.
 
Mental health courts one step closer
A bill that would establish mental health courts throughout the state passed the House easily Thursday and now heads to the Senate. Its fate there is less than certain. Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, has filed a similar bill several times only to see it pass the House but die in the Senate. The mental health court system would operate like the state's drug courts. Currie has also included a provision for the court system in another bill. Two shots are better than one. "We have it in two bills. This one and in the criminal justice reform bill. I hope this standalone bill makes it," she said. There is also an appropriations bill to fund the courts. "After they are up and running we hope, like drug courts, they support themselves," Currie said. Why the Senate has killed the bill in previous years is unclear. Currie said it is a tragedy that people who need care can't get it because of a lack of a mental health court system.
 
Sen. Sally Doty: A sit-down Q & A
Sen. Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven, has spent much of her legislative career working to update Mississippi's sex education curriculum, establish domestic abuse as grounds for divorce and create a pay equity law. Each of the proposals to require that men and women receive equal pay for doing the same job were again unsuccessful this legislative session. Erica Hensley, editor of Mississippi Today's Inform[H]er newsletter, sat down with Sen. Doty recently to talk about these issues.
 
McDaniel on political future: 'Right now I am talking with the president. Everything is on the table.'
State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, who has waged two unsuccessful campaigns for the United States Senate in recent years, said he has been in consultation with President Donald Trump about his political future. Thus far McDaniel has not qualified to seek re-election to his state Senate post, which encompasses most of Jones County and a tiny portion of Forrest, and he has not qualified to run for another post. The qualifying deadline is March 1. "Right now I am talking with the president," McDaniel said Wednesday during the legislative session at the state Capitol. "He wants to help. It will be interesting. We have had a couple of conversations, and he has been very supportive."
 
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker tells Democrat his time is up in testy hearing
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker received gasps of astonishment when he told the head of the House Judiciary Committee at a testy hearing on Friday that his time for questioning had run out. "Mr. Chairman, I see that your five minutes is up," Whitaker told Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a statement that drew groans and gasps at the packed committee hearing. "I am here voluntarily. We have agreed to five minute rounds," he added. Nadler appeared to start laughing himself at what was a breach of protocol for a witness testifying before a congressional panel, as the ranking member of the committee said it would be a good time for a break in the proceedings. Lawmakers routinely go over their five minute time limits for questioning, and it is normally up to the chair to limit the proceedings.
 
Supreme Court on 5-to-4 vote blocks restrictive Louisiana abortion law
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined with the Supreme Court's liberals Thursday night to block a Louisiana law that opponents say would close most of the state's abortion clinics and leave it with only one doctor eligible to perform the procedure. The justices may yet consider whether the 2014 law --- requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals --- unduly burdens women's access to abortion. The Louisiana law has never been enforced, and the Supreme Court in 2016 found a nearly identical Texas law to be unconstitutional. The court's four most conservative members would have allowed the law to take effect. Brett M. Kavanaugh said there was a dispute about whether the doctors could obtain admitting privileges, and that a 45-day grace period would have given time to settle that question.
 
U. of Southern Mississippi students take on Shark Tank-like exercise
"Shark Tank," the Emmy-award winning reality TV show, features potential investors, called sharks, who consider business offers from aspiring entrepreneurs. The mood for the entrepreneurs is tense, as they present their detailed pitches, hoping the sharks will invest their own money and make a deal. University of Southern Mississippi School of Marketing students were involved in their own "Shark Tank-like" experience recently, when they offered carefully researched and thought-out solutions to problems put to them by real-life customers. "That really was what it was like," said Cameron Kenney, senior marketing major. "You're taking this project you spent all semester on and presenting it to a real-world, non-teacher client." The students were divided into teams and worked with two clients --- Petal's Excel by 5, a nonprofit that works with families who have children up to age 5, and Fourth Street CrossFit, a Hattiesburg gym that offers a full-body workout combining cardio, weight lifting, gymnastics and core training.
 
USM holds free HIV testing on campus for students
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes February 7 as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness day. In 2017, The Mississippi State Department of Health reported that there were 341 Black/African American cases of HIV in the Magnolia State. The total count for Mississippi in 2017 stood at 428 cases, (White: 71, Hispanic: 12). In light of the national awareness day, the University of Southern Mississippi held an event sponsored by the Aids Services Coalition with multiple resources to keep students informed about the disease. We spoke with one sophomore student at USM, Kelsi Ford, who said she chose to be tested for her own verification. "I am nervous for whatever reason I am," said Ford. "I am not sexually active, but if i choose to be I will be able to ask someone else for their test result and be able to show mine." Kelsi said that if the opportunity to be tested for free inside the Hub on USM's campus was not available, she would have not been tested.
 
Alcorn State University choir concert celebrates Black History Month
Alcorn State University is hosting a public choir concert celebrating Black History Month at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium Saturday at 6:30 p.m. There will be a special guest appearance by Miss Mississippi 2018 Asya Branch as well as concerts by the Tupelo High School Concert Choir and the Shannon High School Gospel Choir. Many of the songs performed will be old spirituals, hymns and gospel songs. ASU alumnus John Jones said the goal is to raise funds to create scholarships for five students in need. In the past, the university has hosted a banquet to celebrate Black History Month but decided to try something new this year. "This is one of our fundraising events and we just try to show with the students here in Northeast Mississippi the other choices that they have," Jones said.
 
Wesson 16-year-old heading to Mississippi College
Before Amelia Grace Morehead heads off to her junior year at Mississippi College, she needs to get her drivers license. Amelia, who graduated from Copiah-Lincoln Community with an associates degree in December, is just 16. She'll turn 17 a week or so shy of her first day of class at the Clinton campus. Trading in her permit for a permanent license is on her list of things to do before the fall semester starts. The daughter of John and Beth Morehead of Wesson, she'll be commuting back and forth to school rather than stay in a dorm. That makes her mom feel better about sending her baby off to the university. The Moreheads knew their youngest was gifted at an early age. As a military family on the move -- John Morehead is retired Air Force -- the one constant Beth Morehead could give her children was a classroom. So she home-schooled.
 
U. of Tennessee arenas could sell alcohol at non-sporting events if proposed bill becomes law
Knoxville could see more big-name acts performing at Thompson-Boling Arena and Neyland Stadium if a proposed state law to allow alcohol sales at campus sports venues passes. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, would not permit alcohol sales at University of Tennessee sporting events, due to Southeastern Conference rules. Massey said forbidding alcohol sales in Knoxville's largest venues means the city never sees the revenue that certain events can bring. "We cannot compete right now for your big concerts -- your Garth Brooks, your Kenny Chesneys, your Dolly Partons," she said. "Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis all have venues that can sell alcohol and compete for those kinds of events. And we're losing out." Last May, legislators passed a law to allow the sale of alcohol at Middle Tennessee State University football and baseball games. While the SEC would prevent that at UT, Massey is using similar tactics to amend the current state law affecting UT.
 
U. of Florida law school receives record $20 million gift
The University of Florida Levin College of Law received a $20 million gift from an alumnus, an endowment that will help strengthen its Health Law program. Richard Cole, the managing partner of Cole, Scott and Kissane in Miami, bequeathed the gift. Cole earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and a law degree from UF, ranking sixth in his class in 1974. The gift will honor Cole's late father, Robert B. Cole, who graduated from UF's law school in 1935. Robert Cole was founding chairman of Baptist Health of South Florida. Cole said his father's connection with Baptist Health played a role in his decision to donate. He also said it helps fill an important area of need at the school and in the state. As the country's third most populous state, Florida has more than 2.4 million people 65 and older that face a variety of health issues.
 
U. of Missouri curators favor pension changes
The University of Missouri System is scrapping its pension plan that provides a set benefit based on years of service in favor of a plan that will depend on employees to save for retirement. The move from a defined-benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan that officials say is more portable would begin Oct. 1. All employees hired after that date would be enrolled in the new system while those starting prior to it will be part of the current plan. The University of Missouri System Board of Curators on Thursday gave preliminary approval for the plan, with system President Mun Choi saying he's confident it will receive final approval. The changes come after the board heard in December 2017 that it would have to dedicate at least $17.9 million more annually to maintain the current plan. Choi said the funding level for the pension plan is good, but it isn't sustainable.
 
U. of Missouri applications up for fall 2019, system president tells curators
Freshmen applications to MU for fall 2019 are up nearly 6 percent compared to fall 2018, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi said Thursday. Choi told the UM System Board of Curators that freshmen applications are up 5.7 percent -- from 17,864 in 2018 to 18,878 in 2019. He also reported that freshmen deposits are up 37 percent compared to last year. "That's the result of us changing how we did some of admissions and how we contacted people earlier," MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said. "So it's all of those little things that add up to make a big difference." The MU Office of Admissions now responds to applications within 48 hours of submission, Cartwright said. Additionally, scholarship and FAFSA information is now included in admissions to encourage students to seek financial support early. "I want to caution everyone that those numbers are going to experience some melt through the months ahead," Choi said. "But, we're in a very good spot."
 
VMI and U. of Richmond face questions about yearbook photos with blackface
Virginia is facing a political crisis over several of its political leaders having worn blackface while attending various colleges and universities. As more yearbooks are scrutinized and more images are becoming public, questions are also being raised for the colleges involved. None of the images are recent, although many colleges nationally continue to see blackface incidents. But the images -- the latest are from 1968 (at Virginia Military Institute) and 1980 (at the University of Richmond) -- show that colleges that in theory desegregated were for years after hostile to African Americans and others -- at least to the extent that yearbooks with racist images were not seen as cause for concern at the time. Colleges and universities in Virginia and elsewhere have for years debated how to talk about their ties to slavery and Jim Crow. These images, coming in theory after the fall of Jim Crow and slavery, are setting off new discussions.
 
Beyond College Campuses and Public Scandals, a Racist Tradition Lingers
Nina Yeboah was a freshman at Georgia State University in 2004 when she heard about the pair of white fraternity brothers who had shown up at a "Straight Outta Compton" party in blackface. Fifteen years later, she said, it still feels traumatic to talk about what would become a moment of embarrassment and pain on the Atlanta campus. As a student of color, said Ms. Yeboah, now a writer, "it kind of wakes you up to what racism is like in the community that you're in." It has been a week of waking up. This last week has reinforced that blackface, with its roots in demeaning minstrel-show traditions that date to the 1830s, has never gone away. In fact, it surfaces on a regular basis across the country, beyond the South and beyond the Greek houses on college campuses. Over the past two decades, there have been at least a handful of incidents every year, in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Alabama, involving judges, police officers, bank executives and credit union employees.
 
Judge backs Christian group in dispute with U. of Iowa
A Christian student group at the University of Iowa can't be stripped of its affiliation with the institution, even if its members follow a "statement of faith" that bans those in LGBTQ relationships from leadership roles, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The decision by Judge Stephanie M. Rose has alarmed advocates for queer men and women. They are worried it would open the door for a challenge of a U.S. Supreme Court case from 2010 that allows colleges and universities to enforce antidiscrimination policies, even when student religious organizations claim those policies infringe on their beliefs. That ruling requires colleges that want to enforce such antibias rules to apply them to all groups equally. Judge Rose's decision, however, suggests that her ruling may be relevant only to circumstances at Iowa. The clash between Iowa officials and Business Leaders in Christ began in 2016.
 
Apple CEO Tim Cook to give Tulane University's 2019 commencement speech
Apple CEO Tim Cook will address graduates as the keynote speaker at Tulane University's 2019 commencement ceremony. The ceremony is scheduled for May 18. Tulane University made the announcement Thursday in a video shared with its graduating senior class of approximately 3,000 students. The video featured Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, and Tulane's commencement speaker in 2012. Cook, who grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, was a Fuqua Scholar at Duke University, where he earned a master's degree in business administration. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University. Past Tulane commencement speakers include U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, award-winning actress Helen Mirren, and the 14th Dalai Lama. Tulane's 2019 commencement ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on May 18, 2019, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.


SPORTS
 
No. 24 Mississippi State softball opens season in Bulldog Kickoff Classic today
Mississippi State sophomore Mia Davidson set no personal goals before her first season with the Bulldogs. She does not plan to do anything differently this year. Davidson earned Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year honors after hitting a school-record 19 home runs for the Bulldogs. Her second act begins at 3 p.m. today when MSU takes on Middle Tennessee in its opening game at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. MSU will also face Stephen F. Austin at 5:30 p.m. before playing twice more Saturday and another game Sunday. "Honestly, don't get caught up in the numbers," Davidson said. "If you pay attention to the personal accolades, the team goals suffer. My job each day is to make sure my contributions help this team win. We have a lot of potential and we want to make this a special season."
 
Mia Davidson focused on new season as Mississippi State softball season starts
Mia Davidson refuses to dwell on the past. Mississippi State's sophomore slugging catcher begins her second season with the Bulldogs Friday at 3 p.m. when MSU hosts Middle Tennessee in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. If anyone ever had a reason to look backwards though instead of forwards to a new year, Davidson absolutely does. She's coming off of a historic freshman season that saw her already begin to rewrite the Mississippi State record books. Don't expect her to be thinking about any of that today or in the months to come though. "(Last season) was incredible, but I try to leave it in the past really and focus on the now," Davidson said. "What happened then happened then." Davidson might not give it much thought, but her 2018 was perhaps a sign of incredible things to come for the Hillsborough, North Carolina native.
 
Robert Woodard's basketball focus paying off
Like many kids, Robert Woodard II grew up playing multiple sports. Woodard bounced between basketball and baseball and was enamored with whichever sport was in season at the time. When Woodard reached seventh grade, he began thinking about his future and by the time he was a freshman he had devoted himself solely to basketball. "As I got older, I realized my chances are very high to play college basketball," Woodard said. "That's when I realized I may have a chance to do something with this." And do something he did. Woodard played for the USA Basketball U16 national team that won a gold medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championships in Argentina, was a two-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and led Columbus High School to a pair of Class 6A state titles.
 
Mississippi State's Jake Mangum on Golden Spikes watch list a third time
For the third time in his career, Mississippi State's Jake Mangum has been named to the preseason watch list for the Golden Spike Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player. Mangum joins Florida's Preston Tucker as the only two players since 2008 to be picked for the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list. The senior outfielder from Pearl is the active NCAA leader in career hits with 275 and has a hit in 146 of 176 career games. Last season, Mangum led the Bulldogs batting .351 with 101 hits, 22 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 33 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. A midseason watch list will be released on April 10. The winner of the Golden Spikes Award will be announced on June 14. California's Andrew Vaughn claimed the award last year. Will Clark is the only MSU player to win the honor in 1985.
 
Mississippi State's Anriel Howard added to Wade Trophy watch list
Mississippi State graduate forward Anriel Howard is one of six players added to the midseason watch list for the Wade Trophy, which is presented annually to the national player of the year. Howard's teammate, Teaira McCowan, is also on the Wade Trophy watch list having been selected during the preseason. Howard, a transfer from Texas A&M, is averaging 15.5 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Bulldogs this season and ranks sixth among active players in the NCAA with 1,175 career boards. The 5-foot-11 native of Atlanta also ranks eighth among active SEC players with 1,271 career points. Four finalists for the Wade Trophy will be announced next month and a winner selected on April 4.
 
How Mississippi State's Vic Schaefer nearly ceased his coaching career to pursue a passion
Vic Schaefer jumped into the air in disgust. Twice. Then he turned to the bench and took a seat. He didn't last there for more than a second before he hopped up to chide a referee. "You've got to be kidding me!" Schaefer screamed. Schaefer's senior forward Anriel Howard had just been called for an offensive foul against No. 7 Oregon in December's nationally televised game between the Ducks and Bulldogs. There were only two minutes left in the third quarter, and the score was knotted at 55. No. 4 Mississippi State's undefeated record was on the line, so Schaefer wasn't going to let a ticky-tack call ruin his team's chances of earning a massive road victory. Plus, he had to protect his players. Howard's foul was the fifth offensive foul called on Mississippi State in what eventually became an 82-74 loss. Ironically, Schaefer has been on the other side of a coach-versus-official dispute. Plenty of times, too. Long before Schaefer became the 2018 Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year after taking Mississippi State to the National Championship for the second-straight season, he was a softball and baseball umpire in Texas.
 
Boston Red Sox slugger Mitch Moreland honored by local Boy Scout council
Amory native Mitch Moreland is a Gold Glove winner, an American League All-Star, and a World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox. On Thursday night, the former Mississippi State Diamond Dawg was back in Northeast Mississippi. Moreland was honored by the Boy Scouts of America's Yocona Area Council as its Distinguished Citizen. Being a former boy scout is not a requirement to win the award. However, Moreland's father, Charles, was an Eagle Scout. "This is always gonna be home for me," said Moreland. "It's special to me. To get back this way, its somewhere, I was driving over here during the summers to play baseball with the 49ers so I'm very familiar with this and I'm happy to come back over here for this." Past winners include Archie Manning, John Grisham, and Morgan Freeman.
 
Twitters reacts to scrutiny of Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson
Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson has come under scrutiny after a story by the The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach detailed his history of controversial recruiting decisions. The article was published after Hopson attempted to hire former Baylor coach Art Briles as his offensive coordinator without consulting university leadership. Southern Miss announced Wednesday that Briles would not be offered the position, a decision that Hopson said he disagreed with. Briles was fired from Baylor in 2016 over revelations that the school's football program downplayed accusations of sexual assault against its players. He has not held a coaching position in the NCAA since then. Hopson has led Southern Miss' program since 2016. The team has a 21-16 record during his head coaching tenure.
 
Report: Southern Miss football tried to add troubled recruit
A new report by The Athletic brings into question Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson's track record of giving second chances to both players and coaches with troubled pasts. Thursday's report comes a day after Hopson was denied the opportunity by USM administration to hire former Baylor coach Art Briles, who has been out of a college coaching job since he was fired by Baylor in May of 2016 amid a probe into allegations of sexual assault by his players. The Athletic's report is centered around Charles West, a junior college football player who was previously accused of raping two women at knife-point in separate incidents in 2015. USM officials were not aware of the accusations against West until an athletic department employee came across a Dallas Morning News article on the rape allegations, according to The Athletic. He is not a student at the school.



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