Thursday, March 21, 2019   
 
MSU-Meridian schedules talk March 28 on U.S. Census
Mississippi State University-Meridian's Criminology program is hosting a guest speaker to help educate the public about the U.S. Census in 2020. Krya D. Roby, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, will give a presentation from 10-11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 28 at Kahlmus Hall on the MSU-Meridian College Park campus, 1000 Highway 19N. Roby's role includes educating the public about the upcoming U.S. Census and increasing participation. The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years for the purpose of reapportioning Congress. Census data is also used to determine how federal funds are distributed back to states and local communities.
 
'Potentially historic' flooding threatens South, forecasters say
Scientists are warning that historic flooding could soon deluge parts of several Southern states along the lower Mississippi River, where floodwaters could persist for several weeks. The flood threat in the South will be discussed Thursday, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases its 2019 spring outlook. Experts plan a briefing on their flood forecast at the National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Thursday's report is aimed at helping emergency managers and other safety officials to prepare for flooding. Flooding in Southern states this spring will be "potentially historic," NOAA said in an advisory. Rapidly melting snow in the upper Midwest is contributing to flooding that will eventually make its way downstream to the Gulf Coast, forecasters have said.
 
Prominent publication pours praise on Strange Brew Coffeehouse
Strange Brew Coffeehouse in Tupelo has been named one of "America's 7 Most Beautiful Gas Station Conversions" by Architectural Digest. "These locales are the poster children for adaptive reuse done well," the publication said of the seven restaurants. "Brewpelo", as it's called by locals, drew further praise due to it industrial interior look, as well as its signature drink, the "Albino Squirrel." And, of course, Elvis garners a mention, as well. Shane Reed is also the owner of Strange Brew Coffeehouse in Starkville, which also resides in a gas station along with roommate and ice cream shop Churn & Spoon.
 
MDOT closing Highway 43 for bridge replacements
A bridge repair project could create headaches for commuters in Rankin and Madison counties. MDOT has announced they will be closing Highway 43 across the Ross Barnett Reservoir this summer to replace two bridges. MDOT officials say the safety of drivers is why they plan to close down the bridges at the end of May. The supports underneath have been compromised and it's more cost effective to just replace the whole thing. Jason Scott an MDOT spokesman said, "We understand this is going to be a big inconvenience, this project is safety. The bridge is getting to a point where it's becoming unsafe for the traveling public so we made the determination that the best cause of action was to replace these bridges." The road closures will begin with just weekends in mid April as coffer dams are built to give construction crews a dry space to work. This is a heavily traveled connector over the reservoir, 3,800 cars a day go across.
 
Marty Stuart returns to historic Ellis Theater March 28
Marty Stuart returns to historic Ellis Theater March 28, a place where he grew up watching movies before going into the country music business. Stuart and his band, The Fabulous Superlatives, along with his wife, country music legend Connie Smith, will be there as part of a 30-city nationwide tour to promote an upcoming documentary about the history of country music. "Country Music," an eight-part, 16-hour documentary directed and produced by famed filmmaker Ken Burns, will premiere Sep. 15. It will be shown in two-hour programs during the next couple of weeks on various PBS platforms, apps and venues, including Meridian. Stuart, who is working to develop the Congress of Country Music in Philadelphia, had more than 200 speaking parts in the documentary and worked as a consultant in its development. This performance will promote both projects, but it also allows Stuart to play at the Ellis Theater which he considers a very important part of his life.
 
Greg Iles' book debuts on bestsellers lists
One week after debuting, Greg Iles' newest novel is climbing national and international best-sellers lists. "Cemetery Road" is the Natchez author's latest thriller about an investigative journalist who is dragged into a murder investigation after he returns home to Mississippi. The fictional-novel debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Sellers list on both the Hardcover Fiction list and the Combined Print and E-book Fiction list. Ahead of Iles' book in the No. 1 spot is "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens --- a book that has been on the NYT Best Sellers list for 26 weeks. Iles said he owes much of the strong showing to Mississippi readers. "I want to thank all my Mississippi readers for their support," Iles said. "They really come out strong when I tour the state that first week, and those sales help me hit high up the list. From Tupelo to the Coast, Mississippians are still readers."
 
Senate passes $280M bill, some to aid local projects
A bond bill full of pet projects that passed the state Senate this week contains a few provisions for local projects. Almost a third of the nearly $280 million bill is marked for improvements at the state's universities and colleges. Another $47 million is for state agencies. Copiah-Lincoln Community College is slated to get $1.36 million for facilities and infrastructure, part of about $25 million for community colleges. The town of Wesson is up for $250,000 to construct a new police station. The Legislature often signs off on a bond bill to borrow funds for various projects. The current bill will go to conference where the House and Senate will decide on a final version. Sen. Sally Doty of Brookhaven voted for the bill, as did Reps. Becky Currie and Vince Mangold.
 
State senator moved to tears when other senators question his ethics over lottery nominee
A legislative panel on Wednesday questioned a possible conflict of interest involving a nominee to the state's new lottery board. The Senate Finance Committee ultimately approved the nomination of Ridgeland businessman Gerard Gibert, but not until after a near hour-long debate that brought one Senator to tears. Ahead of Wednesday's vote, some lawmakers privately expressed concerns about a fundraiser Gibert held for Finance Committee member Sen. Michael Watson, R-Hurley, who is running for Secretary of State. Five other members of Senate Finance attended the fundraiser the week before they were set to confirm Gibert's nomination. Much of Gibert's interview Wednesday centered on the event. "I do know that the fundraiser that we held is not violating any ethics rules," he told the committee. Sen. Barbara Blackmon, D-Canton, said the timing of the fundraiser put a cloud on the hearing.
 
Gov. Bryant vetoes change to public employees' insurance board
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has struck down a bill dealing with the board that manages health insurance for state government employees and school employees. The board is made up of 10 voting members and six legislators who do not vote. House Bill 576 would have let the state insurance commissioner and the state superintendent of education each send a representative in his or her place. The commissioner and the superintendent are both among the voting members. Bryant wrote Monday that he vetoed the bill because allowing the two officials to send representatives "would thwart the intent of having counterparts of the highest level of government" making decisions about public employees' insurance.
 
Minors won't be charged with prostitution under bill in Mississippi
A minor engaged in prostitution should be considered a victim and not face criminal charges, a legislative bill says. That bill, on a 116-0 vote, is now on the way to the governor after the House agreed Tuesday with slight changes made by the Senate. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, filed the bill to prohibit a sex trafficking victim younger than 18 from being charged with a misdemeanor. House Bill 571 also allows the child to be taken into protective custody and have counseling provided. "We want this to be something effective for our children," House Judiciary B Chairwoman Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia, said on the House floor. Democrat David Baria of Bay St. Louis called it "a good bill." Under the bill, a report would be made to the Department of Child Protection Services of any child taken into protective custody.
 
Andy Gipson stumps for ag commissioner job
Campaigning to keep his job, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson had a few things on his mind in Lee County this week, things like foreign markets, unfilled farm jobs and fake meat. The fake meat prompted particular passion. "By sometime this year at a grocery store near you, they'll be peddling fake meat, meat that's not grown from a farm-raised animal but raised in a petri dish somewhere in California," Gipson said. "I don't want to eat a dime of it." These comments came as Gipson praised the state Legislature for passing a law that says imitation-meat products cannot be labeled as meat. Other issues that emerged in Gipson's Monday speech before the Lee County Republican Club included efforts to sell Mississippi agricultural products abroad and to promote agricultural education in Mississippi schools. Typically one of the lower-profile and lower-controversy offices in state government, Gipson riled up his Lee County audience Monday with a sometimes sharply polemic speech.
 
'Why Can't I Break That Barrier?': The JFP Interview with AG Hopeful Jennifer Riley Collins
When Jennifer Riley Collins returned home to Mississippi in 1997 after earning her master's degree and serving on active duty in the military, she eagerly looked for ways to help better her home state. In 1999, Riley Collins, now 53, earned her law degree at Mississippi College School of Law, but continued her military service. She retired as an Army colonel and military intelligence officer in 2017. "I began to look around Mississippi and said, 'What are some things that are impacting Mississippians?'" she told the Jackson Free Press in an interview on March 15. From the early 2000s onward, she advocated in Mississippi on issues such as juvenile-
justice reform. Now, she is the executive director of the Mississippi branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she works on behalf of vulnerable populations. For Riley Collins' party to hold onto the attorney general's office, she will not only have to defy the odds as a Democrat in a red state, but she will have to make history. If she is victorious, she will be the first African American to hold statewide office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era -- and the first African American woman ever to win a statewide office.
 
How do other states use lottery money?
Alabamians will soon be surrounded on all sides by lotteries, as tickets already fly off the shelves in gas stations just across the state borders in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. As of last year, Mississippi lawmakers also approved a lottery. That leaves Alabama in the middle, where state Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, filed a bill to change that. McClendon estimated that a lottery could generate net revenue of about $250 million for the state. He said that would depend on what games are allowed by the lottery commission. Mississippi established a lottery last year and could start selling lottery tickets as soon as the end of this year, according to media reports. The Mississippi law calls for the first $80 million in revenue to go toward roads and bridges. Any revenue over $80 million will go to the Education Enhancement Fund to benefit education, specifically mentioned in the law as for funding for the "Early Childhood Learning Collaborative, the Classroom Supply Fund and/or other educational purposes."
 
Poverty, race and reparations: Warren sets tone for candidates campaigning in Mississippi
The Mississippi Delta that Sen. Elizabeth Warren toured this week is significantly different from the one Sen. Robert F. Kennedy visited in 1967, just a few years after passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Take Greenville, for example. In 1967, the Mississippi town had a population of roughly 40,000 supported largely by farming and industry. Still, the poverty rate was 29 percent, according to the 1970 Census. At the time, the city was split evenly along black-white racial lines and the schools were segregated. Today, the city and its leadership are majority black along with the local schools, even though de jure segregation ended roughly 50 years ago. Poverty is higher, 35 percent, as industries have dried up and agriculture mechanized. "Part of the Delta was industrialized and we never made the transition," said state Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville. "The investment to double down on those workers was never made."
 
Where you live matters: Economic and social factors can affect your ability to live a healthy life
More than a quarter of children live in poverty across Mississippi -- and those children are more likely to live in unhealthy parts of the state and see health complications into adulthood. New health rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation show that economic and social factors can influence health just as much as the vitals collected in the examination room. The report shows all 82 Mississippi counties have health issues, including obesity, HIV prevalence and high rates of uninsured people -- but some fare better than others. The main takeaway from the annual report: place matters -- a person's zip code is a strong indicator of their ability to live a healthy life. Every county across the state has at least a 30 percent adult obesity rate. The healthiest counties are Rankin, followed by Madison, DeSoto, Lamar and Lafayette. The five counties in the poorest health, starting with the least healthy, are Quitman, Jefferson, Holmes, Coahoma, and Sharkey. But notably, within the healthy counties, African Americans still experience poor health outcomes, signaling that health outcomes are not shared across race in otherwise healthier counties.
 
Supreme Court Justices Seem Incredulous At Repeated Bias Jury Selection
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled strongly on Wednesday that it is likely to rule for a death row inmate in Mississippi who was prosecuted six times for the same crime by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias in jury selection. The arguments, more passionate and fact-filled than usual, also had a surprise ending when Justice Clarence Thomas posed a question -- the first time in three years. Though his colleagues focused mainly on the prosecutor's exclusion of African-American jurors, Thomas asked whether the defense had struck any white jurors. Yes, three in the sixth trial, said defense lawyer Sheri Johnson. But when it came to black jurors, there were none left to strike. Wednesday's case involved the conduct of Doug Evans, a district attorney in Winona, Miss., and his pursuit of a conviction against Curtis Flowers, a black man who prior to this case had no criminal record. Months after a quadruple murder in Winona, Flowers was arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He has been on death row for 22 years.
 
How Trump is on track for a 2020 landslide
President Donald Trump has a low approval rating. He is engaging in bitter Twitter wars and facing metastasizing investigations. But if the election were held today, he'd likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses. Credit a strong U.S. economy featuring low unemployment, rising wages and low gas prices -- along with the historic advantage held by incumbent presidents. While Trump appears to be in a much stronger position than his approval rating and conventional Beltway wisdom might suggest, he also could wind up in trouble if the economy slows markedly between now and next fall, as many analysts predict it will. And other legal bombshells could explode the current scenario. Trump's party managed to lose the House in 2018 despite a strong economy. So the models could wind up wrong this time around. Despite all these caveats, Trump looks surprisingly good if the old James Carville maxim coined in 1992 -- "the economy, stupid" -- holds true in 2020.
 
Pay Raises, More Staff, Earmarks: Lawmakers Propose Ways To Overhaul Congress
Members of Congress have not received a pay raise in a decade. So like most Americans, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., would like a raise. "The cost of rent, childcare, and other necessities has risen substantially in Washington and across the country in recent years, but members and staff pay and benefits have not kept pace with the private sector," Hoyer said last week at a hearing held by the new Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Most House members make $174,000 per year, but they often have to maintain two residences and related expenses. Congress has not approved a raise since the economic recession hit in 2009. Better pay and more employees are just two of hundreds of ideas offered up at a recent lawmaker spit-balling session on how to make Congress function better. It's a question a new bipartisan task-force has just one year to answer before making formal recommendations for change. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., offered perhaps one of the more dramatic ways to shake up modern Capitol Hill culture with his proposal to ban lawmakers from living out of their offices.
 
Jimmy Carter gets new title: oldest living former president
When Jimmy Carter left office in 1980, the return home to Plains was not easy. His once flourishing farming business was more than $1 million dollars in debt, and he faced the prospect of selling the land that his family had been on for 150 years. Then a friend pointed out that Carter, at the tender age of 56, could expect to live at least until 80-years-old. "I had one disturbing reaction," Carter wrote in his 1998 book, "The Virtues of Aging." "What was I going to do with the next 25 years? Let's just say a lot -- from establishing the Carter Center and being awarded the Nobel Prize to building Habitat for Humanity homes and writing more than two dozen books. March 21, 2019, marks yet another milestone. While it is not his birthday, Carter becomes the oldest living former president in United States history. At the age of 94 years and 172 days, he passes George H.W. Bush, who was 94 years, 171 days when he died last November.
 
Ole Miss to host two-day art symposium featuring William Dunlap
Ole Miss will host two-day poetry-reading and art symposium next week. The symposium is in conjunction with Meditations on the Landscape in Art and Literature exhibition that will unveil William Dunlap's Meditations on the Origins of Agriculture in America. The event is presented by the Friends of the University of Mississippi Museum and will take place on March 25-26. The two-day event will begin with an opening reception for the exhibition at the University Museum on March 25 at 4 p.m. At 6 p.m., the Nutt Auditorium will host Natasha Trethewey as she reads from her work and comment on her perceptions of history during "The Lyrical Landscape." During the afternoon portion of the symposium, Dunlap will discuss painting literature with author John Grisham, Jessica B. Harris and writer Curtis Wilkie. Ralph Eubanks will serve as moderator for the panel. An all-day symposium on March 26 will consist of talks and panels focusing on landscape in art and literature.
 
Experts Looking to Improve Medical Responses in Rural Areas
Experts in Mississippi are looking for ways to use innovative technologies to improve medical responses and patient outcomes in rural areas of the state. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is collaborating with the First Responder Network in order to meet this goal. Stephen Houck is with the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He says Mississippi doesn't have a lot of ability to transmit high speed data throughout the state. "This partnership will enable us to bridge that gap so that we can send video from the field from paramedics at the scene of an accident to trauma centers, stroke centers, cardiac centers" said Houck. "So that we can get care delivered in the field sooner." The partnership between the two organizations will also benefit first responders in rural areas by making sure they have mobile broadband in times of emergency.
 
NMHS, U. of North Alabama team up with online ed partnership
More than the Natchez Trace connects Tupelo and Florence, Alabama. On Wednesday, North Mississippi Health Services and the University of North Alabama signed a partnership agreement that will give hospital system employees a boost as they further their education. Through the partnership, the system's nearly 7,000 team members will be eligible for scholarships that equal 20 percent off tuition and fees for four online undergraduate programs and three online master's degree programs offered by UNA. "That will open up a lot of avenues for our folks," said NMMC-Tupelo President David Wilson as the hospital system and university officials prepared to sign the partnership agreement. The partnership is a natural extension of the mission of the university, which is located in the northwest corner of Alabama, said UNA President Ken Kitts. "For years, we've had employees who have gone to UNA on their own," said NMMC recruitment specialist Rosalyn Campbell.
 
U. of Alabama student competing on 'Wheel of Fortune' Friday
It began in a simple way. After her first year at the University of Alabama, Bethany Patterson returned home to Olive Branch, Mississippi, for the summer. Looking to spend more time together, Patterson and her family revived an old tradition: watching "Wheel of Fortune" together. This time around, the family watched the show every night it was on that summer. While the rest of the family passively watched as contestants spun the show's iconic wheel or told presenter Vanna White which letter to point to, Patterson and her father, Joel, became hooked on seeing who could decipher the puzzle the fastest. "We would get very competitive watching it," said Bethany Patterson, a sophomore at UA studying marketing. "We would always see who could solve the puzzles first." In fact, it was Bethany Patterson's father who encouraged her to apply to compete on the show that very summer. On Friday, Bethany Patterson will be one of several college students from across the country who will compete on the show's "College Week Spring Break."
 
Gov. Edwards 'not prepared to echo' longtime supporter's calls to oust LSU president, AD
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he's not ready to back up a call to oust LSU President F. King Alexander by the former chair of the state's top policymakers for public higher education. Richard Lipsey, a longtime supporter of LSU and one of the richest businessmen in Baton Rouge, pointed to a series of what he called scandals that has hit the headlines over the past few weeks from the suspension of basketball coach Will Wade to the university's involvement in hospital foundation fraud allegations to criticism from the Legislative Auditor for improperly paying a vet school professor who had been disciplined. Lipsey stepped down in December from the Board of Regents, which oversees policy and distributes state appropriations for all public universities in Louisiana. He also called for the removal of embattled athletic director Joe Alleva.
 
Gov. Edwards proposing $19 million more for Louisiana higher education
Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking lawmakers to spend $19 million more this year on higher education than was budgeted, to fill gaps in the TOPS college tuition program, help schools facing accreditation reviews and pay for boosted online resources for students. The items are included on a list of additional spending requests for the budget year ending June 30 that the Democratic governor is asking lawmakers to finance in their upcoming legislative session. The Board of Regents provided a detailed breakdown of the higher education proposals Wednesday to The Associated Press. Other dollars would pay for LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center to recruit faculty, an expense matched with private foundation money. The LSU and Southern University AgCenters would get more cash, and LSU's New Orleans medical school would receive more than $2 million to pay a new lease arrangement with the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.
 
Students prepare for TEDxUGA presentations
In Cat Hendrick's family, they're known as "Cat stories." On Friday, she'll take the stage to share one of those personal stories with a much wider audience as one of three student presenters at TEDxUGA 2019: Amplify. "You only get one chance, and I want to do it right," she said. "I'm excited to hear people's reactions ... and whether they've learned something that hopefully will change their lives for the better. I think that moment is going to be really, really neat." Hendrick, along with A.C. Williams and Jitendra Pant, were the only three students selected for TEDxUGA 2019: Amplify. In November, they shared their ideas at the Student Idea Showcase, a TED-like event that spotlights student ideas and acts as the annual student-selection platform for TEDxUGA. After 11 presenters took the SIS stage, the TEDxUGA steering committee chose these three to round out the 2019 presenter lineup. Since then, Hendrick, Williams and Pant been working with a group of fellow students -- their Presenter Prep Teams -- to perfect their talks.
 
Black and gold at the end of the rainbow: Marching Mizzou to perform in Dublin parade
Marching Mizzou is feeling lucky after finding out it will be performing in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day in 2020. The marching band will be competing in the Limerick International Band Parade and Competition on March 15 in Limerick, Ireland, said Amy Knopps, director of athletic bands. The band will also compete in the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 17. Students will be responsible to pay for their entire trip, including airfare and housing. Pete Zambito, assistant director of athletic bands, said that he hopes the whole band will be able to come but understands that students may have other commitments or financial constraints. The band will also be performing at a sporting event and at St. James's Gate Brewery, where Guinness is brewed, Knopps said.
 
Trump set to sign executive order on campus free speech
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that addresses campus free speech as well as other higher education issues, according to several sources familiar with the White House's plans. Trump said earlier this month he would issue an executive order "requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research dollars." But it's not clear how the policy set to be unveiled on Thursday would work. Trump, who previously threatened to withdraw federal funding to the University of California, Berkeley, has said he wants "very costly" penalties for schools that don't "support free speech." At the CPAC speech where he mentioned the executive order, he brought to the stage Hayden Williams, a conservative activist who was punched in the face while recruiting on the UC Berkeley campus for the conservative youth group Turning Point USA. The White House said Trump would sign an executive order and make "remarks on improving free inquiry, transparency and accountability on campus" on Thursday afternoon in the East Room.
 
New study says trigger warnings are useless. Does that mean they should be abandoned?
Trigger warnings don't help students, and they might even hurt those grappling with serious trauma. That's the upshot of a new study on trigger warnings published in Clinical Psychological Science. Concerned about the use of trigger warnings absent clear evidence of their effectiveness, the authors conducted a series of experiments on 1,394 people, a mix of first-year psychology students at Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand and internet users. They wanted to know to what extent trigger warnings affect people's ratings of negative material and their symptoms of distress, namely "negative affect," intrusive thoughts and avoidance. What does it all mean? The authors explore this, writing, "Some might wonder if professors should continue to issue trigger warnings. After all, if the warnings do not worsen distress and students believe the warnings are helpful, then why not?" Ultimately, however, the authors are against trigger warnings. "
 
Maryland prof resigns after allegedly making discriminatory comments about Chinese students, cheating
A series of recent reported incidents have raised the specter of tensions between faculty members and the international students they teach. The most recent such incident involved the resignation of a professor from the University of Maryland College Park -- first reported by WAMU 88.5 -- after the professor, David Weber, accused a group of students from China of cheating and was accused in turn of discriminating against students based on their race and national origin. Samantha Wu, who is from China, was taking a forensic auditing class in Maryland's business school last fall. The class had two sections, one taught by Weber and one, in which she was enrolled, taught by David Hilton. Wu reported that on Nov. 7 Weber came into another class she was taking, a business ethics class taught by Jeffrey Milton, with a list of names of students he believed cheated on the final exam in the forensic accounting class. In a complaint submitted to the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct, Wu and others said Weber began yelling things to the class like, "All Chinese students cheated their way into [the] United States" and "You will all be expelled, your visas will be revoked, and you will have to go back to China."
 
Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Slaves in 1850. Suit Says University Still Profiting From Them
In 1850, a Harvard University scientist ordered an enslaved father and daughter to pose for photographs as part of a quest to "prove" his racist biological theories. On Wednesday, a woman who says she's a direct descendent of the enslaved man sued the university for ownership of the photos. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Tamara Lanier, says the issue at hand is not just photography rights. Rather, the case is about "the extent to which history is told and appropriated by the powerful -- and denied to the powerless," according to the lawsuit, filed in a Massachusetts civil court. The action poses a moral question for Harvard and universities like it: Are they honestly grappling with a troubling legacy, or continuing to benefit from it? Harvard's president and fellows, the Board of Overseers, the university itself, and its Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology are named as defendants. Lanier is seeking ownership of the images, plus damages and "legal and equitable redress." Jonathan Swain, a university spokesman, said on Wednesday that Harvard, having not yet been served with the lawsuit, was in no position to comment.
 
USC selects Carol Folt as new president as university tries to move past scandals
Carol L. Folt, the recently departed chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be the next president of USC, a choice underscoring the university's desire to turn the page on myriad scandals that have defined it in recent years. Folt, whose appointment was approved by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday morning, will become the first female president in USC's 139-year history. She is taking the helm at a time when USC has been buffeted by a succession of controversies, including the unfolding college admissions scandal, which saw USC employees and parents charged; drug use by the former dean of its prestigious medical school; and the sexual assault allegations against a campus gynecologist. It was the accusations against the gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall, last year that cut short the tenure of university President C.L. Max Nikias. His eight-year term saw USC skyrocket in academic rankings and prestige, and the fundraising campaign he spearheaded brought more than $6 billion to USC.
 
Bernie Sanders joins striking workers at UCLA in first 2020 California visit
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday joined striking workers at UCLA in his first appearance in California since declaring his 2020 presidential candidacy, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sanders joined members of the University Professional and Technical Employees to give a speech before the picket line, according to the Times. "I'm here today not as a candidate for president but as somebody who has spent the last 40 years of his life walking the picket lines for unionized workers," Sanders said, according to the Times. "What we are seeing all across this country is a war being waged against working people in America." Sanders's visit to the Golden State comes a week after his own presidential campaign announced it will unionize, the first for a major-party candidate to do so. Sanders campaign workers will be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400. University of California spokesperson Claire Doan told the Times the union's demands were unsustainable.


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State earns win at Samford
After allowing four runs in the first inning, the No. 2 Mississippi State baseball team shut out Samford the rest of the way and rallied to earn its 20th win of the season. State scored single runs in the fourth and fifth, and tallied four runs in the seventh on the way to a 6-4 win. It is the second-straight game that State (20-2) allowed four runs in the first inning and the second-straight game it rallied for a win. Samford (14-6) stranded 12 runners on base in the contest against six Bulldog pitchers. "I give our bullpen a lot of credit," said MSU coach Chris Lemonis. "Our kids just keep playing." For Mississippi State, it's the program's best 22-game start since starting the 2006 season at 21-1. Mississippi State will host Auburn in a top-10 showdown at Dudy Noble Field this weekend. The series will start with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday. It will be a 2 p.m. start between the two teams on Saturday and the series will wrap up at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Diamond Dawgs rev up the offense
Baseball is a mental game. Mississippi State senior outfielder Jake Mangum said as much following Tuesday night's 15-4 throttling of Arkansas Little Rock at Dudy Noble Field. Mangum recalled his freshman year when he was 0-for-9 on the season and had been benched after an opening night start before he earned his first career hit against Alcorn State. But following the RBI single in that contest, there was a figurative pressure lifted off his shoulders. "Every at-bat matters," Mangum said. Sophomore utility player Josh Hatcher is a preeminent example of the psychological side to baseball Mangum alluded to. The Albany, Georgia, native reached base in eight straight games between March 20 and 31, 2018 during his inaugural campaign in the maroon and white. But as the season wore on, Hatcher's numbers fluctuated. Tuesday night he reminded the MSU staff what a danger he can be in the batter's box.
 
What Weatherspoon, Holman have meant during Mississippi State's journey to NCAA Tournament
It takes a lot to make Ben Howland emotional. Sure, the fourth-year Mississippi State head coach will occasionally raise his tone while speaking. And he might get a little quieter after a loss. But to make Howland visibly and audibly moved in a press conference setting, the topic must be truly touching. Howland sat in front of the media, elevated a few feet above those asking questions on a raised platform with bright lights beaming onto his face. His Bulldogs had just lost to Tennessee by seven points in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament. For the most part, Howland was his somewhat stoic self. He didn't get too low when asked specifically about the loss, and he didn't get too high when asked about his team's chances in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. It wasn't until the final question of the press conference when Howland had one of those rare moments of sincere tenderness.
 
Busy time of year on Mississippi State beat
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Logan Lowery writes: Have you ever needed to be in two places at once? How about three? Try four. Right now it's the spring overlap season and it's as busy as it's ever been in my 11 years on the Mississippi State beat. The men's and women's basketball teams are both participating in the NCAA Tournament on opposite ends of the country, spring football practices are starting back up today and oh, the nation's No. 2 baseball team begins its conference home slate with No. 12 Auburn this weekend. ... Those of us at the Daily Journal likely won't be the only ones having to make hard choices over the next several days either. State fans will also be trying their best to follow along with the busy schedule the coming days provides. For Bulldogs fans, it's a great problem to have. I can't think of another school in the Southeastern Conference currently enjoying the same level of success across the board in those four sports as MSU. That's a testament to the job John Cohen and his staff are doing running the athletic department.
 
Gov. John Bel Edwards says LSU is getting head football coach Ed Orgeron at 'a bargain'
LSU football remains big enough in Louisiana, that when its head coach, Ed Orgeron, gets a two-year contract extension and a raise to $4 million, the news reaches all the way to the state capitol. During his monthly radio call-in show Wednesday afternoon, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was asked to weigh in about Orgeron's new contract, which was approved that morning by the LSU Board of Supervisors. The caller asked Edwards what kind of priorities are displayed when a college football coach is paid so much. "It's the way things are," Edwards said, while noting most of Orgeron's contract is paid within the LSU athletic budget, not taxpayer dollars, "and quite frankly, there are other schools, in the Southeastern Conference especially, that pay more." Edwards added that LSU was getting Orgeron at "a bargain" at $4 million per year, saying that the third-year head coach has exceeded expectations.
 
Missouri pushes donor drive to keep up with the SEC
Last fall, Missouri executive associate athletic director Ashley Moore sat at a boardroom table and listened to fellow Mizzou Athletics staffers discuss donation initiatives. The group scrawled ideas on the whiteboard in search of ways to make the numbers less bleak. In 2018, Missouri received athletics donations totaling $25.6M, a sum that puts the athletic department's donation revenue ahead of only Arkansas and Kentucky among the 12 SEC programs that responded to the Missourian's request for mandatory NCAA financial reports. One of the two that didn't respond was South Carolina, whose sunshine laws allow public bodies a month to comply with requests. In 2017, though, the Gamecocks reported more than $38 million in donation revenue. The other was Vanderbilt, which, as a private institution, isn't required to release its financial reports. To compete in the SEC long-term, Moore and others knew Missouri had to increase the number of donors in the Tiger Scholarship Fund -- the fundraising arm of MU athletics -- and, in turn, the dollars coming into the athletic department.
 
Coach John Calipari tweet: Plan and desire is to retire at Kentucky
John Calipari has tweeted that his "plan and desire" is to retire at Kentucky, quashing the latest rumor in what has been an annual ritual linking him as a candidate for vacant coaching jobs. The 10th-year Wildcats coach said on his verified Twitter account Wednesday night "there is no better job in the world" to coach basketball than at Kentucky. Calipari has periodically been mentioned as a candidate for NBA jobs, only to state his commitment to the Wildcats. His tweet did not refer to a specific opening, but the 247Sports UCLA website had reported the Hall of Fame coach was showing "serious interest" in coaching the Bruins, who fired coach Steve Alford early in the season. Calipari is set to coach second-seeded Kentucky in Thursday's NCAA Tournament game against No. 15 seed Abilene Christian. He followed with another tweet that said, "Now let's focus on this game tomorrow."
 
Former President George W. Bush shoots his first hole-in-one
Former President George W. Bush shot the first hole-in-one of his life on Wednesday at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, and he shared a photo from the par-3 12th hole, listed at 164 yards from the white tees. Bush wrote on Instagram: "With coaching from @thebushcenter CEO Ken Hersh and board members Mike Meece and Bill Hickey, I scored my first hole-in-one at the home of our Warrior Open and the @attbyronnelson. Next golf goal: live to 100 so I can shoot my age." Bush's post had more than 40,000 likes within an hour. The George W. Bush Presidential Center annually hosts the three-day Warrior Open at Trinity Forest, a tournament for members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were wounded overseas.
 
'60 Minutes' segment on sports betting features Marshall athletic director
Coming from Las Vegas back home to Marshall University makes Marshall Athletic Director Mike Hamrick particularly keen to the effects of sports betting on college athletics, and that's why he will be included in a segment about the new phenomenon on CBS' "60 Minutes" news magazine on Sunday night. Hamrick was recommended to "60 Minutes" by Lead1, a professional organization for Division 1A athletic directors, "because of the fact that I spent six years as the athletic director at University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where sports gambling was legal. You could bet on UNLV athletics. That was the only place where that could happen." "Then I came here, and guess what - West Virginia was one of the first states to legalize sports betting," Hamrick said. Sports betting was legalized in West Virginia last year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled legalized sports betting was up to individual states. The first sportsbook was launched in August, and now each of the state's casinos is participating, as is The Greenbrier resort.



The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
Mississippi State University  •  Mississippi State, MS 39762  •  Main Telephone: (662) 325-2323  •   Contact: The Editor  |  The Webmaster  •   Updated: March 21, 2019Facebook Twitter