| Tuesday, April 9, 2019 |
| FFAR Announces $4M Animal Welfare Technology Research Initiative | |
 | The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) announces the launch of the SMART Broiler, a research initiative offering $4 million for research supporting the development and commercialization of automated monitoring tools that quantitatively assess key animal welfare indicators in broiler chickens. FFAR is excited to partner with McDonald's Corporation as a cofounder on this initiative. The SMART Broiler program is now accepting applications to improve animal welfare. SMART Broiler grants will be awarded in two phases to multiple, cross-disciplinary teams. The research objective is to rapidly develop the hardware components, data management and analytics necessary to assess broiler chicken welfare on the farm. The FFAR Board of Directors is chaired by Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, Ph.D., and includes ex officio representation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation. |
| Law Allows Electric Co-ops to Provide Internet But May Take Years | |
 | At a press luncheon in Jackson, Mississippi Speaker of the House Republican Philip Gunn talks about a new law that allows electric cooperatives to provide broadband to rural areas. He says the cost is a major obstacle. Gunn recounts what a utility company employee said to his boss after reviewing the price tag. "He said I got two proposals for you. If we run service to those six houses it's $300,000 for us. But if we pay to move those six houses into town, it's only $200,000 for us," said Gunn. The law allows cooperatives to partner with other coops or internet service providers to share the costs. David O'Bryan with the Delta Electric Power Association says they're looking at creative options because it's so expensive to install fiber optics. Delta Electric covers portions of 13 counties including LeFlore, Bolivar and Montgomery. O'Bryan says the U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $600 million in grants to rural areas nationwide. "I think the cost in Mississippi alone is well over a $1 billion for the electric coops to do this. So the $600 million is really not a lot of money," said O'Bryan. |
| Mississippi governor candidate Tate Reeves decries 'liberals' | |
 | Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves set the tone in his race for Mississippi governor Monday evening, telling supporters at a campaign event: "The radical liberals have taken aim at Mississippi's culture and Mississippi's values." Reeves said liberals are "furious" that Mississippi elected Republicans Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant for the maximum two terms each as governor, with Barbour winning in 2003 and 2007 and Bryant in 2011 and 2015. "And, now, they are beyond furious that we stand strong with our president, Donald Trump," Reeves said to applause from an audience of about 200. He spoke in the Jackson suburb of Pearl, in a warehouse that is part of the air conditioning company his father founded. |
| Mississippi flag: AG candidate says state flag should change | |
 | A Republican candidate for attorney general wants to change Mississippi's state flag. Too many young people are leaving the state, Andy Taggart said, and that's because Mississippi is stuck looking to its past. It may be a symbolic change, Taggart said, but designing a new state flag -- one that does not include the Confederate battle flag -- will show people Mississippi is looking ahead, toward the future. According to Taggart, the flag acts like a "snapshot" of Mississippi, and the current snapshot is about the Civil War, which was driven by slavery. "That is not an accurate snapshot of our state," Taggart said, "but that is exactly what some people conclude when they see the snapshot." If elected attorney general, Taggart would have no power to change the state flag. Taggart said he believes it's up to the Legislature to make the change. |
| Mississippi governor candidate: Campaign files stolen at GOP event | |
| Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Foster says someone broke into his truck Saturday and stole a trove of campaign materials during a GOP event in Jackson. Foster, a state representative from Hernando, is seeking the GOP nomination against former state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller Jr. and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves. He said the break-in happened at around 11 a.m. during a College Republicans event at the state GOP's downtown Jackson headquarters. He'd parked his Chevrolet Silverado at a nearby intersection and said he was only inside about 30 to 40 minutes. "It's very brazen, very quick, efficient," he said. A window was shattered but the alarm didn't go off, Foster said, and campaign documents, a briefcase with a campaign laptop and computer memory sticks were missing. "I'm not saying it's politically motivated, it could be completely random," Foster said, but added he wasn't sure why someone would take some of the documents and other materials. |
| Area policymakers elected to posts with Legislative Black Caucus | |
 | The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus late last month elected state Sen. Angela Turner-Ford, a Democrat from West Point, as its new chairman. Turner-Ford, an attorney, has served since 2013 and is vice chair of the Senate Constitution Committee. She also sits on the senate's Appropriations, Judiciary A and Judiciary B committees among other assignments. State Rep. Kabir Karriem, a Columbus Democrat, replaced her as vice chairman, according to a media release. Turner-Ford said she looks forward to leading the Caucus as it continues to "work for Mississippians of color." |
| Longtime state senator W.L. Rayborn dies | |
 | W.L. Rayborn, a longtime Lincoln County senator, died Friday at the age of 83. Rayborn served as District 39 senator for two decades. In a letter to the editor in 2015, Rayborn listed several projects that Democrats helped bring to the area while he was in office: four-laning of Hwy. 84, a new Highway Patrol building, a juvenile rehabilitation center, industrial park overpass, Mississippi School of the Arts, state veterans homes and the Lincoln Civic Center, among others. Rayborn called Brookhaven the "next crossroads of the South." He lost to then-newcomer Cindy Hyde-Smith in the 1999 primary and unsuccessfully challenged her again in 2003. Rayborn, a Democrat, ran for the seat again in 2011 and narrowly lost to current senator Sally Doty, a Republican. "I can now join the Former Senator Party," Rayborn said after losing to Hyde-Smith in 1999. "When folks get ready to turn you out, that's what they do. But I'm tickled to death they elected me to serve." |
| Kirstjen Nielsen's departure from Homeland Security raises questions about cyber plans | |
 | Kirstjen Nielsen's departure as head of Homeland Security is creating uncertainty about the agency's cyber efforts. As Department of Homeland Security chief, Nielsen made cybersecurity a top priority, but some are questioning whether her permanent replacement will do the same. Concerns about a potential cyber void have been heightened by Trump signaling he wants a DHS leader who is tough on immigration policy and border issues. Nielsen had an extensive cyber background. She advised former President George W. Bush on cyber and homeland security issues, and she founded a cyber-focused consulting group. At DHS, Nielsen created the National Risk Management Center to focus on fighting against evolving digital dangers. She also heightened the awareness of digital threats, leading efforts to secure the 2018 midterms after the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through sophisticated disinformation campaigns and by hacking into the Democratic National Committee. |
| Campus free speech laws being enacted in many states, but some may do more harm than good | |
| Neal Hutchens, a professor of higher education at the University of Mississippi, writes for The Conversation: Continuing a recent trend, more states are passing laws that deal with free speech rights on college campuses. Action has also come at the federal level with President Donald Trump's March 21 executive order on campus free speech. There have also been calls to add campus speech protections to the Higher Education Act. This legislation is the main federal law dealing with higher education. The focus in legislation or actions like President Trump's executive order has mostly been on public colleges. These institutions also must already follow First Amendment rules when it comes to student speech on campus. But, the recent executive order applies to private schools as well. The president called on federal agencies that provide funding to institutions to make sure that private colleges are enforcing campus speech rules the same way for all students or risk losing federal funds. |
| Will racial climate at U. of Kentucky improve after student protests? | |
 | They jeered at his memories of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and taunted his white privilege. And at the end of a tense two-hour meeting on Tuesday, a group of black student protesters schooled a clearly shaken University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto about the perennial problems facing black students at UK, as symbolized by a 1930s mural showing Lexington's early history, including slavery. As a Jew who grew up in Alabama during much of its civil rights violence, Capilouto probably understands the issues of discrimination, race and history better than the UK presidents who came before him. But as he admitted, it was not enough. And in acceding to the students' demands, which include covering up the Memorial Hall mural for the second time in four years, Capilouto showed that he was listening. The question is whether his moves will be enough to erase the long and constant thrum of racial anger and tension at Kentucky's 30,000-student flagship university. |
| After lawsuit, U. of South Carolina agrees to fix public records process | |
 | In response to a lawsuit, the University of South Carolina has agreed to fix how it responds to public records requests, court documents show. By June 15, USC must create and maintain a streamlined database of all Freedom of Information Act requests, according to a consent order filed in a Richland County court on March 27. South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, allows any member of the public to request -- with a few exceptions -- any and all government documents, emails, memos and other documents. The law applies to state agencies, public universities, local and county governments. FOIA does not apply to the legislature, though some, including Gov. Henry McMaster, want to change that. In exchange for USC promising to fix its processes, the plaintiff, Frank Heindel of Charleston, agreed to drop the suit. |
| Bush Foundation makes request to permanently exhibit Air Force One plane used during 41's presidency | |
 | An Air Force One plane that was in use during George H.W. Bush's presidency could find a permanent home at his library and museum at Texas A&M University. The George and Barbara Bush Foundation made a formal request to the Air Force for this project. According to foundation president and CEO David Jones, the foundation hopes to put on display one of two Boeing VC-25A planes on the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum's grounds. The addition, Jones said, would be the second phase of a multipronged effort by the foundation that began with the recent announcement of an exhibit featuring a Marine One helicopter by mid-2021. Visitors would be able to walk through the plane and observe its features up close, he said. After being declassified, the plane could be displayed by 2026, Jones said. |
| U. of Missouri designated as Purple Heart University | |
 | University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander Cartwright announced Monday at Memorial Union that MU has been designated a Purple Heart University. This honor is given by the Military Order of the Purple Heart in recognition of the university's support of U.S. military men and women wounded or killed while serving in the line of duty. "Memorial Union was originally constructed to honor former students who died in World War I," Cartwright said. "It has since become a tribute to all members of our Mizzou family who've given the greatest sacrifice in service of our country. This designation further reaffirms our commitment to the Mizzou community's long tradition of military service." About 900 MU students are either veterans, active-duty personnel, National Guard members, reservists, ROTC cadets or family members receiving GI Bill benefits, according to an MU news release. |
| Per-student public spending recovers halfway since recession: study | |
 | A decade after the 2008 recession, fewer than one in five states has fully recovered when it comes to per-student appropriations for higher education. A new study finds that just nine states have bounced back from pre-recession funding levels, and another nine have yet to increase per-student funding to even the low point of the recession. In the middle: 32 states that have higher per-student appropriations than at their low point in 2012 or 2013, but which now fund postsecondary education at a lower level than their pre-recession high of 2007 or 2008. The findings suggest that even as many state higher education systems have marked several years of annual funding increases, recovery has been highly uneven and has largely failed to keep up with expanding enrollments over the decade. |
| Brett Kavanaugh is teaching at George Mason, sparking protests from students | |
 | Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh will beat the Washington heat this summer and head for Runnymede, England, a bucolic borough 20 miles from London along the River Thames. At the site where the Magna Carta was sealed 804 years ago, laying the groundwork for constitutional democracy, the judge will teach a course on the origins of the U.S. Constitution to students at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School -- 3,600 miles from the Arlington campus. He will be joined in the English countryside by Jennifer Mascott, an assistant professor of law at George Mason. One of Kavanaugh's former clerks on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Mascott came to his defense when his nomination was threatened last year by allegations of sexual misconduct, which he vehemently denied. Some students at the university's main campus in Fairfax City see matters differently. |
| 2 Arrested in Vandalism of Slave Memorial at U. of North Carolina | |
 | Two people were arrested Monday on charges that they vandalized a memorial dedicated to slaves and African-American workers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the university police said. The suspects, Nancy Rushton McCorkle, 50, and Ryan Francis Barnett, 31, face misdemeanor charges of vandalism and ethnic intimidation. Mr. Barnett also faces a misdemeanor charge of public urination. The Unsung Founders Memorial was defaced with racial slurs and urine on March 31, and at least one of the vandals had ties to a group called Heirs to the Confederacy, the university said. Heirs to the Confederacy has previously been involved in a number of high-profile confrontations on campus protesting the removal of Silent Sam since it was felled last August. |
| 14 agree to plead guilty in admissions scandal | |
| Thirteen parents and one coach who faced charges in the admissions bribery scandal have agreed to plead guilty, federal prosecutors announced Monday. The parents are all wealthy individuals who paid anywhere from $15,000 to $600,000 to participate in various parts of the admissions scheme, which in some cases involved falsely claiming that their children were athletes so their applications would be endorsed by coaches. In other cases, the scheme involved various forms of cheating on the SAT and ACT. In those cases, parents had their children designated falsely as having learning disabilities, and then had them take the exams in settings where proctors had allegedly been bribed to allow various forms of cheating. |
SPORTS
| What Mississippi State needs to figure out during Super Bulldog Weekend | |
 | Mississippi State was on the verge of a disastrous weekend. Then the No. 6 Bulldogs (27-6, 7-5 SEC) pulled it together to keep themselves in the thick of the SEC West race while bolstering their postseason resume in the process. The gutsy series win over Tennessee jumped Mississippi State's RPI from No. 28 to No. 12. At 7-5 in the SEC, the Bulldogs are just one game behind Arkansas, LSU and Ole Miss, who are all 8-5. Mississippi State has a great opportunity to gain ground with a three-game series against Alabama -- the worst team in the SEC West at 4-8 -- this weekend. These are the things Mississippi State must figure out, though, to keep it rolling in the second half of the season. |
| Where Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan, Anriel Howard will land in WNBA Draft | |
| Mississippi State has only produced one No. 1 overall draft pick in any professional sport in school history. Wednesday night, that number could double. LaToya Thomas was the first Mississippi State product to ever be taken at No. 1 in a professional draft. The Cleveland Rockers took her first overall in the 2003 WNBA Draft. Sixteen years later, Teaira McCowan could become the second player in Bulldog history to come off the board before anybody else. The 6-foot-7 center from Brenham, Texas, has the size and talent to be a perennial post-presence at the next level. McCowan will be on site at the Nike New York Headquarters in New York City for the draft. Bill Laimbeer is the head coach and president of basketball operations of the Las Vegas Aces, the team that currently has the No. 1 overall pick in Wednesday night's draft. He said in a conference call last week that he has certainly looked at taking McCowan with the selection, but he's also not completely sold on that option. |
| Mississippi State's Ford Clegg shoots 69, finishes among top 15 | |
 | Mississippi State freshman golfer Ford Clegg did it again. Clegg earned a top-15 finish for the fifth time this season at the Mason Rudolph Championships on Sunday. He concluded the weekend tied for 13th after carding a 2-under 69 in the final round for an overall score of 4-under 209. The result also gives Clegg six straight top-20 finishes. "Ford played another huge round for us today when we needed it," MSU coach Dusty Smith said. |
| 'A full-court press.' How Southern Miss got its man by poaching Troy's AD | |
 | The happiest man during Monday's introductory press conference for the new Southern Miss athletic director, Jeremy McClain, had to be USM president Rodney Bennett. He displayed a wide grin as he talked about his brief and successful pursuit of the Troy athletic director and even showed off a fist pump when McClain said he expected to start his new job in May -- a little earlier than first expected. Bennett believes he found the perfect fit to take over the USM athletic department and it's hard to find anyone in Hattiesburg that disagrees with him. Bennett's process to hire a new athletic director began with a slate of seven listening sessions that took him around the state and southeast to hear what Golden Eagles boosters had in mind for the future of the athletic department. Just like his predecessors, McClain will face plenty of questions going forward about USM and its affiliation with Conference USA, which has dealt with departures and diminished revenue. |
| Rick Barnes staying with Tennessee basketball after UCLA flirtation | |
 | Rick Barnes led Tennessee basketball to two of the best seasons in program history. And he'll be back to chase a third and more. Barnes will remain the Vols coach, electing to stay in Knoxville after strong interest from UCLA that became public Sunday night and carried through Monday. He reportedly was offered a contract in the $5-million range, which UT countered later Monday. That sealed the deal for Tennessee, which will keep its coach for a fifth season and beyond. The 64-year-old Barnes has an 88-50 record at Tennessee. He is 42-30 in SEC play, including a 28-8 mark in the past two seasons. He was named the Naismith coach of the year on Sunday, netting his second national coach of the year award for one of the best seasons in Tennessee history. |
| Masters excitement begins to build | |
| Only when Nick Faldo took a break after playing nine holes Sunday at Augusta National did he look differently. At least to Matt Wallace. Faldo was asked to present prizes for the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, and he had to look the part. The three-time Masters champion headed upstairs to his locker, slipped on his green jacket and returned to the trophy presentation. Wallace, making his Masters debut, rushed over to Faldo and rubbed the sleeve of his jacket with his fingers. "I love it," Faldo said. "I come here, open my locker, there's my jacket. I've got to tell you, it's pretty cool. It's a pretty special thing." It's what everyone wants a week from Sunday, perhaps the most significant piece of clothing awarded in sports. And the race for it is as open as ever against the smallest field of the four majors. |
| One house is still parked next to Augusta National despite club's attempts to buy it | |
 | The grass is undeniably greener on the other side of the fence. In fact, Elizabeth and Herman Thacker don't even try to compete. They keep their modest home tidy and appealing, but they have the world's most famous neighbor. Theirs is the lone house next to Augusta National, seeing as the golf club spent a reported $40 million in recent years buying up their old neighborhood for more Masters parking. Their house, at 1112 Stanley Drive and just around the corner from Gate 6-A, is the sole survivor. The elderly Thackers, who built their three-bedroom brick home in 1959, turned down offers from the club to sell it, instead choosing to stay where they put down roots six decades ago and raised a son and daughter. In case they do eventually decide to sell their home, the Thackers have given the club the right to match any offer. |
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