Thursday, January 7, 2021   
 
Veteran MSU faculty member tapped to lead MSU-Meridian's Division of Business
A veteran Mississippi State University faculty member has been tapped to lead the Division of Business on the Meridian campus as of Jan. 1. Rebecca Long, professor of management in MSU's College of Business, joined the university in 1999 and has spent the past 21 years on the university's Starkville campus. In addition to teaching and conducting extensive research on family business succession, she also served administratively in the Graduate School. "I am excited about the insight and experience Dr. Long brings to our campus, and I anticipate continued growth in our local Division of Business," said Terry Dale Cruse, associate vice president and head of campus at MSU-Meridian. The joint appointment was announced by Cruse and College of Business Dean Sharon Oswald.
 
Public forums could help cigar lounge add brewpub
Starkville aldermen will consider allowing businesses in certain parts of the city to serve alcohol without food, the second change that would allow a Tupelo-based cigar shop and lounge to open a location downtown. The change would allow John Higgins, the owner of Spring Street Cigars, to include a brewpub in the cigar shop's Starkville location, planned for the former Mugshots building at the intersection of Main and Washington streets. Higgins opened the original Spring Street Cigars location in Tupelo in 2014 and also has locations in Oxford and Booneville, as well as one set to open in Southaven this year. He told The Dispatch he hopes the Starkville location will be open by summer. The aldermen voted 6-1, with Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver dissenting, to call for the first of two public hearings on the proposed ordinance change. The board can vote on the change after the second hearing. Carver had a list of reasons for opposing the potential ordinance change, including "the precedent it sets in the community from a policing standpoint" if an establishment offers alcohol without food.
 
Oktibbeha County Justice Court following strict COVID-19 safety protocols
To make sure they continue to safely rule on the criminal and civil matters in their jurisdiction, the Oktibbeha County Justice Court has adopted another set of rules to keep their staff and the citizens they serve safe during the pandemic. "Pre-COVID era where the court room's full and we have people waiting outside anyway," says District 3 Justice Court Judge Charles "Marty" Haug. "That's just too many people to have in one area." The court has done their best to limit the number of people who need to be in the building in-person whether through virtual hearings or setting up times for people to pay minor fines before their scheduled court appearance. "The last thing we want to do is endanger somebody's lives by making them come to court just to plead guilty on a speeding ticket or something," Haug says. Everyone inside the courthouse is required to wear a mask or risk being in contempt of court. The gallery of people inside the courtroom is now limited to between 12 and 15 people.
 
Coronavirus in Mississippi: State's total death toll surpasses 5,000
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 38 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, topping the 5,000 mark, and 2,791 new cases. The single-day record of 91 deaths was reported Tuesday. State officials reported a single-day record of 3,023 new coronavirus cases Dec. 30, the first time daily cases surpassed the 3,000 mark. Since the virus hit the state in March, a total of 228,235 cases and 5,013 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported. Daily case reports over the last 30 days have continued to hover around the 2,000 mark. Health experts have warned they expected the number of cases and deaths to continue to climb following the holidays. It takes anywhere from two to 14 days for symptoms to appear after exposure, health experts have said. Hospitalizations remain at record levels, putting a strain on health care resources. The department on Tuesday reported 1,444 hospitalizations of confirmed cases, with 349 in an ICU and 223 on ventilators. Residents between the ages of 25 and 39 represent the largest portion of the infected population in the state, with 50,604 cases reported as of Wednesday.
 
New Mississippi flag without rebel symbol being put into law
Mississippi is updating its laws to include a new state flag with a magnolia and the phrase "In God We Trust," six months after legislators ditched the last state flag in the U.S. that had the Confederate battle emblem. Voters approved the magnolia flag in November after a commission recommended the design. Legislators must put a description of the new flag into law. Senators on Wednesday voted 38-7 to pass such a bill, a day after the House voted 119-1. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to sign the bill into law in the next several days. After that, officials will have a ceremony to raise the new flag at the Capitol. Democratic state Sen. Juan Barnett of Heidelberg, who is Black and a military veteran, said the old flag with the Confederate symbol divided the state but the new flag unites it. "Those individuals like me who can go off and defend this country ... and come home to a state that is not divided anymore, a state that has decided to come together -- it has to feel good to those young men and women," Barnett said after the Senate vote Tuesday.
 
Mississippi delegation safe, condemn violence at nation's Capitol
Mississippi's congressional delegation was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as rioters stormed the Capitol building as a rally in support of President Donald Trump reached a fever pitch. Rep. Bennie Thompson on Twitter said that he was trapped in the building and "securing face masks for members." Thompson and other congressmen were in D.C. for a review of the Electoral College votes to certify the next president and vice president when Trump supporters breached security fences and Capitol police, forcing the building to be evacuated, the Associated Press reported. Late Wednesday, Thompson, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a message to a reporter that suggested Trump was responsible for Wednesday's insurrection. "Trump needs to just leave and never come back,'' Thompson said. "He fed this monster with his vile and dangerous talk. The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why. The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."
 
Biden win confirmed after pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol
Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn America's presidential election, undercut the nation's democracy and keep Trump in the White House. Lawmakers were resolved to complete the Electoral College tally in a display to the country, and the world, of the nation's enduring commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power. They pushed through the night with tensions high and the nation's capital on alert. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers finished their work, confirming Biden won the election. Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the joint session, announced the tally, 306-232. Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, said in a statement immediately after the vote that there will be a smooth transition of power on Inauguration Day. The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks falsely attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington to protest Congress' formal approval of Biden's victory.
 
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith supports losing effort to overturn Biden presidential victory
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith was one of few U.S. senators on Wednesday to object to the certification of the electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania, states that duly elected Democrat Joe Biden as president in November over Republican President Donald Trump. Hyde-Smith, an ardent Trump supporter, backed the effort of a small number of Senate Republicans who aimed to overturn Biden's victory by pushing disproven theories and inaccuracies about Arizona and Pennsylvania botching the election process. All six senators who objected to the Arizona certification and the seven who objected to Pennsylvania on Wednesday night were Republicans and loyal supporters of the current president. The other senators voted to certify the elections, with key leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties blistering their colleagues who planned to vote against certification. Republican Roger Wicker, Mississippi's senior U.S. senator, voted to certify all 50 state results. "(The Trump) campaign lost a close election, and it is time to acknowledge that," Wicker said in a statement earlier this week. "The president's own attorney general, his head of election security, and a number of Trump-appointed, conservative federal judges all have found that, despite widespread allegations of fraud, there simply was not enough evidence to change the outcome of the election in any state."
 
The day Trump broke the GOP
Republicans started the day losing the Senate. They ended it with President Donald Trump's supporters losing their minds. Jan. 6, 2021 might have been remembered for an intraparty battle over whether to certify Joe Biden's election win or who to blame for the Georgia defeats. But instead it will go down as the day that broke the Republican Party as we know it and began the GOP's ultimate reckoning with Trumpism. It literally took a riot of Trump supporters in the Capitol for many Republicans to finally confront the defeated president --- a moment of bedlam that put those GOP lawmakers' own lives at risk. After his supporters stormed into the Capitol, vandalized the building and fought with police officers, several typically strong allies turned on Trump. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), one of the most steadfast supporters of the president, said bluntly that "it's past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence." Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he didn't want to hear anything more from Trump: "It was a tragic day and he was part of it." And House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who has carefully crafted her criticism of Trump over the past year, did not mince words: "There is no question that the president formed the mob, the president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob. He lit the flame," Cheney said on Fox News, speaking from a secure location after being evacuated.
 
Trump Tells Rioters, 'I Know How You Feel,' Draws Bipartisan Condemnation
President Trump sympathized with rioters who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, telling them "we love you" but also saying "go home in peace" hours after dozens of his supporters fought past police to enter the building, fueling criticism that the president had stoked the assault. "This was a fraudulent election but we can't play into the hands of these people, we have to have peace," Mr. Trump said in a video released on Twitter . "So go home, we love you, you're very special." While he said law enforcement needed to be protected, Mr. Trump said to the rioters, "I know how you feel." The riot at the Capitol has shaken many in Mr. Trump's inner circle. The day's events left Mr. Trump isolated from lawmakers in both parties, with some Democrats calling for his immediate removal, and drew a sharp contrast to Vice President Mike Pence, who earlier had endured escalating pressure from Mr. Trump to use his position as president of the Senate to overturn the election result. While President Trump showed solidarity with rioters, Mr. Pence called for swift repercussions. "Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said.
 
Resignations pile up at White House in outrage over Trump mob storming Capitol
Several senior White House officials have submitted resignations protesting President Donald Trump's encouragement of a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, disrupting the formal certification of the 2020 presidential election. More resignations may be coming, including leadership at the National Security Council, according to a source familiar with the matter. The president's former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, resigned from the White House effective immediately, alongside deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews and White House social secretary Rickie Niceta, multiple officials confirmed to McClatchy. Former aides to President Donald Trump earlier in the day had directly pointed the finger at him as a mob descended on the U.S. Capitol, urging him to tell his supporters to quit their "lawlessness" and "go home." In a televised address Wednesday afternoon, Biden also demanded that Trump act to stop the siege, telling the outgoing president that he should call for calm in a national address. Minutes later, Trump released a pre-recorded video on his Twitter account that said he knows "their pain" and "hurt" over the outcome of the election, which he falsely insisted was "stolen" from him.
 
He looted Speaker Pelosi's office, and then bragged about it.
Throughout the late afternoon, rioters repeatedly emerged from the Capitol bearing items that they had stolen. A few carried "Area Closed" signs that they had grabbed and then stormed past. But it was anything taken from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office that was especially popular with the crowd. One person emerged holding up a piece of a wooden plaque that marked the entrance to Ms. Pelosi's office, which someone appeared to have torn off a wall. The rioter held it up like a trophy, as hundreds of people on the steps below cheered wildly. "Not our speaker!" shouted one woman. "Get her out!" shouted another man. Richard Barnett, 60, from Gravette, Ark., stood outside the Capitol, his shirt ripped open and his chest bared to the cold, loudly bragging about how he had broken into the speaker's office. "I wrote her a nasty note, put my feet up on her desk," said Mr. Barnett, who goes by the nickname Bigo. His account was backed up by a picture later posted on social media that showed Mr. Barnett sitting at Ms. Pelosi's desk with his feet up, just as he had described.
 
Richard Barnett, who posed at Pelosi desk, said in Facebook he is prepared for violent death
Last Saturday, Richard Barnett of Gravette, Ark., criticized Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Facebook post for using the description "white nationalist" as a "derogatory term." "I am white. There is no denying that. I am a nationalist. I put my nation first. So that makes me a white nationalist," Barnett wrote on page he maintained under a pseudonym. Just four days later, Barnett was photographed sitting with his feet up on a desk in Pelosi's office at the U.S. Capitol -- an image that quickly became emblematic of the chaotic storming of the complex by a pro-Trump mob. Barnett is a Trump supporter and gun rights advocate who has repeatedly shared false claims via social media that the election was stolen, according to a review of two Facebook accounts tied to Barnett. In a Dec. 28 Facebook post on the Patton page, Barnett announced he would be attending Wednesday's rally and urged fellow Arkansans to make sacrifices to join him there. In the post, Barnett expressed disappointment that past political events he had attended had attracted only a "small handful" of people. Ten days earlier, he had posted photographs of himself and a few others protesting the election result outside the Capitol building in Little Rock, Ark. Barnett posed for one picture holding a rifle.
 
George W. Bush to Attend Biden's Inauguration in Signal of Unity
George W. Bush, the only living Republican former president, will attend the inauguration of Joe Biden later this month, a spokesman said on Tuesday night. Bush, who left office in 2009, will be accompanied by his wife, Laura, according to his chief of staff, Freddy Ford.The couple has gone to the inaugurations of Bush's successors, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. It remains unclear whether Trump, who continues to insist, without evidence, that widespread fraud denied him re-election, will appear at the event on Jan. 20. "I believe this will be the eighth inauguration they've had the privilege of attending -- President Trump's being the most recent -- and witnessing the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy that never gets old," Ford said in a statement. Bush, who returned to Texas after his second term ended, has largely stayed out of the political fray that marked the Obama and Trump administrations.
 
K Street adjusts for Democratic Senate
One day before the November elections, the lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck brought on former Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor. Several weeks and two Georgia runoff elections later, the move now looks prescient. Pryor's insight into his former colleagues will be in demand, as lobbyists and their clients adjust for a tied Senate where the incoming vice president, Kamala Harris, will tip the chamber in favor of Democrats. "The change creates opportunities and also some challenges," said Pryor, who was elected from Arkansas. "There are going to be opportunities for a lot of bipartisanship in the Senate." Even as partisan vitriol grips Washington, Pryor and other lobbyists say they expect lawmakers to find common ground on additional legislation to mitigate the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures dealing with infrastructure projects as well as potentially on immigration and tax policy. Democrats will face pressure from their liberal flank to roll back the filibuster rules for legislation, which currently requires 60 votes to clear the chamber. Former Sen. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat who represented Indiana and is now a partner at the lobbying and law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said he thought the filibuster would remain in place unless Republicans use it "to stop everything."
 
'What changes is the commitment.' Biden adviser on the next phase of U.S. pandemic response
Luciana Borio is the rarest of rare birds: a scientist who served in President Donald Trump's White House and now is on President-elect Joe Biden's transition team. A clinician who has a long history working in biosecurity, Borio served on Trump's National Security Council, directing medical and biopreparedness policy. She left in March 2019 to work for In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit that provides venture capital to firms working on products that might be of interest to the intelligence community. Before working at the White House, she held various positions for nearly 10 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including acting chief scientist. She grew up in Brazil, but went to medical school at George Washington University. If Borio had been in Trump's White House when the pandemic surfaced, she imagines she would have stuck around. "If I see fire, I tend to run towards the fire and not the other way," she says.
 
Miller recounts challenges of MUW fall semester affected by COVID
It started with a phone call. On the first day of the fall 2020 semester, a student in a 70-person nursing class at Mississippi University for Women received a call from a roommate who had just tested positive for COVID-19. It marked the third likely coronavirus case in the class, and despite MUW's social distancing efforts -- students wore masks and sat eight to nine feet apart in an auditorium that could seat 400 people -- that met the definition of an "outbreak" of the virus. Every student in the class had to be quarantined. "We had a little bit of a panic there on Day 1," MUW President Nora Miller told Columbus Rotary Club members at Tuesday's meeting at the Lion Hills Center. Ultimately, no one else in the class ended up testing positive, and the semester went on. The W's safeguards had held. Still, the early scare was one of the challenges the school faced during an unconventional fall semester, and it was still on Miller's mind as she gave updates Tuesday on The W's virus protocols, enrollment, finances, athletics and more as the school prepares for its second majority-online semester.
 
Jekabsons Named UM Chief Human Resources Officer
Andrea Jekabsons, a longtime human resource professional with extensive experience in higher education, has been named the chief human resources officer at the University of Mississippi. Jekabsons, who has worked at the university since 2006, has nearly 30 years of human resources and employee relations experience within various industries, including higher education, health care and technology. Besides her background in general human resources, focused areas of experience include recruitment, employee relations, learning facilitation and engagement. Reporting to the vice chancellor for administration and finance, Jekabsons will lead a team of 20 managers, generalists, front office staff, students and interns. In this role, she will provide overall guidance to the Department of Human Resources, develop and implement departmental policies and procedures and ensure policies comply with federal and state laws, as well as IHL policies.
 
Indian Association donates $100K to the Campaign for Children's
The Indian Association of Mississippi raised over $100,000 for the Campaign for Children's of Mississippi to help complete funding of the hospital's Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower. The Sanderson Tower, which opened for patient care Nov. 3, includes 120 private neonatal and pediatric intensive care rooms, 12 advanced surgical suites, a pediatric imaging center and a multidisciplinary outpatient specialty clinic with a parking garage located a few steps away. The philanthropic drive for the expansion has reached nearly 85 percent of its $100 million goal. "We appreciate each person represented by this generous gift from the Indian Association of Mississippi to help complete funding of the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children's of Mississippi," said Dr. Mary Taylor, Suzan B. Thames Chair, professor and chair of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, "The expansion of Mississippi's only children's hospital will bring generations of healing to our state's families. We are so grateful for the engagement of our community in supporting this life-changing expansion for the children of Mississippi."
 
Mississippi schools chief: Ease mandates on some tests
Mississippi high school students will take end-of-course exams and third graders will take mandated reading assessments this spring, state Superintendent of Education Carey Wright told lawmakers Wednesday. But, she said, the state should waive the requirement that students pass those tests because school routines have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. "I do believe this needs to be a year of grace for our schools," Wright told members of the Senate Education Committee. Under a Mississippi law that's been in place several years, students are required to pass a reading assessment at the end of third grade. Those who don't pass are supposed to be held back. The Legislature could tweak the law to waive the passing requirement, or Gov. Tate Reeves could do it through an executive order. She also asked lawmakers to consider putting more money into prekindergarten programs called early learning collaboratives. Mississippi puts little into those programs compared to other states. Wright did not request a specific amount of money but said in response to questions after the meeting that she would be happy with "as much you can give me."
 
Dept. of Education says passing requirements for some state tests should be waived
State testing will continue this year, but State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said Wednesday she recommends waiving the passing requirements for the statewide third grade reading test and high school end-of-course tests. The department is also recommending schools and districts retain their letter grade from the 2018-19 school year for the 2020-21 school year. In Mississippi, schools and districts receive a grade of A-F under the accountability system. The grade reflects their performance in areas such as student achievement, student growth, graduation rate and participation rate, which measures the percentage of students who participate in statewide testing. Based on a 2013 law called the Literacy-Based Promotion Act, third graders in Mississippi public schools must pass a reading test to continue to fourth grade. And high schoolers take tests in Algebra I, English II, Biology and U.S. History designed to determine whether students have the knowledge and skills needed to graduate. "I believe this needs to be a year of grace. Our schools, our teachers, and our children are under a lot of pressure about this, but knowing we have not had a standard way of instructing children -- to hold children accountable, I do not feel is fair," Wright said during a Senate education committee hearing in Jackson.
 
Auburn University receives 3,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Auburn University received Wednesday its first batch of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19, with 3,500 doses being delivered and the university initiating a phased approach in administering vaccinations. Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic, called the announcement "tremendous news." "As we await additional batches of the vaccine to be released by the Alabama Department of Public Health, we are quickly making good use of the vaccine we now have and are committed to making it available on a wider scale as quickly as possible," Kam said in a Wednesday afternoon press release. On Wednesday, Auburn began distributing the vaccine to "frontline" healthcare workers. The university's vaccination program will include three phases based on highest risk levels and the current guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama Department of Public Health. Health care providers across campus will be involved in the vaccination clinics, including staff of the Auburn University Medical Clinic and faculty, staff and students from the Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn School of Nursing and Auburn's Social Work Program.
 
U. of Florida part-time workers stressed by second COVID-19 furlough
The coronavirus pandemic has jeopardized around a quarter of Americans' financial security over the past nine months, according to a national survey done by the Pew Research Center. For about 20 Other Personal Services staff with the University of Florida Performing Arts, that stress is set to continue through late February. The OPS employees received an email Dec. 22, three days before Christmas, from Brian Jose, director of the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It said no work shifts would be available to them with UFPA from Jan. 4 to Feb. 22 at the earliest. It is their second furlough during the pandemic, following UF's initial universitywide closure in March. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of performers and speakers touring at the Phillips Center, Jose stated. Without shows, there was no money or work for staff. Jose did offer the OPS staff two alternatives to help stay financially afloat despite the furlough: work for UF's Screen, Test & Protect program for the next two months, or file for unemployment. The program is UF's way of mitigating COVID-19 spread with surveys, tests, contact tracing, quarantining and more.
 
Texas A&M experts: Wednesday's uprising in Washington, D.C. was unprecedented
After the startling events of Wednesday, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Texas A&M professors said the incidents were unprecedented but not necessarily unexpected given the events that led up to the riot. Violent demonstrators supporting President Donald Trump occupied the U.S. Capitol as Congress met in a joint session to confirm president-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 win. Trump, who led the "Save America Rally" at The Ellipse at noon, encouraged his supporters to march to Capitol Hill. A&M political science professor Kirby Goidel said Wednesday's events are not surprising given remarks that Trump and other leaders made in recent days. "He encouraged people to march on Washington," said Goidel, the former director of the Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute. "He told them that the election was stolen. It's shocking as you're watching it, but when you think about the things that led to it ... we've been building to this point." Trump's rhetoric is likely to blame for Wednesday's events, A&M communication associate professor Jennifer Mercieca said. Mercieca is an expert on presidential rhetoric and author of the book Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. While the president did not lead demonstrators physically, Mercieca said he led them rhetorically, telling his supporters at the "Save America Rally" that they should go to the Capitol and use force to seek justice.
 
Colleges look at delaying the first day of school... again
The new year also means the start of a new semester for colleges and universities. But some institutions are once again delaying the start of classes, or moving what would have been in-person classes online. Those decisions are being driven by the pandemic, and the surge of infection rates around the country. But this second round of delayed starts and online classes will have both immediate and far-reaching financial implications for institutions. Marybeth Gasman's daughter is a student at Bryn Mawr College. She was supposed to go back to school in mid-January and now she's looking at mid-February. "They're definitely coming back on campus and staying in residence halls," she said. "But the last email we got was, you know, this could change at any point." Gasman isn't only a college parent. She teaches at Rutgers and studies minority-serving institutions of higher education. Schools are weighing health risks and their finances to make decisions, she said. "If you don't have a safety net and you don't have a strong endowment and you are very, very tuition reliant, your situation is much, much more dire," Gasman said. Dire because of reduced enrollment and unexpected costs -- millions of dollars spent on personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing.
 
What a Democratic-controlled Congress could mean for higher ed
Democrats secured control in Congress after winning dual Senate runoff races in Georgia this week. Although the margin of their advantage is slim, it has some progressives hopeful that the majorities, along with the Biden administration, could deliver on postsecondary policies they favor. However, Democrats' tenuous reign in Congress means they will need to work across the aisle to pursue significant policy change. And it may doom higher education proposals unpalatable to some moderates and conservatives, such as free college. Still, they will head education committees in both chambers, giving them more sway, policy experts say. And it only takes a simple majority in the Senate to pass certain spending-related measures; a coronavirus relief bill, which the sector has desperately sought, would qualify. "Democrats set the tone, they will define the agenda," said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of government relations for the American Council on Education. "But they won't be able to guarantee everything happens."
 
Higher ed leaders condemn riot at U.S. Capitol
College and university leaders across the country responded to the violent chaos at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday using unusually strong terms for higher education leaders. Many college presidents said they were saddened and frightened by the sight of supporters of President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol and condemned the rioters' actions on Twitter and in statements or emails to students and employees. Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities stated: "We are horrified, saddened, and angered by the events at the U.S. Capitol Building today. It is hard to fathom how this can happen in our country. All of us are struggling to process these events and hoping the situation fully and peacefully calms down. I join many others in calling on President Trump to accept the legitimacy and finality of the November election and to convey that to the American people. It's imperative that he stop spreading false information that incited today's violence and has led many others to deny the true election outcome. This is a very difficult day in American history, and it is imperative that the work of democracy continue unabated. Today underscores the importance of safeguarding our democratic values and procedures."
 
Higher Ed Reacts With Shock and Condemnation as Trump Incites Mob to Terrorize U.S. Capitol
Horror, shock, and calls for peace reverberated on Wednesday as college leaders, along with the rest of the nation, watched a violent mob -- incited by President Trump -- disrupt a key moment in the peaceful transfer of power in the nation's capital. Throngs of rioters streamed into the Capitol, halting the certification of the 2020 presidential election for hours and scattering lawmakers and their staffs. Violence between the pro-Trump mob and law-enforcement officers punctuated a day that college leaders later characterized as "outrageous," "evil," and "heartbreaking." The repudiation of the mayhem came from all corners of higher education. Scores of college presidents spoke out. More than 200 political scientists called for Trump's immediate removal from office. Colleges in the District of Columbia closed early in response to the mayor's 6 p.m. curfew, though operations were already quiet due to winter break and the Covid-19 pandemic. Leaders in higher education were at first quiet as the extremists, following an inflammatory speech by Trump near the White House, broke through police lines and stormed the Capitol. Community-college presidents and leaders of historically Black colleges were among the first college leaders to speak out. Presidents of bigger research universities and more selective private colleges soon joined in.
 
Historians and political scientists react to Wednesday's siege on the Capitol
"It's watching one of those terrible historical moments in real time." That's how political historian Julian E. Zelizer, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, described his reaction to Wednesday's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But was Zelizer surprised? "At one level, it's just horrible to watch our democracy be in this place," he said as the 6 p.m. curfew approached and pro-Trump extremists began to disperse amid a growing police presence. "At another level, it's hard not to see how this is the culmination of what has been happening in the last four years -- in fact in the last four decades," since the rise of what Zelizer has called the new Republican Party. Other scholars of U.S. history and politics had similar reactions to Wednesday's events when asked to help put them in perspective. The country they study seemed at once foreign and familiar. They shared feelings of disbelief -- and of having their expectations of President Trump's final days in office fulfilled. And they warned against seeing the siege as an isolated event but also described it as unique and grave in its implications.
 
Riots at U.S. Capitol Prompt Strong Response from Higher Ed Leaders
An insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon dominated the national headlines and prompted a forceful rebuke from politicians, law enforcement officials and higher education leaders from coast to coast. Several hundred Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, as legislators were going through the process of certifying the Electoral College votes ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. "We are deeply horrified and saddened by the assault on the U.S. Capitol, an attack on the very fabric of our democracy," said Dr. Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education (ACE). "America is better than this." Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), denounced the violence. "We are horrified, saddened, and angered by the events at the U.S. Capitol Building today. It is hard to fathom how this can happen in our country," said McPherson. "I join many others in calling on President Trump to accept the legitimacy and finality of the November election and to convey that to the American people. It's imperative that he stop spreading false information that incited today's violence and has led many others to deny the true election outcome." By the end of the day, Mitchell and McPherson had joined a chorus of other leaders who took to social media to express their dismay .


SPORTS
 
MSU women look to rebound against Florida
The Mississippi State women's basketball program looks to get back in the winning column tonight. No. 14-ranked Mississippi State travels to Florida tonight at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SECNetwork+. Mississippi State (6-2, 1-1) is coming off an overtime loss to No. 13 Kentucky, 92-86. That's the most points MSU has allowed since the loss to Connecticut in the 2015-2016 tournament game. Florida (7-3, 0-2) has lost both of its conference games this year by double-digits. The Gators lost to No. 5 South Carolina, 75-59, then lost to No. 9 Texas A&M on Sunday, 92-67. Florida is led by Lavender Briggs with 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. She has five games with 20+ points this season. Mississippi State and Florida's career series is tied, 25-25.
 
Mississippi State's defensive adjustments against Kentucky give glimpse of potential heading into heart of SEC play
Nikki McCray-Penson's message Tuesday was simple. "We'll get beat if we guard like we did against Kentucky," she said. Days after an overtime loss to reigning All-American Rhyne Howard and the Wildcats snatched an overtime victory at Humphrey Coliseum, McCray-Penson spent a chunk of her midweek media availability harping on defensive alignment and varying combinations with which the Bulldogs can find success. Entering Sunday's loss to Kentucky, MSU was holding opponents to less than 25 percent from 3-point range. But as the Bulldogs sloughed off their assignments, the Wildcats rattled home 14 of 28 shots from long range, while Howard wheeled and dealed her way to a game-high 33 points. Yet for as dismal as MSU's defense was against the No. 10-ranked team in America, there were factions of Sunday's contest worth drawing on. McCray-Penson flashed a new look lineup midway through the contest with junior Myah Taylor and Aliyah Matharu at guard, sophomore Rickea Jackson and junior Xaria Wiggins at forward and junior Jessika Carter at center. "That group talked the most," McCray-Penson said of what she saw in the new-look lineup. "They made mistakes but they made up for their mistakes with talking."
 
Mississippi State defensive end Marquiss Spencer to enter NFL draft
Mississippi State is losing another key cog in its defense. Senior defensive end Marquiss Spencer announced his intentions Wednesday night that he will forgo his extra year of eligibility to enter the 2021 NFL draft. Spencer is the second MSU defender to forgo their extra year of eligibility after senior linebacker Erroll Thompson did so on Tuesday. "Many thanks to my mother and father, my entire family and support system for their loyalty and love," he wrote in a statement on Twitter. "Much gratitude to the Bulldog family of Mississippi State University. My coaches both present and former, my teammates/brothers, because of all of you, I am a much better me!" Spencer, who lost his junior year due to a season-ending injury, enjoyed massive outputs in 2019 and 2020 and briefly flirted with entering the draft a year ago. As a senior, the Greenwood native recorded 30 tackles, three sacks and an interception in nine games. Spencer also earned SEC Academic Fall Honor Roll honors in both 2017 and 2019.
 
UGA stays in house to promote Josh Brooks as new AD
UGA moved swiftly to make Josh Brooks its new athletic director. Just five weeks and two days after the school announced Greg McGarity was retiring from the position after more than 10 years, Brooks is getting the job full-time. His hire came Wednesday afternoon during a special meeting of the Executive Committee of the UGA Athletic Association Board. "I am honored, humbled and excited for the responsibility," Brooks said. The 40-year-old had not served even a week as interim AD, a position he began Jan. 1. "From visionary and strategist to contract negotiator, fundraiser, and champion for student-athletes, supervisor of coaches, the modern-day athletic director must effectively wear many, many hats," UGA president Jere Morehead said. "After careful consideration, I am confident that Josh Brooks can wear all of these hats very well. I am excited to see our athletic program continue to evolve as one of the premier programs in the nation with Josh now at the helm." Brooks was viewed as a leading candidate to replace McGarity when there was speculation in the last year on when McGarity may finally step away from the job.
 
How results of Georgia Senate races could affect NCAA athletes' NIL fight, including path toward popular video games
With Raphael Warnock projected to win one of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff leading in the other, among the myriad possible outcomes of a change in control of the Senate is how the NCAA will fare in its effort to get a Congressional solution to issues surrounding college athletes' ability to make money from their names, images and likenesses. Democrats will continue to have a majority in the House of Representatives. And a bill introduced in the last session of Congress by Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) would go far beyond bills driven by Republican senators and congressmen that were centered more narrowly around name, image and likeness (NIL). Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who has chaired the chamber's Commerce Committee, introduced one NIL bill. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced another. On the House side, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, offered one with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo. In addition, Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., introduced a companion bill to Blumenthal and Booker's. A spokesman for Gonzalez said he plans to reintroduce his bill in the new session, and a spokesman for Wicker said last week his plans were uncertain.



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