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Supreme Court rules on Trump ban of transgender troops
VOL. 102, ISSUE 74
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019
snow, sleet and rain pound southern Illinois
David G Savage | LA Times
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside nationwide orders from three federal judges and ruled the Defense Department could now enforce President Donald Trump’s policy that effectively bans transgender people from serving in the military. The justices acted on a 5-4 vote, over dissents by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The court’s decision, though not a final ruling on the constitutional question, is a significant victory for Trump and his lawyers. Last month, they filed emergency appeals in the high court and urged the justices to act now to put Trump’s ban into effect while the legal fight continued in the lower courts. Trump’s Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco said keeping the president’s policy on hold “posed too great a risk to military effectiveness and lethality,” and he urged the court to defer to the “professional judgment” of the military’s leaders. The decision suggests the justices are likely to uphold the Trump policy when the constitutional case eventually reaches the high court. But advocates for the transgender troops believe their lawsuits will reveal the Defense Department had no valid basis for reimposing a discriminatory policy. In Trump vs. Karnosky and two companion cases, the court said the “preliminary injunction is stayed pending disposition of the government’s appeal” in the lower courts.
Please see TROOPS | 2
Isabel Miller | @IsabelMMiller
Morgan Zabinski, of Carterville, pumps gas on Saturday at the MotoMart Gas Station in Carterville, Illinois. A winter storm brought several inches of snow and sleet to the southern Illinois region. The storm closed a section of I-57 from Marion to Mt. Vernon after a semi jackknifed about 10 miles south of Marion, blocking both northbound lanes, according to Keith Miley, IDOT spokesman. As traffic built up, several vehicles went off the road in attempts to not hit other vehicles on the road. Some readers report that they were stuck for over four hours on the stretch.
Paul Echols, retired Carbondale lieutenant, honored by NAACP for efforts in clemency case Emily Cooper | Staff Reporter
Paul Echols, a retired police lieutenant and criminal justice professor, was honored Monday for helping Grover Thompson, a wrongly convicted black man, gain clemency for after a decades old murder case. Thompson was granted clemency on Jan. 11– 23 years after he died in a southern Illinois prison. He was wrongfully convicted for the attempted murder of Ida White, a widow living in the apartment across the street from the post office, where Thompson was sleeping. “Echols, who interrogated the serial killer and heard
the serial killer’s confession, worked for more than a decade to clear Thompson,” said Roy Mazuchowski, vice president for the Carbondale branch of the NAACP. He said former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner denied a clemency request filed on Thompson’s behalf in 2015 by Echols. “Three years ago I stood at this podium asking for your help in exonerating Thompson and many of you responded by sending letters to the governor,” Echols said. “I doubt we could’ve done this without your help.” Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner granted posthumous clemency to Grover earlier this
month – days before he left office. Linda Flowers said the desire to keep going and make a difference for one person is very altruistic. “Because of his struggle in righting a wrong, he deserves this award,” said Flowers, president for the Carbondale chapter of the NAACP. “It’s a lesson for all of us on standing for what you believe [in] and never giving up.” Mike Henry, mayor of Carbondale, commended Echols’ efforts during the ceremony. “He saw an injustice and just never gave up,” Henry said. “He has pictured it for a long, long time. He deserves all of the congratulations and honors we
can give him.” Echols said while the recognition is flattering, it’s also a bittersweet experience but he feels good knowing he was able to relieve some of the Thompson family’s pain. “In most exonerations, you get to watch the person walk out of prison and regain their freedom and that’s not possible in this particular case because Thompson died in 1996 but there is nothing you can do about that except learn from it,” Echols said. Detective Jim Smith, of Cape Girardeau, and Echols sat and listened to Tim Krajcir confess to multiple murders because he was set to receive the death penalty if he didn’t, Echols said. Please see ECHOLS | 2
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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About Us
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale 43 weeks per year, with an average weekly circulation of 11,000. Fall and spring semester editions run every Wednesday. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale and Carterville communities. The Daily Egyptian can be found daily at www.dailyegyptian.com for the most up to date news.
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The Daily Egyptian, the student-run news organization of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is committed to being a trusted source of news, information, commentary and public discourse, while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
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Carson VanBuskirk | @CarsonVanbDE Paul Echols, retired police lieutenant and criminal justice professor, speaks after receiving honor from the Carbondale NAACP on Monday at the 37th Annual King Breakfast in the SIU Student Center. Echols helped Grover Thompson receive posthumous clemency after Thompson was wrongfully convicted of murder. When asked why he sought to clear Thompson’s name after so long he quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
ECHOLS continued from
TROOPS continued from
From the editor:
This year marks an exciting time at Southern Illinois University as we celebrate the school’s 150th anniversary and I am extremely excited to share it with you as the Daily Egyptian’s Spring 2019 editor. As we go into SIU sesquicentennial celebration, we pledge to continue celebrating our successes and continuing in-depth reporting on important topics in our community. The Daily Egyptian strives to continue being a leader in Southern Illinois University and Carbondale news. A big secret (that’s not much of a secret) is that you don’t have to be a journalism student to work at the Daily Egyptian. The Daily Egyptian is working towards creating a collaborative newsroom with individuals across multiple disciplines and we hope to tell important stories within our community in new and innovative ways. Diversity within the pages of our newspaper, our online content and within our four walls is of the upmost importance to me and will be a top priority in building the future of the Daily Egyptian. I encourage members of underrepresented groups to reach out and contribute to our conversation and efforts on bringing diverse voices to our table. Whether that be through submissions of personal essays, poetry or other mediums – I want to hear your ideas and your thoughts. My door is always open and I welcome the community at large to reach out on story ideas, news tips, questions or simply to say hello. The doors of our newsroom are open and we would love to have you. Here’s to the next 150 years. Deo Volente, Brian Munoz Editor in Chief, Spring 2019 The Daily Egyptian Munoz has previously served as a senior reporter and the Photography Editor at the Daily Egyptian. His work has appeared in several regional and national publications and he can be reached by email at bmunoz@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter at @BrianMMunoz.
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One of the murders Krajcir recalled was the stabbing of a Mt. Vernon woman. With the help of Carly O’Keefe, a reporter for KFVS-TV, Echols was able to piece together what happened. After working for nearly two years with the Innocence Project and SIU School of Law externs who worked for the group, he was able to get a date before the Illinois Prison Review Board.
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The four dissenters said they would have denied the request to lift the injunctions. The outcome leaves the status of transgender troops in doubt. In 2016, Defense Department officials in the outgoing Obama administration decided transgender individuals would be permitted to enlist in the armed forces, and none would be discharged solely because of their gender identity. Under the judges’ orders, that policy had remained in effect. In June 2017, however, President Trump tweeted the “United States government will not accept or allow” transgender people “to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” He told then-Defense Secretary James Mattis to devise a new policy to put his edict into effect. Early last year, the Defense Department adopted this more restrictive policy for transgender individuals; officials said it stopped short of a total ban. “Transgender persons should not be disqualified from service solely on account of their transgender status,” it said. Transgender individuals, however, “would be required to serve in their biological sex,” the lawyers explained, while those who would undergo a transition “would be presumptively disqualified from service.”
“Many of us went to Springfield [and] we testified – it was unopposed and then sat for another several years because Rauner came in,” Echols said. The family received a onesentence letter stating Rauner had denied the exoneration request in December 2015, Echols said. “It was frustrating, there was no reason for that, but they don’t have to give you an excuse,” Echols said. Echols said the entire
situation was a rollercoaster and while it was a victory, he wished it came sooner. “Why couldn’t it have been many years ago?” Echols said. “Thompson could’ve got out of prison and enjoyed his freedom again.” Thompson received the first posthumous exoneration in Illinois history and the 21st posthumous exoneration nationwide, according to the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Service members who identify as transgender “would be permitted to continue serving if they do not seek to undergo gender transition, are willing and able serve in their biological sex and are able to meet applicable deployability requirements,” the lawyers told the court. The Defense Department said it had exempted transgender troops who had revealed their identity in response to the 2016 policy, and it said 937 troops could continue to serve openly as transgender people under the new policy. Studies and surveys cited by advocates say about 9,000 and perhaps as many 15,000 transgender persons are serving now in the military. Acting in response to lawsuits, federal judges in Riverside, Calif.; Seattle; Baltimore; and Washington, D.C., issued nationwide orders blocking Trump’s policy from taking effect on the grounds it appeared be unconstitutional. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the judge’s order in one case and said the new policy was not an absolute ban on transgender
people serving in the military. Advocates for transgender troops disagreed. The D.C. circuit court’s “decision is based on the absurd idea that forcing transgender people to suppress who they are in order to serve is not a ban,” said Jennifer Levi, transgender rights project director for LGTBQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. She noted then that the three other injunctions were unaffected. In early December, Trump’s lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to either take up the cases directly without waiting for a ruling by an appeals court or to issue an order setting aside the lower court injunctions so Trump’s policy could take effect. The justices decided on the second option. Separately Tuesday, the court refused to hear the appeals immediately, leaving the issue to be decided first by federal courts of appeal. The high court took no action on another appeal from Trump’s lawyers asking the justices to reconsider rulings that blocked the president’s planned repeal of the deportation protection granted to 700,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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‘United We March’ rally brings out nearly 150 despite weather Claire Cowley | Staff reporter
As snow and sleet pelted Carbondale on Saturday, nearly 150 people gathered at the Carbondale Civic Center for this year’s 2019 “United We March” rally. “The one thing we continue to push for in southern Illinois is favoring all groups that are working toward equity, justice and human rights,” said Elizabeth Hunter, Women United Network co-founder and march organizer. Hunter said they want to educate the public on the political process by working at a state and local level to increase involvement. “We had voter registration [and canvassing] training,” Hunter said. “This year we will have educational sessions [...] one on how a bill becomes a law in Illinois.” Community engagement continues to be a priority for Hunter and the organization. Hunter said she wanted to make sure people not only come out for the march, but also have the opportunity to
meet local organizations. Emery Johnson-Miles, lead medical and legal advocate at the Carbondale Women’s Center, said seeing these women gather together is very powerful. “It’s very healing for survivors,” Johnson-Miles said. “We find that a lot of people who come to our table end up disclosing some sort of violence.” Johnson-Miles said it is important to serve as a presence in order to support survivors of sexual assault, harassment, stalking and gender-based violence. Debbie Stanley, a march attendee from Makanda, said she is marching because of today’s political climate. “Women have been traditionally stepped on,” Stanley said. “If you step on anybody’s rights, then you’re leading the way to step on everybody’s rights. I’m proud to be a woman and I want women to continue getting freedom.” Staff reporter Claire Cowley can be reached at ccowley@dailyegyptian.com.
Isabel Miller | @IsabelMMiller Community members march down Walnut Street as snow and ice begin to fall on Saturday, during the Women’s United March outside of the Carbondale Civic Center. The “United We March” rally was the third annual women’s march organized by the Women United Network. Due to the inclement weather around 150 people participated in the march — which is less than years prior. The route was reduced due to inclement weather.
Patti Blagojevich ‘speechless’convicted cop’s sentence is shorter than her husband’s, sends flare to Trump on social media Lisa Donovan | Chicago Tribune
Nuccio DiNuzzo | Chicago Tribune Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivers a statement with his wife, Patti, at his side, on his last full day of freedom at his home on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in Chicago, Ill.
Patti Blagojevich compared on social media Friday the controversial sentencing of former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke with the lengthier prison sentence given to her husband, imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The former governor’s wife included President Donald Trump’s Twitter handle in her message in which she bemoaned Van Dyke’s sentence of fewer than seven years in comparison with her husband’s. Van Dyke received a six-year, nine-month sentence for second-degree murder in the fatal on-duty shooting of Laquan McDonald. “I am speechless. A 17 year old is dead and the sentence is less than half of my husbands sentence for discussions with his staff and attorneys about political fundraising,” Patti Blagojevich tweeted, adding Trump’s handle, @realDonaldTrump. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of wire fraud for discussing how he could personally profit from selling the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by then-President-elect Barack Obama. The ex-governor has served almost half of a 14year federal sentence. Patti Blagojevich, a daughter of powerful former Ald. Dick
Mell, has been trying to appeal to the White House for leniency – making her case via conservative media in hopes of catching Trump’s eye. It certainly did in December when she went on Fox News, the president’s favorite TV channel. Trump, besieged by multiple investigations, took to Twitter to urge supporters to praise her and to watch the interview, raising the specter of a possible commutation for Rod Blagojevich. In that interview, Patti Blagojevich attempted to liken a probe into questionable spending on Trump’s 2017 inauguration to what she thought were injustices into her husband’s unrelated federal corruption case. She has sought to appeal to Trump for leniency by citing what she considers an unchecked Justice Department, in line with the president criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 Trump victory as a “witch hunt.” In May, Trump raised the possibility of slashing Blagojevich’s sentence for “being stupid and saying things that every other politician, you know, that many other politicians say.” But it was the last word Trump had made about Blagojevich, who was an unsuccessful contestant on his “Celebrity Apprentice” show following his arrest.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
TRUMP VISITS MLK MEMORIAL AFTER criticism
Pete Marovich | Getty Images President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Monday in Washington, D.C. They placed a wreath to commemorate the slain civil rights leader.
Leonard Greene | NY Daily News
Hours after being roundly criticized for ignoring Martin Luther King Jr. on a national holiday in his honor, President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit Monday at a Washington memorial erected for the slain civil rights leader. Joined by Vice President Pence, Trump made a brief appearance at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial where he laid a wreath at the stone monument. His visit lasted 90 seconds, according to reports. “It’s a great day, a beautiful day,” he said, making no mention of King or the holiday. “Thank you for being here.” Trump also ignored shouted questions from reporters about the partial government shutdown, which is about to enter its second month. Earlier in the morning, Trump was assailed by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was hosting potential Democratic presidential
candidates at a Washington, D.C., breakfast in King’s honor. Sharpton noted that neither Trump nor Pence had ceremonies honoring King on their public schedules. “Today as we have this breakfast, there is no official event at the White House to celebrate Martin Luther King Day,” Sharpton said at the event featuring former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who are both believed to be eyeing 2020 presidential runs. “The vice president ... nor the president, have any official thing on their calendar to celebrate a federal holiday that Ronald Reagan signed,” Sharpton said. “This is an insult to the American people that the president of the United States does not officially recognize or give any ceremony for Dr. King.” Trump’s visit to the memorial site – which is overseen by the National Park Service – came on the 31st day of the government shutdown, which has left the
National Park Service unfunded. Trump also issued a King proclamation, but not before he was criticized at the Sharpton breakfast. “Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God. #MLKDay,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. Trump’s predecessors typically marked the day by doing some community service. Former President Barack Obama reminded his followers of King’s message in a tweet he posted as Trump was concluding his 90-second visit. “I’ve always drawn inspiration from what Dr. King called life’s most persistent and urgent question: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Obama wrote. “Let’s honor his legacy by standing up for what is right in our communities and taking steps to make a positive impact on the world.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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Undercover St. Louis cop says colleagues beat him ‘like Rodney King’ Robert Patrick | St. Louis Post-Dispatch
An undercover St. Louis police officer who was beaten by colleagues during protests in 2017 later described the attack as a “free for all” and told someone at police headquarters that he was beaten “like Rodney King,” according to recently released court documents. Detective Luther Hall’s statements about the night he was attacked were used by the FBI to justify searches of four officers’ cellphones and associated accounts as agents investigated both Hall’s attack and the arrest or detention of other protesters following the Sept. 15, 2017, acquittal of former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley. They provide the most detailed retelling of Hall’s version of the attack and new information about the resulting FBI investigation. That investigation resulted in charges in November against four police officers. Officers Dustin Boone, Randy Hays and Christopher Myers were accused of the physical assault and charged with depriving Hall of his constitutional rights and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Myers also is charged with destruction of evidence, accused of destroying Hall’s cellphone. Officer Bailey Colletta was accused of lying to a federal grand jury investigating the attack. All have pleaded not guilty. Hays’ lawyer, Brian Millikan, declined to comment. The other lawyers did not respond to requests for comment Monday. On Friday, a judge ordered redacted copies of the search warrants unsealed, and four of nine have been so far. In affidavits supporting the application for the warrants, FBI Special Agent Darren Boehlje wrote that Hall and his partner were undercover, “documenting protest activity and property destruction.” Hall was carrying
a Nikon camera and a cellphone. Hall and his partner became separated when fleeing other officers who were firing pepper balls, bean bag rounds and mace into the crowd from vehicles, the affidavit says. The affidavit also notes that Hall did not hear an order to disperse prior to the police use of chemical agents and bean bag rounds. At an intersection, police SUVs pulled up and a female officer ordered Hall to get to the ground. As he was getting to his knees, Hall was picked up twice and slammed to the ground, face first, Boehlje wrote. His nose and lip were already bleeding when he was repeatedly kicked and hit with closed fists and sticks, Boehlje wrote. Hall’s hands were in front of him on the ground, and although officers were telling him to put his hands behind his back, they were also standing on his arms, Boehlje wrote. “Hall described it as a ‘free for all,’” the affidavit says. Hall’s cellphone screen had been shattered from what Hall thought was a baton. After he was handcuffed, he watched as an officer took out his Nikon battery and threw the camera to the ground, breaking it, Boehlje wrote. The affidavit suggests there may be video of at least part of the incident, as Hall’s cellphone was “actively recording” as he surrendered. Hall did not want to reveal his identity. He made eye contact with someone he knew, and that person got two SWAT officers to take Hall away. He later received medical treatment in an armored vehicle before telling someone at headquarters that officers “beat the (expletive) out of him like Rodney King.” Hall then received more treatment at a temporary Highway Patrol medical facility. It took three layers of stitches to close
Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Melissa McKinnies, of St. Louis, holds two upside-down American flags with “No Justice, No Peace” written on them on Sept. 17, 2017, while marching down Kingsland Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. The protests come on the second day after the “not guilty” verdict announcement of former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley in the shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
the hole in his lip, and he suffered multiple herniated discs, the affidavit says. A jaw injury made it hard to eat and Hall lost about 15 pounds, Boehlje wrote. He identified four officers at the scene of his assault: Boone, Colletta, Hays and Myers, Boehlje wrote. The affidavit also details text messages purportedly exchanged after the attack. The day after the assault, Boone and Hays discussed it by text, with Hays writing that he’d told someone “the ass whooping can be explained. The camera thing can’t and we weren’t a part of that.” Boone replies that he was “WAY
more alright with what u and I did than what the others did! I don’t like that we put our hands on another cop, but the situation was a little (expletive) up, too, wasn’t JUST us.” Hays then echoed that, adding that Hall “could’ve announced himself any time. And he wasn’t complying. The camera thing is just ignorant, nothing we all haven’t done and if it was a protester it wouldn’t be a problem at all.” For the rest of this story please visit www.dailyegyptian.com.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Arts & Entertainment
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brown: Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t work as an open world Jeremy Brown | @JeremyBrown_DE
I played a lot of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption II last year and while the story is a slow-burn of betrayal and lost morality that I thoroughly enjoyed, I never found myself wanting to go out into the wilderness to explore. In other successful open world games, such as CD Projekt Red’s “The Witcher III: Wild Hunt,” they find specific loops- or metaphoric carrots on sticks- to keep the exploring of the map not just a novelty, but a necessity. Red Dead Redemption II doesn’t have an overarching gameplay loop that forces your connection to the world. The only real loop in this game is how much money you have: Hunting animals gets you money; robbing wagons, strangers or trains gets you money; and doing side missions sometimes gets you money. While these are inherently
fun, the rewards are not worth your time and effort. The reward is just money, but the best way to get money is by ignoring every activity I just mentioned. Instead, just make a B-line for every main story mission, because they yield rewards infinitely better than anything out in the world will. In contrast, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt’s open world has hundreds of quests, most of which are really varied and wrapped in brief, dark stories. It also makes quest completion the only real way to level up, and in turn the only way to use stronger weapons and powers, like straight-up mind control. Since the game doesn’t go easy on you, there’s an obligation to get better. Thus, you go take on any quests and bounties you can find, and beyond the inherent appeal of seeing more of the stories you can experience you also make progress toward that higher goal of leveling up.
Red Dead has this need to make sure you don’t have to do anything besides the main story, none of the side content matters. Your overall goal is either beating the game, or getting money, and you complete these efficiently by ignoring everything waiting for you out in the map. Compounding this is how the story is completely contradictory to goofing off hunting or robbing. In the story every character in your struggling outlaw camp is like: “We’re going to all die if we don’t have any food.” “You’re basically the only one that can save us, we need money ASAP or you’ve failed us.” “Where’s the whiskey? I’d get it myself if I didn’t have lumbago.” In a weird way, this is my praise of the story – the acting and script give the story a sense of urgency. As the player and as Arthur Morgan you feel a need to not let anyone down. So, I’d
feel like a schmuck for goofing off in the forest for a month, plus I’d be at a disconnect with Arthur’s motives. As much as they say they’re starving, you can leave the camp helpless with no consequence. On top of this, while there are meters for the camp’s food, ammo and medicine supplies – they don’t do anything if they’re depleted. No one dies or leaves, nothing ever goes wrong by your inaction. So while in the script it sounds like a big deal, there are no consequences or stakes in helping the camp. Red Dead Redemption II would work better if it was structured similar to Arkane Studios’ 2012 sleeper hit, Dishonored. There’s a similar hideout in Dishonored to Red Dead’s camp, but in that game, since it isn’t an open world, you have to return between each chapter. By making the interactions with its members necessary, Dishonored makes you learn
more about each character. Red Dead’s camp has a cool array of interactions and minigames that you’ll miss all the time because you’re not pushed to interact and learn about your fellow outlaws. Red Dead’s story missions are also so scripted to the point of taking you places you can’t even return to in the open world, and the side content doesn’t feed into the gameplay loop. As a linear game, it would be leaner, meaner and better. With how little of the open world helps your overall goal, it basically already is one but with long transitions of Arthur on a horse. Or, I could just be full of it and hate the horseback riding. You’re Dumb and Wrong is a weekly column about video gaming and popular culture from the mind of Jeremy Brown.
Netflix scores first best-picture Oscar nomination for ‘Roma’ Nardine Saad | LA Times
In a landmark but inevitable feat, Netflix has its first bestpicture Oscar nomination thanks to Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.” The nostalgic, black-andwhite film was validated as a lead contender in the Oscars race when the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, tying with the period comedy “The Favourite” with 10 nominations apiece. “Roma” picked up nods in the best picture, director, foreign-language film, original screenplay and cinematography categories; technical nominations for sound mixing, sound editing and production design; as well as a lead-actress notice for newcomer Yalitza Aparicio and a supporting actress nod for Marina de Tavira. Cuaron himself, who won two Oscars in 2014 for “Gravity,” is up for trophies as director, writer, cinematographer and coproducer of the film, but was left out of the film editing category. Mexico’s official Oscar entry could also make history by being the first foreignlanguage film to go on to win best picture.
Netflix tested its Oscarsrace endurance with last year’s gut-wrenching drama “Mudbound,” which earned four Academy Award nominations; however, it was edged out of the best-picture race, and did not go on to win in any category. But “Roma,” Cuaron’s ode to his childhood caregiver in Mexico, has been dazzling audiences and critics since it debuted at the Venice Film Festival last August, where it picked up the coveted Golden Lion award. Since then, the film began streaming in mid-December and broke new ground for Netflix with an exclusive theatrical release. It also garnered two Golden Globe Awards, won best picture from the New York and Los Angeles critics groups and collected a glut of guild nominations. With Netflix’s willingness to spend on prestige content and awards campaigns, wide-ranging promotional tactics, as well as chief content officer Ted Sarandos’ grit to win, the streaming giant has emerged as a force disrupting Hollywood’s studio dominated landscape.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Six-year-old Ella Fehrenbacher and her mother Leslie Fehrenbacher sledding Sunday on Pleasant Hill Road next to the Carbondale Reservoir. Leslie Fehrenbacher said it is great to be outside, it lets her and her daughter “get some energy out instead of being stuck inside.”
Brittany May, of Carterville, pushes her mother’s stuck car while her, mother Valarie May, attempts to get to their home Saturday in Carterville, Illinois, after the first major winter storm of the year.
Six-year-old Ella Fehrenbacher and her mother Leslie Fehrenbacher walk on to
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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Cars drive south past a car stuck in the snow on Saturday along Interstate 13 in Carterville, Illinois.
op of a hill next to the Carbondale Reservoir on Pleasant Hill Road, Sunday.
Photo story by Isabel Miller | @IsabelMMiller Saturday’s winter storm brought several inches of snow, rain and ice to the southern Illinois area. According to Illinois State Police, the storm halted travel and closed I-57 from Mt. Vernon to Marion. The organization worked this weekend on clearing several accidents. The majority of roads in Carbondale are now plowed, allowing people to go about their day-to-day business. Leaving Carbondale in an icy winter wonderland.
Andrew Swearingen, of Carbondale, shovels snow Sunday. Swearingen, an alumnus of SIU, had been shoveling driveways since 7:30 a.m. that morning.
Opinion
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The tears of black men were not enough for Van Dyke to get what he deserved Dahleen Glanton | Chicago Tribune
Many people have concluded by now that it is impossible to understand the workings of the mind of President Donald Trump. Is he a masterful politician following a preconceived plan to reform government and strengthen America’s international relations? Or is he a bully and a psychopathic liar whose policies will destroy American democracy and the nation’s status in the world? While understanding Donald Trump might be near impossible, a book written in 1956 may give us insights into the motivation and behavior of Mr. Trump’s base of enthusiastic supporters. The book is “When Prophecy Fails,” by social psychologist Leon Festinger. In it, Festinger described how he with a group of colleagues joined a doomsday cult led by a charismatic Chicago housewife, who claimed to communicate with extraterrestrial aliens who
revealed to her that the world would be destroyed in a great flood on Dec. 21, 1954. She gathered a small group of followers who believed that they would be saved at midnight of the 20th by boarding a flying saucer that would take them to the planet Clarion. Many members of the group of true believers quit their jobs and sold all their possessions in preparation for the event. On the appointed night, the group sat in a circle, waiting for the flying saucer to appear. Instructed to remove any metallic items from their persons, they removed belts, bras and zippers from their clothing. Midnight came, a clock struck 12, and (surprise) nothing happened. A long silence followed. Some in the group begin to cry in shocked disbelief, but others were comforted by the leader’s message that God had prevented the great flood because the group had, by their patient waiting, spread a light that
saved the world. Contrary to what might be expected, the failure of the prophecy only strengthened the faith of many of the individuals in the cult. Subsequent prophecies of global destruction (which obviously never happened) only re-energized the faith of the true believers. In his book, Festinger called this process “cognitive dissonance.” He generalized from this example that under certain circumstances _ specifically if an individual has expressed his or her commitment to a cult or set of ideas with some physical acts that cannot be reversed, then the individual may try to mitigate the contradiction between their ideas and reality by, in effect, “doubling down” and becoming even more committed to the ideas or the ideology. Every event or fact that contradicts one’s beliefs can actually work to increase a commitment to a false narrative. This psychological inversion is especially
powerful if it has the support of a larger group of true believers, and is reinforced by activities that bring believers together. These activities can include increased efforts to convert others _ sometimes by spreading rumors that provoke personal fears, which themselves can be part of a cycle in which those rumors serve to confirm the fears that they provoked. The idea of “cognitive dissonance” can describe much more than just the psychology of cults. Cognitive dissonance is in fact a fairly common coping mechanism, which all of us have probably used at one time or another. A smoker who is confronted with evidence of the dangers of smoking will often claim that the effects of smoking are not as bad as described. (You can substitute “climate change” in the previous sentence for “smoking.”) When we are confronted with two contradictory ideas, we often do not choose rationally between
them, especially if we have already committed ourselves in some way to one of them. To resolve such contradictions, to avoid the anxiety that holding two mutually exclusive ideas causes, we are apt to energetically embrace the idea to which we have previously committed ourselves. Once firmly committed, it is increasingly difficult to turn back. Once you buy a MAGA hat or attend a Trump rally, it is an easy step to disavowing previouslyheld abstractions such as free trade or reducing the debt. Before you know it, you find yourself believing that a wall will save us from rapists and terrorists, that America’s international allies are our enemies, and that our Cold War enemies are now our friends. The next step is believing conspiracy theories about sex slaves in Washington D.C. pizza shops. Before you get to that step, hopefully, reality will slap you on your head and tell you to wake up.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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FOR RELEASE JANUARY 24, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS 1 It can cause a bad trip 4 Renders speechless 8 Late-night host with an orangeblimp running gag 13 Show of hands 14 Some Pequod crewmen 16 Tapped pic 17 Many Bach compositions 18 Sources of “Family Feud� answers 20 Soccer officials 21 Till this moment 22 Utah lily 23 Hush-hush org. 26 Rebuffed, with “off� 29 Mob scenes 31 In bygone days 33 Retailer with blue-and-yellow megastores 34 Does penance (for) 35 Clothing line 37 Go-aheads 39 Eye layer 40 Say 42 Hops hot spot 44 “Things Are Fine in Mount __�: Charley Weaver book 45 Augment 46 Unborn 48 Scale members 49 Preserves, in a way 51 Baton-passing event 54 Switch partner 55 Makes moist 57 Electrical generator 61 “The Matrix� actress Carrie-__ Moss 62 Clothing accessory, perhaps ... or what you can see in each of four groups of circles? 63 Cupcake decorator 64 Andean shrubs 65 Little piggies
Wednesday 23 PK’s Whiskey Wednesdays Pinch: Hump Day 1/2 Price U Call It Wine and Wing Wednesday
Thursday 24 Pinch: Throwback Thirstyday/$1Night
1/24/19
By Roger and Kathy Wienberg
66 Nero Wolfe creator Stout DOWN 1 Center of power 2 Panels illustrating film scripts 3 High capital 4 “Hey, sailor!� 5 General concerns? 6 Unit of work 7 Let off 8 Solace 9 Responsibility 10 Wii forerunner, briefly 11 Onassis nickname 12 Foreign policy advisory gp. 13 Plastic choice 15 100 sawbucks 19 Place for pins and needles 22 Salts, say 23 King’s philosophy 24 Jousting mount 25 Test for purity 27 Scottish isle 28 Half a giggle 30 Letters for short people? 31 Equidistant 32 Sparkly stone
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34 Boss’ backup: Abbr. 36 Witty remark 38 __ de toilette 41 Strict diet restriction 43 __ paper 46 Whole 47 Get to work again 50 Japanese aborigine 52 Subsidiary structure
1/24/19
53 Belgian river 54 Phi __ Kappa 55 Dish (out) 56 Son of Zeus and Hera 57 TV network with much Shondaland programming 58 Summer sign 59 Solace for a sad BFF 60 Ref’s ruling
Friday 25
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Sports
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Looking ahead, how do the Panthers match up?
Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Southern Illinois guard Marcus Bartley attempts to go for a loose ball while being held back on Sunday, during the second period of a game against the Bradley Braves at SIU Arena. The Salukis would later go on to lose the game, 57-54.
Adam Warfel | @WarfelAdam
The Salukis (9-10, 2-4 MVC) are set to face the University of Northern Iowa (8-11, 3-3 MVC) tonight at SIU Arena with tip-off at 7 p.m. This is the second matchup between the two teams this year, with the last game being a win for the Salukis in Cedar Falls 58-51. In that game, senior center Kavion Pippen was the difference for the Salukis scoring 18 points and grabbing three rebounds. Senior forward Armon Fletcher was out of that game due to a suspension. In this game, expect Pippen to have another good game, much like the last. The only player that matches up with Pippen is seven
foot junior center Justin Dahl – he played a total of 11 minutes in the last matchup. Both teams rank near the bottom of the conference with the Panthers coming in averaging 65.2 points per game, while the Dawgs average slightly more at 67.7 points. Both teams have a top five defense in the conference, with Southern getting the edge only allowing 67.2 points per game in conference. SIU has field goal percentage in their favor, UNI is last in the conference with 39 percent. The Salukis have the best field goal defense in the conference, limiting their conference foes to 41.5 percent shooting.
The big key for Southern will be turnovers as they rank last in the conference in turnover margin averaging 15.2 turnovers per game compared to their opponents 13 turnovers. The best player for UNI is freshman guard AJ Green. He is leading all freshman in the conference averaging 15 points per game. Southern has lost four straight coming into the matchup, while Northern Iowa is coming off an 11 point loss to Valparaiso after winning two straight. Sports editor Adam Warfel can be reached at awarfel@dailyegyptian.com.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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Sloan Marion | @GriizzlyPSD
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Preston: Poor officiating has become the norm in the NFL, Sunday was no different Mike Preston | Baltimore Sun
There is some sympathy for New Orleans coach Sean Payton over an officiating gaffe in the NFC championship game Sunday that cost the Saints a chance to win the Super Bowl. But there won’t be much. Those days are over, because officiating in the NFL has been poor for a long time and will remain that way until some changes are made. So, when I watch an NFL game, I expect the outcome to be determined by about ten plays made by the players, four or five failed or successful coaching strategies and three to four questionable calls made by the officials. It’s just another Sunday in the NFL. Some fans have a different perspective, especially when it comes to the officials, because of their investment in their favorite teams, but Sunday’s NFL conference championship games fit my script. They were exciting, competitive and featured some of the league’s best coaches. There were two eventual Hall of Fame quarterbacks competing in the Saints’ Drew Brees and the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady and two bright, young signal-callers in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff. But both games were marred by poor officiating, especially the non-calls on the pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact late in regulation that likely would have sealed a victory for New Orleans over the Rams. By now, you’ve seen the replay in which Rams cornerback Nickell RobeyColeman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis on a pass in the right flat deep in Rams territory. Robey-Coleman never looked for the ball and ran over Lewis, which should have resulted in a pass-interference penalty and/or helmet-to-helmet violation. Neither infraction was called. Later, according to Payton, league officials told him that the officials missed the call. I guess that is supposed to make Payton feel better. But it didn’t. Bet it didn’t help Kansas City coach Andy Reid sleep any better, either, after watching the officials call a phantom
roughing-the-quarterback penalty on defensive linemen Chris Jones late in the game, which helped keep a New England drive alive and eventually led to a touchdown. The officials just keep getting these calls wrong with or without instant replay. Poor officiating has been around as long as the games themselves, but in today’s game, every call is magnified and overanalyzed because of instant replay, camera angles and jumbotrons in stadiums. The NFL does a good job of screening and training officials, and the average salary of an NFL official will rise to $200,000 in the 2019 season. They used to be parttime employees -- dentists, doctors, farmers, lawyers and so on -- before the league finally started hiring some full-timers in 2017. The assumption here is that they are men of integrity. But the league can do some things to help them out. Coaches should be allowed to challenge any penalty, not just certain ones. And if they don’t agree to that, at least allow coaches to challenge passinterference violations because those calls are having the biggest impact on the outcomes of games. That’s because the interpretation of the rule has varied from game to game, stadium to stadium and officiating crew to officiating crew. There is no objectivity, just subjectivity. As Payton stood at the podium Sunday, any former player or coach would sympathize with him. One year of hard work and the main goal of an entire organization were wiped away in virtually 30 seconds. Yet at the same time, one play never decides the outcome of a game. As Payton pointed fingers at the officials, he needed to point them at himself for failing to run the ball and use up clock before the pass to Lewis. Or he might need to go over his red-zone offense. Against teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, it’s OK to pull Brees for versatile performer Taysom Hill in certain situations, but not in the playoffs. The ball needed to be in the hands of Brees, the team’s best player, as much as possible.
Reid had a similar situation with receiver Tyreek Hill, who had one catch for 42 yards and was targeted only three times. Reid should have known the Patriots were going to double-team Hill, so why not use Hill on some jet sweeps or screens? Maybe an endaround? How about using him in motion, which would allow him to get off the line of scrimmage cleanly? On defense, the Chiefs tried to get pressure on Brady with their front four, and when that didn’t work, they stayed with it. Yes, they stayed with it, even on thirdand-long situations late in the game. The Chiefs-Patriots game reminded me of what I have seen so often in the last decade in the AFC. New England coach Bill Belichick was outcoaching another peer. He got pressure on Mahomes up the middle and moved him off his spot. He moved tight end Rob Gronkowski outside as a receiver and the Chiefs couldn’t stop him. He kept slot receiver Julian Edelman in motion, which allowed him to roam freely and dominate the middle of the field. These were entertaining games. The teams were resilient as both games went to overtime, the first time that’s happened in NFL postseason history. The Saints were robbed by the officials, but the Rams also earned that right to play in the Super Bowl because of their toughness and Goff, who made some outstanding throws in the middle of the field late in the game. There was compassion for Reid, who lost another big game, but an appreciation for Belichick and Brady. But these games still left a bad taste in your mouth because of the officiating. Maybe there will be some officials who will get fired. Maybe the league will soften its stance on which violations can be challenged. But overall, Sunday’s games were no different than the other poorly officiated contests I’ve seen in recent years. The championship games were just another Sunday in the NFL. Mike Preston is a sports columnist for The Baltimore Sun, focusing on the Ravens and lacrosse.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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In the War Room with Warfel: how to stop the bleeding Adam Warfel | @WarfelAdam
A war room is where tough decisions are made, it’s where the General has to make the best call for all of his soldiers. What is the best call for head coach Barry Hinson and the Saluki squad with UNI coming to Carbondale on Wednesday? At this time with the Southern men’s basketball team reeling with four straight losses, when does the bleeding stop for the Salukis? Many fans were hopeful with previously 0-5 Bradley coming into town on Sunday, this would be the game that the Salukis would turn the leaf. After the game on Sunday, Coach Hinson spoke on how the players themselves are struggling with confidence after dropping four games in a row. “That locker room needless to say is crushed,” Hinson said. “They’re really struggling right now and we’re all struggling.” When a team is struggling with confidence no matter how how much experience they have, you need a win to put the gauze in the wound. The Dawgs have been inconsistent all season – at times they have looked like the best team in the MVC with the big second half against Illinois State that almost won the game. Then there have been the Salukis who lost to Valparaiso after being up seven early, losing to Drake after getting in a ten to nothing hole early and the last nail in the coffin being against Bradley on Sunday, being up by as many as eight. Southern was picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason but after four straight losses the question is how far will the Salukis fall? Are they able to rebound? Last season SIU started conference play at 2-3, they won six of their next seven and were able to finish second in the conference. With the pressure mounting on
this Saluki team, and their confidence at an all time low after the Bradley loss, Hinson said not to blame the players. “If you want to blame somebody blame me,” Hinson said. “These young men are doing everything they can do right now, I believe in these guys.” At the beginning of the year with the tough schedule, Southern was competing against the likes of Kentucky, Buffalo and Murray State. Hinson put up the expectations at winning a conference championship early on. “We’ve talked so much about winning a conference championship,” Hinson said after the loss to Bradley on Sunday. “We finally got to the point three weeks ago, we decided we’ve got to play one game at a time.” Regardless of how the Salukis finish at the end of the conference season, it truly comes down to the conference tournament in March. Going back to the 2005-2006 season in the conference championship the lowest seed that won was UNI in 2016 over Evansville. The Panthers were a four seed. So, for the Salukis to finish fourth, what would they realistically need to do in terms of wins? First off, the Dawgs must win Wednesday against UNI, at 2-4 in the conference Southern is tied for seventh with Missouri State and Indiana State. A win would first off tie the Salukis with UNI at 3-4 in the conference, then the Dawgs would have to root for an Indiana State loss to the surging Valpo in Terre Haute. Also, they would be rooting for a Bradley win against Illinois State to bring the Redbirds down to 4-3, Drake and Evansville both play against each other on Wednesday at 3-3 a loss by either would help for the chase for a four seed.
Brian Munoz | @brianmmunoz Southern Illinois Salukis head coach Barry Hinson talks to his team during a time out on Sunday during the Bradley Braves 57-54 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis at SIU Arena.
Loyola also plays Missouri State on Wednesday,and Saluki fans must root for a route in that game to move up the standings. If Missouri State and Indiana State both lose on Wednesday and the Salukis take off the tourniquet to relieve the pressure with a win against UNI – they would be sitting in a tie for fourth place. An Illinois State loss would also pull
Southern within two games of third place, so while it may feel like SIU is falling Hinson must bandage the wound during Wednesday’s game against UNI. Saluki fans should buckle in for what still is a very open race in the Valley. Adam Warfel is the sports editor at The Daily Egyptian and can be reached by email at awarfel@dailyegyptian.com.
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