Locally:
SUNY trustees seek increase in financial aid
State University of New York officials started a statewide initiative to increase state funding for the SUNY system. The officials are also looking to extend the predictable tuition plan by another five years. SUNY trustees have requested an additional $273 million in direct state tax support, including $33 million more for community colleges, according to The Buffalo News.
The trustees are looking to increase the amount of the base state aid that community colleges receive by 10 percent, so that full-time students receive an additional $2,847 in aid. The increase would be about $2.6 million in additional funds for Erie Community College if the governor and State Legislature agree.
Obesity rates increasing among Erie County children
Erie County Health Commissioner Gale R. Burstein has called obesity “one of our public health crises.” The percentage of overweight and obese children in Erie County increased from 2008 to 2012. One in three children currently fall into one of the two categories, according to officials, according to The Buffalo News.
The United Way of Buffalo & Erie County issued a community report on Friday. The report card revealed that 32 percent of children, aged 11 and under in Erie County were obese or overweight in 2012, a 28 percent increase since 2008.
Nationally:
Missouri football players pressure school officials amid race tension
Thirty-two black football players announced they would not participate in team activities until the president, of the University of Missouri is removed. The black players did not express explicitly whether they would boycott all of the team's three remaining games this season.
The players’ protests stem from their belief that president Tim Wolfe has mishandled issues of racial harassment during the school year. Head coach Gary Pinkel posted a photo of the team and coaches locking arms to his Twitter account to express “solidarity” between players.
Ben Carson Yale University claims under scrutiny
Presidential candidate Ben Carson is currently facing questions about the legitimacy of a story outlined in his 1990 autobiography about being the most "honest student" in a psychology course at Yale University, according to ABC News.
Carson claimed a Yale Daily News photographer entered his class with a photographer from the Yale Daily News and explained that it was to find out who was "the most honest student in the class." The Wall Street Journal challenged Carson's story, claiming that no photo of Carson was ever printed according to Yale Daily News archives. Yale librarian Claryn Spies told the Journal, there was no such course when Carson attended Yale.
Globally:
Pope pledges to continue reforms, amid scandal
Pope Francis delivered a speech to followers in St. Peter's Square on Sunday following the recent document scandal that plagued the Vatican. He said that publishing the documents in two books released last week "was a deplorable act that doesn't help," according to ABC News. The books, "Merchants in the Temple" by Gianluigi Nuzzi and "Avarice" by Emiliano Fittipaldi, elaborated on the mismanagement and supposed greed present in the Vatican.
The pope said that the leaked documents were the result of the reform course that he began. He said that measures had already been taken to address problems, "with some visible results."
Egyptian journalist faces accusations
Hossam Bahgat, an investigative journalist and human rights advocate, is facing charges from Egypt's military prosecutor. According to The Washington Post, Mada Masr reported that Bahgat said "he may be charged with 'publishing inaccurate and false information that harms national interests,' although no charges have been formally brought against him at this time."
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