Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania head quits amid antisemitism row
The head of an Ivy League university has resigned following a fierce backlash to her congressional testimony in which she refused to say calling for the genocide of Jews constituted “harassment”.
Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), quit days after donors threatened to withdraw $100million gifts from the school if she did not go.
Scott Bok, the chair of the Penn Board of Trustees, said on Saturday Ms Magill had “voluntarily tendered her resignation” as president and would remain a faculty member.
Ms Magill said in a statement “it has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution.”Mr Bok later announced his own resignation following Ms Magill’s decision to step down, saying it was “the right time to depart”.
He said Ms Magill had made a “very unfortunate misstep” —consistent with that of two peer university leaders sitting alongside her—after five hours of aggressive questioning”.
”Following that, it became clear that her position was no longer tenable, and she and I concurrently decided that it was time for her to exit.”
He said Ms Magill was a “good person and a talented leader who was beloved by her team”, adding: “She is not the slightest bit anti-Semitic. Working with her was one of the great pleasures of my life. Worn down by months of relentless external attacks, she was not herself last Tuesday.
”Over prepared and over lawyered given the hostile forum and high stakes, she provided a legalistic answer to a moral question, and that was wrong.”
During Tuesday’s five-hour hearing, Ms Magill and her counterparts at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were questioned on how their institutions had responded to the rise in anti-Semitism since 7 October.
While all three university leaders condemned Hamas and anti-Semitism, they refused to say whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate their university’s code of conduct.
’’If the speech turns into conduct it can be harassment, yes,” Ms Magill told committee member Elise Stefanik.
Pressed further, Ms Magill, 57, added: “It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman.”
Their responses sparked criticism from the White House, Pennsylvania’s governor, members of Congress and donors.
One donor, Ross Stevens, threatened to withdraw a $100 million gift because of the university’s “stance on antisemitism on campus” unless Ms Magill was replaced.
A day later, Ms Magill addressed the criticism, saying in a video that she would consider a call for the genocide of Jewish people to be harassment or intimidation and that UPenn’s policies need to be “clarified and evaluated.”
Responding to Ms Magill’s resignation, Ms Stefanik said: “one down. Two to go”.
She said her departure is the “bare minimum of what is required”.
Writing on Twitter, Ms Stefanik added: “This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most ‘prestigious’ higher education institutions in America.”
Campus hosted Palestinian festival
Ms Magill had already been under fire from some donors and alumni over the university’s handling of various perceived acts of antisemitism.
That included allowing a Palestinian literary arts festival to be held on its campus in September featuring speakers whose past statements about Israel had drawn accusations of antisemitism.
A former US Supreme Court law clerk, Ms Magill is the daughter of a retired federal judge and was dean of Stanford University’s law school and a top administrator at the University of Virginia before she became UPenn’s ninth president last year.
Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday New York’s governor called on the state’s colleges and universities to swiftly address cases of antisemitism and what she described as any “calls for genocide” on campus.
In a letter to college and university presidents, Kathy Hochul said her administration would enforce violations of the state’s Human Rights Law and refer any violations of federal civil rights law to US officials.
Ms Hochul said she has spoken to chancellors of the State University of New York and City University of New York public college systems who she said confirmed “that calling for genocide of any group” or tolerating antisemitism violates codes of conduct on their campuses “and would lead to swift disciplinary action.”
Pennsylvania
HS FOOTBALL: LFC and WVC players selected as finalists for Pennsylvania Player of Year Award; Call receives invites to showcase games
Several athletes from the Lackawanna Football Conference and District 2 are among the 55 finalists for the Pennsylvania Player of the Year award selected by the Maxwell Football Club.
Abington Heights wide receiver Shawn Theodore, Honesdale running back Mason Avery, Riverside tight end Richie Kostoff, Scranton Prep quarterback Louis Paris and Wyoming Area running back Lidge Kellum were listed among the 55 players who are Mini Max Award winners according to a release Monday night by the Maxwell Football account on X.
The Mini Max Awards are a prestigious honor for high school football players across the Tri-State Region that includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. This year is the first year District 2 players were included among the nominees.
Awards are presented at the annual Mini Max Dinner in Philadelphia on Feb. 2 at the Drexelbrook Convention Center in Drexel Hill. The award recognizes outstanding athletic achievement and sportsmanship in high school football.
In addition to the Mini Max Awards, the Maxwell Football Club also chooses the Player of the Year for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The event culminates with the Jim Henry Award, which goes to one of the three State Players of the Year.
Call receives invites
Valley View freshman lineman Brody Call received invites to three postseason games.
Call, a 6-0, 230-pound standout for the Cougars, is invited to the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 26-29, the All-American Bowl on Jan. 17-20 in Miami, Florida, and the Polynesian Bowl Combine and Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 21-22.
Call started every game for the Cougars and helped lead the team to the District 2 Class 4A championship and an 11-2 record.
Cesare ceremony
The 33rd Fiore Cesare Award and Scholarship ceremony is Friday at 2 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Scranton.
Mid Valley running back and defensive back Jakob Lesher, Delaware Valley quarterback and punter Logan Olsommer, Scranton Prep quarterback Louis Paris, Riverside quarterback Chase Taddonio and Western Wayne running back and defensive back Josh Vinton are the five finalists named by the Roy Davis Scranton Chapter of PIAA Football Officials.
Pennsylvania
Ticket sold in Pennsylvania worth $1M as Mega Millions swells to $1.15B for post-Christmas draw
Billionaire dreams continue through Christmas after no ticket purchased in the $1 billion Christmas Eve 2024 Mega Millions draw hit the jackpot.
The jackpot rolled again — this time to $1.15 billion — after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024.
Léelo en español aquí.
Don’t throw away your tickets just yet as one sold in Pennsylvania is worth $1 million, according to Mega Millions.
What were the winning Mega Millions numbers drawn on Christmas Eve?
The Mega Millions draw for Dec. 24, 2024, went like this: The white balls drawn were 11, 14, 38, 45 and 46, plus the gold Mega Ball 3.
Ticket sold in Pennsylvania strikes $1 million prize
In total, fours tickets sold matched all five white balls, but missed the gold Mega Ball, the lottery said. Those tickets sold in California, Missouri, Wyoming and Pennsylvania are worth $1 million a piece.
NBC10 has reached out to Pennsylvania Lottery to find out where the Keystone State winner was sold. However, the state lottery offices are closed for Christmas, so the winning store won’t be revealed until Thursday at the earliest, a spokesperson said.
Nearly 4.3 million tickets sold around the country in Tuesday’s draw matched at least the gold Mega Ball and are worth $2 or more.
Once again, the winning numbers in the Dec. 24, 2024, draw were 11, 14, 38, 45 and 46, with a Mega Ball of 3.
If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction, please call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 to speak to a counselor. Help is also available via an online peer support forum at www.gamtalk.org, and additional resources can be found at NCPG website.
When is the next Mega Millions draw?
Get out $2, jump into office pools and gift tickets to family as the next Mega Millions draw on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, is worth at least $1.15 billion for the annuity and $516.1 million lump sum cash value, Mega Millions said.
That massive jackpot is the fifth largest in the game’s history, Mega Millions said.
“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a Christmas news release. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays – whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or any other way people choose to celebrate the season – than by helping fulfill the dreams that come with a prize like this and prizes that will be won at all levels of the game.”
What are the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot?
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, plus the Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
When did someone last hit the Mega Millions jackpot?
It’s been since Sept. 10, 2024, since a ticket sold in Texas hit all five numbers and the Mega Ball to win an $810 million jackpot.
Good luck!
Junker said members of the executive committee have launched their own matching challenge, donating $100,000 once the same amount has been raised.
The museum bought Highland Farm a year ago from the previous owner who operated it as a Rodgers and Hammerstein–themed bed-and-breakfast. Hammerstein lived in the farmhouse for the last 20 years of his life, a period when he and composer Richard Rodgers created some of the most enduring musicals of American theater, including “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma” and “South Pacific.”
“Institutions like this help us to lead lives of purpose and meaning, they enrich our lives and provide opportunities for lifelong learning for folks of all ages,” said state Rep. Tim Brennan, a former board member of the museum. “Investing in this organization is an investment in our future.”
The first RACP grant in 2020 went toward buying the property and doing basic maintenance.
“One of the first things we did was install a security system,” Junker said. “Because we have started to collect some artifacts.”
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