Latest news with #Vassar
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jeopardy! fans left polarized as contestant wins because of shock family link to final clue
Jeopardy! fans were left sharply polarized when contestant Emily Croke won thanks to an astonishing family link to the final clue. The prompt was: 'In 1896, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote: "Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare."' Emily was able to correctly deduce the answer, writing: 'Who is Folger?' and walking away from the show with $13,201 in prize money. However she then divisively revealed that Emily Folger, who wrote the line in the prompt, 'was my great, great, great aunt Emily.' Host Ken Jennings was bowled over, asking: 'Emily Folger, the one we mentioned in the clue, is the person you, Emily Croke are named after?' to which she said: 'Yeah.' When a clip of the moment was posted to Instagram, fans leapt into the comments to share their opinions, with some feeling there was 'nothing wrong' with the 'cool' and 'amazing coincidence' as others regarded the result as 'rigged' and 'not fair.' 'Her family was pulling for her *spooky voice* from beyond the grave. So cool!!' wrote one Jeopardy! watcher who clearly supported Emily. 'I love Slumdog Millionaire moments,' said another, a third wrote: 'How fitting! That's so lucky AND she played so well,' and a fourth said: 'Synchronicity and serendipity!' 'What are the odds of that happening?' marveled a viewer as another gushed: 'Ancestral power right there! You just saw it in her smile! So cool!' 'Nothing wrong here,' a fan insisted. 'Good for her for knowing that! That's how you win trivia, know things others don't. How many people don't care to find out things about their family one or two generations back, let alone this far back!' 'Happy to have known it without any connection!!' boasted another member of the viewing public: 'Well, other than I love Shakespeare!!!' Others wrote: 'Wow, how cool is that!!,' referring to Emily's stroke of luck as the 'most amazing coincidence in the history of Jeopardy.' Meanwhile a number of audience members were rather less impressed with Emily's victory, maintaining that the family ties meant the result was not entirely above board. Making reference to a 1994 film about a television competition that was fixed behind the scenes, one wrote: 'Anyone else ever seen the movie Quiz Show?' Fans leapt into the comments to share their opinions, with some feeling there was 'nothing wrong' with the 'cool' and 'amazing coincidence' as others regarded the result as 'rigged' 'How is anyone not a family member supposed to deduce the correct reply?' demanded another commenter. 'What am I missing? Is the library at Vassar named for Folger, I wonder. Off to find out, later yall.' None of the libraries at Vassar College is named after the Folger family, although there is a Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. 'Nepo babies keep winning,' sighed one fan, another groused: 'Not fair. She cheated,' and another quipped: 'Rigged,' with a crying laughing emoji.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Whitmer denies MSU request to remove Vassar, Denno despite misconduct findings
EAST LANSING — In a two-paragraph letter, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put to rest 14-months of uncertainty about the future of two Michigan State University trustees found complicit of misconduct. Whitmer in a May 30 letter declined the MSU board's request to remove trustees Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, but claimed her decision should not be interpreted as 'condoning of the conduct' of either trustee. Among other issues, Vassar was found by university investigators to have taken free tickets and flights, and Denno to have pressured consultants investigating MSU's response the 2023 mass shooting on campus to tone down criticisms of trustees' actions. "The denial of the request by no means indicates a condoning of the conduct alleged in the referral," Whitmer's Deputy Legal Counsel Amy Lishinski wrote in a letter to MSU board Chair Kelly Tebay. "Rather, it only means that other considerations related to the Governor's removal authority weigh against removal under these circumstances at this time." Stacey LaRouche, press secretary for Whitmer did not answer follow up questions about what these other considerations were and what conduct would warrant removal. MSU spent more than $2 million for an investigation by the Washington D.C.-based law firm Miller & Chevalier that found that Vassar and Denno violated multiple codes of conduct and ethics and acted outside the boundaries of their roles. Miller & Chevalier's investigation was sparked by a letter from Trustee Brianna Scott, D-Muskegon, to her fellow trustees and local media alleging 10 instances of misconduct by Vassar, who at the time chaired the MSU board. Miller & Chevalier found evidence to support some, but not all, of Scott's allegations. The tone of Whitmer's letter lacked the strong words she used more than a year ago after the allegations surfaced, and before MSU's own investigation found that many of Scott's concerns had merit. Days after the allegations were made public, Whitmer called them "deeply concerning." "I'm taking it very seriously," Whitmer said at the time. "I think the allegations, if accurate, amount to a serious breach of conduct in what we expect of our board members and ... the oath that they took." Neither Vassar and Denno responded to a request for comment June 3. MSU's investigation found that Vassar and Denno bullied and harassed former interim President Teresa Woodruff and then-Faculty Senate Chair Jack Lipton, leading to Lipton suing the trustees. A federal judge last week dismissed the board and several trustees from that lawsuit, but said Lipton's claims against Vassar and Denno could proceed. The investigation also found evidence Denno tried to get the consultants hired by the university who analyzed MSU's response to the mass shooting to change their findings after the report criticized the trustees' response. Vassar also accepted courtside tickets and a private flight from a donor for her and her daughter to attend a basketball game. Both trustees acted outside the authority of their roles, investigators found, as well as evidence that both Vassar and Denno attempted to "embarrass and unsettle" former Woodruff and attack Lipton. Miller & Chevalier concluded its report with several recommendations, including that Vassar and Denno be censured and referred to Whitmer so she could consider removing them. The board followed both recommendations, and also censured Scott for making her allegations public. Vassar and Denno have maintained that Miller & Chevalier's investigation was incomplete and misleading. "I refute most of the allegations in the Miller & Chevalier (MC) report," Denno said in an email to the State Journal last year. "I will accept a censure but contest any other form of punishment. What has been proposed is overly-punitive in nature." Through her attorneys, paid for by MSU, Vassar released a statement calling the report 'profoundly flawed.' She is involved in a dispute with the university over legal fees for attorneys MSU hired on her behalf. Whitmer has the sole authority to remove the trustees as governor. MSU's trustees, along with the University of Michigan's Board of Regents and Wayne State University's Board of Governors, are the only college governing bodies whose members are elected in statewide elections in Michigan, and as elected officials the only person who can remove them is the governor. In 2020 Vassar was elected with more than 2.3 million votes and in 2022, Denno was elected with about 1.9 million votes. Eric Lupher, president of the Livonia-based nonprofit public affairs research organization Citizens Research Council, told the State Journal last year that a governor removing an elected official in Michigan was so rare there was no defined process. The last high-profile effort to remove an elected official by a Michigan governor was over a decade ago, Lupher said. And the elected official in question, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, resigned before Gov. Jennifer Granholm could announce a decision. Under the terms of their censure, Vassar and Denno were removed from all board committees and liaison positions. Those restrictions expired Dec. 31 and both sought and were granted seats on the board committee for academic affairs and the board committee on budget and finance in January. The controversy for both is not over, however. In a 17-page ruling dated May 28, U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said Lipton presented facts supporting a claim for a First Amendment violation against Vassar and Denno as individuals. Lipton has argued in court documents that Vassar and Denno encouraged students to attack him and label him a racist following comments he made after an Oct. 27, 2023, board meeting when he used the term "mob rule" to describe how Vassar chaired the meeting. MSU's own investigation supported some of Lipton's claims in the suit. "According to the amended complaint, Lipton's comment to the press about the October 27, 2023 BOT meeting was protected speech, and Vassar and Denno's subsequent conduct was retaliatory adverse action," Jarbou wrote. "Lipton has also demonstrated that Vassar will continue to retaliate against him for this speech, but he did not demonstrate the need for prospective relief from Denno." Jarbou dismissed Lipton's claims against the rest of the board in the same ruling. Here's the full letter from Lishinski to Tebay: "Re: Removal Request "Dear Chairperson Tebay, "We have received the referral from the Board of Trustees dated March 3, 2024, of Trustee Rema Vassar and Trustee Dennis Denno for removal 'per MCL 168.293.' Because our office takes seriously any complaint regarding misconduct by public officials, we reviewed the request carefully. 'I am writing to notify you that the request has been denied. The denial of therequest by no means indicates a condoning of the conduct alleged in the it only means that other considerations related to the Governor's removalauthority weigh against removal under these circumstances at this time." Sincerely,Amy LishinskiDeputy Legal Counsel Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@ Follow her on X @sarahmatwood. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Whitmer denies MSU request to remove trustees Vassar, Denno
Wall Street Journal
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Mary C. McCall Jr.' Review: The Screenwriters' Champion
Mary C. McCall Jr. was a vibrant feminist born to privilege who graduated from Vassar and became a successful screenwriter in Hollywood. As J.E. Smyth chronicles in her biography, McCall's credits include short stories in the New Yorker and screenplays for 'Craig's Wife' (1936) and the popular 'Maisie' films (1939-47), which starred Ann Sothern as a never-say-die showgirl. The quietly indomitable Maisie never makes the big time but always comes up smiling—a stand-in for millions of American women with personality and grit but without the leverage of money or position. More importantly, McCall was the first woman president of the Screen Writers Guild. She was crucial in the early years of the guild in the 1930s and '40s and getting certification from the National Labor Relations Board, which meant that producers would have to negotiate with the guild rather than the more docile Screen Playwrights company union. McCall's fellow screenwriter William Ludwig noted, 'Mary wasn't a radical of the Right or of the Left. She was a radical about writers . . . about their right to be treated with dignity and respect.' McCall's husband was the gifted artist and costume designer Dwight Franklin, who worked on Douglas Fairbanks's 'The Black Pirate' (1926) and Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Buccaneer' (1938). The couple had something of an open marriage and McCall slept with whom she pleased. Unfortunately, she divorced Franklin to marry David Bramson, a handsome but abusive publicist seven years her junior. He, along with changing times, gradually drained her of her money but never drained her drive and self-respect.
Fox News
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Country star Phil Vassar says he was 'blasted' back to life by first responders after he died twice
Phil Vassar is embracing every moment after he was given a second chance at life. The country star detailed his miraculous recovery after he "dropped dead" twice, suffering a heart attack and stroke, while on tour. Vassar, 62, told Fox News Digital he nearly forgot how to play the piano until he was given the musical instrument during his year in rehab. "It was definitely slow… learning how to walk again and getting back… on the treadmill," Vassar remarked. "They brought a piano in my room at rehab and I just sat and looked at it for a while… they said, I just started playing… it kind of came back, and I was very, very, glad to have that happen." WATCH: COUNTRY STAR PHIL VASSAR DETAILS THE FIRST THING HE REMEMBERS AFTER HIS STROKE Vassar's medical emergency occurred in 2023 during a Christmas tour with Deana Carter. First responders shocked him 11 times and "cracked some ribs" in the process. "The lifesaving crew, these guys… what they do is just amazing," Vassar praised the medical team. "They could have given up… but they just kept going. They blasted me back to life." Vassar had previously opened up to Taste of Country about his health battle, saying, "I dropped dead. I was dead for 30 minutes a couple of times. No heartbeat. No heartbeat at all." The "Last Day of My Life" singer recalled not remembering the moment it happened. WATCH: PHIL VASSAR SHARES HOW HIS OUTLOOK ON LIFE HAS CHANGED AFTER HIS NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE "I wish I could tell you more about it, but I don't know," he explained to Fox News Digital. "I just remember I wasn't feeling well and… just something wasn't right." Following his stroke, Vassar said the first moment he remembered was when he found himself in a wheelchair. The life-altering experience came as a big surprise because the country star lived a healthy lifestyle. However, after his heart attack, Vassar decided to switch up his fitness routine. "I'm just getting back into the working out. Do more bike riding and walking, get into the weight room a little bit," he said. "But I really thought I was in shape. I just didn't feel well. I had 3% body fat when I dropped dead." Vassar went into cardiac arrest after he discovered he had a genetic heart disease. On his intense road to recovery, Vassar was in rehab for more than a year. He said that with plenty of exercise and hyperbaric chamber treatments, he was able to "heal quicker." Vassar is now gearing up for his comeback tour, "25 Years of Paradise," celebrating the 25th anniversary of his hit song, "Just Another Day in Paradise." The country star told Fox News Digital he plans to "take advantage of every second" of life. WATCH: PHIL VASSAR'S RECOVERY INCLUDED HYPERBARIC CHAMBER TREATMENT, YEAR OF REHAB The multi-platinum singer-songwriter largely credited his faith for helping him through the toughest moment in his life. "I'm very blessed to be alive. God has blessed me immensely," he said. "Especially these times you really count on your faith to kind of pull you through. I don't know how many times I was sitting in a room, in the dark, or not knowing what was going on and… you pray." WATCH: PHIL VASSAR EMBRACES EVERY MUSIC MOMENT SINCE HIS MEDICAL EMERGENCY "You come out on the other side with a different view on life for sure.… I feel great, I feel physically wonderful, and mentally I'm just kind of getting back to normal." Vassar's "25 Years of Paradise" tour will kick off March15 with dates through July, and he's set to perform in states such as Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A year later, Whitmer silent on MSU board's request to remove 2 trustees for misconduct
EAST LANSING ― A year after she was asked to remove two Michigan State University trustees for misconduct that included accepting free flights and courtside tickets from donors and trying to change the findings of an investigation into the 2023 mass shooting on campus, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hasn't taken any public action. In the meantime, the restrictions placed on March 3, 2024, on Trustees Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, and Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, expired on Dec. 31. Both sought and were granted seats on the board committee for academic affairs and the board committee on budget and finance in January. They had been prohibited from serving on committees and stripped of liaison positions when they were censured by their fellow trustees in March. Despite their return to previously-held responsibilities, and board Chair Kelly Tebay telling the State Journal she felt the board wanted to move on and present a united front behind President Kevin Guskiewicz, the request to remove Vassar and Denno is still active. Guskiewicz started at MSU as president in March 2024. In October, Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Attorney General Dana Nessel, confirmed Whitmer's office reached out to Nessel's office to review the request. Stacey LaRouche, press secretary for Whitmer, didn't respond to multiple requests in recent weeks about the status of the board's request to the governor. Wimmer did not respond to an inquiry Wednesday about whether Nessel was still reviewing Whitmer's request. Whitmer and Nessel, like Vassar and Denno, are all members of the Democratic party. Asked about the pending board request to Whitmer, Denno said the referral was a "non-issue" and that "no one thinks about it anymore." He added that he was excited to be back on board committees. Vassar did not respond to a message left seeking comment. Former Faculty Senate Chair Jack Lipton has been advocating for the two to be removed, believing they encouraged students to attack him and label him a racist. He sued the board in October for retaliation, and the lawsuit is pending. "Since we haven't heard anything from the governor in so long, we were hoping a creative solution through the court system could put pressure on the university to make the right decisions," Liz Abdnour, Lipton's Lansing-based attorney, told the State Journal in October. In October 2023, now-Vice Chair Brianna Scott sent a letter to her fellow trustees and local media, detailing 10 allegations against then-Chair Vassar's misconduct and bullying. The letter sparked an investigation into Vassar's behavior, for which MSU hired Washington D.C.-based law firm Miller & Chevalier. That investigation later expanded to cover allegations of misconduct by Denno and other trustees. The investigation, which MSU has spent $2 million on, found evidence to support some, but not all, of Scott's original allegations. The law firm found evidence Denno tried to get the who analyzed MSU's response to the mass shooting to change their findings after the report criticized the trustees' response. Vassar also accepted courtside tickets and a private jet flight from a donor for her and her daughter to attend a basketball game. Both trustees acted outside the authority of their roles, investigators found, as well as evidence that both Vassar and Denno attempted to "embarrass and unsettle" former interim President Teresa Woodruff and attack Lipton. Miller & Chevalier concluded its report with several recommendations, including that the two trustees be referred to Whitmer so she could consider removing them. The board also censured Scott for making her allegations public. Vassar and Denno have maintained that Miller & Chevalier's investigation was incomplete and misleading. "I refute most of the allegations in the Miller & Chevalier (MC) report," Denno said in an email to the State Journal last year. "I will accept a censure but contest any other form of punishment. What has been proposed is overly-punitive in nature." Through her attorneys, paid for by MSU, Vassar released a statement calling the report 'profoundly flawed.' She is involved in a dispute with the university over legal fees for attorneys MSU hired on her behalf. Whitmer has used strong language previously to describe the turmoil. In October 2023, the governor called the allegations against Vassar "deeply concerning." "I'm taking it very seriously," Whitmer said during a news media scrum. "I think the allegations, if accurate, amount to a serious breach of conduct in what we expect of our board members and ... the oath that they took." Whitmer has the sole authority to remove the trustees as governor. MSU's trustees, along with the University of Michigan's Board of Regents and Wayne State University's Board of Governors, are the only college governing bodies whose members are elected in statewide elections in Michigan, and as elected officials the only person who can remove them is the governor. In 2020 Vassar was elected with over 2.3 million votes and in 2022, Denno was elected with 1.9 million votes, according to records from the Michigan Secretary of State. Eric Lupher, president of the Livonia-based nonprofit public affairs research organization Citizens Research Council, told the State Journal last year that a governor removing an elected official in Michigan was so rare there was no defined process. The last high-profile effort to remove an elected official by a Michigan governor was over a decade ago, Lupher said. And the elected official in question, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, resigned before Gov. Jennifer Granholm could announce a decision. Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@ Follow her on X @sarahmatwood. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: A year later, Whitmer mum on MSU board's request to remove 2 trustees
