Cosby to Fight ‘Sexually Violent Predator’ Tag at Sentencing

(AP) Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing Monday will begin with testimony about his sex offender evaluation and, presumably, a fierce debate over whether the 81-year-old actor should be branded a sexually violent predator. The stakes are high given the lifetime counseling, community alerts and public shaming the designation would trigger. And it could become evidence in…

MU’s Freshmen Enrollment Grows But Total Numbers Decline

COLUMBIA, MO (AP) — The University of Missouri says freshmen enrollment increased for this school year, but overall enrollment declined. The Columbia Missourian reports freshmen enrollment increased 13 percent from fall 2017 to 2018. The 4,673 freshmen enrolled for the fall was 539 more than in 2017. Total enrollment at MU dropped 3.3 percent, from 30,870 students…

Thousands Rally Across Russia Against Raising Pension Ages

MOSCOW (AP) — For yet another weekend, thousands rallied across Russia on Saturday to protest the government’s plan to raise the eligibility age for retirement pensions by five years. Several thousand people attended a Moscow rally organized by the Communist Party and other leftist groups, which was authorized by city officials. Communist Party chief Gennady…

Standoff has Kavanaugh Accuser’s Senate Appearance in Limbo

WASHINGTON (AP) — The high-stakes confrontation over whether Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee grinded into Saturday as Republican Chairman Chuck Grassley gave Christine Blasey Ford more time to decide whether to tell her story to his panel and a riveted nation. Grassley had set a Friday night deadline for the…

Trump at Springfield Rally; Says he Wants to Rid Justice Department of ‘Lingering Stench’

SPRINGFIELD, MO (AP) — President Donald Trump has issued an ominous warning about the Justice Department and the FBI, promising more firings to rid a “lingering stench” after reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed secretly recording Trump. Trump, at a political rally Friday night in Missouri, did not explicitly mention the Rosenstein furor,…