Joe Jimbob

Ten years ago, Mizzou football had Georgia on the ropes. The Tigers held a 27-21 edge over the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, and they were desperate to keep the lead. With every minute that ticked off the clock, every Missouri fan at Memorial Stadium felt more and more excited. The feeling didn’t last.

It happened quickly, with Georgia going 80 yards in 10 plays. Georgia capped an efficient drive with a toss from quarterback Jacob Eason to wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie in the end zone to tie the game at 27. Kicker William Ham made the extra point, giving the Bulldogs a 28-27 lead and an eventual win over Mizzou.

After the game, the coaches of both teams jogged across the field and embraced. For Mizzou, that was Barry Odom, and for Georgia, Kirby Smart.

A decade later, Smart remains at the helm of a renowned Georgia program. Missouri is led by coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is preparing his team to face the top-ranked Bulldogs for the fifth time in his tenure. Mizzou hits the road to compete against Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and, if history is any indication, it could be a better game than people think.

Drinkwitz is winless against the Bulldogs, but he recognizes the elite challenge that Smart and his team present. He respects every coach he faces, but especially Smart. He made this clear when addressing the media Tuesday.

“When we talk about Georgia, (there is) zero doubt that it’s the benchmark for the league right now,” Drinkwitz said. “The way that coach Smart runs his program, the philosophical identity that he has in offense, defense and special teams (and) the way his team plays consistently down in and down out… It's what everybody in our conference is chasing. He does it the right way and always has.”

Missouri and Georgia have met 12 times since the Tigers joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012. During that stretch, the Tigers have found victory just one time.

In 2013, Missouri was a strong team. Its success was somewhat surprising considering it was Mizzou’s second year in the SEC. Despite that, the Tigers finished the season with a 12-2 record (7-1 SEC). They went on the road and handled then-No. 7 Georgia, 41-26.

Missouri recorded fewer yards of total offense than the Bulldogs, and it wasn’t particularly close. The Tigers logged 375 to Georgia’s 454 while picking up twice as many penalties. The difference was the turnovers. Mizzou played clean, ending the game with no turnovers, while Georgia had four.

Drinkwitz has emphasized ball security throughout this season, and this will surely be critical against Georgia’s elite defense. In the heartbreaking loss back in 2016, Missouri turned the ball over... a lot.

The Tigers fumbled twice, and quarterback Drew Lock threw three interceptions. In fact, once the Bulldogs had taken the lead, Mizzou had 1:21 to try to take it back. On the very first play of the drive, wide receiver J’Mon Moore fumbled. Georgia recovered, took a knee, and that was that.

This year, the Bulldogs have recorded 31 sacks, eight interceptions and recovered 12 fumbles. It may be harder to attack Missouri’s offense, which is led by quarterback Austin Simmons.

Simmons is calm, cool and collected. He rarely looks flustered, and he rarely turns the ball over. His touchdown-to-interception ratio is 18-to-2, and his ability to keep the ball out of jeopardy could be the difference for the Tigers.

This 2026 Mizzou squad may not be as good as it was in 2013, but anyone who is completely counting the Tigers out against Georgia might want to think again. Missouri’s 1-11 record against the Bulldogs looks bad, and some of the losses were just that: bad.

Whether it was getting shut out twice or losing by 37 points in 2021, the Tigers have been humbled by the Bulldogs more than once. But Mizzou has also made several of the matchups competitive, going toe-to-toe with what is consistently one of the best teams in the nation.

Missouri’s 2015 matchup against Georgia was not exactly a feast for the eyes. The final score came out to be 9-6 in favor of the Bulldogs, and both teams could never get their offenses going. The Tigers logged just 21 rushing yards. That's comparable to the 39 they put up this season against then-No. 10 Ole Miss in a blowout road loss.

So, how did Mizzou manage to keep it close with Georgia about a decade ago while getting dismantled 31-3 by Ole Miss this season? The difference was the defenses.

In 2015, the Tigers limited Georgia’s quarterback at the time, Greyson Lambert, to 178 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss wreaked havoc, throwing for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

Recall that in 2013, when Missouri claimed its only win over the Bulldogs, Georgia turned the ball over four times. Similarly, when Georgia bested Mizzou 26-22 in 2022, the Tigers won the turnover battle 2-0.

Missouri can take some lessons from that more recent game. At the time, the Bulldogs were the No. 1-ranked team in the country, just as they are now.

Missouri jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but the Tigers failed to keep their foot on the gas when it mattered most. They gave up the lead for the first time with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs fought back, scoring their only two touchdowns of the game in that final frame. In the end, they overpowered Missouri, posting an impressive 481 yards of total offense. That Georgia team went on to win the College Football Playoff Championship.

“Coach (Smart) always talks about physicality, and that's something that we try to pride ourselves on,” Drinkwitz said. “I think one of the compliments that I take a lot of pride in is when people comment (on) how hard our team plays. I think when you watch their team, they play hard.”

Missouri should aim not just to play hard but to start fast. This season, Mizzou has struggled to get going early. The Tigers have scored first-quarter touchdowns just three times. If they can’t score and end up in a deficit early, it could get ugly for Missouri.

The Tigers and Bulldogs most recently met up in 2023. Again, Georgia was ranked No. 1. Though the game was tied 10-10 at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored Mizzou 14-3 in the third quarter to propel them to a 30-21 victory.

Mizzou has forced many competitive games against the Bulldogs throughout the years. Even when the Tigers have appeared to be the obviously inferior team, they have risen to the occasion and forced the Bulldogs to be at their best. Now, Georgia quite literally is the best, sitting pretty as the No. 1 team in the nation, while Missouri has fallen in the rankings.

On paper, the game between the Tigers and Bulldogs looks like it might be a blowout. In reality, it might not be so straightforward. The matchups in 2015, 2016, 2022 and 2023 prove that the Tigers can put up a fight. They have only won that fight one time.

If Mizzou wants to do what it did in 2013, it will need to excel in two areas: protecting the football and starting fast. The Tigers face Georgia at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Georgia.

Missouri’s last two games against Georgia have set the trajectory for those seasons.

Missouri’s nail-biting, four-point loss to No. 1 Georgia in 2022 was a foreshadowing of what the program was capable of accomplishing in the second stage of the Eli Drinkwitz era. The Tigers’ nine-point loss at Sanford Stadium the following season was the equivalent of fumbling away an opportunity for an historic turnaround.

Saturday’s matchup likely won’t carry the same stakes... unless Missouri can pull off a remarkable upset and revive its chances of making the College Football Playoff. A loss would end that conversation.

The trip to Georgia, as expected, won’t be peachy at all. The Bulldogs are possibly the most complete team in the country, filled with NFL talent on a roster with very few holes.

“Zero doubt that they're the benchmark for the league right now in the way that coach (Kirby) Smart runs his program,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said this week.

Georgia’s six SEC wins have come with an average margin of victory of 22.8 points, including a 35-point win at then No. 10 Ole Miss last week. The most intimidating part of Georgia is a defense that hasn’t allowed more than 20 points just once this season.

“They have a ton of depth on defense,” Missouri center Dom Giudice said. “They fly around.”

Take a midnight train to Georgia and you’ll be met by the bullet train of Chris Cole, a linebacker who closes gaps quickly enough to make the player he’s chasing appear to be running in slow motion. A projected top-16 draft pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Cole has recorded five sacks and three pass deflections. His horizontal speed and pursuit will challenge Missouri’s outside zone runs.

“He's very athletic, very physical,” Missouri tight end Brett Norfleet said of Cole. “Fits the run well and can also cover.”

He’s a hard-hitting leader of a Georgia defense that has allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards in the country. Georgia has been able to defend the run at an elite level while still playing with light boxes, allowing its secondary to be at full staff.

If Cole doesn’t catch you, defensive back KJ Bolden often will. The preseason All-American safety is a threat at the several spots he lines up at across the defensive backfield. He has speed that should allow him to challenge the seam routes that have been so successful for Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons this season.

Overall, Georgia’s defense has allowed the eighth-fewest yards and the seventh-fewest points in the country.

The Georgia offense is predicated on stretching defenses horizontally, focusing on screen passes and short ones toward the sideline. Quarterback Gunner Stockton has excelled in this attack style. He’s not the most flashy but certainly is efficient and accurate.

Stockton leads the SEC with 20 passing touchdowns. The most telling stat is his completion percentage of 70.9%, the second best in the SEC after LSU's Sam Leavitt. His accuracy and reliability, including on tight-window throws, are two of his best traits.

“He is consistent as a thrower,” Drinkwitz said of Stockton. “He is sharp as a playmaker. Utilizes his legs as an extra offensive weapon. He does not make mistakes in the pass game.”

He also knows how to make plays under pressure.

On a third-and-goal play last week against Ole Miss, Stockton moved back in a collapsing pocket, running back 18 yards behind the line of scrimmage before stepping up to deliver a touchdown pass over the middle of the field with his feet unbalanced.

“One thing that stands out to me is he is very calm under pressure,” Missouri defensive lineman Sterling Webb said. “He's gonna stand there, he's gonna deliver the ball.”

The Georgia offense is anchored by the strength and size of its offensive line and tight ends.

The average size of Georgia’s starting offensive linemen is 6-foot-4, 321 pounds.

The offensive line moves people at their will to open up holes for the running back duo of Dwight Phillips Jr. and Nate Frazier, who are averaging 7.3 and 6.4 yards per carry, respectively.

“They’re very aggressive downhill running backs,” Missouri defensive tackle Donta Simpson said of Georgia’s running back duo. “We're going to have to work just filling our gaps and gap integrity.”

The tight ends are a crucial part of coordinator Mike Bobo’s offense, with a group of four being significant contributors in the run and pass game. Bobo will employ as many as three tight ends on the same play, adding bodies in the run game and opportunities for play-action passes.

“They've got multiple abilities to create challenges for you with their three tight end sets,” Drinkwitz said.

Senior Lawson Luckie doesn’t need any luck to be one of the best tight ends in college football. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is the most versatile of the group, lining up both in line and in the backfield. He’s been the most productive Georgia tight end as a receiver, catching 13 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

At wide receiver, sophomore Talyn Taylor is living up to expectations as a composite five-star prospect out of high school. He’s coming off a career game against Ole Miss, catching four passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. The lanky, 6-foot receiver blurs past defenders at the line of scrimmage with his release.

He presents the biggest challenge for a Missouri secondary that has been prone to allowing explosive passes throughout the season.

Taylor is just one of the several players for the Bulldog that will be some of the best players Missouri will face this season.

The Tigers will look to pull off the upset 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Georgia. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

BUTTE, Mont. — Checking your porch every day to see if that package has finally arrived can be tough. But as it turns out, getting that package shipped out in the first place may be even tougher, due to dwindling shipping resources for residents and businesses alike.

For an example, see the Butte Copper Company. The family-owned store has been operating since 1973, selling custom copper wares, jewelry, and memorabilia seven days a week. Owner/operator Jailee Coyne estimates that online sales make up about a third of their business.

But the process of sending out those online orders in a timely manner has become a challenge, as shipping resources have become scarce across the Mining City.

In the past year, both the UPS Store on Harrison Avenue and the FedEx Ship Center at the south end of Butte have closed their doors—places that the Butte Copper Company and others relied on daily.

“Before, we had the UPS Store, we could drop off,” Coyne said. “We had certain hours that we knew we could drop off down there. They would take any package. That was our place to go. But then that closed, so it’s like, oh my gosh, can we schedule a pickup? That doesn’t always work right, and that’s what we kind of found when the FedEx center closed down.”

“[As a result], there’s nobody left to help you here in town,” Coyne continued. “Where do we go now?”

The reason why these shipping spots have closed isn’t fully clear. UPS tells NonStop Local that the decision to close their store on Harrison Avenue was made by the franchisee, based on personal and business reasons.

Thankfully, even with these closures, there are still places to send a package, including UPS and FedEx shipping partners inside Staples (3636 Harrison Ave) and Walgreens (2611 Harrison Ave) respectively, as well as the U.S. Postal Service (701 Dewey Blvd). Those looking to send larger loads can even find help through freight centers at Butte’s industrial park.

But these options don’t come without their difficulties.

“We do a high-volume amount; there’s some times where we’re shipping out 70 to 90 boxes, especially with our wholesale orders,” Coyne said. “Those boxes can get heavy, they can get big, and there’s a lot of them.”

“UPS goes to Staples, and FedEx goes to Walgreens—those are our drop-off locations, and that’s what it would be for residential too,” Coyne added. “They don’t like to accept weights over 50 pounds. And it’s just really challenging because, you’re like, I have 50 boxes like this that need to go out. Where can I bring this?”

And the stress is only about to heighten with the holiday season upon us. USPS data shows a 40% increase in shipping during November and December alone.

But Coyne, who has navigated these troubles daily, offers words of advice to keep the holidays happy for everyone.

Coyne says that those sending out packages can make their lives easier by taking as much of the burden off the shipping company as possible by getting weights, labels, and requirements squared away ahead of time.

As for those waiting for packages to arrive, Coyne offers one word of advice: patience.

“We’re living in this day and age where somebody clicks and they buy and they want it now,” Coyne said. “There is a little bit of processing time. We’re a small operation, a small family-owned business. Sometimes it does take a little bit longer. But our customers are usually very understanding as well.”

“It’s trying times, but we’re lucky that we’re busy, and we’re here,” Coyne continued. “Having those concerns, at least we have business to ship out. Going into the holiday season, we’re going to need patience, kindness, and understanding. We’re just lucky to be a part of it.”

Mizzou trailed Tennessee-Martin 11-6 a little over halfway through the first quarter, shooting just two for 10 from the field and struggling to generate quality looks. The Skyhawks’ press was frustrating the Tigers — until they broke it.

Once the Tigers figured out how to break the press, they capitalized on it. A 21-5 run to close the first quarter that included a pair of triples from both sophomore McKenzie Mathurin and senior Abbey Schreacke gave the Tigers a double-digit lead that swelled until the final buzzer, with Mizzou beating UT-Martin 103-59 just three days after beating Tennessee Tech 106-59.

“What I liked was how we adapted and we handled something that we hadn’t seen,” coach Kellie Harper said. “Our players were able to adjust, find the openings and then really play free and attack.”

The contest marks just the third time in program history and the first time this century that the Tigers have scored 100 or more points in back-to-back games.

“The last two games we shot the ball well, we passed the ball well,” Harper said. … “You start doing that, you’re going to score a lot of points. I think our pace is pretty good. It gives us an opportunity to put points on the board.”

Schreacke and Mathurin combined to shoot nine for 12 from beyond the arc on the night, with Schreacke making five of her six and Mathurin hitting four of her six.

“Makes are contagious,” Schreacke said, “and once somebody gets hot, that lets the other girl get hot, and then we’re just rolling.”

Even Tanyuel Welch, Averi Kroenke and Ellie Muller, who’d attempted a combined five triples heading into the game, each sank their first 3-pointer of the season against Tennessee-Martin. Missouri knocked down 13 of its 27 3-pointers on the night.

Partially as a product of its 22 forced turnovers, and partially due to its efficient press break, Missouri excelled in the open court, scoring 46 points in the paint, 36 points off turnovers and 23 points in the fast break.

Grace Slaughter was at the forefront of those numbers, positioning herself for easy buckets all night by being the first player down the court.

“We really want Grace out in the open floor,” Harper said. “She has an opportunity to rim-run; we want to give her that chance. We want to move Grace around as much as possible. She’s very versatile. She can post up, shoot the three. She put the ball on the floor. So we want to make sure that we are using all of her skill set, and she’s pretty good about moving around on the court.”

Slaughter, Mathurin and Schreacke all finished with 17 points on the day, with Nevaeh Caffey close behind at 16.

All 12 Tigers saw the court and scored for the first time this season, including freshman Jada Maples, who scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in her 11-minute season debut. Reka Toman scored seven points — the second-highest point total of her career — and swatted a career-high two shots.

Missouri is now off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2022-23 season. Improvement is here, and Harper couldn’t be more proud of her team.

“They give me energy,” Harper said. “We’re in a tough stretch here, right? Where it’s just game after game after game, and the coaches are doing film, and we’re getting scouting reports, and we’re planning practice and so many things, and not a lot of off days right now for our players. But let me tell you, man, they give us energy because they play so hard and they work so hard, and you just want to be around them.

“So I love them to death. I really do.”

Mizzou (4-0) will next host Lindenwood (1-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Mizzou Arena.

Entrepreneur, social media star, rising cross-country talent and future Olympian? Kobi Walker has more than enough on her plate, and still she seeks more to eat.

In order to head back home, Kobi Walker has to endure 36 hours of travel to reach Brisbane, Australia. She spent her life through high school there, a whopping 15 hours ahead of the time zone in Columbia.

After emerging as one of Australia’s top high-school runners, Walker got noticed by many different colleges in the US. She hadn't thought much about running and going to college in the United States. She had heard that competing overseas at the NCAA level would, “make or break you.”

“I did hear of it when I first started running, like, when I was 15, but I was like, 'I'm not doing that, there's no way I’m moving,' ” Walker recalled. “Nothing was broken so I was like, 'Why would I go and alter my life?' ”

As she got a little older, she started having some more serious discussions about moving roughly 7,000 miles away to attend college and run. Walker credits her parents with helping to convince her. She realized that she couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Walker had a ton of interest from colleges all across the country, including from Stanford, Oregon and UCLA. But Walker never quite felt a spark with any of those options. Instead, it was Mizzou that won her heart.

“I just felt something different when I spoke to Kyle Levermore, who’s our head coach here,” Walker explained. “And when I got to finally see the team and see the facilities, it was kind of a no-brainer from there.”

She remembers that, when she first joined the team, she had no idea what the SEC was or even that Missouri was a landlocked state. Walker took a challenging transition in stride.

Since high schools in Australia graduate in November, Walker first arrived in Columbia for school in January.

“I’d never seen snow before, and it was like a blizzard. It was so cold,” Walker said, as she recalled her first two weeks here. “Honestly those first 12 days are the hardest 12 days I've ever had in my life. Those two weeks have shaped me a lot, as silly as it sounds.”

Since her official visit was in September, Walker had not realized the massive difference between a Midwest winter and an Australian one. As a warm-weather lover, Walker had to adjust to not being able to run outside in the winter. Brisbane has a warm, humid climate.

As someone who has always liked to document her life, posting blogs and vlogs on the internet and TikTok, Walker decided to record her journey of moving to America. It helped alleviate some of the homesickness.

Her initial vlog, titled, “Move with me to America” amassed more than two million views. Other videos included, “Going to an American Target for the first time” and her going to her first basketball game at Mizzou. The videos performed well on TikTok.

This week, her TikTok account shot up from 30,000 followers to around 65,000.

“People love the comparison of Australia versus America. There's always a lot of fights in the comments too,” Walker said.

Her TikTok account recently surpassed a whopping 100,000 followers. She also posts long-form content on her Youtube account, the content still focuses on vlogs about her running and daily life.

Being a Division I athlete is already time-consuming and documenting, editing and posting content like she does adds more to her plate. Although the social media algorithm rewards consistent posting, Walker doesn't stick to any sort of posting schedule.

“It’s really organic,” Walker said. “If I look at it like a job it loses its fun and I always started it as a fun thing.”

She tends to post at least once a day and averages around 5-10 videos a week on TikTok and one to three longer videos per month on Youtube.

“I have always said that I will never sacrifice any of my training to film or create content, but I think they work pretty well simultaneously,” Walker said.

Her favorite part of posting is being able to build a community, and to be inspiring to other people.

“I like that my side of the internet is a positive side for people to come,” Walker said. “So anything that kind of spreads joy as such or offers people some insight that they can then apply in their lives is what I really enjoy.”

Constantly trying to come up with things to post about can be daunting, but Walker has a way to make the process easier.

“It comes down to what I enjoy watching. I have a niche of running, cooking and food,” Walker explained “I also try to work in questions that I commonly get asked in my DMs”

Content creation has its monetary benefits, as well as serving as a gateway for some really cool experiences. Brands will send packages to be opened up on video. Her favorite camera brand, DGI, sent her an Osmo to create some videos. She has also been able to fly to Sydney, where she hosted a run club promoting a Gatorade drink.

Walker has come so far from what was once just a hobby, it still is just that, but now with so much more reach and opportunity.

Her knack for inventing and creating doesn't stop here. Walker also has two different businesses that she started and runs.

She started her first business, a food catering service titled Foodiespread, when she was 14 years old. Unfortunately Walker has had to put this on hold after moving to the United States. She hopes to continue catering when she lives in Australia again.

Her other business, a line of seasonings without any artificial seasonings or extra ingredients, are sold under the name Kobi's Kitchen.

On the course, Walker is having her best season as a Tiger. Earlier in the season at the Gans Creek Classic she smashed her old personal best 6-kilometer race. She notched 13th place by finishing in 19 minutes, 54.4 seconds. The women's team and Walker would go on to nab first place at the meet.

“It was just so nice to get the team win, we all performed really well,” Walker exclaimed.

Home-course advantage has been key for Walker this season, and upon returning to Gans Creek for the SEC Championship race she outdid herself. She cooked up a massive 27.2 second improvement, bringing her new personal record to 19:27.2. Her performance in the SEC Championship earned her 17th place and All-SEC third-team honors, very close to at mid-season goal she set for herself of placing top 15 at the meet.    

With the season winding down, the Tigers have entered the do-or-die postseason. Many months of training will boil down to a little less than 20 minutes of agony, and this Friday the squad will be heading to the Midwest Region Championship race to prove themselves.

“You know, you want to keep getting better for the girls around you and we want to be again on that national start line and show that it wasn't just a fluke last year,” Walker said. “We have aspirations of being a top 20 team this year.”

Walker has some equally lofty goals for herself this year.

“I would love to be top 15 at regionals, that would be a massive goal,” she said. “I’ve said that I want to be an All-American in cross country as well.”

With another three years of eligibility, no matter what happens this meet or even this season, Kobi Walker will stick around representing the black and yellow proudly like she always does.

After graduating from Mizzou, Walker will pursue her ultimate goal of representing Australia and running at the Olympics. Her drive and determination to invent, run, and share her life with the world has already made her successful in myriad endeavors. So, don't be surprised to see her pop onto your phone's screen one of these days.

(The Center Square) – Legal advocates sparred Thursday over immigration policy in the United States ahead of a Democratic led-Congress that could work alongside President Trump on the issue.

Advocates debated the role of immigration policy at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C. Panelists disagreed over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding birthright citizenship in June and how it will affect legislative policy in the future. 

Elle Bernstein, general counsel for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said the majority of justices on the high court made the wrong decision. She said the decision allows for immigrants on worker visas and commercial truck drivers to deprive citizens of work, without the consent of U.S. citizens.

“Our sovereignty is precious, our people are precious,” Bernstein said. “If we give them up, we will never ever give them back.”

Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, disagreed with Bernstein’s remarks. She praised the accomplishments of immigrants in the United States and asserted that the country is uniquely suited for immigrants to thrive, compared to other sovereign nations.

“We do better integrating the children of immigrants and they power our nation in ways that they do not succeed in Europe and part of that is because of the way in which our country integrates newcomers,” Frost said.

The majority of justices on the Supreme Court said the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution confers citizenship to children born to noncitizen parents. Chief Justice John Roberts said the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” refers to the United States’ power to govern anyone living in its territory.

“Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present here are thus subject to the Nation’s jurisdiction,” Roberts wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

Frost argued that American citizenship is based on adherence to the country;s laws and ideals, rather than an inherited belief system. She called on the Trump administration to pursue civil penalties against businesses that break the law by employing foreign workers without abiding by required standards to keep hiring fair for American workers.

“The law is being violated and particularly our numbers in Florida and Texas and of course in Wisconsin where 70% of the dairy workers are undocumented,” Frost said. “If this government truly cared, it would enforce the law.”

Gene Hamilton, president of the America First Legal Foundation, argued that assimilation into the ideals of the United States is critical to developing a common identity. He said this identity goes beyond citizenship guaranteed by birthright.

“We welcome people from other places, but only to the extent that they shed their ties. They shed their allegiances. They adopt our values. They adopt our customs,” Hamilton said. “When it comes to immigration, you continue to see some of these same themes: the ideas of shedding your identity and pledging your allegiance to this new body, this new group of people, this new nation.”

He called for individuals who seek naturalization in the United States to be familiar with the history that allowed a government to be formed in America.

“We have to remember that being one people means that we are tied to things that unify us like the English language, like the Constitution, like the laws of the United States, and that we in fact enforce our laws and make sure that we treat citizenship as though it is actually something that is special. It is something to be protected,” Hamilton added.

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the midterm elections showed American voters reject the Trump administration’s interpretation of immigration enforcement. He said overly aggressive immigration policies that sought to end birthright citizenship led to broad enforcement efforts that killed two American citizens during ICE operations.

“This election, I think, is [a] rejection of the overly aggressive immigration policies that went beyond simple border control,” Yoo said.

He argued that the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence rejected the idea of all Americans adhering to a single religion, cutting out arguments for assimilation. He said the only requirements to guarantee citizenship are agreeing to the laws outlined in the founding documents.

“I don't think the Constitution actually takes a perspective one way or the other whether there's such a thing as a heritage American or whether an American has to agree on anything other than what's in the Declaration of Independence,” Yoo said.

The fall season is over for the Mizzou Tigers tennis team, and coach Robin Goodman learned a lot about his team from the five competitions Mizzou competed in during the fall. 

New faces all around 

Seven freshman and one transfer competed for Mizzou this fall. Eight of the nine players on the roster are playing their first season in the black-and-gold, and the results were not anything great, but were fine. 

Mizzou played 103 matches (singles and doubles combined) across all competitions in the fall. Of those 103, Mizzou won 55, a .533 win percentage against a range of Division I teams. 

Daria Budko was the best MU performer by win percentage singles. She won six of nine matches, which gave her a team-leading 67% win rate.

Mizzou coach Robin Goodman took the limited opportunities in doubles play present in the fall season to try out different combinations of doubles teams. Goodman tried out eight different teams throughout the five competitions that MU played in, and two stood out as winning combinations. 

Irina Angel and Danielle Chapman had the best record for the Tigers. The duo won six of eight matches played (eight was the most of any MU pair this fall).

Budko and Mariana Higuita Barraza played five matches as a team throughout the fall, winning four of them. This gives them a 80% win percentage, which leads the Tigers.

In the ITA Central Regional, the pathway tennis players take to the postseason, no Tigers were able to make it to the ITA Central Sectional. Alex Ackman and Chapman made it to the Round of 32 in the main draw; neither of the Tigers advanced beyond that. 

As a team, Mizzou performed better in the beginning of the season than the end. 

In the first tournament, the Husker Invitational, the Tigers won 10 of 18 matches across singles and doubles. Next came the 49er Invite. The Tigers dominated in Charlotte, winning 14 of 22 matches. In the Battle for the Boot JAE Foundation Open, things started to take a turn for the worse. Mizzou won eight of its 18 matches in that tournament. The fall season ended with the June Stewart Invite. The Tigers competed in 15 matches. They won four of them. 

What lies ahead

The Tigers will start the spring season with a road trip to UT-Arlington, SMU and KU, starting on an Jan. 17. The first homestand will begin Jan. 25 against South Dakota and Western Illinois.

Southeastern Conference play will begin at home on Feb. 28 against Vanderbilt. Mizzou will compete against all 15 SEC opponents in the spring season in 15-consecutive games, both at home and on the road. The last home game of the year will be Apr. 16 against Ole Miss. The regular season will end on Apr. 18 on the road against LSU. Then, the Tigers are off to the SEC Championship tournament starting Apr. 20 in Baton Rouge, La. 

Goodman is hoping for that the community will come out to cheer on Tigers at home. 

"It's been fun getting to know the community and the place," Goodman said. "We have some fantastic personalities on our team. When people can support the tennis program and the individuals that make up the tennis program, then the better our program will be. Community support is essential for our success." 

(The Center Square) – An influential group of Senate Democrats are warning they won’t accept any government funding deal that fails to ban spending on military hostilities in Iran, potentially risking a government shutdown in December.

Sens. Michael Bennett from Colorado, Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, Chris Van Hollen from Maryland, and Vermont-based Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, made the announcement Thursday.

“As we approach the December 11 funding deadline, we should not accept a short-term spending deal that continues to provide billions of additional dollars for President [Donald] Trump’s war of choice,” the group said in a statement. “Any short-term package must include language that restricts the Trump Administration from using appropriated funds to continue his war against Iran.”

With fiscal year 2027 well underway, Congress still hasn’t passed a single one of the 12 annual appropriations bills that collectively fund all federal agencies. In September, lawmakers had punted the government shutdown deadline to Dec. 11 by passing a continuing resolution, a temporary measure which effectively froze current funding levels.

Now, with Democrats invigorated by sweeping midterm election wins and the Trump administration continuing its controversial attacks on Iran, yet another government shutdown appears possible in less than a month.

“Congress cannot allow Trump to continue his conflict – we must force him to end it,” the senators’ statement continued. “When we vote on appropriations, we intend to fund the government and stop funds for this war. It is what the American people demand, and what they deserve.”

Only Congress has the power to declare war, but Congress still hasn’t authorized the ongoing U.S. military actions against Iran.

The War Powers Act of 1973 gives the president only 60 days to conduct military operations without congressional approval. When that deadline passed, the Trump administration skirted the requirement by temporarily declaring a ceasefire, a move which Hegseth claimed reset the 60-day clock.

By the time the U.S. and Iran signed a 60-day peace framework in mid-June — which Iran promptly violated — Congress had passed a war powers resolution ordering a halt of further military conflict in Iran. The Pentagon, however, ignored the edict, and the conflict continues.

Congressional Democrats have already proven in the 119th Congress that they are willing to block government funding over policy demands.

Senate Democrats triggered the longest government shutdown in history in February, a 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, over demands that Republicans implement drastic reforms to ICE and Border Patrol.

Democrats only voted to end the shutdown when Republicans stripped immigration enforcement funding from the Homeland Security appropriations bill entirely, though Republicans later infused ICE and Border Patrol with a three-year cash advance via a budget reconciliation bill.

That shutdown occurred only months after Democrats instigated a 42-day full government shutdown in an attempt to force Republicans to renew expiring COVID-19 era healthcare subsidies.

(The Center Square) — Legal counsel at the White House hailed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold executive power over federal boards on Thursday.

White House counsel Will Scharf praised the high court’s decision in Trump v. Slaughter, a case that upheld the president’s authority to fire members of federal executive boards.

In a 6-3 decision, justices allowed Trump to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission appointed by President Joe Biden.

“Slaughter was an immensely important case that I think corrected very, very poor and quite ancient precedent,” Scharf said at an event hosted by the Federalist Society Thursday.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the court, which placed a great emphasis on executive board members' power being vested within the authority of the president.

“These officers were to serve as envoys of the President, not his equals. They ‘ought to be considered as the assistants or deputies of the Chief Magistrate,’” Roberts wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

Solicitor General John Sauer, who argued the case for the Trump administration, also praised the decision.

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of Slaughter,” Sauer said. “Slaughter is an enormous historic decision. It matters for the structure of our government and it matters for the preservation of our liberties going forward.”

Scharf praised the high court’s wording of the decision. He said Roberts did a “masterful” job in establishing the theory of a unitary executive branch.

“I was proud that we, as the White House and obviously the Department of Justice, got to play a role in correcting that historic constitutional wrong,” Scharf said.

The court’s decision overturned a more than 90-year-old precedent created by Humphreys v. United States, a case where the Supreme Court prevented President Franklin D. Roosevelt from firing a member of the FTC. Roberts, in his opinion, said the decision has not “withstood the test of time.”

However, justices on the court were not united in their ruling on Slaughter. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said Congress was meant to control agencies like the FTC and other executive boards.

"The Court gives the President a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted, elevating him above his once coequal branches by transforming a duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed into a license to act in defiance of those very laws," Sotomayor wrote in the court’s dissenting opinion.

Scharf admitted the case came at a time when the White House has moved at a rapid pace under Trump.

“We have a very energetic executive in President Trump now,” Scharf said. “We want energy in the executive, always.”

Justices on the high court also did not endorse a sweeping theory of executive power. In Trump v. Cook, the justices rejected presidential authority to fire members of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.

Roberts said the Federal Reserve exists as an agency with long-standing authority apart from the president, which prevents members from being fired.

In October, the president announced the creation of a committee to investigate Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. Trump previously said she committed mortgage fraud, a claim Cook has repeatedly denied.

Any further effort to fire Cook could return the justices if legal questions are raised.

“As president, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” Trump wrote on social media in October.

(The Center Square) –  The U.S. House overwhelmingly voted to pass legislation that would give teachers, pastors and many nurses a potentially more appealing retirement option.

The House voted 295-128 on Wednesday to pass the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act. All 211 Republicans were joined by 83 Democrats to vote in favor of the bill; 128 Democrats voted against it, according to the U.S. House clerk.

The measure would let public school and nonprofit workers with 403(b) retirement plans invest in collective investment trusts, according to the bill language. These often have lower fees. In a June 2025 study, Vanguard said this reform could mean an extra $23,000 to $28,000 in savings per worker over 40 years.

“It is always a good day when Republicans and Democrats put aside their partisan differences and come together to do what is right for the American people,” National Association of Christian Lawmakers president Jason Rapert said in a statement. “Republicans and Democrats came together to say that where you work shouldn’t determine how well you can save. Pastors, ministry leaders, church staff, and faith-based workers have given their careers to serving others, often for modest pay, and they have waited long enough for the same retirement tools that workers elsewhere have had for years.”

Opponents of the measure, such as U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and various labor groups, argued that expanding collective investment trusts to such retirement plans could strip away federal securities protections for those workers because they are not covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the federal law that provides protections for retirement savers. 

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said the proposal would put nonprofit employees on the same footing as everyone else.

“For several Congresses, this legislation has received bipartisan support in both committee and on the House floor,” Lucas said on the House floor. “It is time we finish the work and ensure that teachers, nonprofit employees, and other public servants have access to the same retirement investment options as private-sector workers.”

U.S. Rep.Ann Wagner, R-Mo., expressed a similar sentiment.

“It is so important that we expand retirement options for hardworking Americans, especially healthcare and charity workers, teachers, and others who sacrifice every day to better their communities,” she said on the House floor. “This legislation will remove unnecessary barriers and help make it easier for families to invest for their future.”

Congress tried fixing this problem before. It passed the SECURE 2.0 Act in 2022. That law changed the tax code to let 403(b) retirement plans use collective investment trusts. Yet, federal securities laws still don’t let most plans offer them.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who sponsors the proposal in the U.S. Senate, thinks President Donald Trump would sign it into law if it reached his desk.

“Thrilled to see the House pass the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act, legislation I’m proud to lead in the Senate,” she posted on X. “I’m also pleased to see the White House support this commonsense bill. I urge the Senate to take up and pass this legislation to strengthen 403(b) plans and maximize savings to ensure our nurses, ministers, teachers, and charitable workers have the opportunity for retirement security.”

Britt’s bill has over 20 cosponsors, including a mix of Democrats and Republicans.