Madonna Constantine

Madonna Constantine whose lawsuit against Columbia’s Teacher College for $200 million following the noose incident is back in the headlines. Constantine gained national attention after a noose was allegedly found on the former teachers’ desk at LALATE’S own Columbia. Reports say the noose was found during an ongoing investigation about plagiarism.

After 18 months of investigation Columbia reportedly ruled Madonna had “numerous instances in which she used others’ work without attribution in papers she published in academic journals over the past five years.” By summer 2008 she was fired. “This was a scheme cooked up between the head of the department and former faculty. We had evidence of her original writing that dates back to the 1990s, but it was altered or dismissed.”

Madonna Constantine, the Teachers College professor at Columbia who plagiarized from her own students--and who just happened to find a noose hanging from her office door as the report on her malfeasance was to come out--is suing the school for firing her. The "Black Ward Churchill" line is from one of the comments to the piece, but the parallels--the charges, the countercharges, the school's incompetence and hypocrisy (though they did have the sense to hire an outside law firm to vet her work), and Constantine's amazing arrogance, among others--are instructive.

Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith, who couldn't look happier after his arrest yesterday on multiple drug charges. Smith was booked into a J-Ville facility yesterday on five charges, including felony possession of cocaine, possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana and "felony possession/sell of a controlled substance." Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith was pulled over Wednesday afternoon and found with crack cocaine and marijuana in his car, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Smith, who played 10 seasons for Jacksonville, was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Jacksonville for excessive window tint on his 2009 Mercedes Benz, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said. The trooper reported that the inside of the car smelled like burnt marijuana. During a search, the trooper found crack cocaine, marijuana and a business card with powder cocaine residue in the car's center console.

Smith faces multiple drug charges, plus a charge of driving with a suspended license. He was being held at the Duval County Jail with no bond set. Smith retired from the Jaguars in 2006 after playing from 1995 to 2005. He finished with 862 receptions and 12,287 receiving yards and 67 touchdowns. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. In 2001, he had three operations to remove scar tissue from his abdomen. Some questioned whether he would play again, but he caught 112 passes for 1,373 yards — despite being arrested in November that year for suspicion of drunken driving. Tests later revealed he had cocaine in his system. He vehemently denied using the drug.

Myrtle Beach Fires

Myrtle Beach Fires destroy dozens of homes. Wildfires have destroyed Myrtle Beach homes causing evacuations in the thousands. A wildfire along the coast of South Carolina has ripped through Myrtle Beach. Dozens of homes in Myrtle Beach are destroyed with no reported injuries. Hardest hit includes the Barefoot Landing development. Fires were already blazing shortly after midnight.

Adding to the problem were heavily vegetated patches called Carolina Bays that caught fire and fueled the blaze. Tropical downpours are often needed to extinguish such fires, said state Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins.”Once you get a fire in a bay, it’s very, very hard to put out,” he said. Myrtle Beach is currently experiencing some of the worst fires that we've seen in a while on the East Coast; the damage caused by the quickly spreading flames has become so bad that authorities are discussing the possibility of the fire "moving to North Myrtle Beach."

According to the Charlotte Observer, 40 homes have already burnt down, between 8,000 and 9,000 acres in Horry County have been torched and 2,500 residents (or visitors) have been forced into emergency shelters. For now, our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone down in the Myrtle Beach area that might be in danger; we'll have more as this story develops.