Names and faces

■ Bill Nye

— aka “The Science Guy” — is in hot water with environmentalists and scientists for attending the

State of the Union address as a guest of a lawmaker who has expressed skepticism of global warming. A petition urging Nye to “not support the Trump administration’s disastrous climate denial agenda” by attending as the guest of U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), whose nomination to head National Aeronautics and Space Administration has drawn fire due to his lack of a science background and planet-warming stance. The petition has more than 35,000 signatures, according to organizer ClimateTruth.org. “As scientists, we cannot stand by while Nye lends our community’s credibility to a man who would undermine the United States’ most prominent science agency,” another group, 500 Women Scientists, wrote in a blog Tuesday. Nye defended his attendance on twitter, writing he was attending in capacity as chief executive officer of the nonprofit Planetary Society.

■ The University of Pennsylvania announced Thursday that it will remove casino mogul Steve Wynn’s name from a campus plaza and revoke honorary degrees given to him and comedian Bill Cosby in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against both men. The school’s president, Amy Gutmann, and chairman of its board of trustees, David Cohen, say in a joint statement that the decision was made after deliberations between deans, faculty, alumni and trustees. “It is incumbent on all of us to address these issues wherever and whenever we find that they affect our extended community,” they say. Wynn’s name also will be removed from a scholarship fund. The university said it has been a century since it took away an honorary degree, but “credible” allegations against the men warranted the action. The Wall Street Journal last week reported that a number of women said they were harassed or assaulted by Wynn, with one case leading to a $7.5 million settlement. Wynn has strongly denied the allegations, attributing them to a campaign led by his ex-wife. He resigned Saturday as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Cosby, who has had honorary degrees stripped by multiple universities, is scheduled to be retried in April on charges that he drugged and molested a woman in 2004. His previous trial ended with a hung jury.

Nye