| Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| NOAA's New Data Portal Advances Marine eDNA Data Sharing and Use | |
 | The power of environmental DNA (eDNA) to help us decode the mysteries of the deep is undeniable. The ability to detect marine species by the DNA they leave behind in water samples has revolutionized biodiversity monitoring and distribution mapping. Still, as a new field of study, standards for formatting eDNA data to ensure broad accessibility and usability have yet to be set. To standardize and accelerate the sharing and use of eDNA data and metadata, NOAA has launched the Ocean DNA Explorer, an open-source and user-friendly data portal for sharing, exploring, searching, and visualizing marine eDNA data. The Ocean DNA Explorer was developed by the Northern Gulf Institute at Mississippi State University in collaboration with NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), with funding from NOAA Ocean Exploration and NOAA Omics. |
| Mississippi cybercrime director leaving AG's office for new Roblox law enforcement position | |
| The head of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's Cyber Crime Division is leaving his position to take on a newly created role with Roblox, where he will serve as a direct link between the online gaming platform and Mississippi law enforcement investigating crimes involving children. Shawn Wolfe, who has led the division since February 2023, will become Roblox's law enforcement liaison for Mississippi under an agreement reached between the company and the Attorney General's Office earlier this year. The position was established as part of a June 2026 settlement between Fitch's office and Roblox aimed at strengthening protections for children using the platform. In his new role, Wolfe will help ensure Mississippi law enforcement agencies, including the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, have access to Roblox assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That includes real-time or near-real-time support for investigators working cases involving the platform. |
| Scoop: Senate Republicans fear Mississippi is in play | |
| Senate Republicans are weighing three last-ditch spending moves that would have been unimaginable six months ago: a cash infusion for Mississippi and even more money for South Carolina and Kansas. It's been 94 years since Kansas elected a Democratic senator, 44 years for Mississippi and 28 for South Carolina. But panic is spreading through the Republican Party. "The wall has broken. The enemy is inside the fort," one national Republican political operative told Axios. "We are now fighting hand to hand." The Senate map, which once looked impregnable for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), is now full of vulnerabilities. Democratic challengers are polling within the margin of error in more than half a dozen deep-red states, according to internal GOP polls. Two weeks ago, when Senate Leadership Fund decided to take out a $5 million "insurance policy" in South Carolina, operatives took a hard look at Idaho, South Dakota and Mississippi. At the time, they concluded they didn't need to spend any money in those states, according to a person familiar with the matter. But Senate Republicans are now reviewing the Mississippi race and may need to spend there to protect Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith from a surprisingly competitive bid by Democratic district attorney Scott Colom. |
| Voters want the next Congress to focus on costs and Iran, not on Trump, a new AP-NORC poll shows | |
 | Regardless of the outcome in the coming election, a new AP-NORC poll shows voters from both major political parties want the next Congress to focus on making life more affordable and ending the war in Iran, while fewer are looking for an emphasis on President Donald Trump -- whether it's investigating him or supporting his agenda. The results suggest that voters are ready for Congress to tackle core issues, despite Trump's centrality in the midterm campaign. About 8 in 10 registered voters, including a large majority of Republicans and Democrats, say lowering the cost of living should be one of the highest priorities for the session coming up, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. Justin Campbell, a 31-year-old Democrat from Brookhaven, Mississippi, said he wants the government to focus on helping people like him rather than wealthy people. "I'm not a millionaire and probably won't ever be," he said. "I prefer policy that helps me instead of someone I'll never be." Most voters also want Congress to prioritize ending the war with Iran, with roughly 7 in 10 saying this should be a top focus. Substantially fewer voters, about 4 in 10, want Congress to make investigating the Trump administration a high priority, and only about 2 in 10 want Congress to prioritize supporting the Republican president's agenda. |
| Alabama launches first-in-nation tech scholarship with Taiwan | |
 | Taiwan selected Alabama as the first state in the country to launch a new technology scholarship to fund U.S. students studying abroad. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Atlanta partnered with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to fund scholarships for students interested in studying in Taiwan. "When Alabama students study in Taiwan, they will not only bring knowledge back home," TECO Director General Lin said in a news release. "They will also bring networks, experience, and a deeper understanding of Taiwan. And in the years ahead, these young people may become the engineers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and leaders who shaped the next chapter of Taiwan-Alabama cooperation." The Taiwan-Alabama High-Tech Scholarship Memorandum of Understanding "highlighted the critical role of talent in the future of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, and advanced manufacturing," according to ACHE's news release. |
| College students care about issues but still skip the ballot box | |
| College students say they care about the direction of the country, the cost of living and whether their voices matter, but fewer of them are actually voting. In Alabama, youth turnout has been among the lowest in the country. A new study from the University of Alabama suggests the gap isn't simply because students are "checked out." Hyemin Han, a professor of educational psychology and neuroscience, tracked civic engagement among more than 2,000 UA students from 2019-2024 and found that students' stated interest in politics and civic life has stayed steady. They still post about issues online and wear their opinions on T-shirts at similar rates, but what has not fully recovered is the step from expression to action. Real-world civic participation has rebounded slightly since the pandemic but remains below pre-pandemic levels, the study found. The one exception was political protest, which held steady and has even ticked up. |
| Louisiana Board of Regents announces new index to measure talent retention | |
| The Louisiana Board of Regents previewed a new index designed to measure how effectively Louisiana's postsecondary education system creates opportunities for graduates, the board announced on Wednesday. The Louisiana Opportunity Index was announced during Wednesday's Board meeting on Southern University campus. The index follows the Regents' announcement that the met their goal of awarding 85,000 postsecondary annual credentials. The index will examine five dimensions of postsecondary opportunity across the state, including alignment with workforce demand, return on investment, retention of graduates in Louisiana, participation in work-integrated learning and access to quality career guidance. "With more than $260B in announced economic investments across Louisiana, the demand for skilled talent has never been greater," Board Chair Misti S. Cordell said. |
| U. of Texas president announces new core curriculum college in annual address | |
| Nearly two years into his tenure as University of Texas president, Jim Davis walked onto the Hogg Memorial Auditorium stage with three topics in mind: UT's new academic medical center, research and a core curriculum overhaul. In Wednesday's 20-minute state of the university address, Davis announced the launch of a new "University College," which will be the "guardian" of UT's reformed set of general education requirements all students will have to take as soon as fall 2028. The announcement builds off the recently created Center for Humanities, which is set up to teach the core and employs 14 faculty specializing in the classics or humanities. The University of Texas chapter of the American Association for University Professors sharply criticized the core curriculum college after the speech, calling it "yet another example of a decision of enormous consequence for students' education being made quickly, from the top, and without meaningful faculty governance or student consultation." |
| Minnesota Senate Candidate, in Reversal, Says She Is a Member of Honor Society | |
 | A day after Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan's Senate campaign said she wasn't a member of Phi Beta Kappa, her aides said Wednesday that the Democrat had been inducted into the national honor society. In an email, a representative of Phi Beta Kappa said the same. "I can verify that Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, having been inducted in 2002 at the University of Minnesota," Amber Cox, associate secretary and chief operating officer of Phi Beta Kappa, said in a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal. Flanagan's campaign said she remembers being unable to afford the membership fee as a student, but added Wednesday they are sometimes covered by universities or donors. The previous day, Alexandra Fetissoff, a campaign spokeswoman, said in a statement: "The lieutenant governor was nominated for Phi Beta Kappa, but like too many other students, she couldn't afford the application fees to become a part of the honor society." Flanagan faces former National Football League sideline reporter Michele Tafoya in a surprisingly close race where the latest polling shows the Democrat leading by 3 or 4 percentage points. |
| Rule Limiting PSLF Beneficiaries Dead for Now | |
 | After more than a year of regulatory maneuvering and court battles, the Trump administration appears to be backing down from its efforts to limit access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. A rule finalized in October 2025 would have granted Education Secretary Linda McMahon the power to block certain companies and their employees from participating in PSLF if they conducted what the government considers "illegal" activities, like aiding undocumented immigrants and providing gender-affirming care. But it never took effect after two federal district judges blocked the rule in June. The Trump administration appealed both rulings in circuit courts, but moved Wednesday to dismiss the appeals. The Department of Justice, which represented the Education Department in court, did not explain why. Legal advocacy groups like Student Defense, which represented one of the plaintiffs, called the dismissal a "significant victory for millions of Americans." |
| Kentucky governor calls on universities, colleges to review sexual assault policies | |
| In a letter to Kentucky colleges and universities, Governor Andy Beshear calls on each institution to review their sexual assault and harassment policies. Beshear asked for the institutions to complete the reviews over the next 90 days. In the letter, Beshear says, at minimum, the reviews need to double-check awareness campaigns, ease of access to resources, reporting steps, victim services and due process, bystander prevention, education on retaliation, and resulting appropriate action. Under state law, the Governor also requested that the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education make sure university board members are educated on the same policies. "Every Kentuckian has the right to feel safe -- and that includes college students on campuses throughout the commonwealth," said Beshear. |
SPORTS
| Women's Golf: Bellendir Wins Individual Title At The Fin | |
| In just her fourth ever collegiate tournament, Alicia Bellendir became the 17th Bulldog in program history to take home an individual championship, as she won the first edition of The Fin at 5-under par at Freestone Lake and Golf Club on Wednesday. A strong second round ultimately pushed Bellendir over the edge. She shot a career-best 6-under 66 on Tuesday, which ended up being the lowest score by any golfer in any round throughout the duration of the event. Bellendir has now collected four finishes inside the top 20 season, with none being any worse than T11. She has shot par or better in six of 11 rounds with Tuesday's round becoming her second in the 60s. As a team, Mississippi State finished the event in third place at 22-over par. The Bulldogs have finished inside the top three in all four events this season. |
| College basketball's NIL arms race, from $5M to $25M+: Breaking down roster values, spending tiers for 2026-27 | |
| How much does it cost to build the typical high-major college basketball roster in 2026? The answer is a thick $13.5 million. That's the number CBS Sports can reveal after an exhaustive research project that lasted nearly six weeks and relied on more than 100 sources across college sports. The $13.5 million is the average number across all 79 Power Five programs, plus Gonzaga, which has operated as a high-major outfit for well over a decade. The numbers and details in this story represent the most accurate information to date on how much college basketball teams are paying in order to keep up with an ever-escalating market. Predictably, the 2026 offseason brought another massive hike in spending. A year ago, the average price of a power-conference squad was in the realm of $7 million. But for the fourth straight offseason, the open market spiked yet again, leading to the most unruly portal frenzy yet. Numerous big-man-needy teams entered free agency with $4 million earmarked for a star center. That wasn't enough. Many of the best bigs in free agency earned close to a $5 million payday. Elite guards and wings usually commanded a price that encroached on $4 million. The market was further sent into commotion in the summer when dozens upon dozens of players sued for a fifth year of eligibility after an NCAA rule change in late June exposed them to (still very much ongoing) litigation. |
| Pope Leo's alma mater Villanova traveling to Rome for hoops doubleheader vs. Notre Dame | |
| An hour after Robert Prevost was elected as the first American pope, Villanova's athletic director texted sports travel expert John Anthony with the idea. "It just said, ' Villanova - Notre Dame. Basketball game in Vatican City?'" Anthony said, recounting how he then responded to Eric Roedl a moment later "with all caps, 'YES. I'M SERIOUS. WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS.'" Now, 1 1/2 years later, the idea is about to become reality: the Villanova and Notre Dame men's and women's teams will meet in a doubleheader in Rome -- not quite Vatican City, but close enough -- on Nov. 1 that will mark the start of the college basketball season. The Catholic universities are promoting the games as a celebration of their shared mission and heritage. The event has been dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off and there will be a Vatican component: Villanova alumnus Pope Leo XIV is scheduled -- health permitting -- to hold a private audience Oct. 31 with all four teams and their traveling fans. A total of about 7,000 people are expected in the Paul VI audience hall inside the Vatican. |
| Joel Klatt: SEC-Big Ten scheduling agreement expected once CFP expands to 24 | |
| Like it or not, the College Football Playoff is expected to expand to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season. Once that happens, Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt expects the SEC and Big Ten to strike a non-conference scheduling agreement, to be announced soon after CFP expansion becomes official. "There are scheduling agreements that are in place once this thing expands officially," Klatt told KTCK-FM 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas on Wednesday. "The next thing that will happen almost immediately is we're going to get scheduling agreements between the SEC and the Big Ten -- top-end matchups, mid-tier matchups, low-end matchups -- and we're going to be expanding the valuable matchups in the non-conference, far surpassing what we have now." Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti pledged his league would commit to a minimum of 10 Power 4 games if conjunction with the field expanding to 24. Though it's expected ESPN will retain control of the Playoff once it expands to 24, Fox has openly pushed for a 24-team CFP as a means to creating better non-conference inventory. |
| College football mega boosters used to fund buildings. Now they buy QBs. What's the payoff? | |
 | The Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology at Indiana University bears the name of one of the most famous rich guys on the planet. The former owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and longtime "Shark Tank" panelist, Cuban made a $5 million donation to his alma mater in 2015 to fund the center, a tried-and-true totem of the rich guy trophy case, something that can live on for generations. Then Curt Cignetti sparked a different approach. As Cignetti led the Hoosiers to a then-record 11 wins and the College Football Playoff in 2024, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson made his own "Shark Tank" pitch, convincing Cuban to give his first donation to Indiana football to help cover the name, image and likeness cost of signing transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza for the 2025 season. It paid off. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, Indiana won the national championship and Cuban made another, bigger donation ahead of this season. The Athletic estimates Indiana's 2026 roster budget is between $36 million and $40 million, one of the highest in the sport. "I just want to see IU win," Cuban told The Athletic. The current state of college sports has made that motivation more accessible than ever for Cuban and those of his financial ilk: mega boosters. |
| The untold story of a Texas judge, his fraternity brothers and Colorado's lost playbook | |
| The Honorable Bruce McFarling, a judge in the 362nd District Court of Texas, has spent more than 25 years on the bench reviewing evidence. So, as he sat in a bar in Boulder's Omni Interlocken Hotel before Texas Tech played Colorado recently, he was skeptical of what he was seeing. McFarling, a Red Raider, was a big Mike Leach fan. He knew the legendary tale of the Pirate "losing" a fake play script in his only appearance on the Oklahoma side of the Texas-OU rivalry and fooling the Longhorns. Twenty or so of McFarling's old 1980s fraternity brothers had made a trip to Boulder for an annual get together for a Red Raiders road game. When they gathered in the hotel bar, one said, "Look what I just found," and produced a playbook of sorts for the Colorado football team tailored for the game against Texas Tech. "It was just a stapled packet of 8½ x 11 sheets of paper," McFarling said. "On the front, it says University of Colorado. Imagine that. He had found it right there in the lobby. It was just lying on a table out there. So we were passing it around trying to figure out, all right, is this legit? Is this real?" |
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