A resident who lives near the crash site called authorities to report the animal’s location, and it was then “successfully recovered,” the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said in a statement on social media.
It was the last monkey on the loose from an Oct. 28 crash when the truck carrying 21 monkeys overturned on Interstate 59. Five monkeys were killed as law officers hunted for them in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Video from officers’ body cameras showed a chaotic scene as monkeys that escaped from their wooden crates dashed around the grassy interstate median, with some running toward cars and semis on the interstate.
The crash happened approximately 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson. It’s not clear what caused the truck to overturn.
Two other monkeys that eluded officers at the crash site were later shot and killed by civilians, who said they were protecting their families and neighborhoods. Officials had warned residents not to approach the rhesus monkeys, saying they are known to be aggressive. Rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16 pounds, are among the most medically studied animals on the planet.
The last monkey on the loose was found Wednesday afternoon near a home in the Vossburg area, just east of where the truck had wrecked. Brandy Smith saw the monkey when her dog started barking, she told WDAM-TV. Her neighbors called 911. Workers from one of the companies that had been transporting the truckload of monkeys across the country arrived to tranquilize the monkey, Smith said.
The monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. Tulane has said it wasn’t transporting the monkeys and they do not belong to the university.
PreLabs, which describes itself on its website as a biomedical research support organization, said in a statement that the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility. It said the monkeys weren’t carrying any known diseases. Thirteen of the monkeys that were not killed arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane.
The escape is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of animal research and how contracts demanding confidentiality prevent the public from knowing key facts about studies involving animals.
NORTH MANKATO — Beatriz Rivera wanted to do more than just survive.
As a first-generation college student attending South Central College, Rivera’s path to higher education began with her family’s journey from Mexico, where her mother left school after the third grade to work on her family ranch, before moving to the United States at age 16.
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NORTH MANKATO — Beatriz Rivera wanted to do more than just survive.
As a first-generation college student attending South Central College, Rivera’s path to higher education began with her family’s journey from Mexico, where her mother left school after the third grade to work on her family ranch, before moving to the United States at age 16.
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NORTH MANKATO — Beatriz Rivera wanted to do more than just survive.
As a first-generation college student attending South Central College, Rivera’s path to higher education began with her family’s journey from Mexico, where her mother left school after the third grade to work on her family ranch, before moving to the United States at age 16.
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HEIDELBERG, Miss. — The last monkey on the loose among several that escaped after a Mississippi highway crash has been found and captured, authorities said Thursday.
A resident who lives near the crash site called authorities to report the animal’s location and it was then “successfully recovered,” the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said in a statement to The Associated Press.
It was the last monkey on the loose from the Oct. 28 crash when the truck overturned on Interstate 59. Five monkeys were killed as law officers hunted for them in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Video from officers’ body-worn cameras showed a chaotic scene as monkeys that escaped from their wooden crates dashed around the grassy interstate median, with some running toward cars and semis on the interstate.
Two other monkeys that eluded officers at the crash site were later shot and killed by civilians, who said they were protecting their families and neighborhoods. Officials had warned residents not to approach the Rhesus monkeys, saying they are known to be aggressive.
The last monkey on the loose was found Wednesday afternoon near a home in the Vossburg area, just east of where the truck had wrecked. Brandy Smith saw the monkey when her dog started barking, she told WDAM-TV. Her neighbors called 911. Workers from one of the companies that had been transporting the truckload of monkeys across the country arrived to tranquilize the monkey, Smith said.
The monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. Tulane has said it wasn’t transporting the monkeys and they do not belong to the university.
PreLabs, which describes itself on its website as a biomedical research support organization, said in a statement that the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility. It said the monkeys weren’t carrying any known diseases. Thirteen of the monkeys that were not killed arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane.
The escape is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of animal research and how contracts demanding confidentiality prevent the public from knowing key facts about studies involving animals.
DAYTON, Ohio — Two state grants are helping to bolster hands-on experience for Wright State University students in the latest electric vehicle and advanced manufacturing technologies.
What You Need To Know
The university received $579,000 through the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) program
Funds will help provide equipment for training in battery manufacturing and testing, vehicle electronics, secured connectivity and automotive manufacturing
The university said the funds will go toward classroom learning on its Dayton and Lake campuses
The university received $579,000 through the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) program. Wright State received $399,000 from the Super RAPIDS Automotive and Advanced Mobility program and another $180,000 grant.
Funds will help provide equipment for training in battery manufacturing and testing, vehicle electronics, secured connectivity and automotive manufacturing. The second grant will go toward equipment purchases such as 3D printers, advanced software, cameras for industrial automation and other technology.
“The market share of EV is going up,” said Ahsan Mian, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of research and outreach in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “We need to train our students for that market. We need to be prepared.”
The university said the funds will go toward classroom learning on its Dayton and Lake campuses.
Wright State said it will continue to update equipment students use for training on its Lake campus, such as bringing in a LiDAR unit (Light Detection and Ranging) that measures and maps distances in 3D. There will also be an industrial vision device, which takes information from robotic sensors on a production line and interprets it, and EV simulation equipment to examine how the systems work and how batteries are charged.
“We’re a hub for our local manufacturers and businesses, having available training close by. Our goal is to meet the community’s needs,” said Tammy Eilerman, director of the Workforce Development and Business Enterprise Center at the Lake Campus. “The number one concern is to attract a talented workforce. We need to prepare our students for the workforce now and in the future.”
Mian said while the focus is on electric vehicles, he sees opportunities in other fields such as autonomous vehicles.
“Unmanned, driverless vehicles, they’re coming for sure,” he said. “Some of this equipment will be helpful for training students in driverless cars, for their repair and servicing and for engineering, designing and testing driverless vehicles. We are thankful to the ODHE for their continuous support in acquiring new equipment to provide training. ODHE is appreciative of what we do.”
MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (AP) — On a sunny fall morning, children wearing helmets and backpacks gathered with their parents in Montclair, New Jersey, for a group bicycle ride to two local elementary schools. Volunteers in orange safety vests made sure everyone assembled in a neighborhood shopping area was ready before the riders set off on their 5-mile “bike bus” route.
Every few blocks, more adults and kids on bikes joined in. Eventually, the group grew to over 350 people. Older students chatted with friends, while younger ones focused on pedaling. Cars along the way stopped to let the long line of cyclists pass. Pupils and parents peeled off toward the first school before the remainder reached the group’s final stop.
It’s a familiar Friday scene in Montclair. For the past three years, what began as a handful of parents hoping to encourage their kids to bike to school has grown into a weekly ritual for both the township of about 40,000 residents and many of its families.
“It was so fun,” second grader Gigi Drucker, 7, said upon arriving at Nishuane Elementary School. “The best way to get to school is by bike because it gives you more exercise. It’s healthier for the Earth,” she added.
But traveling to school on two wheels isn’t just for fun, according to organizer Jessica Tillyer, whose are 6 and 8 years old. She believes that biking together each week helps promote healthy habits for the children and strengthens the sense of community among parents.
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“And it really started because a small group of us, about five parents, all wanted to ride to school with our kids and just felt like it wasn’t safe. And for me, I felt kind of lonely riding by myself to school. So, bike bus just took off as a small effort. And now we can have up to 400 people riding together to school,” Tillyer said.
The bike bus movement isn’t new. Hundreds of them exist throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Israel, according to Bike Bus World, a nonprofit organization that promotes and provides information about bike buses.
Co-founder Sam Balto, who established a bike bus in Portland, Oregon, more than three years ago, said interest has grown so much that he offers free coaching calls to help others launch their own. He estimates there are more than 400 routes worldwide, and the number continues to grow.
“Children and families are craving community and physical activity and being outdoors. And when you present that versus a school car line, people naturally gravitate to something that’s super joyful and community-driven,” Balto said.
While starting a bike bus may not be difficult, keeping it running year-round through different seasons takes more effort. Organizers of successful rides shared advice for parents hoping to create their own.
Plan and communicate
Andrew Hawkins, one of the leaders of Montclair Bike Bus, said that once enough families express interest, the first step is to plan a route carefully. That means identifying streets with low traffic while considering how many students can join at the starting point and along the way.
“It took us a while to come up with a route we were happy with, but we’re still ready to adjust if necessary,” Hawkins said. “Things can change. It could be that new groups of students move into a certain block, or traffic patterns shift, and you have to adapt.”
The Montclair group started via word of mouth and social media posts. As the number of participants grew, the organizers created a chat group to coordinate and share weekly updates. They also reached out to other families through PTAs, school forums and other parent communication channels.
One unexpected benefit, several parents said, is the bike bus motivates children to get up and out the door more quickly on Friday mornings.
“He’s more excited to get out of bed for the bike bus than for the regular bus. So actually, I have an easier time getting him ready for school,” said Gene Gykoff, who rides with his son to the boy’s elementary school.
To keep momentum going all year, the Montclair Bike Bus team organizes themed rides on weekends and holidays. These events also allow families who can’t join on weekday mornings to experience what the bike bus is all about before committing to a regular schedule.
Start young and go slow
Montclair Bike Bus consists of multiple adult-led groups and routes that encompass all of the township’s elementary schools and middle schools. Organizers think the primary grades are when children benefit most from cycling with a group. Students in the first few years of school can learn about riding safely and apply those skills when they bike on their own or in small groups as they get older.
The Montclair parents found that most elementary school students can handle a distance of 3-5 miles, and the group travels at a speed of around 6 miles per hour so the younger kids can keep up.
“The slow speed can be tough for some of our older kids who want to go a little bit faster. We tell them there’s no racing on the bike bus — everyone gets to school at the same time. But there have been occasions where we’ve had to split the ride into two groups so that some of the older kids can go a little bit faster than the younger kids,” Hawkins said.
Be consistent no matter the weather
Keeping a bike bus going year-round requires consistency, which means preparing to pedal when it’s raining or cold outside, Balto and Hawkins said. Leaders monitor weather forecasts and decide whether to cancel a Friday ride due to unsafe conditions or to proceed as planned while reminding families to dress appropriately.
“As it gets colder, we tell everyone to make sure they have the right gear — gloves, neck warmers, warm jackets,” Hawkins said. “The idea is that kids should feel comfortable riding all year.”
The Montclair bike bus secured reflective vests and bike lights from sponsors to increase visibility on dark winter mornings. Leaders also carry basic maintenance tools, such as tire pumps.
Weather is often more of a concern for adults than it is for children, Balto observed. “Kids want to be outside with their friends,” he said. “If you’re going to do this in all weather, just do it consistently. People will get used to it, and they’ll start joining you.”
Just do it
Despite all the planning and coordination involved in running a regular bike bus, experienced organizers say the key is simply to start. It can be as informal as two families riding to school together and sharing a flyer to spread the word, Balto said.
“If you’re consistent — once a week, once a month, once a season — it will grow,” he said.
Tillyer said she gives the same advice to anyone who asks how to begin: just go for it.
“Don’t ask for permission. Don’t worry about what it’s going to take,” she said. “Find a small group of people, get on your bikes and ride to school. Once people experience it and enjoy it, more will want to join.”
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — Data shows food insecurity continues to affect college students across the country, an issue heightened by the federal government shutdown.
A Government Accountability Office report estimates over 3 million students were eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, long before this recent shutdown. But many students reported not receiving those benefits.
What You Need To Know
Food insecurity continues to affect college students nationwide
The issue has been heightened by the recent government shutdown
Many college students rely on SNAP benefits, which have been only partly funded as of Nov. 1
One North Carolina college shares how they’re ensuring student needs are taken care of during the shutdown
The Hope Center Student Basic Needs Survey released in 2025, fielded between spring 2023 and summer 2024, found 59% of students nationwide experience at least one form of basic-needs insecurity, connected to food or housing.
Identifying which students are impacted by the reduction in SNAP funding can be difficult task for some higher education institutions.
A North Carolina community college has taken steps to raise awareness about services and resources, so students can focus on academics and not their next meal.
Davidson-Davie Community College’s vice president of student affairs Keisha Jones is supporting staff and faculty with helping nearly 4,700 students flourish along their academic journey.
Jones notified employees on Oct. 30 about the potential SNAP funding stoppage and possible effects it could have on students.
Jones said the message was meant to raise awareness about resources in place to support students, like the food pantry, so their academic pursuits would continue uninterrupted.
“Something like SNAP benefits being taken away from certain people, it could impact the way they show up in the classroom,” Jones said. “Helping faculty and staff really think about signs I should be looking for that [a] student may be in distress, what are resources I can notify my entire class about [and] not singling anyone out. We provide a lot of resources to our students that they are aware or not aware of.”
“Ways the faculty and staff could potentially donate through the foundation if they wanted to add to what we already have. We also connect students to community resources [like] additional food pantries to get support from,” Jones said.
That guidance has helped instructors better respond to students’ needs.
Assistant professor of mathematics Kevin Eagan said the college’s leadership has encouraged flexibility and awareness as students navigate uncertainty of the shutdown.
“It helped me feel supported to support them,” Eagan said. “Sometimes, you feel like you don’t really know what to say to a student, but not the case here.”
Eagan said that simply offering understanding during a tough time can make a difference for a student.
“I’ve noticed a couple of things and try to be really flexible as an instructor and understanding,” Eagan said. “Our students, they’re so hard-working, I know sometimes just to give them a little bit of flexibility is all they’re going to need and give them support so they can succeed.”
For weeks, student volunteers at Davidson-Davie have been stocking shelves at the Storm Food Pantry as more learners turn to it for help during the shutdown.
“We are stocked up for any student to come and utilize if they are in need,” said Katrina Prickett, a student and pantry volunteer. “We service students daily. Me going through this myself, I can relate to the disadvantages people may be going through right now.”
The food pantry served nearly 500 students in 2024, double the previous year’s total.
Staff said they’re on pace for another record season, as more students turn to the pantry for help.
“We have seen a tremendous increase in student use of the food pantry since the government shutdown and lack of SNAP benefits,” said Lynne Watts, director of student life and leadership at Davidson-Davie. “I understand there may be some partial benefits coming this month, however, some food is not nearly enough food, especially when college students are left to decide between finding their next meal and studying for an exam.”
“Food should not be a luxury and today, sadly, many college students are in a position where that’s exactly what their reality is,” Watts said.
Prickett said for her, the college has become a trusted, reliable resource for students trying to overcome so much.
“Once I notified staff here at the school that I had [something] going on, they sprung into action to connect me to those resources,” Prickett said. “Coming from someone that has little to no support already, I fit right in here. They have felt like my family.”
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CARLISLE, Pa. — For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the United States government and Christian denominations operated boarding schools where generations of Native American children were isolated from their families. Along with academics and hard work, the schools sought to erase elements of tribal identity, from language and clothing to hairstyles and even their names.
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where the remains of 17 students were exhumed and repatriated in recent weeks, served as a model for other schools.
By the Numbers:
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An Interior Department review published in 2024 found 417 federally funded boarding schools for Native children in the United States. Many others were run by religious groups and other organizations.
An “incomplete” number of burial sites, at 65 schools, identified by the Interior Department across the federal boarding school system.
Number of treaties between the U.S. government and Native American tribes that implicate the federal boarding school program, reflecting its significance to westward expansion.
Amount the U.S. government authorized to run the schools and pursue related policies, in inflation adjusted dollars, 1871-1969.
Carlisle Indian Industrial School operated from 1879 to 1918.
Children and young adults enrolled at Carlisle over four decades, from more than 100 tribes.
Number of students who signed a petition in 1913 asking for an investigation into conditions at Carlisle.
Deaths among students enrolled at Carlisle.
Deaths among students at government run boarding schools in the U.S., according to the Interior Department report. A review by The Washington Post last year documented about 3,100. Researchers say the actual number was much higher.
Indigenous students repatriated from the Carlisle Barracks cemetery since exhumations began in 2017, leaving 118 graves with Native American or Alaska Native names. About 20 more contain unidentified Indigenous children.
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Sources: National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition; “Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Indigenous Histories, Memories and Reclamations”; U.S. Army; “Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, Volume 2″
Michigan State University has partially reversed course on its decision to make all community bathrooms in its honors dorm co-ed, following complaints from students and parents who said the arrangement made them uncomfortable.
Officials placed new signs at Campbell Hall last week to label some bathrooms by gender, a shift that came after a formal complaint and survey results showing unease among residents about a $37.1 million renovation that turned all 20 community bathrooms into unisex facilities.
Parents were not notified beforehand that bathrooms would no longer be separated by gender — prompting at least one student to seek out other facilities, according to a parent’s letter.
Michigan State University partially ended its co-ed community bathrooms in its honors dorm.(Istock/ AndreyPopov)
The facilities were the first co-ed community bathrooms of their kind at any of the institution’s 27 dorms. MSU said it moved to unisex community bathrooms at Campbell Hall to adapt to a future shift in student populations.
“Following review of the survey data, the decision was made to provide options for students,” MSU spokesperson Kat Cooper said in a statement to Bridge Michigan.
The honors dorm spans four floors and includes 20 shared bathrooms, along with five single-use restrooms. Cooper said she was unsure how many of the community bathrooms will remain unisex and how many will be assigned as male or female.
The university did not notify parents that bathrooms would not be designated by gender.(Getty Images)
In an email to Campbell Hall residents, school officials said that bathrooms “will be configured as much as possible to the gender make-up of the community” on the ground and first floors, where there are two community bathrooms, and “gendered bathroom options” on the second and third floors of the dorm, where there are eight community bathrooms, as well as single-use restrooms.
“We wanted to ensure that no room moves were required as part of these changes,” the email reads. “The updates are intended to offer more choice and help residents feel more comfortable in their daily routines.”
Some members of the MSU Board of Trustees said this week that the university made the right call in responding to student and parent feedback.
The dorm has four floors with 20 community bathrooms and five single-use bathrooms.(Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
During Southland College Prep Charter High School’s homecoming pep rally Wednesday, band director Ron Harrigan was surprised with the news he is the Illinois Network of Charter High Schools’ Teacher of the Year.
Southland College Prep, in Richton Park, was the only charter high school to receive “exemplary” status from the Illinois State Board of Education this year. Its student population is 585, the school said.
“We’re a small school — everybody knows everybody and everyone looks out for everybody,” Harrigan told reporters after receiving the award. “We try to not allow any student to fall behind.”
Harrigan’s relationship with Southland College Prep dates back to the school’s founding in 2010. While also teaching at Huth Middle School in Matteson, Harrigan was the Richton Park high school’s part-time band director for two years.
Ron Harrigan waves at the marching band he leads as the Southland College Prep High School band director received a check for $10,000 as part of the Illinois Network of Charter High Schools Teacher of the Year Award. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)
After being full-time director of bands at Huth, Harrigan returned to Southland College Prep part-time in 2017 as associate band director and became full-time director of bands in 2020.
Harrigan’s honor follows the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra naming him its inaugural music educator of the year in April.
Carl Cogar, Southland College Prep’s director of fine arts, said in addition to being a talented trumpet player and pianist, Harrigan encourages growth in every student he works with.
“He has a clear vision of what it is he wants to see kids accomplish and how he wants them to sound,” Cogar said. “And he has that singular focus on helping kids become better, not just better musicians but better people altogether.”
Cogar said he felt like a “proud papa” hearing that Harrigan would be honored as the state charter school’s educator of the year.
“He is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met,” Cogar said. “And he has a knack for getting kids to achieve more than they thought they could.”
Ron Harrigan receives the Illinois Network of Charter High Schools Teacher of the Year Award on Nov. 5, 2025. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)
Born and raised in the British Virgin Islands, Harrigan leads more than 100 Southland College Prep students in five main troupes: marching band, wind ensemble, concert band, jazz ensemble and percussion ensemble. The school also has smaller chamber groups including bass ensemble, flute ensemble and clarinet choir.
The high school’s marching band and Lady Eagles were invited to WorldStrides’ Orlando Heritage Festival at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, where students performed earlier this year, and were invited to perform in the Washington, D.C. Cherry Blossom Parade spring 2026.
Senior student Heaven Anderson, who plays drums, clarinet and bass, said Harrigan has been a mentor since she started at Southland College Prep.
“He’s just a person I feel like I can go to at any time,” Anderson said. “I can tell him anything, and he can give me advice.”
Harrigan led the marching band ahead of receiving the surprise reward, and said after 18 years teaching, he “still gets butterflies” watching them perform.
“I’m excited that they get a chance to showcase what they’ve been working on,” Harrigan said. “And they’re having fun — that’s what it’s about. Music (is something) you should enjoy, you should be able to express yourself as an artist and a listener.”
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah university where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated is expanding its police force and adding security managers after the school received harsh criticism for its lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Utah Valley University is in the process of hiring eight additional campus police officers and two new safety managers who will help coordinate security for future events on campus, spokesperson Ellen Treanor said Wednesday.
Kirk was fatally shot from a campus rooftop on Sept. 10 while debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by several tall buildings. An Associated Press review found that the Orem campus did not implement several public safety practices that have become standard safeguards for security at events around the country. Police staffing also fell far below recommended margins for a school of its size.
Campus police did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors, and several students who bought tickets told the AP they were never checked.
Chief Jeffrey Long said just after the shooting that only six officers had staffed the event. Kirk also had an eight-person private security detail present.
The university has 23 police officers, or one for every 1,400 on-campus students, according to a 2024 university report. Its planned expansion to just over 30 officers still falls short of police staffing at other large public schools nationwide.
The average public university in the U.S. has around one officer for every 500 students — the ratio recommended by campus safety advocates — according to a 2024 Department of Justice study. To meet that threshold, Utah Valley would need at least 64 officers for its on-campus student body of about 32,000.
The school has a policing budget of $2.1 million for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1, down slightly from its $2.2 million operating budget at the time of the shooting, according to public records obtained by the AP.
Treanor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the university was funding the planned additions to its police force.
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The University of Austin announced Wednesday that Republican megadonor Jeff Yass is donating $100 million, it’s “ending tuition forever” and it will also “never take government money.” At the same time, it said Yass’s gift represents the first third of “a $300 million campaign to build a university that sets students free.”
University president Carlos Carvalho told Inside Higher Ed he doesn’t plan for this $300 million to become an endowment meant to last forever. Instead, he said it will be invested but spent down as a “bridge” until the institution produces enough donating alumni to keep tuition free. He estimated this will take 25 years, “give or take.”
“We understand there’s risk in this approach,” Carvalho said. But he said he believes in the product, calling his students his “equity partners”—but stressed that “all they owe is their greatness.”
When the institution welcomed its first class of students last fall, it said annual tuition was $32,000, but Carvalho said nobody has ever paid tuition. The university still hasn’t earned accreditation, which can take years, but the state of Texas allowed it to grant degrees and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accrediting body, has granted it candidate status on its path to recognition. The university says it expects to complete “the first accreditation cycle” between 2028 and 2031.
Yass—a billionaire co-founder of financial trading firm Susquehanna International Group and a significant investor in TikTok owner ByteDance—was very recently in the news for other gifts. He had backed Republicans in a bid to end the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Democratic majority, but voters reappointed all three justices up for re-election to another decade on the bench (though one is required to retire in a few years). He’s also provided millions in support of private K–12 school vouchers and electing Republicans to Congress.
He told The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news of the University of Austin gift, that he’s been impressed by the university, wants to eliminate stress for parents and supports separation between education and government. His donation to the fledgling institution—which Carvalho said is atop Yass’s previous $36 million gift—is another example of its continued support from prominent conservatives. Carvalho said the university has raised more than $300 million, including the $100 million going toward the new $300 million campaign. The Journal reported that real estate developer Harlan Crow, who controversially funded trips for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and Peter Thiel, a co-founder of Palantir and friend to Vice President JD Vance, have been among the donors.
Such donations may enable the university to do what other universities can’t: rely neither on student, nor state, nor federal contributions to survive. Instead, the university says it’s banking on alumni sustaining it. The first group of students is slated to graduate in 2028.
“Our bet: Create graduates so exceptional they’ll pay it forward when they succeed, financing the tuition of the next generation,” the university said in its announcement. “When our students build important companies, defend our nation, advance scientific frontiers, build families, and create works that elicit awe, they’ll remember who made their excellence possible. And they’ll give back.”
It went on to say that “other Americans will take notice” and invest. “Every other college gets paid whether students succeed or fail. At UATX, if our graduates don’t become essential to American excellence—and if their work doesn’t inspire others to fund this mission—we’re done.”
Some higher ed observers are skeptical. Mark DeFusco, a principal at Prometheus Education, which performs mergers and acquisitions for troubled colleges, said running a “serious college … a college as we know it” on just a $300 million fund would be “nearly impossible.”
“If they can pull it off, God bless ’em,” DeFusco said. “While I really understand their urge, the practicality doesn’t seem like it’s possible, and I’d like to see the details.”
Carvalho said the university currently has 150 students in its freshman and sophomore classes, and he plans to grow total enrollment to 400 to 500 for now. “We need this first phase of growth to be small,” he said.
“We talk about building the Navy SEALs of the mind,” he said. “The Navy SEALs are not a class of thousands and thousands.”
He said the university offers courses in, among other things, computer science, journalism and prelaw, and wants to launch programs in all three areas. One of the university’s founders is Bari Weiss, who also founded The Free Press and recently became editor in chief of CBS News.
Other universities have also tried to jettison tuition in favor of alumni support. In 2021, Hope College in Michigan aimed to raise $1 billion for its endowment in order to go tuition-free. As part of that plan, students would commit to donate to the college after graduation. The first cohort graduated this past spring, and 126 students have participated over the first four years, according to an annual report from the college. Roughly 85 percent of the graduating seniors and 70 percent of freshmen through juniors have donated.
Neal Hutchens, a university research professor and faculty member in the University of Kentucky’s College of Education, said the no-tuition, no-government-funding plan raises questions about how large UATX could grow and whether its model could be replicated elsewhere.
He also noted that the university’s marketing of itself as against the grain of academe isn’t unique. A video on UATX’s homepage critiques “coddling,” “virtue signaling” and the “disastrous” state of higher ed “in the Western world,” complete with images of a building with a rainbow-colored sign above an entrance, people wearing cloth masks while blowing into instruments and pro-Palestine protesters being arrested. In the video, Weiss says to understand why “the museums you love, and the publishing houses you love, and the newspapers you used to trust” are “hollowed out, you have to look at the nucleation point for this—and that is the university.”
Hutchens said New College of Florida, a public institution taken over by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s conservative board appointees, appears to be charting “a similar iconoclastic path.” He noted New College took a public stand early against what some call wokeness.
“That’s not necessarily been an easy fix for New College to just automatically thrive,” he said. He said he’s curious if such institutions are going after the same donors, and they may eventually be competing more with one another than the institutions they’re setting themselves apart from.
However, Hutchens said, UATX might be able to gain currency in the tech industry and make further inroads with people with deep pockets.
“It doesn’t take too many $100 million gifts to add up to a pretty good endowment,” he said.
Asked about assertions that his university pushes conservative ideology, Carvalho said, “We have a core curriculum that is teaching the best that has been done and has been seen in the Western tradition,” from philosophy to science, literature and more. He said none of those things are conservative.
“We do have an institution that’s very patriotic,” he said, adding that if that’s a “conservative statement these days—again, not my choice.”
Progressive-backed candidates flipped three school board seats in a district near Houston, Texas, as Democrats flipped seats across the country Tuesday night.
Mike Doyle, chair of the Harris County Democrats, told Newsweek in a phone interview that the wins in a red-leaning, suburban area are a testament to “a lot of hard work” by candidates and their supporters.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris County GOP for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Tuesday’s elections were a key bellwether for the electorate’s mood ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats are hoping to stage a comeback following losses in the 2024 elections. The results fueled Democratic optimism after a year of uncertainty about the party’s future, with Democrats outperforming expectations in key races.
Those victories extended to suburban Texas. The Lone Star State has been viewed as a reliably conservative state. Democrats did make some gains in the first Trump administration, but it shifted back toward Republicans last November. Still, Democrats are hoping to make the state’s Senate race competitive next November.
Public education has remained a divisive issue in Texas as some state legislators have supported bills that would infuse religion into schools, including by requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state.
What to Know
Three candidates who have identified as being more progressive flipped seats on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board, reported local news outlet Houston Press. Lesley Guilmart, Cleveland Lane Jr. and Kendra Camarena all defeated Republican-aligned candidates in the race, the news outlet reported.
That is the third-largest school district in the state
Technically, the board is nonpartisan, but Guilmart, Lane and Camarena have all voted in Democratic primaries, while their opponents were viewed as more conservative. They have said they would keep their personal politics off of the school board due to its nonpartisan nature, the news outlet reported.
Conservatives previously held a 6-1 majority on the school board, but will now be in a 4-3 minority, reported Houston Public Media. They have implemented policies including book-banning practices and adding a Bible-focus elective course for students, according to the report.
The races became competitive as voters saw “Republican ideologues fully revealed themselves,” Doyle told Newsweek. The race, despite the nonpartisan nature of the board, had become partisan, he said.
“They were focused on banning books and running off good teachers and cutting school budgets, and pretty much ripping into the fabric of the school system out there,” he said.
Their defeat comes amid a broader debate about religion in schools, of which Texas has found itself the center after lawmakers passed a bill that required schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. In August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, issued a statement directing schools to abide by the order.
“The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country,” he said in a statement at the time.
What People Are Saying
School Board Trustee-elect Lesley Guilmart wrote in a Facebook post: “’Im so proud of us, and I am deeply grateful. We came together across lines of difference, from across the political spectrum to do right by our children. Every student and staff member deserves to thrive in our district, and Cleveland4CFISD, Kendra 4 CFISD, and I will fight for just that.”
Zeph Capo, president of Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) wrote in a statement: “While there’s more work to do to make this board representative of the community and responsive to its needs, this victory turns the page on a dark chapter in this district’s history. The trustees defeated last night routinely pushed the school board into a hard right turn to the extremist fringe, and voters said enough.”
What Happens Next
Republicans will continue to grapple with losses during Tuesday night’s elections. Democrats performed well across the country, including in high-profile contests like the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races. Victories also extended into states like Georgia and Mississippi.
OHIO — A new educational partnership is underway crossing over the Buckeye State from southwestern Ohio to northeastern Ohio.
What You Need To Know
The Christ Hospital Health System, along with Miami University, is partnering with Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) to help address a projected shortage of 1,200 primary care doctors over the next decade
Through the partnership, The Christ Hospital, will offer expanded clinical rotation opportunities in southwest Ohio for NEOMED students
NEOMED and Miami University will also launch an early assurance program for undergraduate students at Miami who are interested in attending NEOMED’s College of Medicine
The Christ Hospital Health System, along with Miami University, is partnering with Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) to help address Ohio’s projected shortage of 1,200 primary care doctors over the next decade, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“NEOMED’s partnerships with The Christ Hospital and Miami University represent a pivotal development that will change the landscape of patient care in Ohio by giving our medical students more opportunities to connect with and serve communities across the state,” said NEOMED President Dr. John Langell.
Through the partnership, The Christ Hospital will offer expanded clinical rotation opportunities in southwest Ohio for NEOMED students beginning in July 2026.
“We are excited to announce this partnership for medical students in southwest Ohio,” said Debbie Hayes, President & CEO of The Christ Hospital Health Network. “One of the challenges facing healthcare is addressing the need for quality healthcare providers. By partnering with NEOMED and Miami University, two well-established organizations, these future physicians will have a place to learn and grow while we keep these talented providers here in the Greater Cincinnati region. This is an investment not just in our medical students but the health of our community for decades into the future.”
NEOMED and Miami University will also launch an early assurance program for undergraduate students at Miami who are interested in attending NEOMED’s College of Medicine.
“This exciting collaboration allows us to offer our students greater options in regards to advanced healthcare education, which will benefit overall health and wellness in the state of Ohio for years to come,” Miami President Gregory Crawford said. “Our students, faculty, and staff understand the crucial importance of developing future healthcare professionals, and this innovative partnership is an immensely positive step in that direction.”
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — As artificial intelligence (AI) tools continue to shape classrooms and workplaces, Pasco County Schools is preparing to embrace the technology, while also setting clear boundaries for its use.
District teachers are already using Microsoft Copilot, an AI-powered assistant similar to ChatGPT, to help create lesson plans and develop guided tutorials for students.
Beginning Dec. 1, high school students in the district will gain access to the tool as well.
What You Need To Know
Pasco Schools to unlock AI for use by students in high school on Dec. 1
The district is currently drafting guidelines for the use of AI by students
Pasco teachers have been using AI tools for lesson plans and student tutorials
Pasco students will be allowed to use Microsoft Copilot in a limited capacity
Copilot functions like an advanced search engine. It can draft essays, answer questions and summarize research materials in seconds — tasks that could otherwise take students hours to complete. With such powerful capabilities, district leaders say they are focused on balancing innovation with responsibility.
During a recent school board meeting, Superintendent John Legg emphasized that Pasco’s AI guidelines will need to evolve alongside the technology.
“The one thing that I have heard — and I am not an AI expert — but in working with people who are, is the day we publish this is the day it is obsolete because it is emerging that quickly,” Legg said. “We will be constantly revisiting this, probably for the next few years.”
The district is planning one more round of revisions to its AI guidelines before officially releasing them to students.
While Pasco moves forward, other nearby school districts — Hillsborough and Pinellas, for example — are also drafting or refining their own policies around AI. Pasco officials say they’ve reviewed those guidelines closely to ensure consistency across the region.
So far, there have been no statewide directives in Florida regarding the use of AI in schools. For now, each district is deciding how best to prepare students for a future where AI is part of everyday learning.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Helping low-income children and families access education is an investment that pays off for the entire country, says Khari Garvin, president and CEO of Family Services of Forsyth County.
“The way that I like to think about it is Head Start is one of several programs that’s part of our nation’s prescription to end poverty,” Garvin said.
What You Need To Know
Head Start programs in North Carolina receive $290 million in federal funding
The program supports 19,500 students and more than 5,600 jobs in the state
Head Start is responsible for 20% or more of licensed child care facilities in 22 rural counties statewide
Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide free learning and development services to children in low-income families. The ages of participants range from birth to 5 years old.
Most programs receive funding from the federal government, and some have not received those payments because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Family Services of Forsyth County is the grantee for 10 sites in Winston-Salem and the surrounding area. The nonprofit secured enough grants to keep its Head Start programs funded through May.
“The theory is that if you assist a child and family with accessing those important resources to development, health care, education, nutrition, parent engagement and parent development, if you help these families access to services that they would otherwise not have ready access to given their situation, then you’re giving them a head start, as it were, to development,” Garvin said.
Gov. Josh Stein, Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt and Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green sent a letter to Congress in April about potential cuts to funding for Head Start programs. According to the letter, Head Start programs statewide receive $290 million from the federal government. It says Head Start supports 19,500 students and more than 5,600 jobs in North Carolina. State leaders believe if federal funds end for these curriculums, roughly 500 child care programs could close.
“These are not children who, No. 1, they’re not being babysat,” Garvin said. “Secondly, they’re not just sitting around watching cartoons all day and eating snacks. These are early education programs designed to help support children’s educational trajectory to enter kindergarten and go beyond literacy, numeracy and social emotional development.”
North Carolina is considered to be a child care desert. On average, five families compete to fill one spot at licensed child care facilities. Statewide, Head Start is responsible for 20% or more of licensed child care facilities in 22 rural counties.
Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco County schools are working to incorporate artificial intelligence into their classrooms and creating guidelines to keep students safe while using the powerful tool.
What You Need To Know
Pasco County schools, along with many others across the Tampa Bay area, are debating policies surrounding artificial intelligence in the classroom
PCS leaders are drafting guidelines for students and teachers, set to take effect on Dec. 1
Pasco high schoolers older than 13 will have access to Microsoft Copilot, an AI-powered assistant, for use on their work
Gone are the days of slamming lockers. Now, students are slamming a keyboard.
“AI is everywhere. AI is embedded in almost all the technology and, talking to students, the students are asking for the rules and guidelines,” said Superintendent John Legg.
Talk about a sign of the times. Legg admits his students, even as young as elementary school age, are using artificial intelligence.
He said it’s high time for his district to set guardrails on how to use it.
“It’s not a policy, it’s a guideline of best practices. We looked at other school districts and universities to see what are their recommended best practices for AI, and we’re giving it to the teachers for them to decide how they best want to use it,” Legg said.
Instead of an “all or nothing” approach, Legg said the district will start slow.
This December, high school students older than 13 will have access to Microsoft Co-Pilot, an AI-powered assistant, that helps by answering questions, writing and even creating images.
In the 19-page draft guidelines, the district suggests students use AI to help “brainstorm ideas, research topics, practice writing or giving feedback. Ultimately, the district is clear in the document: “AI should help you learn — not do the work for you.”
“Twenty-five, 30 years ago, we thought it was the end of the world having computers,” Legg said. “And then they slowly emerged into the classroom, and now they’ve become part of our daily life that we use, along with any technology. (AI) is the next evolution of technology in the classroom.”
Pasco school leaders are also making an effort to promote ethical use of AI. Teachers have access to AI writing detection tools and are being told to document instances of students using AI for the wrong reasons.
But Legg acknowledges that whatever guidelines they publish will likely need constant updating as the technology continues to advance.
“Students are using it now. They’re just using it without our assistance, they’re using it without our controls. And we’re providing those guidelines to maximize the advantage in our classrooms,” Legg said.
To stay current with all the advances in AI, Legg said the district has a standing work group dedicated to addressing concerns around the policy and shaping it for years to come.
BOSTON — Two men who were in the Boston area for college Halloween parties last weekend set off fireworks inside an empty Harvard Medical School building, authorities said Tuesday in announcing their arrests.
Logan David Patterson, 18, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, were taken into custody Tuesday on federal charges of conspiracy to damage by means of fire or an explosive.
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By MICHAEL CASEY and LEAH WILLINGHAM – Associated Press
As has been the norm, Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Elementary District 181 performed very well on the recent Illinois Report Card for schools in the state.
“District 181 is proud of its nine outstanding schools,” said Karen O’Connor, District 181’s director of communications. “All of our schools across the district are scoring in the top academic tier of student achievement in the state.
O’Connor said the Report Card reflects the district’s performance data from the 2024–2025 school year.
“This is just one component in a larger system of data that provides us with information on how District 181 schools are progressing on a variety of educational goals,” she said.
Elm, Madison, Prospect, The Lane, and Walker schools were designated as “Exemplary,” while Clarendon Hills Middle School, Hinsdale Middle School, Monroe and Oak schools were in the “Commendable” category.
To be designated as an Exemplary, schools must have a performance in the top 10% of schools statewide, no underperforming student groups. Commendable schools have a performance that is not in the top 10% of schools statewide and also have no underperforming student groups.
None of the District 181 schools fell into the other categories used by the ISBE: •Targeted: Schools, where at least one student group is performing at or below the level of the “all students” group in the lowest-performing 5% of schools. These schools receive targeted support and enter a four-year improvement cycle.
• Comprehensive: Schools, which are in the lowest-performing 5% of Title I-eligible schools in Illinois, or any high school with a graduation rate of 67% or lower. These schools receive comprehensive support and funding through a four-year improvement cycle.
• Intensive, which is a designation for schools that are in the lowest-performing category. These schools also enter a four-year cycle of continuous improvement and receive additional support and funding.
“Our summative designations of Exemplary and Commendable provide us with opportunities to celebrate our strengths and reflect on our goals so every student can reach their fullest potential,” O’Connor said.
She said that according to the state’s targets, the district is one of the highest-performing elementary districts, exceeding all of the state’s academic targets for student proficiency on state-mandated assessments.
During the 2024-2025 school year 88.6% of District 181 students were proficient in English Language Arts (the state average was 52.4%); 83.9% were proficient in Math (the state average was 38.4%; and 78.4% were proficient in Science, above the state average of 44.6%.
“These indicators, designations, and associated index scores confirm D181 schools’ status as among the state’s top elementary and middle schools,” O’Connor said.
She said It’s essential to recognize that attendance is a factor in the ISBE rating system, which can negatively impact a school’s score, even if a student is performing exceptionally well academically.
The ISBE is in the midst of a redesign of the accountability system.
“Designations and indicators will change, starting next year, and we will continue to respond to the shifting expectations to best meet the needs of our learners and community,” O’Connor said.
“As with any rating system, we remain committed to reviewing the information and looking for opportunities to enhance our efforts.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
