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A sign for Auburn University seen on March 28, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. Behind the sign is William J. Samford Hall. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) Effective October 1, HB580 expanded the authority of Boards of Trustees over curriculum and degree requirements at public universities, reinforcing their role as the ultimate academic decision-makers. At first glance, that may sound like a dry governance issue. It’s not. Shortly after HB580 took effect, Auburn’s Board of Trustees not only embraced this authority but exercised it. In its new curriculum policy , the Board declares that “no external standard, professional norm, or process can limit the Board’s authority over curriculum.” Students, parents, alumni, and donors should consider these implications. The hubris is astonishing. Auburn’s trustees are asserting that their authority supersedes not only faculty expertise, but professional norms, disciplinary standards, and even accrediting bodies. That has noth...

The U.S. Capitol on the evening of Sept. 30, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats than wave elections this century. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter predicts Democrats will gain a net of 10 to 20 House seats in the Nov. 3 elections, Erin Covey, the top House analyst at CPR, said Monday during a panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution.  The party needs to pick up just three seats to gain control next year. The Senate is closer to a pure toss-up, with the likely range of Democratic pickups between two and six seats, experts believe. A net gain of four would give Democrats a majority in that chamber. (Getty Images) The landscape is more favorable for Democrats at the end of the 2026 cy...

A National Institutes of Health researcher's lab jacket, embroidered with the NIH logo with blue chevron detail. (Photo courtesy NIH) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an  executive order Monday establishing a Women’s Health Division within the National Institutes of Health.  The new division is set to work with the agency’s existing  Office of Research on Women’s Health , which was established in 1990 and “has served as the focal point for women’s health research at NIH,” according to the NIH website. The White House said first lady Melania Trump was involved in formulating and leading work on the order, which also creates a White House Women’s Health Task Force that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will co-chair.  The order is meant to “strengthen research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care for women and girls throughout every stage of life,” according to a White House  f...

Ukrainians living in Nebraska and supporters gathered at an event earlier this year marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner) WASHINGTON — Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend.  More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese with Temporary Protected Status will keep their protections until “such an announcement is made,” the agency said. It’s the same move the Trump administration made as the deadline for TPS renewal for  more than 200,000 Salvadorans approached last month.  While immigrants with TPS from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine will have deportation protections, it places more than 300,000 people in limbo because it’s not clear how long the protections will last. “Families who depend on this status...

Voters in Alabama's 3rd Congressional District will choose between incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks (left), and Democratic nominee Lee McInnis, a first-time candidate. (Photos of Rogers and McInnis are submitted; Graphic by Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector) How to register to vote Oct. 19 is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 3 election. If you haven’t registered to vote, you can do so here . And if you’re not sure of your registration status, you can double-check it here . The race in Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District features a well-entrenched Republican incumbent and a Democratic newcomer. The 3rd Congressional District in east Alabama, covering includes Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Lee, Randolph, St. Clair and Talladega counties, will feature U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, against Democratic nominee Lee McInnis. The contest is not expected to be competitive. Cook Political Report rates Alabama’s 3rd Congressio...

Work continues on the new QTS data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on April 17, 2026. Today’s data center buildout has become the largest industrial boom since the railroad era of the 19th century, with $10 trillion in investment and almost twice the economic impact. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures.  Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the transcontinental tracks that would connect America from coast to coast. Railroads in the 19 th century consumed about $173 billion in today’s dollars and created more than 2% of the nation’s annual economic output (GDP) over 20 years.  Today’s data center buildout will dwarf that amount, with $10 trillion in investment, and now have almost twice the economic impa...