National security, terrorism concerns as FIFA World Cup 2026 matches begin in U.S.

Former Mizzou men's basketball guard Jayden Stone signed a one-year contract with the Sydney Kings on Friday, per the team's X account.

Originally from Perth, Australia, Stone will return to his home country to begin his professional career in the National Basketball League.

Stone spent two years at Grand Canyon and two at Detroit Mercy before transferring to the Tigers for the 2025-26 season. The guard averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game on nearly 49% shooting from the field and 38.5% from 3-point range. 

In Mizzou's NCAA Tournament loss to Miami, Stone put up 21 points and six rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting.

The Kings are headlined by last season's MVP runner-up Kendric Davis, 2023 NBL MVP Xavier Cooks and former NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova. 

(The Center Square) – Five months out from the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans’ chances of maintaining control of Congress appear grim, new polling shows.

The Center Square’s newest Voters’ Voice Poll revealed that 47% of U.S. registered voters surveyed would vote for a Democratic candidate if elections were held today, while only 41% would vote for a Republican. Nine percent of voters haven’t made up their minds yet.

The poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from June 1-4, 2026, surveying 2,585 registered U.S. voters. The sample was comprised of 915 Republicans, 1013 Democrats, and 297 True Independents, the latter of whom chose neither major party when asked about their political leanings.

Democrats’ lead has widened by five percentage points since the Voters’ Voice Poll in March, when support for Democratic versus Republican congressional candidates was split 44%-43%.

“Democrats are widening their lead on the congressional generic ballot because they're not the party in power – I’m not saying the Democrats are doing spectacular here, and they’re really not, it’s really that people are just so dissatisfied, and there's really not another option,” Mike Noble, founder and CEO of Noble Predictive Insights, told The Center Square.

While the leanings of members in either of the two major political parties remain relatively stable, swing voters’ choices pose a growing threat to Republicans. A dismal 19% of Independents chose a Republican candidate, while 39% chose a Democratic candidate.

Although nearly a third of total Independents remain undecided, True Independents have shifted toward Democrats since March, with 20% now supporting a Democratic candidate and 10% supporting a Republican.

A whopping 49% of Independents are currently undecided, raising the stakes for Republicans as midterms draw closer.

Critical bipartisan legislation funding farmers and road infrastructure has lagged in Congress, and Republicans in both chambers initially blocked War Powers Resolutions to halt military hostilities in Iran that are driving up gas and food prices.

“Republicans have a problem on their hands. If these economic pain points continue or get worse, the worse it's going to be for them for the midterms,” Noble said.

“What it's doing is just pushing voters towards the Democrats. People are not happy, they're feeling the economic pinch, and because of that, Republicans are hurting, and it's benefiting Democrats," he added. "So Republicans [will] want to get a handle on this sooner rather than later as we get closer to these November elections coming up.”

Notably, groups particularly sensitive to the rising costs of living are turning to Democrats, who have criticized recent price increases due to the Iran conflict, President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, and Republican infighting or inaction in Congress over cost-of-living issues like healthcare and housing.

The median annual household income in the U.S. was $83,730 in 2024, according to the United States Census Bureau.

The July Voters’ Voice Poll showed that Americans earning under $50,000 per year favored Democrats over Republicans, 49% to 39%.

The median income for Black households was about $32,000 less than that, while the median income for Hispanic voters was approximately $18,000 less than the overall median income.

Only 13% of Black voters and 38% of Hispanic voters said in the Voters’ Voice Poll that they would choose a Republican candidate.

Younger voters aged 18-29, who typically have the lowest salaries of any nonretired age group, also leaned left, with 55% supporting a Democrat and only 33% supporting a Republican. All age groups, however, favored Democrats at least slightly over Republicans.

Female voters, whose median income in 2024 was about $14,000 less than males’, supported a Democratic candidate by 52% and a Republican candidate by 35% in the poll, with 11% remaining unsure.

By contrast, 48% male voters surveyed supported Republicans, while 43% supported Democrats.

“What this tells us is that basically this cost of living [issue] is a dominant pressure point, and so until they can get this fixed, it's just going to be a problem,” Noble said. “This is top of mind for folks, it's impacting them, and again, it's likely going to impact voting. I think also it impacts mostly those toss-up congressional seats, because those are the battlegrounds, that's more where the persuadables outsize the partisans.”

Even without Republicans’ political woes, political parties in power generally perform poorly during midterm elections. In the current political climate, Noble added, Democrats’ best chance of regaining control of Congress is to focus on pocketbook issues rather than President Trump’s controversial actions.

“So I'm non-partisan, but if I was advising Democrats, they literally have the stupidest, simplest task ahead of them if they want to win,” Noble said. “It blows my mind, [because] Democrats still, to this day, haven't figured out that attacking Trump does nothing for them. Trump is defined – people have their opinion of them. Just focus on the economy and costs, affordability. That's all you’ve got to do.”

The poll’s margin of error is +/- 1.93%.

(The Center Square) – California is suing U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to stop construction of what plaintiffs say is an ICE holding facility near an agricultural city.

Blueprints show plans for some kind of federal facility, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it isn't building a new detention center.

Santa Clara County, the rural Central California county that would be home to the alleged administrative and short-term detainment facility, joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the lawsuit, which also names DHS, the U.S. General Services Administration, three federal officials and the Beverly Hills-based company ECG 6 LLC as defendants. GSA is the agency that builds federal facilities.

“The action taking place in [the] county is unlawful, and spreads fear throughout our county,” Otto Lee, the chair of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, told The Center Square.

“This project was being developed secretly, and violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and California’s Williamson Act, to name a few," Lee said.

In the lawsuit, the county and the California Department of Justice challenged the development of what appears to be a facility for holding illegal immigrants in the 7200 block of Holsclaw Road in unincorporated Santa Clara County. According to the complaint, the federal agencies involved with the development violated numerous laws, including California’s Williamson Act, which has limited the site on Holsclaw Road to strictly agricultural uses since 1967.

The suspected holding facility is expected to be around 18,700 square feet, according to the lawsuit, and will hold up to 150 detainees. The complaint also alleges that the facility site is in an area that is home to endangered species and has limited and inadequate waste disposal capabilities. There is also hazardous waste present on site, notably a toxic fungicide called thiram, ethidium bromide, calcium hypochlorite and acid-based chemical wash water, the complaint states.

Construction started on May 4, the complaint further alleges. The lawsuit contends federal officials with knowledge of the project concealed its true nature.

“We have no new detention centers planned at this location,” a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told The Center Square via email on Thursday. The department declined to identify the spokesperson by name.

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe," said the DHS spokesperson. "It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”

Public records from the General Services Administration show that a facility is indeed planned at the site, with blueprints showing that there are parts of building construction with labels like “man trap” and “ammunition/weapons suite.” There are also rooms in the blueprints labeled “visitor room” and “interview room.”

Big type on the blueprints say "Construction Documents. GSA. General Services Administration. Gilroy, California."

“What I understand this would be is a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center outside of Gilroy,” said Greg Bozzo, mayor of Gilroy.

“I understand it to be a facility that, in my opinion, and in the opinion of our city council, is located in the wrong place," Bozzo told The Center Square on Thursday. "The majority of our community is in alignment with our city council, which voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing this facility in this location.”

Bozzo said Gilroy’s residents, many of whom are immigrants, have shared concerns with him about construction moving ahead on this facility.

“Gilroy is a community that is known for caring for one another,” Bozzo said. “We are a strong-knit community where people know each other, and we are concerned for everyone for the type of anxiety that this is bringing to our community.”

Santa Clara County officials have jurisdiction over the facility because it is being built on county land and in an unincorporated area. They said they share the same concerns as Gilroy officials. The federal government is leasing the land from the county.

“Our office has a long history of litigation around immigrant rights issues,” Tony Lopresti, county counsel for Santa Clara County, told The Center Square. “Our county has pretty much the largest ratio of foreign-born residents in the nation at 42%. Our board is a board that very much understands that immigrant community is at the core of our county’s identity.”

The Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office previously sued the Trump administration for its actions against immigrant communities, which affects many residents, Lopresti said. He and other county officials also said there was no communication or outreach from the federal government to the county in the plans to build a potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Gilroy.

“At the very least, we would expect they would comply with the applicable laws,” Lopresti said. “It requires they seek out and consider the perspectives of local and state government, that they evaluate alternative locations, whether they could use existing locations.

"They did none of that," Lopresti said. "They just proceeded under full secrecy to ram through a project.”

The California Department of Justice, which is overseen by Bonta, and ICE did not respond to The Center Square's requests for comment.

The GSA responded via email on Thursday afternoon that it does not comment on active litigation.

Lawyers from the San Francisco-based law firm Shute, Mihaley and Weinberger, a law firm representing the plaintiffs in the case, did not respond to The Center Square.

(The Center Square) - Some of Nevada's biggest candidates, fresh off primary election victories, have already turned their attention to the general election in November.

The state's primary on Tuesday set up some major head-to-head battles between candidates who have gained significant endorsements and campaign donations. 

Out of a crowd of 15 candidates in the gubernatorial race, Gov. Joe Lombardo and Attorney General Aaron Ford won the Republican and Democratic slots respectively on the Nov. 3 ballot. The two candidates had been seen as favorites in the months leading up to the June primary, which ended in a landslide 90.87% win for Lombardo and 63.49% in favor of Ford.

“I am honored by the confidence Nevadans have placed in me, and I will continue working every day on behalf of every Nevadan - whether they voted for me or not,” Lombardo told The Center Square in a statement after the primary results. “Together, we will build on our progress, finish the job, and make Nevada the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family.”

The result sets up what is expected to be a neck-and-neck November general election. A March poll by Noble Predictive Insights found the two candidates nearly tied at Lombardo with 39% of respondents' support and Ford at 38%.

“Today, Nevada, is the beginning of the end of the failed Lombardo-Trump economy,” Ford told reporters after the primary results were released. “Today we say no more – no more to failed leadership in Carson City that lets jobs disappear while our prices are soaring … Today we say loud and clear that Carson City belongs to the people.”

Carson City is the capital of Nevada.

With Ford facing a term limit, it's the first time in eight years that no incumbent is running in the attorney general race.

Four candidates – two Democrats and two Republicans –  lined up in the attorney general's race. State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Clark County, beat Treasurer Zach Conine for the Democratic ticket with 60.68% of votes. Attorney Adriana Fralick won 60.17% of votes over Republican challenger Danny Tarkanian. Fralick (109,471) and Cannizzaro (110,600) won near-identical vote totals.

Fralick, having never been elected to political office, gained crucial endorsements from Lombardo and Trump ahead of the primary.

“I am proud to have the support and endorsement of both President Trump and Gov. Lombardo,” Fralick told The Center Square ahead of the primary election. “But my job as attorney general would be to represent the interests of Nevada and enforce Nevada law, regardless of who occupies the White House or the Governor’s Mansion.”

April campaign fund filings showed that Fralick had raised the least of the four candidates with $165,000, while Cannizzaro had over $986,000 cash on hand in what is likely to be a tight November election for the state’s top law enforcement position.

“I have never forgotten where I came from,” Cannizzaro told reporters on the primary results, noting how she was raised in Nevada. “I’m ready to take that fight to anyone who tries to take that opportunity and that dream from Nevada families just like mine, or who try to make it harder for everyday Nevadans. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do as your next attorney general.”

In the state’s 1st Congressional District, the partisan primaries were packed with a total of nine candidates. The results show the longtime incumbent, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, will take on state Sen. Carrie Ann Buck, R-Clark County. 

The two candidates won their primary elections on decisive tallies, with Titus obtaining 75.92% and Buck at 77.81%. 

Titus is seeking to win her eighth term in the district, which contains parts of the Las Vegas area, including the Las Vegas Strip, the nearby city of Henderson and rural areas of Clark County. She has focused on an economic agenda and her experience in Congress.

“There is no substitute for experience and hard work,” Titus told The Center Square, answering questions by email. “During this Congress, I have already passed multiple bills through the House with overwhelming bipartisan votes. And President Trump, even after he endorsed my opponent, signed my bill into law which would enhance water security, increase conservation, and prevent millions of dollars of economic loss to businesses in Henderson.”

Buck went against the odds to outraise Titus on campaign funds ahead of the primary election, positioning herself as a candidate who previously flipped a Democratic-held state senate seat. Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment by The Center Square after the primary results.

In a statement on her X social media account responding to a media outlet's post calling the election in her favor, Buck said, “Thank you so much to the voters of Nevada’s First Congressional District! It is an honor to be your Republican Nominee, and I look forward to serving you in Congress.”

Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election will take place from Oct. 17 to Oct. 30.

(The Center Square) - Two Republican candidates are projected to head off to a general election in a congressional district that was redrawn to favor Democrats.

California’s 40th Congressional District was redrawn after the passage of Proposition 50 in November 2025 to favor Democrats in election to the U.S. House of Representatives. However, Republicans have notched wins in several redrawn districts and have now locked out Democrats from securing a win in California’s 40th congressional district.

Under California law, the top two vote getters in each race in the June 2 primary advance to the Nov. 3 general election, regardless of party affiliation.

District 40

U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim, both Republicans, are projected to head to the Nov. 3 election in the 40th Congressional District. Kim and Calvert traded sharp barbs throughout the primary election process.

Kim celebrated the projected win in a statement posted to social media. She criticized Calvert’s record in the U.S. House and his funding mechanisms.

“After more than three decades in Washington, it is time for fresh conservative leadership,” Kim said in a statement. “I will continue fighting to root out fraud, secure borders, for safer, more affordable communities, and a stronger economy.”

Calvert, the longest serving Republican congressman from California and chair of the Defense Appropriations Committee, has been aided in the race from political action committees aligned with defense interests. The Americans 4 Security PAC launched a $2.9 million spending campaign against Kim during the primary election.

Kim’s campaign said Calvert used this money to attack her and prop up another Democrat in the race. Chris Pack, a spokesman for Kim’s campaign, said Calvert is not prepared to face Kim in November.

“They lit that money on fire and now have to face one of the most tested and proven Republicans in the nation,” Pack said. “The electorate is in our favor and the numbers don’t lie. We are ready and spoiling for a fight.”

Kim has received more than $6.6 million toward her campaign, according to the most recent Federal Elections Commission filings. She received contributions from the Goldman Sachs PAC, CitiGroup PAC and Bank of America Federal Corporation PAC.

Kim introduced the PACE Act, legislation that would allow banks and payments companies to get approved for federal registration without using other payment companies in between.

“This means we're going to build a faster, more efficient, more secure payment system that works better for everyday Americans,” Kim said.

District 22

Randy Villegas, a college professor, overcame California Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a fellow Democrat who is also a physician. He will face off against Incumbent Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., in the November general election.

Villegas told The Center Square his campaign has resonated with voters in the central valley because he is not a career politician.

“We cannot win this election by trading one corrupt representative who sold out our communities for another,” Villegas said.

Villegas supported the implementation of what he called a “progressive tax structure” and a 0% interest rate structure for homebuyers.

“Over the long term, we've got to make sure that we are taxing billionaires and millionaires and making sure that they're paying their fair share,” Villegas said. “These are not questions of whether we have the money to do these things. It’s a question of whether we have the political will and the political courage to fight for these policies and that’s what our campaign is committed to do.”

In April, Valadao introduced legislation to reduce administrative barriers for farmers and ranchers to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“By expanding access to fresh, locally-grown food for lower-income families and opening new markets for producers, we can both strengthen our agricultural economy and improve food access across the valley,” Valadao said.

Villegas has raised more than $1.7 million toward the campaign, according to most recent FEC filings. He has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York, and Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, in the general election.

Valadao has a sizable fundraising lead over Villegas, with more than $2.8 million in contributions. He received contributions from Dominion Energy PAC, the American Israel Public Affairs PAC and California Dairies PAC.

Candidates in the redrawn districts will head to the Nov. 3 general election in races that could determine the success of Proposition 50 for California’s congressional Democrats. Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority, and Democrats could take control of the House by flipping a few seats.

(The Center Square) – A majority of American voters support President Donald Trump’s push for diplomacy to bring about an end to the conflict with Iran, according to the latest The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll.

Fifty percent of American voters believe the U.S. should avoid further military action against Iran, instead focusing on diplomacy; whereas 40% of Americans believe the U.S. should continue military operations against Iran to ensure the Islamic Republic  doesn’t develop nuclear weapons, with 10% unsure.

Of the 50% supporting a diplomatic resolution, 74% identify as Democrats, while only identify as Republicans.

Of those who believe the U.S. should continue military action, 64% identify as Republicans and only 18% as Democrats.

The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, a nonpartisan public opinion polling firm, from June 1-4, 2026, and surveyed registered voters nationally via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 2,585 respondents, comprised of 915 Republicans, 1,013 Democrats, and 297 True Independents. The margin of error is +/- 1.93%. It is among the most comprehensive tracking polls in the country.

The conflict in Iran began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes, taking out top Iranian political and military leaders, leaving the country with “disjointed” leadership as described by the Trump administration.

For over a month, the U.S. led intensive strikes on the Islamic Republic, targeting its military infrastructure and gaining air superiority.

The U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, which took effect on April 8. Since then, the U.S. has continued enforcement of a complete naval blockade on Iranian ports, which the Trump administration claims is costing the Islamic Republic $400 to $500 million a day in economic loss.

Despite the blockade, Iran has maintained a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to rise globally.

During the more than two months of the ceasefire, Trump has lobbied hard for a diplomatic resolution, while maintaining that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” as he has told The Center Square multiple times.

The poll comes on the heels of a rollercoaster week for the conflict, which took a sharp turn when an Iranian drone struck a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. While both crew members were rescued unharmed, the incident sparked two days of “self-defensive” strikes.

On Tuesday, it appeared the president had run out of patience with Iran and the long-drawn-out talks, telling reporters that he believed Iran had been “tapping” the U.S. to strike a deal.

Trump warned that time had run out for Iran and that the U.S. was prepared to resume intense military operations in Iran.

“Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Following an additional night of intense strikes, Trump threatened to take control of Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf, which is key to Iran’s economy as it processes nearly 90% of the country’s oil exports.

Within hours, Trump abruptly canceled the strikes, citing a deal had been reached with Iran, proclaiming the war with Iran had been ended.

The president claims a deal could be signed as soon as the weekend, potentially in Europe, with Vice President JD Vance leading a delegation.

More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, new projection shows

More than a dozen newborn lambs cavorted around a fenced-in yard beneath the scrutiny of their mothers and a few watchful students taking turns attending to them.

The lambs’ successful births have been a needed bright spot at tiny Sterling College, which uses a 130-acre farm to teach agriculture and other disciplines in a part of northeastern Vermont so isolated it’s rare to see a passing car, and there’s no cell service.

LillyAnne Keeley, a senior, likes that remoteness. “We have a beautiful view,” said Keeley, in the barn where she’s come for her turn checking on the lambs. “There are beautiful sunsets here. I kind of take it for granted every day.”

She and her classmates have started taking such experiences less for granted now, since Sterling has announced that it will close at the end of this semester.

They’re not the last students who will suffer such disruption, notes The Hechinger Report. A new estimate projects that 442 of the nation’s 1,700 private, nonprofit four-year colleges and universities, with a combined 670,000 students, are at risk of closing or merging within the next 10 years.

More than 120 institutions are at the very highest risk, according to the forecast by Huron Consulting Group, which analyzed enrollment trends, tuition revenue, assets, debt, cash on hand and other measures. Many are, like Sterling, small and rural.

“Now that this might be gone, I just really worry about some students out there that are going to have less and less choices,” Keeley said.

It’s a crisis whose magnitude has been shrouded by political and culture-war attacks on higher education and is propelled by the simple law of supply and demand after a long decline in the number of Americans who are going to college.

“We have too many seats. We have too many classrooms,” said Peter Stokes, a managing director at Huron. “So over the coming five to 10 years, this shakeout is going to take place.”

Sterling — the seventh private college in Vermont to close since 2016 — offers a rare glimpse into the human impact of this trend. That’s because it gave students a final semester to stay and complete their degrees or transfer, rather than locking the doors with hardly any notice, as many other colleges have done.

Fewer than half of students at colleges that close continue their educations, according to the most comprehensive study of the issue, produced by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, or SHEEO. Of those who do, many lose credits they’ve already earned and paid for, and fewer than half eventually earn degrees.

Twenty-year-old Izzy Johnson has already been buffeted by this. The college he originally wanted to attend closed the month before he graduated from high school. So he enrolled in the fall at Sterling — only to learn that it would also close.

“Having to pick up everything and find a new place to settle down is really miserable,” said Johnson, who is weighing where to go next.

Started in 1958 as a prep school for boys, the remote rural college was never very large. Its enrollment peaked at 120 and fell to about 40 students this year, spread around a few white clapboard buildings indistinguishable from the houses of the surrounding farm town of about 1,300 people.

Those numbers weren’t sustainable, even at a work college whose students pitch in on the farm and in the dorms and kitchen, said the president, Scott Thomas. Though financial documents show Sterling had been breaking even, margins were thin. 

In its last semester, the campus appeared surprisingly upbeat. At a weekly community meeting, students, faculty and staff in farm boots and hiking shoes lugged tables to the edge of the dining hall and formed a circle to talk about routine business, including warnings of bears coming out of hibernation and a reminder to provide contact information so everyone could stay in touch after commencement in May.

Students have decided “that we’re just going to have a really good last semester and go out on a really positive note,” said Keeley, who, like several classmates, is cramming to earn the credits she needs to graduate this spring. “And I feel like we’ve been really able to do that so far, but it’s still really sad.”

Most said they were drawn here precisely because of the college’s small size and far-flung location.

“I don’t think I would have done well at a big, traditional college,” said Jack Beatson, a first-year student from California. “I just sort of get freaked out in a big space like that.”

Added Samuel Stover, a senior from Connecticut whose mother also went to Sterling: “I have really amazing role models and instructors and teachers who I feel like I really connect with on a deeper level than just ‘I’m a student and I hand in papers.’ ” 

As more small colleges close, said Keeley, it’s getting harder for students to find this kind of an alternative to what she called “the larger, monotonous type of education.”

People around town are equally concerned about the local impact of the closing — not only the loss of jobs and spending by the few remaining students at the two local cafes and two general stores, but an end to the pipeline through which many graduates have stayed to work or start businesses of their own in a state whose population is the third-oldest in the nation.

“We always joke that Sterling kids stick around. But it’s true, they do, and they contribute to the community,” said Liz Chadwick, who moved from New Jersey in 2013 to finish her bachelor’s degree at the college, where she now teaches food systems, the study of the process by which food is produced and consumed. “They build families here.”

Losing colleges like Sterling “leaves craters in the small rural communities that they have been a part of for, in some instances, decades or a century,” said Thomas.

Paul Lisai, another Sterling grad, stayed and started his own milking herd and creamery in nearby West Glover: Sweet Rowen Farmstead, named for a particularly sweet kind of hay.

“The impact is far beyond the local economic impact,” said Lisai, whose milk, yogurt and 17 types of cheeses are sold around New England and in upstate New York. “For me as a business owner, what I’m scared about most is not having access to that group of like-minded people.” With a state unemployment rate of 2.6%, he said, “Try running a business here. We really struggle to find good folks.”

Many converging reasons explain why colleges and universities are under existential strain.

There are already 2.3 million fewer students than there were in 2010. Now, a drop in the birthrate that began around the same time means there is about to be a further downward slide in the number of 18-year-olds through at least 2041.

The proportion of high school graduates who go on to college is also down, from 70% in 2016 to 61%in 2023, the most recent year for which the figure is available. The number of visas issued for new full-tuition-paying international students coming to the United States plummeted by nearly 100,000 this year, or 36%. And looming caps on federal loans for graduate study, which take effect in July, threaten to reduce demand for yet another crucial source of revenue for universities and colleges.

While higher education institutions previously weathered short-lived declines in enrollment and increases in costs, today “every major revenue stream and expense category is under pressure at the same time,” the higher education consulting firm EAB warns in a new analysis.

Eighty-six percent of college and university leaders are worried about their schools’ long-term financial viability, according to a survey by the American Council on Education, the principal industry association. A fifth of college and university presidents say they’ve had serious discussions about merging with another university or college, a separate survey by Hanover Research and the industry news site Inside Higher Ed found.

Signs of strain are spreading.

Nearly a third of private, nonprofit colleges and universities nationwide posted deficits in 2024, according to research by Robert Kelchen, director of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. More than a third of 44 comparatively small colleges in New England analyzed separately by education consultant Steven Shulman are running out of operating money, Shulman found.

And it’s not just small schools that are affected.

The University of Southern California has sent pink slips to more than 900 employees. Stanford laid off at least 363. Northwestern University eliminated 425 positions. DePaul University laid off 114 employees and closed its art museum, citing a big drop in international graduate enrollment, spiking benefit costs and growing demand for financial aid.

As part of what its president called a “broader strategy to strengthen GW’s long-term financial health,” George Washington University announced in March that it had sold a satellite science and technology campus in Virginia for what the student newspaper reported was $427 million.

The New School in New York said it would cut its workforce by 20%. Rider University in New Jersey reached an agreement in February to sell a fifth of its campus and lease some of its facilities, which will raise the roughly $10 million it needs to avert a financial crisis.

Even public universities and colleges are facing deepening financial problems, reports the Fitch bond-rating agency, citing slowing economic growth and federal policy changes. These include cuts to Medicaid and SNAP that will have to be made up by states, according to SHEEO, which projects a dim outlook for state funding for public universities and colleges.

“We are seeing state funding pressure now in a way that we wouldn’t have expected perhaps five or 10 years ago,” said Emily Wadhwani, senior director and sector lead for education and nonprofits at Fitch. “We are seeing federal funding pressure now in a way that we would not have expected a few years ago.”

Community colleges, too — which enroll nearly 5.6 million students — are suffering financial squeezes that leave them less able to adapt or respond to change, according to Daniel Greenstein, former chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, who now tracks financial exposure in the industry.

In this case, wrote Greenstein, “The risk is not a sudden collapse of the sector. The risk is a slow erosion of capacity in precisely the institutions on which communities rely most.”

Still, after two and a half decades in which the price of tuition has increased more than 40% faster than inflation, for a payoff consumers no longer think is worth the money, higher education gets limited sympathy for its predicament — and even less after years of political and culture war attacks on the ideological leanings of faculty and leadership.

“Free market wins!” quipped one commenter on social media, in response to Sterling College’s announcement that it would close. “They woked themselves right out of business,” wrote another. Added a third: “Now where will they teach all the 20 year olds to protest and whine?”

Among its students, however, Sterling elicits something increasingly rare among higher education institutions: gratitude.

“I’m so glad I got to spend at least a year here,” said first-year student Jack Beatson. “Just feeling like you’re really part of something, and other people depend on you — that’s very important to young people especially, and today especially.”

Beatson is transferring to another small college in upstate New York. But even after Sterling closes, he said, “We’ll all take this place with us, wherever we end up.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

(The Center Square) – Another Guatemalan human smuggling ring has been busted, this time in Ohio. 

In this case, three Guatemalan nationals, all illegally in the country, were indicted in connection to an international smuggling ring of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and defrauding the government. 

UACs are minors trafficked to the U.S. border and smuggled into the U.S. under the guise of reuniting with family. In reality, many have been trafficked through a complex network run by transnational criminal organizations. Once UACs arrive in the U.S., federal law requires that their oversight and care be administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. 

The Cleveland, Ohio, smuggling conspiracy occurred between December 2020 and October 2023, prosecutors allege, facilitated through the submission of multiple fraudulent sponsorship applications to ORR to illegally gain custody of UACs. Multiple UAC sponsorship applications were submitted using aliases’ birth certificates and Guatemalan consular ID cards and falsely claiming to be UACs’ close relatives to obtain custody, according to the charges. Successful applications result in sponsors receiving funds from the federal government. Those facilitating the scheme received taxpayer money, according to the charges.   

Charges include conspiring to defraud the United States, harboring aliens, and encouraging and inducing illegal foreign nationals to illegally enter the U.S., making false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, they face up to decades in prison. 

“We will not tolerate criminals that use deceptive and fraudulent practices to deliberately abuse our immigration programs for their financial gain,” U.S. Attorney David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio said. “If your business plan is to smuggle others into our country for a profit – especially children – you will come face to face with a federal judge for violating our country’s laws. We owe a debt of gratitude to the federal investigators who brought this dark truth to light taking place right here in Northern Ohio. We will aggressively prosecute these alleged crimes and bring those responsible for such actions to justice.”

In another Ohio case, a Guatemalan national pleaded guilty to arranging for a 14-year-old girl to be smuggled into the U.S. using a coyote, instructing her to use his sister’s name and birth certificate so he could falsely claim on his ORR application he was her brother. ORR didn’t vet the information and his application was approved. After he received custody, he sexually assaulted her. He was prosecuted and convicted of sexual battery and is serving two consecutive 4-year sentences in Ohio. He also pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges, making false statements on his application and aggravated identity theft. 

Under the Biden administration, ORR often placed UACs with unvetted sponsors, background checks weren’t performed, UACs were released to alleged gang members, human traffickers, non-family members and sent to non-residential addresses, federal inspector general audits and a Florida grand jury found, The Center Square reported.

On Thursday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ had identified more than 475,000 UACs smuggled into the U.S. during the Biden administration. The Trump administration has found 176,000 of them; 300,000 remain unaccounted for; there are more than 15,500 illegal sponsor cases being prosecuted, The Center Square reported.

For decades, Guatemalan human smuggling operations have profited hundreds of millions of dollars from illegally transporting people into the United States. Once in the U.S., they facilitate human trafficking, a crime of exploitation for profit. Human smuggling and trafficking are two separate but linked crimes.

In 2024, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico prosecuted one of the largest Guatemalan human smuggling cases in U.S. history at the time against eight leaders of the Guatemala-based Lopez Human Smuggling Organization. Members were arrested in California, Arizona and Florida in a coordinated, multistate enforcement operation.

The organization reportedly generated between $104 million and $416 million in illicit proceeds from human smuggling operations between September 2020 and April 2023, The Center Square reported. By 2025, nine of the 10 Lopez crime family members had pleaded guilty and received light sentences. One family member remains a fugitive.

By 2024, nearly one million Guatemalans had illegally entered the U.S. primarily through the southwest border during the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported. Midwestern states like Nebraska were grappling with increased border crimes: Guatemalans were being prosecuted for identity theft, stealing from Americans to work in meat processing plants, The Center Square reported. 

By 2025, thousands of foreign nationals were being prosecuted in Tennessee for a range of border crimes, including nearly 600 Guatemalans arrested in just a three-month period. 

In California and Arizona, four Guatemalan human smuggling ringleaders were indicted on multiple counts for orchestrating what law enforcement said was one of the largest human smuggling organizations in America. 

Their operation reportedly smuggled roughly 20,000 Guatemalans into the U.S. over a period of five years. Overall, the smuggling operation was active for roughly 12 years nationwide, The Center Square reported.

In February, another Guatemalan smuggling ring was busted in Idaho. In this case, smuggled and trafficked UACs were subjected to forced physical labor, The Center Square reported.

(The Center Square) – Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche dropped a bombshell of data on Thursday describing Trump administration efforts to find hundreds of thousands of missing unaccompanied alien children (UACs). UACs are minors trafficked to the U.S. border and smuggled into the U.S. under the guise of reuniting with family. In reality, many have been trafficked through a complex network run by transnational criminal organizations. 

More than 475,000 UACs were trafficked to the U.S. during the Biden administration. More than 300,000 were unaccounted as of the end of 2024, Blanche said at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

“The way that this happened is criminals trafficked these children to the border usually committing fraud to do so,” he said. “Oftentimes the children were abused, assaulted and certainly exploited.”

Once UACs arrive in the U.S., federal law requires that their oversight and care be administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. The ORR has historically sent the majority of children to live with so-called sponsors.

Under the Biden administration, ORR often placed UACs with unvetted sponsors, background checks weren’t performed, UACs were released to alleged gang members, human traffickers, non-family members and sent to non-residential addresses, federal inspector general audits and a Florida grand jury found, The Center Square reported.

“In some cases, individuals would sponsor multiple children, which required them to lie to government personnel and on government forms claiming they were close relatives when in fact they were not,” Blanche said. “They would use fake or stolen identities and make other false claims during the application process in order to obtain custody of the children.”

The crimes committed against hundreds of thousands of children are a direct result of the federal government failing “to protect our borders,” Blanche said. As a result, “it is the most vulnerable who suffer.” 

Last fall, the Trump administration launched a welfare check initiative with multiple federal agencies attempting to locate the UACs, The Center Square reported. The Trump administration is also still releasing UACs to sponsors. 

U.S. attorneys nationwide are prosecuting human traffickers and smugglers, including of UACs, as well as those who put UACs into forced labor and sex trafficking schemes.

There are more than 15,500 super-sponsor cases the DOJ has identified along with the Department of Homeland Security, Blanche said. Super-sponsor cases involve individuals who sponsor more than three unrelated UACs. The cases involve sexual assault of children, “the stuff of nightmares,” he said. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said, “When we started digging into these cases, we started hearing the absolute horrific things that took place under the Biden administration. It was true neglect, at best, and criminal, at worst, to allow 450,000 kids to go missing throughout this country.”

Thanks to Congress fulling funding federal immigration enforcement over the next three years, he said, “We're able to push and go find these kids.” 

So far, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS, the DOJ and other agencies have found 146,000 UACs, Mullin said. “We still have nearly 300,000 missing.” 

“We're investigating reports” in response to children claiming “they've been raped 600 to 700 times,” he said. 

“I don't care who you are. I don't care if you have kids, you don't have kids. I don't care if you're a liberal, you're an Independent, you're a Democrat, you're a Republican. If you can't stand for law enforcement to go find these kids, who are you?”

Mullin also said federal agents have found the majority of UACs in so-called sanctuary cities run by Democrats. He criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who’s opposed ICE operations. “He knows what's happening in the streets. He knows who he's harboring, and at this point, abetting, by saying that we can't go operate,” Mullin said.

“We're going to go find the worst of the worst” in New York City, he said. “We're going to rescue as many kids as we possibly can. We're going to enforce our nation's laws and we're going to right the wrongs that the Biden administration turned a blind eye to.” 

“Four years of a blind eye allowed unvetted sponsors to come pick up 450,000 kids on our borders knowing … it was reported that over a third of the females regardless of age were sexually assaulted before they made it to the border,” he said. The Biden administration “knew it was human traffickers who were trafficking these young kids to the border. Then they didn’t vet the so-called sponsors. There were zero wellness checks.” 

ICE officers are finding the children, “the same individuals that the Democrats want to demonize. Every single day it is our law enforcement out there doing that job,” Mullin said. 

To missing children, he said, “we're going to find you.” 

To their abusers, he said, “we're going to bring you to justice.”

Since the women’s javelin became an event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 1982, there have been only six women to win back-to-back titles. On Thursday in Eugene, Oregon, that number remained as such.

Mizzou’s Valentina Barrios placed fourth with a throw of 187 feet, six inches, ending her bid for a title defense. The Colombian product would have been the second Tiger in program history to earn more than one national title, a list that only includes Mizzou legend Karissa Schweizer, who earned five track titles.

At last year’s outdoor championships, Barrios secured the title with a program record throw of 203-5.

Competing alongside Barrios, Mizzou Ph. D. candidate Skylar Ciccolini finished 19th with a throw of 160-2. Though Ciccolini entered ranked fifth nationally, she closed her Missouri career with her fourth appearance on the national stage.

In Wednesday’s action, Mizzou senior Sam Innes finished 23rd in the men’s hammer throw with a throw of 206-8.

The small but mighty throwers contingent wrapped up their contention, concluding the Tigers’ season on the biggest stage.