They went to jail for minor crimes. Sepsis was a death sentence. Short jail stays for minor crimes turn deadly when filth and a lack of care let infections run out of control, a USA TODAY investigation found. www.usatoday.com/story/news/i... via Austin Fast

I am fascinated by the far-reaching effects of the AWS outage earlier this week and feeling grateful my bed is dumb: www.404media.co/the-aws-outa...

MrBeast, the world’s most subscribed to YouTuber, and East Carolina University announced a credentialing program back in 2022. It was supposed to debut in 6-12 months, but nearly 3 years later there’s no sign of it. What happened? I tried to find out: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

what happens when the “move fast and break things” ideology collides with higher ed. great story from @chrisquintana.bsky.social: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

MrBeast, the world’s most subscribed to YouTuber, and East Carolina University announced a credentialing program back in 2022. It was supposed to debut in 6-12 months, but nearly 3 years later there’s no sign of it. What happened? I tried to find out: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

I sat down with the Ohio State President, Ted Carter, for a wide ranging discussion that included why the university banned chalking on sidewalks and why he doesn't feel targeted by the Trump administration even while facing federal inquires: www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Pres. Trump says the Smithsonian Institution is too "woke." My colleagues + I went to several museums + interviewed visitors to assess his concerns. Here's what we found: www.usatoday.com/story/news/p... @chrisquintana.bsky.social @stephenbeard.bsky.social @duanegang.bsky.social @usatoday.com

A question for the academics, I am looking for folks who can speak, on-record or background, about developing a certificate program for a university as a third party. I am looking for sources on either side of this equation. DMs are open and I am @ [email protected], thanks!

Liberty University is facing a second lawsuit accusing it of mishandling sexual assault cases, my latest: www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

It was the Senate's last vote on Friday night, but Trump's pick to oversee higher ed was confirmed in a 50-45 vote. More on Nicholas Kent, his time working with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and his ties to for-profit colleges here: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

The Trump administration is seeking to dramatically reshape higher education across the U.S. For @usatoday.com, @chrisquintana.bsky.social takes a deep dive looking at the man Trump wants leading the charge. www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...

Meet the man President Trump wants in charge of higher ed policy. He worked for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a for-profit college trade group, and a company that paid the gov $13 million to settle accusations of gaming the financial aid system, my latest: www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...

Varsity Blues mastermind Rick Singer can advise aspiring college students, but only if he prominently displays the following disclosure on his website per a district judge. No sign of Singer or the disclosure on the home page of his new biz, ID Future Stars as of today:

Smoky Hills @pbs.org is a rural station that sits in the heart of Kansas wheat country. It's among the places that advocates fear could be hardest hit if the Senate votes to claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. My latest for @usatoday.com:

New Lumina/Gallup survey data show a slight uptick in the share of respondents who have confidence in higher education, with Republicans giving much more support to community colleges than four-year institutions. It's a rare bit of good news for the sector. news.gallup.com/poll/692519/...

Exclusive: The Trump administration’s postponement of a summer meeting for a college-accreditation panel has set off alarm bells in an obscure but powerful corner of higher education.

Back to the Future turns 40 today, which gives me a great excuse to repost the movie's take on a USA TODAY front page. We're still chasing that 3 minute mile!

Interesting piece from Governing that synthesizes many of the biggest challenges facing higher ed, including enrollment cliff, federal funding cuts, changing perception about the value of a degree and other factors. Striking open too with the closure of Fontbonne U. in St. Louis:

Brief update, Senate version would cap the college endowment tax at 8% instead of the House's max rate of 21%. Also, only three tax tiers now, instead of four. Religious carveout remains in place, via Senate Finance Committee: www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...

I'm heading to New Orleans this week for the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference! Will also be on a panel Thursday w/ @arionne.bsky.social and @merkolodner.bsky.social talking about some of the underreported but important higher ed stories worth chasing. Let's chat if you're there!

Every time, via recent essay about paying off student loans fast in Biz Insider:

Treasury is developing new rules that would strip the tax-exempt status of colleges that are deemed to be using race in any way, aligning with the administration's executive orders. This flew under the radar yesterday with everything going on.

ED is pressuring Columbia's accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, to take action against the school tied to the government's finding that it violated the rights of Jewish students. Accreditors are a key part of how universities get federal financial aid.

Today for @usatoday.com, @chrisquintana.bsky.social and @brieannafrank.bsky.social explore the religious exemption in the big college endowment tax hike included in the White House spending bill. Will every religious institution qualify? www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake for some schools with a new endowment tax plan included in the spending bill. An exemption for religious schools est. after July 4, 1776 has the potential for First Amendment challenges. More from me/@chrisquintana.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/s6czkbhn

Just got off a plane for EWA in St. Louis. Excited to be on a panel tomorrow at 10:45 geared toward comms professionals pitching to journalists! Plan to share some of the most off-topic pitches I've received. If you're there, let's connect!

In a 4-4 vote, the court rejected a bid by the Catholic Church in Oklahoma to create the nation's first religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself in the case, enabling the vote to end in a deadlock.

This is a good example of looking deep into a nonprofit organization's tax forms. @chrisquintana.bsky.social reports on how much Liberty University paid out to ex-president Jerry Falwell Jr. to end litigation stemming from his resignation back in 2020.

My friend @chrisquintana.bsky.social continues to keep up with Liberty University drama, the latest being a discovery in tax documents of the Christian higher ed behemoth paying former president Jerry Jr. $15 million to settle litigation. www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...

Liberty University and its former president Jerry Falwell Jr. settled years of legal fighting in 2024. At the time, both sides said they reached an agreement without sharing details. But newly filed tax forms reveal Falwell is set to receive roughly $15M.

In two diff interviews this week, Ed Sec. McMahon criticized the regional accreditor model. Her predecessor, Betsy DeVos, already axed the distinction between national/regional accreditors.

The list of announcements on Nelnet's website keeps growing, most recent add is tied to ED restarting collections on defaulted loans:

Seeing suggestions Harvard take the Hillsdale route and to reject federal support if they don’t want the Administration's oversight. Hillsdale, though, benefits from tax-exempt status, does that mean it's subject to laws like Title IX that are contingent on getting fed money? 🧵

Seeing suggestions Harvard take the Hillsdale route and to reject federal support if they don’t want the Administration's oversight. Hillsdale, though, benefits from tax-exempt status, does that mean it's subject to laws like Title IX that are contingent on getting fed money? 🧵

I’m here in El Salvador where @vanhollen.senate.gov is due to speak in about an hour on his attempts to contact #kilmar Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen arrived this morning from DC and is hoping to bring Abrego Garcia home but it’s unclear what access he’s been given here/success he’s had. More later

Fake experts abound online in the AI era. They're fooling media outlets: pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/d...

EXCLUSIVE: We got internal DHS/FBI documents that question the use of tattoos to identify members of Tren de Aragua, the criminal gang at the center of the Trump administration's deportation storm: www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Not bitter then, and definitely not bitter now:

NEW: Last week, the Trump administration announced it was slashing the Education Department's workforce in half. This week, the president signed an order declaring he was dismantling the agency "once and for all." In the interim, FSA staffers were quietly rehired. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Lots of attention on Columbia, but Ed. Dept today announced 45 Title VI investigations into universities that partnered with The Ph.D. Project, a group focused on diversifying biz school faculty. Lots of prominent privates, but also many big state schools:

Wow...the USDA is trying to pull $100 million in funding from the University of Maine over a tiny number of trans students playing K-12 sports in the state. www.pressherald.com/2025/03/11/u...

Delightful, Western Illinois University highlighted Niall Hartnett, an academic advisor, and folks have since realized he bears a resemblance to Tim Robinson of I Think You Should Leave fame. The responses are expected but a joy (also students saying they appreciated his help):

University of Phoenix's parent company weighs sale or a public offering. University of Idaho has been in talks to acquire the for-profit giant: finance.yahoo.com/news/apollo-...

Articles like this, where Harvard is centered as the soul of US higher ed by someone who "coincidentally" graduated from Harvard, is exactly why we did all that research looking at where news article authors go to college 1/ www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

In 2019, President Trump signed an EO that would strip universities of research funding if they failed to uphold free speech. Admin then said student federal aid wouldn't be affected. Unclear what "all federal funding" entails in today's post. Story from then here: www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Fun piece from colleagues Rick Jervis/Marco della Cava on the impact of Gene Hackman on Santa Fe. I had forgotten he co-owned Jinja! www.usatoday.com/story/entert...

The Education Department, which President Trump's administration wants to abolish, today announced a new portal "to submit reports of discrimination based on race or sex in publicly-funded K-12 schools." Announcement featured Mom's for Liberty cofounder, Tiffany Justice:

NEW LAWSUIT: A Title IX investigator at Liberty University alleged his boss harassed his peers and “prejudged” cases. The investigator was fired: www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Supreme Court of New Mexico Reverses Murder Conviction With Prejudice Because Prosecutor Called the Defendant a Witch Who Controlled Her Husband With Menstrual Blood: tinyurl.com/5exm8w2