New: Looks like ~4.9 million people were affected in a hack of FL's student financial aid portal, which helps administer the Bright Futures scholarship. "The information compromised was Personal Identifiable Information including Social Security number." www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

FL student scholarship website hacked, up to 4.9 million affected. What we know

The department says the breach was stopped, but it sought Social Security numbers and “may have impacted approximately 4.9 million” people.

miamiherald.com

ICYMI: We ran FL's Education Commissioner's writings – memos, published opeds, tweets – through Pangram. Most of them came back as majority or 100% AI. Some were used to argue against letting AI do work for students. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

AI detector flags much of Florida education chief’s writing as AI-generated

Florida’s education commissioner appears to use AI to warn against students’ use of AI.

miamiherald.com

New: Florida Ed Commissioner Henry Mack has helped the state usher in stricter AI standards in schools At the same time, most of his writing (posts, memos, speeches, etc) has been flagged as AI-generated or “possibly AI" by top detector service Pangram. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Florida’s education chief warns against AI in schools. Is he using it himself?

Florida’s Education Commissioner appears to be using AI in much of his writing, according to the leading AI writing detection service.

miamiherald.com

New: Miami-Dade County Public Schools is down ~16k students this October compared to last year. Unlike previous counts, this one (the official October "FTE" count) will hit the district's pocketbook. It also marks the first YoY loss for charter schools. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Miami-Dade public schools lose nearly 16,000 students. What it means for funding

Unlike previous reported enrollment numbers from this year, the October count directly affects how much money the district gets.

miamiherald.com

I tend to think the fundamentals still make this is a "Lean R" race, though Dembo has undeniably run a good campaign

Mario Anderson@marioandersontv.bsky.social · last wk.

#NEW | Cook Political Report this morning moved #KY06 between Ralph Alvarado and Zach Dembo to the toss-up category today from "Leans Republican", one of 19 ratings changes in the Democrats' direction.

RETVRN

POV: You’re about to play the longest and most complicated board game of your life.

Bill Childs@billchilds.bsky.social · 2w ago

I did not know that some states permit one guy to run against himself, but with a hat and without glasses

New: US Ed Secretary Linda McMahon visited Miami this week to announce the "Education Freedom Tax Credit," which starts in Jan. Private schools like the one she visited are very happy with the program. But will FL public schools benefit? www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Private schools cheer new federal scholarships. Can FL public schools also benefit?

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Miami to tout a new federal tax credit for Florida schools. Where will the money go?

miamiherald.com

New: The FIU Faculty Senate passed a statement urging school admin to put interim law dean Daniel Epstein on leave. They're recommending he be sidelined pending his appeal of sanctions against him for his role as Trump's personal attorney in the IRS case. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

FIU faculty want law school dean sidelined over sanctions tied to Trump lawsuit

“Only if he is cleared of the findings of professional misconduct should he return to the position of interim dean,” the statement reads.

miamiherald.com

I recently resigned from the Herald-Leader as a result of McClatchy’s continued attacks on quality journalism. I’m launching an independent website dedicated to objective Kentucky basketball coverage. And I’d appreciate your support! Here’s more: www.insidekentuckybasketball.com/welcome-to-i...

Inside Kentucky Basketball: A new site for Wildcats coverage

Introducing a new website dedicated to independent coverage of the UK men's basketball team from former Herald-Leader beat writer Ben Roberts.

insidekentuckybasketball.com

NEW: It's time to talk about playoff projections. Plus comparing Will Stein's start to other UK coaches, what this means for roster budget moving forward and more in the weekly UK mailbag. www.kentucky.com/sports/colle...

Mailbag: It’s time to look at Kentucky football’s playoff projections

UK’s playoff chances, Will Stein’s fast start, future investment, kicking miscues and more are on the table in this week’s mailbag.

kentucky.com

So, Nick Sortor is in the news again amp.kentucky.com/news/politic...

He went from KY political unknown to MAGA fame. He faces jail if he returns home

Nick Sortor has built a following for pro-Trump posts and on-site disaster coverage. He’s also been absconding on probation in Kentucky.

amp.kentucky.com

Florida’s education funding formula is the primary way schools get money. For the first time ever in Miami-Dade, that formula is set to send more state tax $ to private school vouchers than to public/charter schools. More on the milestone & why it matters: amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Vouchers are set to get more than half of Miami-Dade’s state per pupil funds

Florida’s funding formula is estimated to send Miami-Dade families $766 million for vouchers compared to $737 million to public schools.

amp.miamiherald.com

New: One of Miami's biggest-name private schools (Christopher Columbus High School) proposed to buy/long-term lease an active elementary school. The district has pretty much told them: no. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Columbus High wants to buy a public elementary school. The district says no

The Catholic school’s proposal was to demolish the public elementary school and build new facilities, including an aquatic center.

miamiherald.com

Starting to think EKU should just redo their whole thing. Doesn’t have to be the elk. But I’m pretty sure “yassified colonel” isn’t quite it.

RedditCFB@redditcfb.com · 4w ago

EKU has updated their Colonel logo.

Just getting word that there’s No Dancing Like Stars Dancing. Will continue to monitor.

Mississippi State should consider changing their colors. The maroon is juice-less. Black & gray, lavender, brown, a weird green. Food for thought.

New: Miami already has universities. Why Ken Griffin bet $2 billion on building a new one with Carnegie Mellon. Lots of takes in here. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Miami has universities. Why Ken Griffin bet $2 billion on building a new one

Ken Griffin says “great cities are anchored by great universities.” Why did he pick Carnegie Mellon to create a new $2 billion Miami campus?

miamiherald.com

New: Education in Florida is changing fast. Public schools are closing as FL empowers parents to send their children to privately-run schools. Is that good or bad? I went long on how voters choice for gov might reflect how they feel about that question. www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...

Florida schools are at a tipping point. Donalds and Jolly have different visions

Public schools are closing as the state empowers parents to send their children to privately-run schools. Is that good or bad?

miamiherald.com

New: I went to the "South Florida K-12 Real Estate Summit." With public schools shrinking, developers & private school operators see a big opportunity to grab valuable, scarce land – often with voucher-funded students to use as "leverage" for financing. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Developers see opportunity as South FL’s largest landowners — schools — shrink

One private school administrator called the money from universal private school vouchers “a leverage opportunity for capital.”

miamiherald.com

New: Daniel Epstein – the new FIU law dean and one of Trump's personal attorneys – argued court sanctions over the IRS case “wrongly impugn his integrity... and fitness to lead a law school.” An 11th circuit panel refused to pause those sanctions. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Court won’t pause sanctions against FIU law dean over Trump IRS case

Attorneys wrote the sanctions “wrongly impugn his integrity... and fitness to lead a law school.” A panel of judges refused to pause them.

miamiherald.com

Today is my last day at the Lexington Herald-Leader. After more than seven years as a journalist in my home state of Kentucky and more than four on this wonderful team, I'm embarking on a new (and unknown) chapter. But first, I'd like to recap some of my favorite work for @kentucky.com.

My 10:

The secret to Hailey Bieber's viral 'chicky meatballs' is a scoop of something most people don't like

Lexington Herald-Leader@kentucky.com · last mo.

Ground chicken, Italian seasoning, one egg and a topping nobody expected — this is the simplest viral recipe of 2026.

Tessa has done a great job steering the Bluegrass Politics ship for the last several years. It is really quite sad to see this team get erased from KY's news landscape & she's played a huge role in its successes. Kentucky's loss, but a big gain for whichever outlet or organization she ends up at.

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall.bsky.social · last mo.

An editor’s farewell to Bluegrass Politics:

Topics of often-tense discussion at FIU President Jeanette Nuñez's meeting with the Faculty Senate: - her $400k bonus while faculty raises are paused - hiring of Trump attorney Daniel Epstein - a campus pig roast www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

FIU faculty question $400k bonus for president as university tightens spending

The meeting between FIU President Jeanette Nuñez and the school’s Faculty Senate grew testy at times.

miamiherald.com

Doing a full watch-thru of Miami Vice and it's crazy they were just letting Michael Mann crank out R-rated tone poems on network television. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAng...

Godley & Creme - Cry 12" Extended Mix (Miami Vice)

YouTube video by Crockettontheshore

youtube.com

Last week, half of my coworkers at the Lexington Herald-Leader were laid off. Veteran reporters who have been here for 25 years along with recent hires who moved to Kentucky in the last year for the job were let go. If you can, please consider: www.gofundme.com/f/support-la...

Donate to Support laid off Lexington Herald-Leader journalists, organized by Ryan Hermens

On Thursday, Sept. 10, 13 journalists were laid off from the Lexin… Ryan Hermens needs your support for Support laid off Lexington Herald-Leader journalists

gofundme.com