UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — John Carroll University will host on Friday (Feb. 13) the 2026 annual Ohio Peace & Conflict Studies Network (OPCSN) Conference, which will bring together faculty, students, and nonprofit organizations from across the state to explore how civic engagement can serve as a powerful form of peacebuilding to create and strengthen democratic practices.

The conference, titled “Strengthening Democracy through Civic Engagement & Peacebuilding,” will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at John Carroll University, 1 John Carooll Blvd. in University Heights.

The public is invited to participate by registering, through Feb. 11, here. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students from 16 colleges and universities across Ohio have already registered to attend.

Presentations will be centered on the work of Ohio colleges and universities, as well as community organizations engaged in related efforts statewide.

Registration for the conference includes a light breakfast and lunch, with fees set at $35 for members of the general public; $25 for Ohio college and university faculty, staff, and administrators; and $10 for Ohio college students.

John Carroll will be the first Jesuit university to host the OPCSN conference. Over the years, JCU has supported collaboration and growth in the field of peace and conflict studies through hosting an international college and university seminar, developing courses and programs, and training faculty, staff and students in conflict management and sustained dialogue.

The event will be hosted by JCU’s Tuohy Center for Interreligious Understanding, Peace, Justice & Human Rights program; Center for Service Learning & Social Action, and Office of Student Experience & Campus Belonging.

The conference is co-sponsored by Wilmington College’s Peace Resource Center and Community Campus Coalition, with partners that include The Ohio State University’s Divided Community Project and the University of Akron’s Center for Conflict Management.

The annual OPCSN conference convenes Ohio colleges and universities committed to peace studies, justice, and conflict transformation.

This year’s theme focuses on how civic engagement — through local governance, community organizing, dialogue across differences, and media literacy — can strengthen democratic institutions and foster more just and inclusive communities.

Ohio currently has more than 19 colleges and universities with peace and conflict studies programs, making the state one of the foremost regional hubs for peace education in the country.

“Ohio has a long history of innovative statewide work in the field of alternative dispute resolution, conflict management, and peace studies,” said Jennifer Batton, who is Conflict Management Training Instructor at the University of Akron’s Center for Conflict Management and Coordinator for OPCSN, in a release.

“As early as 1989 the Supreme Court of Ohio Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was created by the Chief Justice to explore how ADR methods could be used across the state and the non-partisan Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management was created to incorporate these methods and programs into education, court and community, and state and local government.

“The OPCSN was built on this foundation, from work supported state-wide in higher education, in order to help students develop the knowledge, skills and abilities to solve their local and global communities’ most pressing problems.”

This year’s OPCSN conference will feature:

• An opening panel with representatives from John Carroll University, The Ohio State University, and Kent State University’s Growing Democracy Project
• Student poster sessions highlighting civic and peacebuilding initiatives across Ohio
• Two rounds of interactive workshops and panels focused on community engagement, dialogue, and democratic participation
• A networking luncheon for OPCSN member institutions

For more information, visit ohiopeaceandconflict.org.

The latest batch of Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed an Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center OB-GYN receiving payments from the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s firm in the early 2000s.

Multiple documents, including FedEx receipts, mention Dr. Mark Landon, the chair of OSU’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In an email between Epstein and an attorney he worked with, Darren Indyke, Epstein wrote that they were paying Landon $75,000 a year. The email didn’t mention what they were paying Landon for.

Indyke wrote to Epstein in 2006 and said “Are we still paying Mark Landon?… Eric was dealing with this, so I am not sure what was decided when the previous payment was made. Landon’s agreement requires quarterly payments of $30k to be made to Landon on the 15th of January, April, July and October. The previous payment made to Landon was for $25,000 and not $30,000. The contract is terminable at will on 15 days’ prior notice. Is NYSG to make payment to Landon by January 15th and if so for $25K or $30K? Please advise.”

“75 per year,” Epstein responded.

The FedEx receipts date back to 2001, but don’t indicate what was being sent in the packages.

In a statement sent to WOSU, Landon denies providing any care to Epstein or his victims.

“I was a paid consultant for the New York Strategy Group regarding potential biotech investments from 2001 to 2005. I had no knowledge of any criminal activities; I find them reprehensible and I feel terrible for Epstein’s victims,” Landon said.

The New York Strategy Group was Epstein’s money management firm. Epstein died by suicide in a jail cell while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking underage girls.

For years, Epstein worked for Central Ohio billionaire Les Wexner, who the medical center is named for. Epstein allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the billionaire.

At the time, he was paying Landon, Epstein owned land in New Albany which was sold to him by Wexner.

Wexner is set to testify before Congress this month about his close relationship with Epstein.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – It wasn’t exactly a barnburner as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faced off in Super Bowl 60, as each team’s defense stepped up.

NBC brought in more than 80 cameras and 150 microphones to cover the game. If you’re a viewer at home, that’s good. If you’re a bettor and you wagered on the over (45.5), you probably were sick before halftime.

Note: For occasional nationally televised games, we analyze how networks do with coverage. We’re on the lookout for potential bias, smart graphics, quips, quotes and more. Here’s our look at Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

Here’s a look at how NBC did with its coverage of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California:

The announcers

Mike Tirico (play by play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporters) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst).

Storyline / overview

Tirico calls a solid game and Collinsworth offers decent analysis without too much yuck-yuck. It wasn’t a scorching high-scoring game, but it remained mostly close. The quarterbacks are always hyped, but it became clear early on each defense seemed up to the challenge. By the time the third quarter wound down, with Seattle up 12-0, it was a surprise either announcer didn’t tout a team defense as MVP. The Patriots, we heard in the third quarter, had not had a snap inside the Seattle 43-yard line. That changed, but overall it was a defensive game.

How to improve football: 3 radical ideas and an agent’s opinion

Did you catch …

… Coco Jones singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing?” She’s Donovan Mitchell’s fiancée.

… the bumper to the game coming out of commercials was a collection of circuits, reflective of the Silicon Valley, where the game was held.

… bumper music featuring Huey Lewis and the News? The band formed in the Bay Area. But after a Patriots’ fourth-quarter touchdown, Boston’s “Piece of Mind” played.

Super Bowl 60 ads: Cameos galore, AI, humor – what worked, what didn’t

In the air

Pregame, members of four Navy tactical squadrons conducted a unified flyover above the stadium with members of the Air Force. Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Martin, a native of Lyndhurst, was among those supporting the flyover, the Navy said.

Want to know everything about Super Bowl LX? Here are 60 facts on Patriots vs. Seahawks

Celeb spotting

Caught on camera at the game: Roger Federer, Jon Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Adam Sandler and Hailey and Justin Bieber. Not to mention the much-hyped halftime show of Bad Bunny with appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

Evan Mobley to Chuck Kyle and beyond: Notable Clevelanders predict Super Bowl 60

Sights and sounds

• With 31 seconds remaining in the first half, NBC showed a graphic detailing wind patterns. Notoriously tricky in Northern California, and appropriate as Seattle angled for a field goal.

• With nine NFL games to be played in other countries next season, it was no surprise NBC aired snippets of watch parties around the world, including Cologne, Germany; Melbourne, Australia and London.

The numbers game

• With 3:15 to go in the second quarter, Tirico noted there has never been a penalty-free half in the Super Bowl. Six seconds later: Flag, false start, New England tackle Will Campbell.

• Maye was sacked six times.

• Tirico noted the game is a reflection of the season, with eight of the top 10 scoring defenses making the playoffs.

• Before the first play of the game a graphic showed Sam Darnold’s 30 wins since 2024 are the most by a starting quarterback. (He was with Minnesota in 2024.)

• As the Patriots began their first series, a graphic flashed showing that Drake Maye is the 2nd youngest quarterback starter in Super Bowl behind Dan Marino.

• The Patriots had 30 players in their first year in the league – most ever for a Super Bowl team.

• Seattle became the first Super Bowl-winning team to get through the postseason without any turnovers.

Collinsworth quips

• “There’s been nobody able to cover him one-on-one this year.” – Collinsworth on Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who played at Ohio State.

• “A pick-six might decide this thing.” – Collinsworth, late in the first quarter.

• “This is getting wild, haymakers being thrown by both defenses.” – Collinsworth.

• “I’ve just got to say what I’m thinking, Mike. They (Patriots) are playing this game a little bit like they did against Denver a week ago in the snowstorm, but this defense from Seattle is having the same impact as the snow.” – Collinsworth (though the AFC Championship was two weeks ago).

• “He’s throwing it before he has to, and they are missing opportunities.” – Collinsworth on Maye.

• “I got nothing.” – Collinsworth on Maye’s horrible pass that was intercepted in the fourth quarter.

Hyperbole of the night

• If you can’t block a four-man rush, “you have almost no chance to win a football game. This has been one of the most brilliant performances I have ever seen in the National Football League.” – Collinsworth after the Seahawks sacked Maye late in the third quarter and recovered the fumble.

Hits …

After New England’s K’Lavon Chaisson pressured Darnold, Collinsworth put the blame on the quarterback, not the offensive line. It’s a good point, not to always blame the O line on every pass-protection breakdown. He also noted the Patriots switched to a six-man front in the fourth because they wanted to force Seattle to pass.

… and misses

A fan ran on the field with 12:54 to go in the fourth quarter, and – per usual – the network didn’t show it. It’s part of what is happening during coverage, and while some will argue showing it will glorify the yahoos, an argument can be made to air it and let viewers have their own opinion.

This and that, Northeast Ohio-style

• AJ Barner – who attended Aurora High School, had a very solid game, with four catches on four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. Seahawks receiver Smith-Njigba tallied four catches for 27 yards. He left in the second half briefly under concussion protocol but returned.

• Jason Garrett, one of four halftime analysts and former NFL quarterback and coach, attended University School.

Next up

The NFL Draft is Thursday to Saturday, April 23-25, on the North Shore near Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Bonus

For those who played Super Bowl squares …

First quarter: Seahawks 3, Patriots 0 (3-0)

Second quarter: Seahawks 9, Patriots 0 (9-0)

Third quarter: Seahawks 2, Patriots 0 (12-0)

Final: Seahawks 9, Patriots 3 (29-13)