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Fox News' Harris Faulkner talks with students at Southern University
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Some select Southern University students are taking advice from an Emmy award-winning anchor of cable news.
Harris Faulkner of Fox News is on Southern’s campus. Faulkner, the first recipient of the school’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and Lifetime Achievement, met with some of the university’s ROTC cadets as well as student journalists and those majoring in mass communication.
She then answered questions from some students.
Faulkner grew up in a military family and her show, “The Faulkner Focus”, will broadcast live from Southern’s campus on Monday.
Governor Jeff Landry is expected to be a guest.
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How to protect yourself against a shark
A safety diver calmly pushes away a shark, explaining how to stay safe if approached. (Credit: @mermaid.kayleigh/@andriana_marine via Storyful)
Claire Hardwick, Storyful
The Atlantic Ocean’s largest tagged great white shark in history recently resurfaced off the coast of North Carolina near the Outer Banks, scientists said.
At nearly 14 feet long, the big fish named “Contender” appears to be heading toward Cape Cod and the eastern coast of Canada, according to a OCEARCH, a global non-profit marine research group tracking shark sightings and migration.
Researchers first tagged the massive great white shark on Jan. 17, 2025 off the Florida-Georgia coast, according to online data from the non-profit.
Most recently Contender breached the surface just before 2 p.m. ET on July 10.
Prior to that, the shark had pinged several times including on April 14 and on April 23.
A ping means the Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting tag attached to the fish’s dorsal fin was spotted above the surface for a brief period as it swam, transmitting a near-live location signal to the OCEARCH shark tracker.
The visit comes at the time of year when great white sharks start migrating north to warmer waters for a larger food supply, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
How much does the largest great white shark tagged weigh?
According to OCEARCH’s shark tracker page, Contender weighs 1,653 pounds.
An adult male, the shark believed to be just over 30 years old.
“Contender’s name is in honor of Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner, whose industry-leading sport fishing and pleasure boats enable our research missions,” the non-profit wrote on its website.
See live view of tagged sharks that are tracked:
To track Contender and other tagged marine life online, download the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker App, available on iOS, Android, and on desktop at ocearch.org.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
The Oklahoma Sooners will face a difficult challenge trying to return to the College Football Playoff in 2026. That road starts on Sept. 4 against the UTEP Miners.
After the season opener, Oklahoma’s schedule quickly becomes one of the most difficult in college football. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), which is designed to project a team’s future performance, ranks Oklahoma’s schedule as the second-toughest in the country behind only the Arkansas Razorbacks.
That challenging schedule is one of the reasons some analysts remain skeptical of Oklahoma heading into the 2026 season. The FPI predicts a 7-5 season for the Sooners. However, On3’s J.D. PicKell believes Oklahoma has the talent to overcome its schedule and remain one of the nation’s best teams.
“The schedule is brutal,” PicKell said. “The schedule was brutal last year. You had a quarterback with nine fingers and no run game. Find your way to the College Football Playoff. I’m going down with the ship here. I think Oklahoma is going to be a wagon once again.”
Oklahoma’s path to another playoff appearance will not be easy, but last season showed this team can overcome adversity. The Sooners navigated a difficult SEC schedule with an injured quarterback, a struggling rushing attack and one of the toughest conference transitions in college football.
With quarterback John Mateer returning healthy, a loaded defense and an improved offense expected to take a step forward, Oklahoma has the pieces to prove the schedule is not an obstacle but instead an opportunity to establish itself as a true national championship contender.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
(WPDE) — A social media post from U.S. Rep. William Timmons is drawing attention to a South Carolina election-law scenario that could shape whether some members of Congress decide to run for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Under the timeline outlined, a sitting member of Congress could win reelection to the U.S. House and also win the open U.S. Senate seat on Election Day, Nov. 3. Because a person cannot serve in both offices, the lawmaker would have to choose.
If the member chose the Senate seat, the change would take effect when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. At that point, the person would leave their House seat to serve in the Senate.
Unlike a U.S. Senate vacancy, a U.S. House seat cannot be filled by appointment. Instead, a special election would be required to choose a new representative. Until that special election is held, the House seat would remain vacant.
Timmons said the temporary vacancy could matter because the House elects its speaker when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3. With Republicans expected to hold a narrow majority, Timmons argues that even one temporary vacancy could make it more difficult for Speaker Mike Johnson to secure enough votes to keep the speaker’s gavel.
The next step in the process comes Tuesday, when candidate filing for the special Republican primary opens. Filing closes July 28.
Observers will be watching whether the issue affects who files for the race and whether any lawmakers propose changes to the election process.
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