Poll finds only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education

(AP) — A new poll finds Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of college. More than two-thirds of adults surveyed in the poll released Monday by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation say they feel the U.S. higher education system is headed in the “wrong direction.” Overall, only 36% of adults say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education. The dimming view of whether college is worth the time and money cuts across all demographics. But confidence has dropped most sharply among Republican respondents.

More than 3 million pass through US airport security in a day for the first time as travel surges

(AP) — Agents for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Sunday screened 3 million airline passengers in a single day for the first time ever. The record topped the June 23 mark of more than 2.99 million screened passengers. Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have come this year, as the number of travelers tops pre-pandemic levels. TSA was created after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and replaced a collection of private security companies that were hired by airlines. The agency operates under the Department of Homeland Security, which said that agents on Sunday checked 35 passengers every second.

Texas residents told to expect power outages, flooding as Beryl moves closer to landfall

MATAGORDA, Texas (AP) — Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and flooding as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall. Landfall was expected early Monday. The outer bands of Beryl began lashing communities along the Texas shoreline on Sunday, bringing rain and intensifying winds. The storm was projected to make landfall in an area near Matagorda Bay, about 100 miles south of Houston, but officials warned that the path could still change. The chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management says residents along the coast should expect power outages as Beryl comes ashore. Several counties have issued voluntary evacuation orders.

Boeing accepts a plea deal to avoid a criminal trial over 737 Max crashes, Justice Department says

(AP) — The Justice Department says Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two deadly crashes of 737 Max jetliners. Now it’s up to a federal judge whether to accept the plea and a sentence that is part of the aerospace giant’s deal with U.S. prosecutors. Boeing’s decision on Sunday came a week after the Justice Department gave the company the choice of entering a guilty plea or facing a trial. Prosecutors say Boeing violated a 2021 deal that had shielded the company from prosecution earlier. Lawyers for some of the relatives of those who died in the two crashes have said they will ask the judge to reject the agreement. One lawyer called it a “sweetheart deal.”