January 16, 2026

The Coretta Scott King Women's Basketball Classic to be played this Monday

Following the success of its inaugural showcase, the Coretta Scott King Classic returns for its second year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 19, 2026, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The nationally televised event on FOX will highlight women’s college basketball while honoring the legacy and values of Coretta Scott King and the King family.
This year’s doubleheader will feature a new roster of elite women’s college basketball programs:

Game 1 at 12PM ET: TCU vs. Ohio State
Game 2 at 2:30PM ET: Vanderbilt vs. Michigan

The Coretta Scott King Classic is not just a basketball event—it is a movement that celebrates leadership, equality, education, and empowerment through sport. The day will include community activations, youth engagement programming, and more, reflecting the enduring legacy of Mrs. King.





https://www.prucenter.com/events/coretta-scott-king-classic

January 16, 2026

MSU women's basketball grinds out 73-71 win over No. 24 Nebraska

After being fouled, junior guard Rashunda Jones calmly knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with 39 seconds remaining — 39 seconds that felt like an eternity for everyone inside Breslin Center.

That short stretch featured three possessions, four timeouts, two Nebraska turnovers and the final two points that sealed a 73-71 win for No. 15 Michigan State over No. 24 Nebraska, securing the best start in program history at 17-1 (6-1 Big Ten).

“What I shared with the team after the game was as we continue evolving, as we continue to become a better team, you just find ways to win,” MSU head coach Robyn Fralick said. “We know moving forward, we got to regroup, we got to reset, we got to re-energize.”

One way to describe the physical, weekday ranked Big Ten matchup would be back-and-forth, as the teams traded blows for most of the contest. That changed in the closing seconds, once the score reached 71-71 and MSU’s defense stood its ground.



https://statenews.com/article/2026/01/msu-women-s-basketball-grinds-out-73-71-win-over-no-24-nebraska

January 16, 2026

Self-inflicted wounds hand Texas women's basketball back-to-back loss against South Carolina

Thursday’s conference matchup between Texas women’s basketball and South Carolina was the duo’s second meeting in two months, and both ended in similar fashion — down to the wire.

But the stakes this time couldn’t have been higher.

For Texas, the game was a chance to prove its poor performance against LSU was a fluke, to avoid falling to 3-2 in conference play and to show the team is capable of winning on the road against a national contender in a hostile environment.

For South Carolina, it was about pride. Hell-bent on not letting Texas beat them twice in one season, the Gamecocks entered the night with their only loss coming against the Longhorns back in November.





https://thedailytexan.com/2026/01/15/self-inflicted-wounds-hand-texas-womens-basketball-back-to-back-loss-against-south-carolina/

January 15, 2026

GA-SEN: Ossoff enters year with $25M in bank amid competitive Senate race

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), considered the Senate’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbent up for reelection this November, is entering the midterm year with $25 million in the bank as he tries for a second term representing Georgia in the upper chamber.

Ossoff’s cash on hand includes $9.9 million raised in the fourth quarter of 2025 from more than 303,000 donations, most of which were from small-dollar donors, according to the campaign.

The senator, who flipped his seat for Democrats in 2021 after a tense runoff election, is now the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state President Trump won in 2024.

Republicans have made Ossoff a top target, and he faces multiple challenges from the right, including Georgia Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, as well as former college football coach Derek Dooley. The Republican field will face off in a May 19 primary.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5690552-jon-ossoff-war-chest-senate-race-2026/

January 15, 2026

GA-GOV: Sally Yates backs Jason Esteves (D) in Georgia governor's race

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced Thursday she’s backing former state Georgia Sen. Jason Esteves (D) for governor.

“I am endorsing Jason Esteves for governor because this moment calls for strong leadership and a strong governor who will fight against Donald Trump’s destructive agenda. Under Trump, Georgia is in crisis — costs are high, working people are struggling, and our democracy is under attack,” Yates said in a statement shared through Esteves’s campaign.

“In times of crisis, Jason has always risen to the challenge and fought for what’s right — no matter how tough the fight,” she added.

Esteves in his own statement said he was “deeply honored” to have Yates’s backing.



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5691393-esteves-wins-yates-endorsement/

January 15, 2026

Cook Political Report moves 18 House races in our direction.

https://x.com/Redistrict/status/2011848637286842653?s=20


CA-13: Toss Up to Lean D
CA-25: Likely D to Solid D
CA-47: Likely D to Solid D
CO-05: Solid R to Likely R
CT-05: Likely D to Solid D
FL-07: Solid R to Likely R
IA-03: Lean R to Toss Up
IL-17: Likely D to Solid D
MI-03: Likely D to Solid D
NM-02: Toss Up to Lean D
NY-04: Toss Up to Lean D
NY-17: Lean R to Toss Up
NY-18: Likely D to Solid D
OH-09: Lean R to Toss Up
PA-17: Likely D to Solid D
TN-05: Solid R to Likely R
TX-34: Lean R to Toss Up

January 15, 2026

TX-SEN: Talarico Leads Crockett for Democratic Senate Nod

A new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll of the 2026 elections in Texas finds James Talarico leading the Democratic Primary for US Senate with 47%, followed by Rep. Jasmine Crockett at 38%, with 15% undecided.



https://politicalwire.com/2026/01/15/talarico-leads-crockett-for-democratic-senate-nod/

January 15, 2026

ICE error meant some recruits were sent into field offices without proper training, sources say

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement was racing to add 10,000 new officers to its force, an artificial intelligence error in how their applications were processed sent many new recruits into field offices without proper training, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the error.

The AI tool used by ICE was tasked with looking for potential applicants with law enforcement experience to be placed into the agency’s “LEO program” — short for law enforcement officer — for new recruits who are already law enforcement officers. It requires four weeks of online training.

Applicants without law enforcement backgrounds are required to take an eight-week in-person course at ICE’s academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, which includes courses in immigration law and handling a gun, as well as physical fitness tests.

“They were using AI to scan résumés and found out a bunch of the people who were LEOs weren’t LEOs,” one of the officials said.




https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/ice-error-meant-recruits-sent-field-offices-proper-training-sources-sa-rcna254054

January 15, 2026

Here's what's coming to SF ballots this year

The coming year in San Francisco politics will be a full one — a June primary election followed by a November general election, multiple controversial potential ballot measures in the works, and seats on the Board of Supervisors, in the state Assembly and in Congress at stake, among others.

First up, there could be hot battles over potential ballot measures in June, including some with big implications for The City budget that would raise or lower business taxes. Another could reopen a portion of Great Highway, which voters in 2024 decided should be closed to make way for a park.

The union-backed Stand Up for SF coalition has been collecting signatures for a measure intended to raise about $200 million per year for government services by raising The City’s Overpaid Executive Tax. That levy is currently imposed on companies at which the highest-paid managerial employee, within or outside of The City, earns more than 100 times the median compensation of employees based in San Francisco. The measure would also require consideration of employee wages outside The City.

Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and an affiliated political-action committee have contributed more $1.34 million to the campaign.



https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/2026-sf-elections-key-contests-to-watch-at-polls-this-year/article_3518da26-7ae0-4f87-bd79-a508d262d292.html

January 15, 2026

Supe's Great Highway ballot measure fails to qualify

Newly appointed District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong did not meet a Tuesday deadline for getting the three signatures from fellow supervisors he needed to qualify a June ballot initiative seeking to reopen Great Highway to vehicular traffic during weekdays.

The lack of buy-in from colleagues came despite Wong making public appeals for support, including at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in which he reiterated claims that some dispute that traffic injuries have increased in his district since a stretch of Great Highway was turned into Sunset Dunes park.

Wong’s district includes the Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods west of 19th Avenue. Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Wong on Dec. 1 to fill the vacant seat previously occupied by former Supervisor Joel Engardio, who was recalled for sponsoring Prop. K.

The only colleagues to support Wong were Supervisor Connie Chan — who represents District 1, where just as in Wong’s neighboring district voters strongly opposed Proposition K, the 2024 measure that closed Great Highway — and District 11’s Chyanne Chen, where 58.4% of cast ballots voted against Prop. K.




https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/great-highway-june-2026-ballot-measure-fails/article_69e0e3fa-c170-4f40-afa6-a5535a191c42.html