Look at the stars, look how they shine for you … and all the exams you failed

At the Missouri University of Science and Technology, a number of anonymous threats against the college’s black students put the campus on high alert. The threats are most likely in response to recent protests that raised racial tension at the college. Later last night, one student, sophomore Hunter Park, was arrested, suspected of writing some of the threats. (Seattle Pi)

On a lighter note, humorous critique of the recent Republican debate has reached new levels. An error Senator Ted Cruz made in this debate (accidentally naming the Department of Commerce twice in his list of programs to cut) is comparable to an error Rick Perry made in the debate four years ago (suggesting he’d cut three government agencies, then forgetting the name of the third.) (CBS News)

On a colder note, a severe winter storm hit Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas yesterday, and is expected to move into the Midwest and Plains today. Today’s main threat from the storm is harsh winds, expected to reach over 60 miles per hour. (Meanwhile in New York, it still seems as though fall has barely started.) (USA Today)

On a wider note, the oldest stars discovered yet were located at the heart of the Milky Way yesterday. These stars actually existed before the Milky Way was formed, when the universe was only about 300 million years old. Some of them spent time at the very center of the galaxy. (If that doesn’t make your midterm grades seem unimportant, we don’t know what will.) (Ledger Gazette)

The infinite bigness of the universe via Shutterstock