Longtime academic Santa Ono has been rejected for the University of Florida presidency by the state university system board. The vote Tuesday came amid sharp criticism from political conservatives about his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other initiatives they view as unacceptable liberal ideology.

After losing nearly 600 employees to layoffs and retirements as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, the National Weather Service is planning to hire additional staff members to “stabilize” the department, a spokesperson said.

A new report says that a record 38 million metric tons of sargassum piled up across the Caribbean and nearby areas in May, with more expected this month. It’s the biggest amount of algae spotted in the region since scientists began studying the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt in 2011.