You’ll never beat the odds in your March Madness bracket. Here’s how to try anyway
The odds are astronomical, but that doesn’t squash the excitement for millions of fans filling in brackets this week
In the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, the political parties in many states are working to redefine their congressional district maps to gain every possible edge. From California and Texas to Tennessee and Virginia, redistricting efforts have taken center stage. The Supreme Court has sanctioned partisan gerrymandering, and the system has evolved to one in which state legislature majorities get to determine who is most likely to fill those seats in Congress.
In short, gerrymandering has become a central feature of the system, not a bug. But what if we rethink the structure entirely?
Fake Hermès Birkin bags and other counterfeit luxury goods are popular not only with people on a budget, but also with those with deeper pockets, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the National University of Singapore analyzed millions of counterfeit purchases by American consumers from more than 24,000 U.S. zip codes on a major cross-border, e-commerce platform. They found that both lower- and higher-income individuals are “significantly more likely” to buy fake luxury items than middle-income consumers, according to a press release by INFORMS on Monday.
The INFORMS Analytics+ Conference showcased how companies are turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable operational results
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.

Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565
Explore our resources for multiple topics including:
The odds are astronomical, but that doesn’t squash the excitement for millions of fans filling in brackets this week
Strategic industrial policies, like incentives and soft power, have helped the "world's factory" reach 30% of global manufacturing output.
Once an audacious pioneer in electric cars, Tesla is being out-competed by cheaper, more innovative rivals and suffering by association with Musk
Expect to hear from a lot of people saying they had a “gut feeling” about this upset or that national title contender this week, as friends and coworkers scour the NCAA basketball tournament bracket ahead of all the games on Thursday and Friday.
A 12-foot-tall slice into the dark gray core of a model nuclear microreactor looms on the shop floor of the new Westinghouse Electric Company factory in Etna. It’s dotted with blank holes missing the control drums to control the rate of the reaction, shutdown rods to bring the nuclear chain reaction to a halt and an array of thin heat pipes to cool the heat produced from the fuel and transfer it to an open-air process that turns the fuel into power. Once assembled, the entire nuclear reactor would fit on the back of a semi-truck.

OR/MS Today is the INFORMS member magazine that shares the latest research and best practices in operations research, analytics and the management sciences.
Access OR/MS Today Magazine
Analytics magazine showcases articles and research reports based on big data, AI, machine learning, data analytics and other new-age technologies.
Access Analytics Magazine