IMHO the biggest issue for some of the smaller cities is attracting talent. Good luck getting top notch twenty-something engineers to move to Indy when all of their buddies are in SF, NYC, Boston, etc. Guess I'll eat my words if HQ2 ends up being in the midwest, but this seems like an insurmountable hurdle for the little guys.
Yeah, but the point is that Columbus, Indy, etc. don't stand a chance of actually getting picked. They're just being used as leverage to get Boston/NYC/DC to play ball.
Except the object is clearly visible on the F-18's IRST camera footage. It was also picked up on radar by a surface cruiser and a nearby E-2 Hawkeye. See: https://fightersweep.com/1460/x-files-edition/
Columbia University has a distance learning option called CVN. They offer an MS in CS. The degree/diploma is identical to getting a Master's on campus.
The article doesn't even mention the Carrington Event in 1859, which actually hit earth (with limited damage due to lack of widespread electronics). On the spectrum of existential threats, this one seems to be fairly underrated.