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A new mandate that requires school districts across New Mexico to adopt calendars that consist of at least 180 days was put on hold by a judge while he considers the change’s legality.

Dozens of school districts and superintendents have been challenging the state Public Education Department over the change. Teacher unions and Republican lawmakers also have raised concerns about the rule.

In granting the school districts’ request for a preliminary injunction, Judge Dustin Hunter said the rule undermined the Legislature’s intent when it adopted legislation in 2023 that called for extending the number of hours children spend in the classroom and the time teachers have for professional development. 

“If the Legislature had intended to expand the number of days with all the accompanying costs—such as transportation and food and specialty providers such as special education and everything else—it necessarily would have provided the funding or given clear guidance as to why it was unable to,” Hunter said.

The plaintiffs had argued that the requirement would result in budget shortfalls, particularly for districts that have operated on four-day weeks for decades.

“There are 89 different stories in 89 different districts and 89 different ways of getting good education to kids,” testified Stan Rounds, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition of Education Leaders. “They are very different. One size does not fit all.”

State officials contend the change will ultimately improve educational outcomes.

Holly Agajanian, the chief general counsel for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, argued that the school districts would not be harmed if the state is allowed to move forward with implementing the mandate pending a ruling on the merits of the case.

She said the districts could submit budgets with two alternative calendars—one complying with the 180-day rule and one assuming the school does not need to meet the mandate if the districts win their case.

Agajanian told the court that although there have been substantial comments about the rule, the court “should not view it as the opinion of the public, especially when balancing harms.”

Attorneys for the school districts said 98% of the thousands of public comments were against the rule.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A newly released ad promoting Apple's new iPad Pro has struck quite a nerve online.

The ad, which was released by the tech giant on May 7, shows a hydraulic press crushing just about every creative instrument artists and consumers have used over the years—from a piano and record player to piles of paint, books, cameras, and relics of arcade games. Resulting from the destruction? A pristine new iPad Pro.

“The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,” a narrator says at the end of the commercial.

Apple's intention seems straightforward: Look at all the things this new product can do. But critics have called it tone-deaf—with several marketing experts noting the campaign's execution didn't land.

“I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,” said Americus Reed II, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “I understood conceptually what they were trying to do, but ... I think the way it came across is, here is technology crushing the life of that nostalgic sort of joy (from former times).”

The ad also arrives during a time when many feel uncertain or fearful about seeing their work or everyday routines “replaced” by technological advances—particularly amid the rapid commercialization of generative artificial intelligence. And watching beloved items get smashed into oblivion doesn't help curb those fears, Reed and others note.

Some found the ad to be a telling metaphor for the industry today—particularly concerns about big tech negatively impacting creatives. Filmmaker Justine Bateman wrote on X that the commercial “crushes the arts."

In a statement shared with Ad Age on May 9, Apple apologized for the ad. The outlet also reported that Apple no longer plans to run the spot on TV.

“Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world,” Tor Myhren, the company's vice president of marketing communications, told Ad Age. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Ever since humans have journeyed to space, their meals there have proved to be, well, nothing to write home about. But that could change after a Michelin-starred chef teamed up with the Florida-based startup Space Perspective to take fine dining to our upper atmosphere in late 2025.

Six guests are set to ascend aboard Spaceship Neptune to the stratosphere, where they will enjoy an immersive dining experience served up by Danish Michelin-starred chef Rasmus Munk.

Munk, 33, will travel with the guests and serve the meal himself, from a small kitchen. He says his menu will be inspired by the impact of space innovation. "We want to tell stories through the food," Munk says. "We … want to talk and highlight some of the research that's been done through the last 60 years." 

"I think that will make an even stronger impact when you're up there and looking down," added Munk, who will fly with the six ticket buyers.

Spaceship Neptune is more of a balloon than a rocket. The company says its pressurized capsule, attached to a balloon, will lift to an altitude of around 100,000 feet (30,480 meters) above sea level where guests will dine while watching the sun rise over the curvature of the Earth.

Organizers are promising an out-of-this-world experience for those with an appetite for adventure. But such an astronomic menu comes with a fittingly astronomic price tag — $495,000 per ticket. Organizers say the trip will last six hours and that they are still in discussion with potential participants. 

It's one of the latest offerings by private firms that include Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX.

The flight won't technically reach "space"—Spaceship Neptune will ascend to around 19 miles (30 kilometers), well below the Karman line, the boundary separating Earth's atmosphere and outer space, which is some 62 miles (100 kilometers) from Earth.

Munk's menu is expected to be a far cry from meals eaten by past and present astronauts.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Researchers are exploring ways to use features in modern cars, such as GPS, to make traffic safer and more efficient. Eventually, the upgrades could do away entirely with the red, yellow, and green lights of today, ceding control to driverless cars.

Henry Liu, a civil engineering professor who is leading a study through the University of Michigan, said the rollout of a new traffic signal system could be a lot closer than people realize. “The pace of artificial intelligence progress is very fast, and I think it’s coming,” he said.

The advent of connected and automated vehicles, though, has presented a world of new possibilities for traffic signals.

Among those reimagining traffic flows is a team at North Carolina State University led by Ali Hajbabaie, an associate engineering professor. Rather than doing away with today’s traffic signals, Hajbabaie suggests adding a fourth light, perhaps a white one, to indicate when there are enough autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the road to take charge and lead the way.

“When we get to the intersection, we stop if it’s red and we go if it’s green,” said Hajbabaie, whose team used model cars small enough to hold. “But if the white light is active, you just follow the vehicle in front of you.” The key would be making sure that it’s universally adopted like the current signals are.

Using such an approach would be years away, as it would require 40% to 50% of vehicles on the road to be self-driving in order to work, Hajbabaie acknowledged.

Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp pointed out that the self-driving car subsidiary of Google’s parent company launched a fully autonomous ride-sharing service in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, even without the addition of a fourth traffic light.

“While it is good at this early stage of AV development that people are thinking creatively about how to facilitate the safe deployment of safe AVs, policymakers and infrastructure owners should be careful about jumping too soon on AV-specific investments that may turn out to be premature or even unnecessary,” Karp said in an email to The Associated Press.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Several dozen young people wearing light blue T-shirts imprinted with “#teachclimate” filled a hearing room in the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul in late February.

The high school and college students and other advocates called on the Minnesota Youth Council, a liaison between young people and state lawmakers, to support a bill requiring schools to teach more about climate change.

“Sometimes within like the youth community, it can be hard to hear from people, from older generations making decisions for you on an issue that is so near and dear to you,” said Lucia Everist, an Edina High School student pushing for the bill.

In places that teach to standards formulated by the National Science Teachers Association, state governments, and other organizations, many kids learn about air quality, ecosystems, biodiversity, and land and water in Earth and environmental science classes.

But students and advocates say that is insufficient. They are demanding districts, boards, and state lawmakers require more teaching about the planet’s warming and would like it woven into more subjects.

Some places are adding more instruction on the subject. In 2020, New Jersey required teaching climate change at all grade levels. Connecticut followed, then California. More than two dozen new measures across 10 states were introduced last year, according to the National Center for Science Education.

Where some proposals require teaching the basic science and human causes of climate change, the Minnesota bill goes further, requiring state officials to guide schools on teaching climate justice, including the idea that the changes hit disadvantaged communities harder.

The bill didn’t advance in the 2023 session. This year, the Minnesota Youth Council supported the bill, but it’s likely it won’t pass and will be reintroduced next year.

But students say being involved in the process gives them hope, despite legislative setbacks.

“For me personally, I get a lot of hope from working with other young people and seeing that other people care about the same things and that, you know, we all kind of have each other’s back working towards climate solutions,” said University of Minnesota freshman Libby Kramer.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Personal patient information is being given currency in Kenya as a way of expanding patient access to doctors.

A mobile start-up says its phone application allows users to pay for medical services by selling their personal data online through blockchain technology which protects their identity.

In Kenya, accessing medical services can be expensive. Kenyan start-up Snark Health believes it's found a way to enable more people to get qualified medical attention without having to pay for it with cash.

When a patient needs medical attention, they look for a doctor through the Snark app. Their personal medical data is anonymized by Snark and sold to pharmaceutical or consumer health companies.

Doctors get paid in various ways to incentivize them to join the app. When they see patients who cannot pay, they receive 10% of the cash Snark earns from selling patients’ anonymized data.

If a paying customer also agrees to the collection and sale of their health data they will get an equal share of the cash earned, so Snark, the doctor, and the patient each earn a third of the money made through the sale of the data.

The founder of Snark Health is Edwin Lubanga. He explains the app means the patient has access to doctors regardless of funds. Lubanga says: "Snark is a platform that connects patients with doctors [...]. Basically, patients log into the platform [...] to find a list of doctors and book appointments and consult them on the go."

According to Lubanga, it's also a way for fee-paying patients to make extra money.

According to Snark, the patient’s rights are protected because the company is a certified processor of data that complies with protocols laid down by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Lubanga says the patient's sensitive health information can't be traced back to them.

Austin Omune, the CEO of Negus Med Limited, says he supports the idea. "While working as a doctor, we experience patients struggling to meet the payment needs so, of course, there is a need for innovations to address this challenge,” he added. According to Snark, the app has so far attracted more than 300 doctors and 4,000 patients.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.