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Democrats and Republicans from Congress teamed up with professional footballers to raise money for youth soccer programs during the tenth edition of the Congressional Soccer Match.

The game of red versus blue was the headline act for the U.S. Soccer Federation event at Audi Field in the nation's capitol on May 8.

Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican lawmaker from Illinois who also co-chairs the Congressional Soccer Caucus, said the organization helps build soccer pitches in underserved communities throughout the country to make the sport more accessible to young players.

"Soccer is the number one growing sport in the United States right now," said LaHood. "We've got COPA coming this summer. We've got the World Cup coming in 2026."

Adolph Joseph DeLaGarza, who played 14 years in Major League Soccer, participated on the Republican squad and shared a more realistic outlook on the growth of the sport he loves.

"We're not there yet on that global level. Our stadiums are not the size of NFL stadiums. But at the same time, when I joined the league in 2009 to now, it's a huge difference," DeLaGarza told the AP.

"The way the fans get to experience things from the way the players are paid and ultimately the product on the field is the biggest difference," he added.

The fundraiser started with a tournament between staff from twelve embassies, the European Union, and the U.S. State Department. The Embassy of Chile took home the trophy.

A team of lobbyists also defended their title in a rematch against Congressional staff.

The Democratic and Republican teams were all tied up during half with one goal a piece, but then the GOP retook the lead in the second half and kept extending it to win the match 4 to 3.

Dwayne De Rosario, a former professional soccer player from Canada, earned a hat trick for the Democrats to keep the game close and had two other miraculous shots on goal that barely missed the mark.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

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.