The Trump administration continued its head-scratching appointments by anointing billionaire Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education...

But then – surprise! – the deputy education secretary spot went to Penny Schwinn, who is far more famous to the likes of us education writers. Schwinn’s deep, impressive bona fides include becoming a teacher through Teach for America, followed by service as a classroom history teacher, school principal and then a swift ride up high-level administrative posts in various states including Texas. In 2019, at 43, she became Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education.

In Education Next’s extended interview, Schwinn emphasizes that educators must aim every single decision not merely toward achievement, but toward the best interests of kids. This “North Star” helps her to sift through irrelevant political chaff so she can stay with her agenda even in the face of constant opposition.

“That is always going to be personal and emotional; however, we must find a way to engage in hard conversations without taking them personally,” she said.

...Schwinn doesn’t seem like the kind of woman to put her North Star away, so she must have been convinced she could do real work.

Of course, we’ll see. The best interests of the kids could use a true champion. Good luck, Deputy.

I want some good news.

In making the case that the states have standing this time, the attorneys general contend access to mifepristone has lowered “birth rates for teenaged mothers,” arguing it contributes to causing a population loss for the states along with “diminishment of political representation and loss of federal funds.”

I genuinely want to understand this. Are the defense systems we are sending so advanced that we can't let anyone else operate them?

I know politics aren't allowed here, so i want to stress that I just want to know why this is happening.

I just finished reading 1984 and realized that the Rosetta Stone may have been created to preserve known history.

It had never occurred to me that an entire language and it's nuances are necessary to maintain historic integrity. We may have been able to decipher hieroglyphs without a translator, but could we do it with precision enough to learn anything truthful. Can we do that now is a thoughtful question as well i guess.

I'm certain this is not an original thought, and only want to talk about the book. I think i heard somewhere that the stone was created for trade purposes as well.

NoviOcean’s wave power technology, developed over several years, has been tested in wave pools and a real environment near Stockholm. A small version powers homes on Svanholmen island, proving the concept works at sea.

On one square kilometer, 15 wave power plants can generate 15 MW, compared to offshore wind’s 10 MW. Combined, they can produce 25 MW, sharing the costs of the sea area and transmission cable.

According to the firm, the hybrid approach delivers more consistent energy, as waves generate power for days after the wind subsides. Additionally, wave plants can be placed closer to shore without visually disturbing the coastline.

Changes to regulations in Great Britain mean more than 100 items are now allowed to carry more pesticides when sold to the public, ranging from potatoes to onions, grapes to avocados, and coffee to rice.

For tea, the maximum residue level (MRL) was increased by 4,000 times for both the insecticide chlorantraniliprole and the fungicide boscalid. For the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, classed as a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Organization (WHO), the MRL for beans was raised by 7.5 times.

The purpose of the pesticide MRL regime is to protect public health, wildlife and the natural environment. Campaigners said the list of pesticides included reproductive toxins and carcinogens and that the weaker MRLs reduced protections for consumers in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has retained the EU MRLs.

Fed up with school shooting threats in his community, Chitwood pledged to publicly identify students accused of making such threats.

Arkansas is the only state that has not taken the step to expand what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option for states paid for almost entirely by the federal government that ensures poor women have uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth. Forty-six states now have the provision, encouraged by the Biden administraion, and Idaho, Iowa, and Wisconsin either have plans in place to enact legislation or have bills pending in their legislatures.

Nationally, 41% of births were covered by Medicaid in 2021. Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. But maternal health advocates say Arkansas often begins the process of moving women out of the program after six weeks, or 42 days.

In March, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed an executive order creating a committee of experts charged with improving the state’s dismal maternal health outcomes and better educating women about their health insurance options.

The committees tasked with making recommendations to Huckabee Sanders have been meeting this summer and recently prepared draft recommendations.

But missing from the list is an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage, despite widespread agreement by health organizations and the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee that doing so would reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

But missing from the list is an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage, despite widespread agreement by health organizations and the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee that doing so would reduce pregnancy-related deaths.

After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure.

The team is among 10 recognised in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think”. They are not to be confused with the more lucrative and career-changing Nobel prizes to be handed out in Scandinavia next month.