Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), during a rates decision news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, June 11, 2026. 

Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Rice is best known as one of the world's most important food crops, but scientists have now shown it could also help inspire a new generation of smart materials.

Researchers discovered that packed rice grains behave in an unusual way under pressure. When compressed slowly, the grains remain relatively strong. But when squeezed quickly, they actually become weaker. This surprising behavior has allowed scientists to create a new material that could one day be used in soft robots that automatically adjust their stiffness and protective equipment that responds differently depending on the force of an impact.

“If you believe, it’s science fact; if you don’t believe, it’s science fiction. I’m an agnostic between the two beliefs, so for me it’s science speculation.”

I am going to start where no good teacher should start, with a $10 word: epistemology. It refers to a branch of philosophy that explores how we know what we know – something scholars like John Dewey argued is deeply tied to experience, not just information.

From the May 1987 issue of Car and Driver.

Don't be fooled by the current resur­gence of big cars with powerful engines. Although many Americans are only too happy to guzzle today's cheap and plenti­ful fuel as they return to yesterday's auto­motive values, it's clear that others have developed a lasting affection for small, economical cars. It used to be that all such cars were outfitted sparely and priced in­expensively, but most of them have evolved upmarket over the years to suit the tastes of their growing customer base. In the meantime, the demand for truly en­try-level machines has remained strong, so a fresh brood of econoboxes is rolling into the void left by the upward mobility of the last generation.

Cars parked in front of homes in Daly City, California, May 19, 2026.

Jason Henry | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher last week, but both current homeowners and potential homebuyers returned to the mortgage market, perhaps for the last spring push. Total mortgage application volume rose 10.8% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.

When Glenn Hoddle's England started their World Cup campaign in France in 1998, Thomas Tuchel was still working a student job at a bar in Stuttgart.

Almost 30 years later, Tuchel is now the England manager tasked with doing what Hoddle and so many others failed to do - win the World Cup for the Three Lions.

Most conversations about generative artificial intelligence in schools eventually zoom in on using AI in the classroom. Before districts redesign teaching and learning around AI, they may need to answer a more fundamental question: Can schools afford an AI-first future?

I’m not the first to say this, but it’s a strange and heartbreaking time to be a teacher and parent of young children. 

As a recent transplant to New Mexico, I admire the ways the state invests in children, regardless of their identities. Seeing these state policies in action has changed my perspective and made me think differently about what students deserve and how much better things would be if we chose to care for students and families more consistently. 

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Sales of previously owned homes rebounded more than expected in May, after mortgage rates pulled back slightly in April.