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Texas wildfire balloons past 78 square miles, forcing evacuations

Illustration accompanying article: Texas wildfire balloons past 78 square miles, forcing evacuations
  • A wildfire that began Monday afternoon in north central Texas has grown to more than 78 square miles (200 square kilometers), forcing evacuations across two lightly populated counties and prompting schools to delay or cancel classes.
  • Palo Pinto County Fire Chief Danny Watkins said crews have "thrown everything" at the fire and are still having "minimal effect."
  • The National Interagency Fire Center reported more than 50,000 wildfires nationwide so far this year — the most over the past 10 years for the same period.
  • The National Interagency Fire Center reported a dozen new large fires on Sunday as extremely dry conditions continued across the South and western United States.
 2026-08-25 · 4 MIN READ

Melania Trump honors student winners of first Presidential AI Challenge

Illustration accompanying article: Melania Trump honors student winners of first Presidential AI Challenge
  • First lady Melania Trump presented the inaugural Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge National Champion Awards at the White House on June 9, 2026.
  • The competition drew 20,000 students from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Defense Department schools in 10 countries, according to Melania Trump.
  • Students submitted more than 2,500 projects spanning online-schooling tools, local government efficiency, crime-fighting data synthesis, and hazardous-chemical detection, said White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios.
  • Winning teams were recognized from schools in Alaska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, as well as an educator track.
 2026-06-09 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Sweden to ban mobile phones in schools as part of global screen reversal