Frederick CountyOct 8, 7:54 PM
The Frederick County Board of Education voted 6-1 to prohibit student use of artificial intelligence across all grade levels, from prekindergarten through 12th grade. The policy allows limited exceptions for approved classroom instruction, explicit AI literacy education and accommodations required by a student's IEP or Section 504 Plan, while district officials develop more detailed rules for implementation.
TechnologyOct 8, 11:26 AM
The Trump administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and several of the world's largest information-technology companies from the federal permanent labor certification program used in many employment-based green-card cases. The administration cited alleged fraud and abuse as it expands scrutiny of foreign-worker programs, although the action does not amount to a blanket suspension of the companies' H-1B visa petitions.
BusinessOct 8, 8:09 AM
Oil prices jumped about 5% Thursday morning as Hurricane Isaias forced more than a quarter of U.S. Gulf oil production offline while escalating attacks on tankers intensified concerns about Middle East supply. Brent crude climbed to $105.20 per barrel and U.S. crude reached $92.75 as two major supply risks hit the market simultaneously.
BusinessOct 8, 7:23 AM
U.S. farm-sector debt is forecast to reach a record $605.1 billion in 2026, but Agriculture Department officials say the total may not fully capture rapidly growing borrowing from suppliers, cooperatives, equipment companies, fintech firms and other nontraditional lenders. Researchers are now trying to determine how large that blind spot has become as farm credit conditions tighten and bankruptcy filings rise.
