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Customers challenge companies to make crispier, gooier, chewier foods

Texture is having a crunchy, gooey moment in the food and beverage industry. For many people, the way a menu item or packaged snack feels in the mouth has become as big a draw as flavor, although consumers don't always recognize the part texture plays in their cravings for crispier takeout, ...

Helping Hands: Are robots a new way to help seniors age at home?

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — After outliving Booker T. Bones, their second service dog, Brenda and Brian Marquis still needed help with some of the more difficult parts of daily life. They found Robbie, a robot that rolls out of a hallway into their living room several times a day. "Do you want to ...

Families’ interest in kids’ education is falling

Families' interest in their kids' education is falling in many high-income countries as school systems struggle with plunging test scores, according to newly released results from a standardized test taken by 15-year-olds around the world. Over 760,000 teenagers in dozens of countries took the Programme for International Student Assessment last year. Results released Tuesday show average scores in math, reading and science are all at their lowest point in PISA history among highly developed economies. That includes continued declines in reading and math scores in the U.S. China, ...

Here’s how the summer box office blew up and Hollywood got its mojo back

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood has just wrapped up its best summer in a decade and its biggest vibe shift since the pandemic. After years of new-normal ticket sales and regular spells of unease, the summer box office rallied to $4.61 billion in domestic ticket sales between May 1 and Aug. 31, ...

Keep child’s tablets, laptops from becoming distractions

Tablets and computers have become crucial school supplies for many students. But the same devices children use to read text, write essays, solve math problems or research history projects can also offer distractions in the form of games, social media and web browsing. It can be a challenge for parents to figure out how to help children stay focused when using these devices. That can be especially complicated with school-managed devices, where parents may have limited control over settings and restrictions. Helpful options can include using built-in tools and settings on devices, ...