The following two statements cannot coexist, but they perfectly outline the chaos at the University of Maryland, which ought to be ashamed of itself: The father of Jordan McNair, who died under the oversight of the so-called leaders who were embarrassingly reinstated Tuesday, said on national television in August that DJ Durkin “shouldn’t be able to work with anybody else’s kid.” And James T. Brady, the chairman of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents, said Tuesday: “We will forever — forever — be guided by the memory of Jordan McNair.”

They’re hiding behind their tributes to the dead offensive lineman now, making hollow promises to create a better path forward by “honoring” his legacy. It’s disgusting. Real guidance wouldn’t parse whether the culture of the Terrapins football program was “toxic” or not. (News flash: To any reasonable person who read the regents-ordered report, it was, whether that report labeled it as such or not.) No, real guidance would have been deeming this entire operation unacceptable months ago, acting with urgency and compassion for those who were wronged, and cleansing itself of the people who created an appalling environment in the first place.

But this is the University of Maryland, and what we have learned about the University of Maryland is that logic doesn’t apply. There, being guided by the memory of a 19-year-old whose death was wholly and completely preventable means that the football coach who oversaw a program built on — among other things — demeaning players should be welcomed back. So here comes the inconceivable: DJ Durkin, back on the sideline, Saturday against Michigan State.

Twitter today pulled down a disinfo bot network that was amplifying pro-Saudi talking points about disappeared journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who is presumed to have been tortured and killed on orders of the government of Saudi Arabia.

NBC reports that Twitter became aware of the crisis Thursday, when an NBC News reporter presented the social media firm with “evidence of coordinated activity” in the form of “a spreadsheet of hundreds of accounts that tweeted and retweeted the same pro-Saudi government tweets at the same time.”

Look at this gem on Highway 131 in Crawford county…this will cause a front end alignment! Nice job Mr. Walker for taking 90 million out of the DOT fund for your Foxconn donors so we can’t fix this!! Maybe I should call Domino’s???

This Scotthole was right next to our house all last summer:/ I think the only reason they fixed it was because it filled with rainwater & neighbor kids were playing in it like a pool.

How does a school change its violent culture? What kind of work must adults and students do for it to become a place where students feel safe and can learn?

This post tells the story of a school that found a way to dramatically remake its culture. It is William C. Hinkley High School in Aurora, Colo., which is a winner in the latest round of the Schools of Opportunity project, which recognizes public high schools that work to close opportunity gaps by creating learning environments that reach every student.

Hinkley High used “restorative justice,” a concept that has developed over the past 35 years as an alternative to traditional disciplinary and criminal justice systems in and out of school. While its critics say it is simply a way to be easy on offenders, it is far more than that.

In practice, it means that the harm done is repaired and the perpetrator takes responsibility, and that the best way to repair the harm is for all stakeholders to be involved.

Last Wednesday Rethink Robotics, a major player in the collaborative robotics world, closed up shop abruptly. The company’s robots Baxter and Sawyer were easily recognizable to any engineer, thanks to their big eyes and distinct red exteriors. But while the robots were major standouts, they weren’t selling. As reported by the Boston Globe, sales were down for both robots, and the company was trying to sell the company quickly and quietly. According to Rethink’s chief executive, Scott Eckert, the company had been running low on cash and at the very last minute, a potential buyer backed out.

Rethink Robotics was founded in 2008 by Rodney Brooks, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-founder of iRobot. Most everyone in the robotics space knew of Rethink Robotics. The company’s robots were some of the first cobots on the market, easily recognizable, and further distinguished by their programming ease. Each had a heads-up display that allowed the user to interact with the robot on the spot—no need to connect with a computer or a pendant device.

Rethink’s trouble sparked when a specialized order for a China distributor fell through. The company had designed and specialized robots for the Chinese market and were suddenly left with extra inventory that couldn’t be sold. However, the cobot market has also become crowded over the last few years. The major robotic vendors have entered the game including Kuka, Fanuc, and ABB. Each has their own version of a cobot and the companies have a longstanding pedigree in the automation world.