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    Smarter vehicles could mean some of the most dramatic changes for the traditional traffic signal since the yellow light was added more than a century ago. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan are testing how to tap into the new technology found in the U.S. vehicle fleet to directly influence traffic signals and reduce congestion. The North Carolina State study even imagines a time when there could be so many self-driving vehicles on the road that a fourth light, a white one, could be added to allow them to lead the way. Michigan's research relies on connected vehicles made by General Motors and seeks to adjust retime the lights based on traffic.

      U.S. special operations commanders are having to do more with less and they're learning from the war in Ukraine, That means juggling how to add more high-tech experts to their teams while still cutting their overall forces by about 5,000 troops over the next five years. The conflicting pressures are forcing a broader restructuring of commando teams that often are deployed for high-risk counterterrorism missions and other sensitive operations around the world. The changes under consideration are being influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including lessons learned by British special operations forces there.

        Living at home as long as possible is preferred by a vast majority of adults over 50. But the real estate market and inflation has made doing so less of a choice. Locked into low mortgage rates too good to give up, some baby boomers and older members of Generation X with enough extra case are making upgrades to keep their homes both enjoyable and accessible as they age. The demand for inconspicuous bathtub bars, showers that can accommodate a wheelchair and other amenities has given home improvement chains, contractors, designers and architects a noticeable lift. But it's also exposing an economic divide since lower-income boomers often struggle to age-proof their properties.

        A Virginia school board has voted to restore the names of Confederate military leaders to a high school and an elementary school four years after the names were removed. Shenandoah County’s school board voted 5-1 early Friday to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary as Ashby Lee Elementary. Friday’s vote reverses a decision by the school board in 2020, a time when  school systems across Virginia and the South were removing Confederate names from schools and other public locations in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Board members who voted Friday to restore the Confederate names say the previous school board ignored popular sentiment and due process when the names were stripped.

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