A Chinese probe carrying the first lunar samples collected from the far side of the Moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reports.
Why it matters: It's a historical first in space exploration for China's lunar program, which has notched several landmark feats since launching in 2007.
An AI-meets-biotech company launching Tuesday is releasing a tool to help scientists craft entirely new molecules in a process they say mirrors half a billion years of evolution.
The big picture: Researchers are pushing hard to try to use AI to create new molecules in order to engineer better medicines, biofuels and materials.
Midwest residents hit by historic flooding face the threats of further inundation into Tuesday, with officials in Minnesota particularly concerned that the Rapidan Dam in Mankato is in "imminent failure condition."
The big picture: At least one death has been reported in South Dakota and another in Iowa from days of flooding rains that have forced a town to evacuate and collapsed a bridge connecting Sioux City, Iowa, with North Sioux City, South Dakota.
The climate change-enhanced heat wave responsible for breaking dozens of records across the U.S. and Canada in the past two weeks is taking aim at areas from the Southeast to the Plains.
Why it matters: The move will bring extreme heat to tens of millions of people who have not experienced it yet, with resulting health hazards.
Editor's note: Read the latest on the Midwest flooding here.
An expanding heat dome that's threatening much of the Lower 48 from the Central Plains eastward is also driving "major to historic" flooding in the Midwest, per the National Weather Service.
The big picture: Flood warnings and watches were in effect across the upper Midwest over the weekend for portions of Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa due to the extreme weather that's killed at least one person and resulted in hundreds of water rescues across the region.
At least 1,301 Muslim pilgrims have died during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia as the country experiences an extreme heat wave.
The big picture: That's according to Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, who told state media that 83% of those who died were not authorized to perform the Hajj and had "walked long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort."
