A remarkable blue and white spiral observed across European skies late Monday was the result of frozen fuel released from a SpaceX rocket, according to meteorologists and scientists. The UK’s Met Office reported on X that they received numerous accounts of an “illuminated swirl” in the sky Monday evening, likely caused by a rocket launched earlier from Cape Canaveral, Florida. “Don’t be alarmed! It wasn’t a UFO, but rather the venting of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket,” stated Meteo France, the French national weather service, in the central Loire Valley region. Vivid images of the swirling pattern were also shared…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will cease funding work on the health effects of climate change, according to internal documents reviewed by ProPublica. This guidance, distributed to staff last week, follows a series of directives to cut NIH funding for grants focused on topics deemed at odds with the Trump administration’s priorities, including gender identity, LGBTQ+ issues, vaccine hesitancy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. While it’s unclear if this climate-related directive will affect existing grants or lead to funding terminations, it effectively halts future funding opportunities for studies or academic programs examining the health impacts of climate change. Dr.…
Five key division leaders at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are leaving the public health agency as it prepares for cuts that could affect as much as a third of its workforce. The departures, announced internally on Tuesday, include the directors of the Public Health Infrastructure Center, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Science, the Office of Policy Performance and Evaluation, and the Office of Health Equity, according to a source who requested anonymity because the announcement wasn’t public. The Associated Press first reported the plans, which were described as…
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea in separate deals with the United States, following three days of peace talks in Saudi Arabia, officials confirmed on Tuesday. According to statements from Washington, both sides have committed to halting strikes in the strategic waterway and pledged to develop measures for enforcing a previously agreed ban on attacks against each other’s energy infrastructure. However, Russia has conditioned the ceasefire’s implementation on the lifting of several sanctions targeting its food and fertiliser trade. The breakthrough comes as US officials separately met negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv in…
At least 18 people have lost their lives, and nearly 20 others have been injured as wildfires continue to rage across South Korea’s southeastern regions, with authorities struggling to contain the fast-spreading blazes. According to the Korea Forest Service, the fires, which erupted last week, have been exacerbated by strong and dry winds, making containment efforts increasingly difficult. Thousands of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to tackle at least five active wildfires across the country. The flames were first reported late on Friday in Sancheong County, located in North Gyeongsang Province, before spreading to neighbouring Uiseong County—approximately 180 kilometres…
President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that demands voters prove their U.S. citizenship before casting ballots and implements new rules for mail-in voting. This move is likely to face legal challenges and increase political divisions over voting rights. The order threatens to withhold federal funds from states that don’t comply. Trump stated at the White House, “We’ve got to fix our elections. This country is sick because of fake and bad elections. We’re going to straighten that out.” This action follows years of Republican efforts to tighten voting laws. Critics argue it will negatively impact minority communities and marginalized…
The U.S. added six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider, and dozens of other Chinese entities to its export restriction list on Tuesday. The Inspur units were listed for contributing to the development of supercomputers for the Chinese military, the Commerce Department said in a posting. Five of the subsidiaries are based in China and one in Taiwan. Inspur Group itself was placed on the list in 2023. The Inspur units are among about 80 companies and institutes added to the export control list on Tuesday. Over 50 are based in China. Others…
Attorneys for a Cornell graduate student whose student visa was recently revoked and has been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration said the case will be a test to determine whether the US government can target people for expressing views that are critical of the government. Attorneys for Momodou Taal, a doctoral student at Cornell University – who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week – spoke outside federal court in Syracuse, New York, following a hearing in the case Tuesday. Taal is accusing the Trump administration of targeting him for his participation in pro-Palestinian protests amid…
A pilot and his two young daughters survived on the wing of a plane for about 12 hours after it crashed and was partially submerged in an icy Alaska lake, then were rescued after being spotted by a good Samaritan. Terry Godes said he saw a Facebook post Sunday night calling for people to help search for the missing plane, which did not have a locator beacon. On Monday morning about a dozen pilots including Godes headed out to scour the rugged terrain. Godes headed toward Tustumena Lake near the toe of a glacier and spotted what he thought was…
A 46-year-old doctor was arrested Monday after he attempted to kill his wife while hiking in Oahu, according to the Honolulu Police Department. Gerhardt Konig, who is an anesthesiologist, was hiking with his wife Monday morning near Pali Lookout when he “attempted to push her off a hiking trail and struck her in the head with a rock,” police said in a statement. Without confirming her name, the Honolulu Emergency Services Department said it treated a 36-year-old woman for head and facial injuries after being assaulted, and she was transported in serious condition to an emergency room. CNN has reached…
