Coming home may be the most dangerous part of Artemis II
The Artemis II heat shield, NASA agrees, is flawed. The heat shield is the critical layer at the bottom of a spacecraft that protects it — and the astronauts inside — from searing temperatures upon reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. If the shield fails, the underlying metallic structure could melt, rupture...
For a 2nd time, Trump seeks to eliminate federal funding for tribal colleges and universities
For the second year in a row, the Trump administration is proposing slashing federal funding for tribal colleges and universities. President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal calls for a $1.5 trillion increase to defense spending and would carve billions of dollars out of programs that fulfill trust and...
Former NYPD officer gets 3 to 9 years in prison for throwing a cooler that caused fatal crash
NEW YORK — A former New York City police sergeant was sentenced Thursday to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died. The ex-officer, Erik Duran, was convicted of manslaughter in the...
Netanyahu authorizes direct talks with Lebanon ‘as soon as possible’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible,” as a tentative ceasefire in the Iran war staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut. Netanyahu said he gave the order in response to...
NASA prepares for Artemis II splashdown after historic moon flyby
As the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission were zooming closer to home Thursday after their record-breaking swing around the moon, extensive preparations were underway to ensure their safe return to Earth. The astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of the...
Ceasefire in the Iran war teeters in the face of disagreements over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A tentative ceasefire in the Iran war staggered Thursday under the weight of Israel’s intense bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainty over whether negotiators can find common ground on a range of other differences. Hours after the ceasefire...
Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday effectively criminalized the activities of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Memorial, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent and civil society organizations in the country amid its war in Ukraine. Following a closed-door hearing, the court ruled on a petition from the...
Travelers face higher costs and fewer flight options as jet fuel prices swing
A new reality is setting in for travelers worldwide: rising fees, fewer flight options and difficult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the...
Oil prices jump back up near $100 a barrel on skepticism over fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire
Oil prices are climbing back toward $100 per barrel on Thursday, while stock markets worldwide slow following their big gains from the day before. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% as the United States, Iran and Israel disagreed on the details of their two-week ceasefire, whose announcement had sent markets flying...
A 1.9 billion-year-old bedrock will soon house the world’s 1st permanent nuclear waste site
OLKILUOTO, Finland — With the push of a button, the elevator descends hundreds of meters in seconds into the dark depths of Onkalo. “We are now at about minus 430 meters (1,411 feet),” muttered geologist Tuomas Pere as he steered a car through a labyrinth of man-made tunnels. “We are...
Democrats grow bolder on talk about removing Trump from office after his Iran threats
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s threats to wipe out Iran, “a whole civilization,” ended the restraint that Democrats have mostly practiced when it comes to questions of removing him from office in his second term. By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in...
As Trump throws lifeline to coal plants, critics warn of higher costs and health risks
WASHINGTON — Before Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Biden administration and many electric utilities were building a future dominated by renewable energy. They aimed to replace coal, slashing greenhouse gases and reducing air pollution that kills more than a thousand people annually. Dozens of coal plants —...
Police in the Bahamas arrest husband of U.S. woman who vanished from boat
Police in the Bahamas said late Wednesday they have arrested the husband of a U.S. woman who was aboard a boat near the archipelago and vanished. Authorities said the 59-year-old man whom they did not identify was arrested in Abaco and is being questioned. A Coast Guard spokesperson told The...
Former UPMC doctor accused of trying to kill his wife convicted of attempted manslaughterVideo
HONOLULU — A Hawaii anesthesiologist who was accused of trying to murder his wife on a cliffside hike last year has been convicted of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter. A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. The crime he...
Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on U.S.-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump’s announcement
NEW YORK — A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers. These bets were made even though,...
Army veteran charged with sharing classified details of an elite commando unitVideo
RALEIGH, N.C. — An Army veteran has been charged with sharing classified information about an elite commando unit with a journalist, which one official said put “our nation, our warfighters, and our allies at risk.” Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, is accused of violating federal law, as well...
Legendary mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the 1st American to summit Mount Everest, dies at 97
SEATTLE — The celebrated mountaineer Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, has died. He was 97. Whittaker, who also served as the first full-time employee of the outdoor retailer REI and later as its president and CEO, died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, according...
GOP hawks, Israel backers question Trump’s Iran ceasefire
Republican hawks and supporters of Israel expressed uneasiness on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s shaky ceasefire deal with Iran, suggesting it was negotiated without Israel’s input and could allow Tehran to rebuild its military threat. As new rounds of attacks threatened to derail the agreed two-week truce, Sen. Lindsey Graham,...
Pam Bondi won’t appear on Capitol Hill for scheduled Epstein deposition next week
WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi, the former attorney general whom President Donald Trump fired last week, will not appear next week for a scheduled deposition with the House Oversight Committee as part of its inquiry into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The committee said in a statement Wednesday that it would...
RFK Jr is launching a podcast to expose ‘lies’ that have made Americans sick
NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a new podcast that he says will begin “a new era of radical transparency in government,” according to a teaser video first obtained by The Associated Press. The show, titled “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” will launch next week and...
How Trump went from threatening Iran’s annihilation to agreeing to a 2-week ceasefire with Tehran
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump, over the course of a single day, went from threatening Iran with “annihilation” to proclaiming that the battered Islamic Republic’s leadership had presented a “workable” plan that led him to agree to a 14-day ceasefire that he hopes will pave the way to end the nearly...
Fire breaks out at Rio de Janeiro Olympic Park; no injuries reported
RIO DE JANEIRO — A fire broke out Wednesday morning at Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park velodrome, prompting a major emergency response involving about 80 firefighters and 20 vehicles, authorities said. Rio state military fire department said the blaze was under control and largely confined to the venue’s fabric roof....
Texas officials investigating hundreds of complaints against Camp Mystic amid license renewal bid
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas health regulators told Camp Mystic’s owners Tuesday they are investigating hundreds of complaints following last year’s devastating floods that killed 27 girls as the state considers whether to allow the all-girls camp to reopen this summer. The Texas Rangers are also helping look into allegations of...
Trump is expected to meet NATO leader Rutte as he muses about pulling out of the military alliance
WASHINGTON — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to try to smooth over the president’s anger with the military alliance over the Iran war. Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call...
Fired Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman tells AP he was ‘blindsided’ by his ouster
MADISON, Wis. — Fired Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman told The Associated Press on Wednesday in his first interview since the ouster that he was “blindsided” by the move but has no hard feelings and is unlikely to sue. Rothman was fired on Tuesday night in a unanimous vote...
