Cape Canaveral and Titusville, long ghost towns after 1969 moon landing, have witnessed space industry renaissance'Almost six decades have passed since the space coast of Florida experienced an atmosphere quite like this. On its beaches and in cities, there is an air of anticipation, excitement and anxiety to match the final days of Nasa's storied Apollo moon program.At 6.24pm ET on Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, subject to adverse weather and last-minute technical hitches, four Artemis II astronauts - three Americans and one Canadian - will become the first humans to blast off on a journey to the moon since 1972. Continue reading...
To see this war as archaic, the last squawk of the Middle East hawks, is at once maddening and hopefulFrom the moment the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the news seemed incongruous with the year 2026. A war to kill the Ayatollah and overthrow the government - this was the fantasy of neoconservatives after September 11, before today's college students were born. Hadn't every president since, Donald Trump most boisterously of all, repudiated regime-change wars in the Middle East?When he announced the strikes in an overnight video, decked out in a USA ballcap, Trump evoked an even more distant era. The president barely bothered to claim that Tehran posed some kind of imminent threat. Instead, he recited the litany of misdeeds perpetrated by the Islamic Republic since it took power in 1979. Continue reading...
War is testing operating principle that has guided Trump for decades: construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to itLet me say, we've won," he told a rally in Kentucky on 11 March. I think we've won," he said on the White House south lawn on 20 March. We've won this war. The war has been won," he said in the Oval Office on 24 March. We are winning so big," he promised a fundraising dinner on 25 March.Donald Trump keeps declaring victory in Iran. But saying it over and over does not make it so. While the US president insists that his military campaign in the Middle East is a historic success, the world is bracing for a conflict that continues to metastasize and could wreak havoc on the global economy. Continue reading...
If there is any consistency to Trump's policy, it is a series of frantic attempts to justify his original blunder and extricate himself from its dire consequencesDonald Trump has lost his Iran war. He is the Iranian hostage. Unlike the US embassy personnel captured as hostages for 444 days, Trump threw himself into Iranian hands. Less than a month into his short-term excursion", his stated objectives have been scattered to the winds. There is no regime change, no uprising and no access to oil wealth along the Venezuelan model. The decapitation gambit - assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian leadership - has failed to destroy the regime. Despite the massacre, it is Trump who stands exposed to slings and arrows for the rashest military adventure since Custer at Little Bighorn.Iran maintains a chokehold on the strait of Hormuz and, through its narrowest passage of 21 miles, on the global economy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecasts a spike of inflation to 4.2% in the US, a 40% increase since Trump returned to office. The stock market has dived into correction territory. Iran has also demonstrated its capacity to wreak existential destruction on the Gulf states whose rulers' delusion of their invulnerability and US protection has been shattered. I'm the opposite of desperate," Trump declared on 26 March. I don't care." Continue reading...
Younger conservatives say they are disappointed by Donald Trump's decision to launch war against Iran. Key US politics stories from 29 MarchA generational divide over the Iran war has emerged between older attendees and their political heirs at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas, as the group's leaders pleaded for unity ahead of a challenging midterm election year for Republicans.Younger conservatives spoke of disappointment and even betrayal" over Donald Trump's launch of strikes against Iran, saying that the president's actions run counter to his many pledges to oppose foreign entanglements. Continue reading...
Levi Vargas, 30, was competing in Baker to Vegas race through Mojave desert as US south-west faces extreme heatLos Angeles county sheriff's deputy Levi Vargas died on Saturday after a medical emergency while participating in an annual relay race through the Mojave desert. He was 30 years old.Vargas had been competing at the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup relay race, which follows a 120-mile (193km) course from Baker, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, through the Mojave desert. Several law enforcement agencies send 20-runner teams annually to compete in the race. Continue reading...
Marsupial escaped from enclosure at Wisconsin's Sunshine Farm on Wednesday after he was spooked by stray dogsHow does a kangaroo escape a petting zoo?It's not the opening line to a dad joke. If you're Chesney the kangaroo, you scale an 8ft (2.5-meter) fence and go on the lam for three days, giving your keeper sleepless nights and sending residents of a small Wisconsin town on a search that would end happily on Saturday. Continue reading...
If the now six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will become the longest of any shutdownThe shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the fourth-largest agency in the US government, became the longest partial shutdown in US history on Sunday.If the now six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will also become the longest of any shutdown, surpassing the impasse late last year that dragged on for 43 days. Continue reading...
Senator's comments come amid growing divisions within the party, which he says has too small of a coalition'Cory Booker, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, renewed his calls for new leadership of the Democratic party, saying the party has failed this moment".As a whole, our party has failed this moment," Booker said on Sunday. I've called for a generational renewal, because this left-right divide is killing our country and our adversaries know it." He also said that purity tests" within the party have led to more division in the US. Continue reading...
The United States' collapse in a 5-2 loss to Belgium made clear that the gap between the sides in 2014 has yet to narrowMauricio Pochettino was literally unmoved.To his left and right, his assistants pumped their fists, clapped their hands, rose to celebrate. Not Pochettino. After Weston McKennie put the US ahead with an end run around the Belgian defense that freed him up at the far post to tap the ball past Senne Lammens in the 39th minute, Pochettino just sat there, stoically, hunched forward in his seat, two fingers to his mouth. Continue reading...
The US health secretary says he is a big fan of peptides. Many are promising drugs, but the only way to know their utility is proper clinical trialsRobert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, is a chaotic person, but his Make America Healthy Again (Maha) agenda tends to follow a predictable logic. Large-scale, mandatory public health interventions - such as childhood vaccine requirements - are generally treated with suspicion and undermined. Personal choice - to drink unpasteurised milk, for example - is to be unleashed, and unburdened by regulation. In theory, Maha promises freedom and autonomy; in practice it tends to replace the precautionary principle with exhortations for individuals to do your own research", and sidelines scientific expertise in favour of wellness" hucksters and profiteers.This is particularly obvious in Mr Kennedy's recent claims that he will open up the sale of about 14" injectable peptide drugs to the public. Peptides are molecules often used by our bodies for sending signals - so there are many kinds of peptides, and the safety and efficacy of each is a separate question. The widely used weight-loss jab" drugs are peptides but so are the toxic compounds in snake venom that dissolve living cells. MrKennedy is likely to be referring to a subset of 17 peptides restricted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023 due to potential significant safety risks". None have been proved to be safe or effective for human use, so there is no clear argument for reversing the decision. Continue reading...
by Amanda Ulrich in Bombay Beach, with photographs by on (#74JS3)
Two hundred miles from LA, an off-grid community with roots in Burning Man offers an unorthodox educational experience - is Mars College the future?A dozen writing students perched around a collection of weather-beaten couches, laptops balancing on their knees, ready to discuss their work. Next up to read was Ira Birch, a poet sporting black boots and a shag haircut.I told myself I was gonna share today," Birch said nervously, looking around the circle. But there are a lot more people here." Continue reading...
It's likely, but it also could be a boon for a new generation of entrepreneurs willing to take over established operationsWant to buy my business? It's been very profitable. I've run it for more than 25 years. But no, you don't want to buy it. Like most small businesses in this country, there's really nothing of value here.According to the Small Business Administration, there are approximately 33m small businesses in the US. But fewer than 7m actually employ people. The rest comprise freelancers, side gigs and independent contractors. I'm sure many of these people are making a living. But are they building assets? A brand? Probably not. If that business owner" suddenly disappears, their business disappears with them. No one wants to buy a business like that. There's no value. Continue reading...
Shift seen away from from traveling to states with legal abortion in favor of telehealth and mail-order pillsThe abortion rate is holding steady in the US despite total and partial bans in some states - largely because of travel across state lines and a significant increase in telehealth appointments, a new report says.US regulatory officials are weighing changes to the ways mifepristone, an abortion medication, may be dispensed, but they have reportedly pushed their review until after the midterm elections, given the widespread support for abortion across the US. Continue reading...
by Lex McMenamin, Fabiola Cineas, Rachel Leingang and on (#74J7P)
Anti-authoritarian rallies, in all 50 states plus more than a dozen countries, were the largest number of protests in a single day in US historyMore than 8 million people protested against the Trump administration at more than 3,300 No Kings events across the US and in more than a dozen countries on Saturday, according to organizers. It's the greatest number of protests in a single day in US history, said Britt Jacovich, the deputy communications director for Move On, one of the organizers behind No Kings.Saturday's protest was the third No Kings, organized by a coalition that also includes anti-authoritarian" groups Indivisible and 50501, labor unions and other grassroots organizations. The last one in October drew 7 million people nationwide. Continue reading...
Secretary of state Marco Rubio repeats administration's belief that US can achieve its aims without a ground warAmid tentative White House efforts at diplomacy to end the war in Iran, US troops have also been arriving in the region to deliver what Donald Trump has hoped could be a knockout blow if he can't negotiate a ceasefire with Tehran.Thousands of US marines aboard navy amphibious ships from the 31st and 11th expeditionary units have been deployed to the Middle East from Asia. Another 2,000-odd paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne are also being sent to the theatre - they are tasked with deploying worldwide within 18 hours of notification and execute parachute assaults, including against a defended airfield" to prepare for further ground operations. Continue reading...
Saudi intelligence source confirms reporting that crown prince has urged Trump to ramp up historic opportunity' to remake Middle East - key US politics stories from Friday 27 March at a glanceSaudi Arabia has urged the US to ramp up attacks on Iran, a Saudi intelligence source has confirmed, as it decides whether to join the fight directly.The Saudi source confirmed reporting in the New York Times that said the kingdom's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has urged Donald Trump not to cut short his war against Iran, and that the US-Israeli campaign represented a historic opportunity" to remake the Middle East. Continue reading...
Two others injured after sightseeing aircraft comes down on remote beach on Na Pali CoastA tourist helicopter crashed on a remote beach off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, killing three people and injuring two others, authorities said.The helicopter was carrying one pilot and four passengers when it crashed on Thursday afternoon at Kalalau Beach, the Kauai fire department said. The beach is on the Na Pali coast on Kauai's north shore. The area is otherwise reachable only by hiking or boat. Continue reading...
Actor outside Kennedy Center urges Americans to stand tall against authoritarianism' and resist free-speech threatsThe actor Jane Fonda joined journalists, musicians and writers outside Washington's John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday in urging US citizens to break your silence" and stand tall against authoritarianism".At a damp but defiant rally hosted by Fonda's Committee for the First Amendment, around a hundred invited guests gathered to hear speakers and singers rail against book bans, political censorship and other threats to free speech under Donald Trump. Continue reading...
Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer, is promoting a legally dubious plan experts say could sharply restrict voting rightsPeter Ticktin, an 80-year-old Florida lawyer who has various ties to Donald Trump and represents some 2020 election deniers, has become an outspoken advocate for an emergency executive order on US elections that would overhaul voting rules and rights by ending machine and mail-in voting.The exact nature and extent of Ticktin's contact and influence with Trump and other administration officials is not clear. But election experts and analysts see Ticktin's push for an executive order as worrying, and part of a broader drive by fellow election conspiracists who are now promoting similar and legally dubious emergency order plans to revamp voting rules this year in order to boost Republican fortunes in the fall elections. Continue reading...
Mohammed bin Salman said to consider war a historic opportunity' to remake Middle East. Plus, Senate passes funding package for Homeland Security that excludes ICE
Telecom regulator has become one of the most prominent newsmakers in the nation - he seems to relish the spotlightDuring a ceremony at the White House late last week honoring the US Naval Academy football team, Donald Trump gave a shoutout to the man he said was perhaps the most powerful man in this room": Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chairman.You are doing some job," Trump said. He's trying to make the fake news real and respected again, which is not an easy job." Continue reading...
The real defining image of this presidency should be the bank statement of the average American citizenShockingly, inexplicably, Donald Trump keeps finding new places to put his face. Also, his name. Or initials. Or one of those drawings a turkey a kid does by tracing the outline of their hand. He's got his ballroom, the Kennedy Center, and a proposed 250ft arch that would become one of the tallest buildings in all of Washington DC - a city with longstanding height restrictions for development. His signature will be on US dollars later this year, in a first for a sitting president. I'd ask if he was getting tired of all the attention, but I think we know the answer to that. Up next is a commemorative gold coin - worth exactly $1 - featuring Trump's scowling visage looming menacingly over the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.It's a pretty classic Trump pose, designed to make a nearly-80-year-old man with a variety of mystery bruises who eats McDonald's on a regular basis look physically intimidating. Beyond the president sporting a classic gen Z pout, the Commission of Fine Arts (a panel appointed by You Know Who) recommended this coin be as large as possible", which immediately makes me think of the giant penny Bruce Wayne keeps in the Batcave. Good luck trying to feed a parking meter with that.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
Rex Heuermann, 62, who is accused of murdering seven women over 17 years, is due to appear in court next monthThe man accused in Long Island's infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings intends to plead guilty in the case next month, according to two people familiar with his decision.Rex Heuermann, a former architect charged with murdering seven women over 17 years, is set to change his plea from not guilty at his next scheduled court hearing on 8 April, they said. Continue reading...
Events in Denmark and Italy show geopolitical instability is creating opportunities for a centre-left response to the far rightIn the lead-up to Denmark's snap election on Tuesday, it was revealed that blood supplies were flown into Greenland in January in order to treat Danish military casualties in the event of a US invasion. Against that surreal backdrop, the country's Social Democrat primeminister, Mette Frederiksen, did not need to work too hard to justify a stick to what you know" message in uncertain times.Ms Frederiksen's surprise gamble in calling an early poll duly paid off, but only just. Donald Trump's threatsto annex territory belonging to a Nato ally handed her party a patriotic lifeline, after it had endured a historic humiliation in local contests last November. But in a campaign dominated by domestic issues, the hoped-for Trump bump was modest, meaning that any Frederiksen-led coalition will depend on centrist support. The Social Democratic party remains comfortably the biggest political force, but its vote share dropped markedly compared to the last general election, while rivals to the left and on the far right made notable gains.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Woman pleads not guilty to firing shots at Rihanna's home while the singer and her family were thereA woman from Florida pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the attempted murder of Rihanna.Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, of Orlando, also pleaded not guilty through her attorney to more than a dozen other felony counts in Los Angeles superior court. Continue reading...
Arizona State's head coach has turned around a losing program. Unsurprisingly, much of the discourse on the internet was not based on her leadership skillsIn March 2025, the Arizona State women's basketball team were looking for a coach who could end a drought that had seen them go without a NCAA Tournament appearance - or even a winning season - since 2019-20.The choice was Molly Miller, a proven and successful head coach at Grand Canyon. Miller had led the Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and a 32-3 record in her final season with the team - a benchmark for the program and an important accomplishment within the broader scope of college basketball. She soon turned around Arizona State, leading them to a 24-11 record and a first appearance at the NCAA Tournament in six years. (Their season ended in the First Four.) Continue reading...
CCTV footage showed the moments before an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the collision. The crash injured dozens of passengers and led to hundreds of flight cancellations.
Trump teased a deal could soon be reached to end his war on Iran, which Tehran denied - key US politics stories from Monday 23 March at a glanceDonald Trump has claimed there have been talks between the US and Iran over the past day in which the two sides had major points of agreement", appearing to avert a potentially severe escalation of the conflict.Tehran has denied the claim in which Trump also speculated that a deal could soon be done to end the war. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said no talks had been held with the US since the bombing campaign began 24 days ago. Continue reading...
Attorney general decries outrageous federal overreach' after government restarted pipeline closed over 2015 spillCalifornia attorney general Rob Bonta said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries.US energy secretary Chris Wright earlier this month restarted the pipelines using powers granted to him by Donald Trump through an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act to supersede state laws. Continue reading...
Authorities in Independence say store security contacted them about a suspicious powder substance' in the packagesFentanyl has been discovered inside the packaging of five Barbie dolls sold at a Missouri discount store, local authorities said.Police in Independence, Missouri, said in a statement on Saturday that store security at Cargo Largo, a local discount store, contacted authorities regarding a suspicious powder substance located in the packaging of a Barbie Doll". Continue reading...
Former head of the FBI who investigated Russia's involvement in the 2016 US presidential electionRobert Mueller, who has died aged 81, led an investigation, as US special counsel, into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election and alleged collusion with Donald Trump's campaign team. Trump was enraged by the two-year-long investigation, which dominated much of his first term as president. He repeatedly dismissed it as a witch-hunt".Mueller's report, published in 2019, was inconclusive. He found links between Russians and those around Trump, and that his bid for the presidency had benefited from Russian leaks that undermined the Democratic campaign. But he failed to establish collusion on the part of the Trump campaign. Continue reading...
