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Spacecraft returns home with potential origins of life on Earth, unlocking universe’s secrets

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

A spacecraft that embarked on a groundbreaking mission to uncover the origins of life on Earth is finally heading back home after successfully collecting samples from an asteroid. The Lockheed Martin-built space probe, named “OSIRIS-REx,” completed a brief touchdown on an asteroid known as Bennu in October 2020, fulfilling its primary objective of obtaining a soil sample for further analysis.Dante Lauretta, the Principal Investigator of OSIRIS-REx from the University of Arizona, described Bennu as a time capsule that has preserved its ancient minerals and chemicals for over 4.5 billion years. Remarkably, these substances predate the formation of Earth as a planet, making the asteroid a potential goldmine of information about the solar system’s history and the emergence of life. The nearly three-year-long journey of OSIRIS-REx is approaching its climactic conclusion. The spacecraft is set to parachute down to the Utah desert this September, where a highly anticipate...

Police release body camera footage of officer who fatally shot Texas outlet mall shooter

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

(CNN) — A Texas police officer tells two children with their mom in a mall parking lot to be good and to wear their seat belts when a burst of gunfire erupts.The mother is then seen in footage from the officer’s body camera ducking and whisking her children to safety as the officer calls for backup.The Allen Police Department released footage Wednesday from the body camera worn by the officer, who ultimately confronted and fatally shot a mass shooter who killed eight people – including two elementary school children – last month at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas.“This video shows how quickly a routine interaction with the public turned into a life-and-death situation,” Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey said in a statement released Wednesday.“The officer recognized the danger, ran toward the gunfire and neutralized the threat – and for his actions, the Allen community is forever grateful.”Mauricio Garcia, 33, started firing an AR-15-style rifle in the parking lot of Allen Premium Outle...

Elderly Central Florida woman rescued by neighborhood newspaper delivery man in heroic act

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

AVON PARK, Fla. (WSVN) – A 78-year-old woman was delivered from danger after finding herself trapped and in desperate need of help. Nancy Reyburn, a resident of Crystal Lake Club in Avon Park, owes her life to a vigilant neighborhood newspaper delivery man, Jose Sanchez, who came to her rescue after hearing her cries for help.The incident unfolded around 4 a.m. on Tuesday when Sanchez was diligently delivering newspapers along his regular route. Little did he know that this routine morning would turn into the most significant stop of his life. As he rounded a corner, he was startled by Reyburn’s piercing screams for assistance.“I come around the corner, I hear her screaming, ‘Help, help!’ So I stop, get out of the car, and yell, ‘Where are you at? Where are you at?'” Sanchez recounted. “I’ve never heard an 80-year-old lady scream so loud. That caught my attention and I got really nervous when I saw her sticking out the window....

France deploys 40,000 police as Macron seeks to avoid 2005 riots rerun

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

PARIS — The violent unrest that has spread across France since a teenager was killed by police in a Paris suburb has raised the specter of riots that rocked French suburbs for weeks in 2005 — and Emmanuel Macron’s government is scrambling to stop that from happening again.On Thursday morning, the French president called an emergency Cabinet meeting in the wake of overnight clashes in French cities after a 17-year-old was shot by police on Tuesday during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb.The government decided to cancel all “non-priority” trips by ministers, the government’s latest move to dial down tensions that are gripping the nation.Macron’s own response to the images of a police officer shooting Nahel M.(his full name has not been given) was swift and unequivocal. While some questioned whether the police officer had felt threatened by the teenager, the president spoke of “the emotion of the nation” and said the killing was “inexplicable” and “inexcusa...

Column: Are the Chicago Cubs willing to play the waiting game before the Aug. 1 trade deadline? It sounds like it.

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

The so-called “intelligent spending” plan Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer embarked upon last offseason has produced mixed results as the team nears the halfway point of the 2023 season.Dansby Swanson, their biggest signing of the $300 million-plus spending spree, has paid dividends already. His 2.9 WAR ranked third among shortstops on Wednesday, and Swanson may be the best defensive shortstop the Cubs have seen since Don Kessinger over five decades ago.Cody Bellinger provided a lift before his knee injury on May 15 in Houston, while Drew Smyly looks like a sound investment after being re-signed to a two-year deal in spite of a rough start Wednesday in an 8-5 loss, the team’s third straight, to the Philadelphia Phillies before 32,279 at Wrigley Field.But none of the other free agent signings have stood out so far, and the net result of all the moves has been a sub-.500 team (37-40) that’s only in contention because of the weak competition in the National Leag...

Chicago White Sox hit 4 home runs — 2 by Seby Zavala — in an 11-5 road win: ‘They just erupted. It was fantastic.’

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

Wednesday was the type of offensive night the Chicago White Sox have been craving.They hit four homers. They had multiple innings scoring more than one run. And, for the first time all month, they played a game that was decided by more than four runs.The Sox clobbered the Los Angeles Angels 11-5 in front of 29,861 at Angel Stadium.“It was a really good team win,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “This is what we’re capable of doing. We’ve just got to be consistent.”Luis Robert Jr. hit a two-run homer in the first — his 23rd of the season. Seby Zavala hit a solo homer in the second. Eloy Jiménez led off the third with a homer and Zavala homered again in the fifth.“I didn’t miss my pitches,” said Zavala, who also had a two-run single. “I’ve missed quite a few the last few weeks, and I just got them (Wednesday). I just have to keep it going.”There was production throughout the Sox lineup, leading to 17 hits. A...

Former Google executive joins U.S. Senate race

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

(KTXL) — A former Silicon Valley executive is entering the race for California's Senate in 2024. Lexi Reese, a former Google Vice President and former Chief Operating Officer for a San Francisco payroll company, announced she is seeking election to the seat held by retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Watch the special program, ‘Inside California Politics: The Race for the Senate’ "...I'm running for the United States Senate to fix California's economy," Reese said in a video launching her campaign. "To build a California where women and working moms get equal pay for equal work. Freedom to choose when and whether to have kids, freedom from senseless gun violence that just has to stop, and the freedom to be who we are and love who we love." In an interview with Inside California Politics, Reese laid out a number of policies she supports for easing Californian's fears about the economy. California voters most concerned about economy, half oppose reparation recommendation, poll shows ...

How the drying Salton Sea could be fending off California's next 'big one'

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- A correlation between the amount of water held in the basin of the Salton Sea and the shifting of the San Andreas Fault may be buying time ahead of the next major earthquake in Southern California.Scientists from San Diego State University (SDSU) partnered up with UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to research the effects of the drying lake, and what they discovered is that it could be delaying the next "big one."As the salty and shallow body of water gradually dissipates, researches suggest the southern section of the San Andreas Fault -- which touches portions of Riverside and Imperial counties -- becomes more stabilized. Where will the next ‘big one’ be in California? Seismologists name faults of top concern The San Andreas Fault is described as a fracture in the Earth's crust that's hundreds of miles long. It's positioned where two tectonic plates meet: the Pacific and North American. According to scientists, earthquakes occur due to frict...

US economic growth last quarter is revised up to a 2% annual rate

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2% annual pace from January through March as consumers spent at the fastest pace in nearly two years, the government said Thursday in a sharp upgrade from its previous estimate.The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 1.3% annual rate last quarter.The Commerce Department’s third and final report on January-March economic growth pointed to surprising resilience but still marked a deceleration from the 2.6% annual rate from October through December and the 3.2% growth from July through September. The economy has been slowed by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to tame inflation through a series of interest rate hikes beginning early last year.Yet Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — showed why the economy has so far managed to defy expectations of a coming recession: Consumers continue to spend even in the face of ever-r...

British royals’ public spending up 5% in year of historic change

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:56:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A change in monarchs, double-digit inflation and ongoing costs to renovate Buckingham Palace contributed to a 5% increase in publicly-funded spending by Britain’s royals, royal accounts published Thursday showed. The palace’s annual Sovereign Grant report showed that net spending was up 107.5 million pounds ($135 million) in the past year. It also said that King Charles III was behind a “concerted effort” by royal staff to turn down the heating at Buckingham Palace and other royal homes during the winter to cut emissions and costs. Temperatures were set at 19 degrees Celcius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) and a few degrees lower when rooms were empty, officials said.The report also confirmed that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have vacated their former home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor — though officials declined to say who will be the next tenant.The annual report said the past year was a “period of significant transition” for the monarchy, with extra co...