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Recent cosmic explosion likely the ‘brightest of all time,’ NASA says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

Watch Video: New image from James Webb Telescope shows star about to become supernovaNASA astronomers recently spotted a burst of radiation that was quickly crowned the “BOAT”: the brightest of all time.The source of the radiation, which NASA said “swept through the solar system” on Oct. 9, 2022, was a gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion. NASA said in a news release that the gamma-ray burst triggered spacecraft detectors. Researchers and astronomers around the world have spent the past several months looking at and understanding the burst, which was so bright that it “effectively blinded” most space instruments used to measure such bursts, NASA said.Information about the burst was reconstructed using data from astronomer in the United States. That analysis was compared with observations from Russian and Chinese astronomers. The data shows that the burst was “70 times brighter than any yet seen,” NASA said.Eric Burns, ...

5 Missouri officers injured; suspected drunk driver arrested

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. (AP) — Five St. Louis-area police officers were injured early Wednesday when they were struck by an SUV driven by a suspected drunk driver.Three of the officers were in serious condition and two suffered moderate injuries, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. A 2-year-old girl in the Jeep Cherokee that struck the officers suffered minor injuries.The accident happened at 1:42 a.m. on Interstate 270 in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The officers are part of a regional task force that focuses on auto thefts and other crimes.The officers had chased a suspected car thief who crashed and were handling that wreckage when they were hit. The highway patrol said patrol cars were blocking the two left lanes, waiting for a tow truck to remove the wrecked car, and had their emergency lights flashing.The Jeep Cherokee tried to swerve but struck a Lake Saint Louis police car, causing one officer to be ejected as the police car spun out of control and struck two other Lake Sai...

UK to house thousands of asylum seekers in ex-military bases

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government said Wednesday it was planning to house thousands of asylum seekers in two disused military bases, the latest in a series of measures to discourage migrants from crossing the English Channel to U.K. shores in small unseaworthy boats. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the former Royal Air Force barracks in England will provide “basic and functional accommodation” for up to 3,700 asylum seekers and save the government billions of pounds (dollars) a year housing them in expensive hotels.“Accommodation for migrants should meet their essential living needs and nothing more. Because we cannot risk becoming a magnet for the millions of people who are displaced and seeking better economic prospects,” Jenrick said.Authorities say taxpayers are footing a 2.3 billion-pound ($2.8 billion) hotel bill a year to house asylum seekers, who often remain in temporary accommodation for months as they wait for a decision from officials struggling to cope w...

Indonesia stripped of hosting Under-20 World Cup by FIFA

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — Indonesia was stripped of hosting the men’s Under-20 World Cup on Wednesday amid political turmoil regarding Israel’s participation.FIFA said Indonesia was removed from staging the 24-team tournament scheduled to start on May 20 “due to the current circumstances” without specifying details.The decision came after a meeting in Doha between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Indonesian soccer federation president Erick Thohir.Israel qualified for its first Under-20 World Cup in June. The country’s participation in Friday’s scheduled draw in Bali provoked political opposition this month.Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, while publicly supporting the Palestinian cause.Indonesia’s hosting was cast into doubt on Sunday when FIFA postponed the draw.It is unclear who could now host the tournament, which was scheduled to be played in six stadiums in Indonesia.Argentin...

‘Ultra-rare’ pink diamond expected to sell for more than $35 million at auction

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

A pink diamond of “unparalleled color and brightness” is expected to fetch over $35 million when it goes on sale in New York, auction house Sotheby’s announced Wednesday.Weighing 10.57 carats and named The Eternal Pink, the “ultra-rare” gemstone will go under the hammer this June, four years after South African firm De Beers discovered it at one of its mines in Botswana.Officially classed as “purplish pink” in color, it is the most valuable diamond of its shade ever to appear at auction, according to Sotheby’s. The auction house’s head of jewelry for the Americas, Quig Burning, said in a statement that the stone was “joining the ranks of the most important diamonds in history.”The price of diamonds is largely determined by what gemology experts call the four “Cs”: carat, cut, color and clarity. For the latter grading, the stone has been classed as “internally flawless,” meaning any blemishes ar...

A different March Madness: Online hate for the athletes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — It wasn’t so much that social media was criticizing his son. That happens sometimes — especially after a loss like THAT. But when a post came up suggesting Terrance Williams II, a junior forward for Michigan, be left for dead in a ditch, his dad decided enough was enough. Terrance Williams Sr.’s profanity-laced response to all the haters was, in many ways, an expected byproduct of social media vitriol that bubbled up after the Wolverines blew an eight-point lead in a one-point loss to Vanderbilt earlier this month — not in the NCAA Tournament but in the NIT.“You actually root for them when they’re good,” Williams Sr. said of the Michigan fans in an interview with The Associated Press two days after the season-ending loss. “But then they make a mistake, and a game doesn’t go your way and you turn to hate. That’s unacceptable.”The episode was just one of countless examples of the toxic minefield that athletes, coaches, friends and family face all too often on soci...

Women making case in tourney for own March Madness TV deal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

Women’s basketball seems to have found a winner with its new Sweet 16 format in March Madness and the timing couldn’t be better with looming TV contract negotiations on the horizon.There were record-setting attendance at the two sites — Greenville, South Carolina and Seattle — along with record numbers for TV ratings. It fueled the momentum heading into a star-packed Final Four lineup in Dallas.NCAA selection committee chair Lisa Peterson expects the format success to help in upcoming contract negotiations. The current NCAA TV deal ends next summer.“It has to,” she said. “I’m very much looking forward to seeing those conversations. It only can be good for the game. People are talking about it.”TV ratings for games on Friday and Saturday averaged 1.2 million viewers, a 73% increase over last year. Saturday afternoon’s Ohio State and UConn matchup on ABC was the most watched women’s Sweet 16 game on record with an average of 2.4 million.Ratings were also up for...

Google, others say Uganda anti-LGBTQ bill bad for business

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A business group including corporate giants such as Google says it opposes Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ legislation, calling it “a concern for global businesses and investors operating or planning to invest” in the East African country. The legislation, which prescribes the death penalty or life imprisonment for some homosexual offenses, would hurt Uganda’s economy, the Open For Business coalition said in a statement Wednesday. “Diversity and inclusion are core principles of our coalition partners in the conduct of their businesses,” the statement said. The legislation, if signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, “would undermine Uganda’s attractiveness as a place to do business and invest,” it said. In addition to Google, the Open For Business coalition includes companies such as Microsoft, MasterCard, HSBC and Facebook owner Meta. Uganda’s legislature last week passed the anti-homosexuality bill. The legislation is now with Museveni, who ...

Capitol Riot: FBI informant testifies for Proud Boys defense

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI informant who marched to the U.S. Capitol with fellow Proud Boys members on Jan. 6 testified on Wednesday that he didn’t know of any plans for the far-right extremist group to invade the building and didn’t think they inspired the violence that day.The informant, who identified himself in court only as “Aaron,” was a defense witness at the trial of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants charged with seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 presidential election.The informant was communicating with his FBI handler as a mob of Trump supporters breached police barricades at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.The Proud Boys “did not do it, nor inspire,” the informant texted his handler. “The crowd did as herd mentality. Not organized.”The handler’s response was redacted from a screenshot that a defense attorney showed to jurors.“Barriers down at capital...

15-year-old charged with attempted murder of Denver police officer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:27:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A 15-year-old was charged with the attempted murder of a police officer on Wednesday. According to the Denver District Attorney's office, on March 21, a program known as ShotSpotter detected 36 rounds of gunfire around 9 p.m. in the Whittier neighborhood. ShotSpotter uses artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to determine if sounds are gunfire. Officers responded to the gunfire in an alley off 30th Avenue between North Gilpin and North Williams Street. Colorado violent youth crime rising after 3 years of improvement According to the DA, Denver Police Department officers approached three males that were walking in the area when one of the males allegedly fired a gun at one of the officers.The DA confirmed the officer was not injured, and the juvenile that allegedly fired the shots was placed into custody.The DA did not identify the 15-year-old by name. The 15-year-old faces the following charges:Attempted murder of a peace officerProhibited possession...