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What to know about 1st test flight of SpaceX’s big Starship

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is about to take its most daring leap yet with a round-the-world test flight of its mammoth Starship.It’s the biggest and mightiest rocket ever built, with the lofty goals of ferrying people to the moon and Mars.Jutting almost 400 feet (120 meters) into the South Texas sky, Starship could blast off as early as Monday, with no one aboard. Musk’s company got the OK from the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. It will be the first launch with Starship’s two sections together. Early versions of the sci-fi-looking upper stage rocketed several miles into the stratosphere a few years back, crashing four times before finally landing upright in 2021. The towering first-stage rocket booster, dubbed Super Heavy, will soar for the first time.For this demo, SpaceX won’t attempt any landings of the rocket or the spacecraft. Everything will fall into the sea.“I’m not saying it will get to orbit, but I am guaranteeing excitement. It won’t be boring,” Musk...

Red Cross: Yemen’s warring sides resume releasing prisoners

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Hundreds of detainees from Yemen’s conflict were released Saturday as part of a major prisoner exchange that began a day earlier, the International Committee for the Red Cross said.The deal, brokered by the United Nations last month, has been the most significant exchange of prisoners in Years. It comes amid concerted efforts diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the long-running war in Yemen.It involves the release of more than 800 prisoners from all sides of the war that began in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, overthrowing the internationally recognized government. The government fled to the south and then into exile in Saudi Arabia.The Houthi takeover prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene months later, and the conflict turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the United States long involved on the periphery, providing intelligence assistance to the kingdom. However, international cri...

‘Defiant Dene:’ Former Northwest Territories premier publishes memoir

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Stephen Kakfwi says one of his proudest accomplishments has been overcoming the inability to feel any emotions after leaving residential school.“I grew very limited in feeling joy, feeling happy and also feeling sad. Everything got flattened,” he said. “Overcoming that took years.” The former Northwest Territories premier said he felt lucky when he met his wife, former journalist and Truth and Reconciliation commissioner Marie Wilson, in 1976.“I felt she was like my prism,” he said. “She brought out all the colours of the world more than anybody I knew. She enjoyed things that I thought were just mundane.” In his new memoir, “Stoneface: A Defiant Dene,” Kakfwi recounts his life starting from when he was three years old, including his experiences at residential school, the effect of tuberculosis on his family and his political career in the Northwest Territories.“The book is in a way a celebration,”...

Italy’s Meloni acknowledges ‘anomalies’ in Russian escape

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni acknowledged “anomalies” in the handling of a Russian businessman who escaped from house arrest in Italy to avoid extradition to the United States and said Saturday she would speak with the justice minister to understand what happened.During a visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Meloni termed the case of Artyom Uss “grave” and vowed to get to the bottom of it when she returned to Rome.Uss, the 40-year-old son of a Russian regional governor, was detained in October 2022 at Milan Malpensa Airport on a U.S. warrant accusing him of violating sanctions. In November, a ruling from a Milan appeals court resulted in him being moved from jail to house arrest and outfitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet.He escaped from Italy on March 22, a day after a Milan court recognized as legitimate the U.S. extradition request, and surfaced in Russia earlier this month.“For sure there are anomalies,” Meloni told reporters in Ethiopia. “The principal anomaly...

Winning ticket for $476 million Mega Millions jackpot sold in NYC

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

NEW YORK (WPIX) – Jackpot!The winning ticket for Friday's $476 million Mega Millions drawing was sold at a convenience store in the New York City borough of Queens, according to lottery officials.The nearly half-billion jackpot ranks as the 13th largest in Mega Millions history, and the largest ever won during the month of April since the lottery game began in 2002.The lucky ticket, sold at Liberty Beer and Convenience in Ozone Park, was the only to match all six winning numbers from Friday night's drawing: 23, 27, 41, 48 and 51, along with the Mega Ball 22.Friday's jackpot also marks the first time the grand-prize had been won since Jan. 31, when a $31-million jackpot was awarded to ticketholders in Massachusetts. Mega Millions: Are your jackpot odds worse when more people play? In addition to the $476-million grand prize, April 14's drawing produced two $1-million winners (who matched all five white balls) and 21 third-tier prizes of $10,000 or $20,000.The biggest jackpot in Me...

Murder suspect released from NC jail turns himself back in: 'We will learn from this,' sheriff says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – A murder suspect who was accidentally released on a court processing error has tuned himself back in, law enforcement officials in North Carolina announced on Saturday.Jaylan Davis, 25, is charged with murder and other violent felonies.Deputies with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office say Davis was processed out of the Mecklenburg County Detention Center Thursday after a court order indicated that charges against him were dismissed.Officials advised those charges, however, were not dismissed, and the order was a clerical error.The sheriff's office issued an alert on social media Friday night, notifying anyone who may "observe or encounter" Davis to call 911. Driver shows ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card to deputy at traffic stop Saturday morning, Davis turned himself in to the county's Detention Center Central. “I am grateful that it appears that no one was harmed as a result of this mishap, though I am sure it was an emotional rollercoaster for the familie...

Here's how much a Texas wedding costs on average

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Getting hitched this year? Wedding site The Knot recently released its 2022 Real Weddings Study to determine the average cost of a wedding in each U.S. state. The results show wedding expenses are adjusting back to pre-pandemic prices, as the average wedding now costs around $30,000. That's a $2,000 year-over-year increase, likely attributable to overall inflation, the Knot says. Texas outdoor weddings: The best, worst cities to have them, rankings show Wedding cost in Texas is slightly below the national average: $27,000. The 2022 total cost increased by $1,000 since 2021.The most expensive wedding state for yet another year? New Jersey, where a wedding will cost an average of $51,000. The least expensive weddings, on average, can be thrown in Kansas, Oklahoma and Utah — average wedding costs in these states are well below the national average at $16,000.Take a look at this interactive map to see the average wedding cost in your state.Curious how wedding costs break d...

Working Strategies: Summertime blues and the work-life balance

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

Amy LindgrenThere’s nothing like navigating icy sidewalks in April to make you ready for a change. As in, I am so done with this! It’s been a long winter in many parts of the U.S., breaking records for inclement weather and relentless storm systems. It wouldn’t be surprising to see trends for relocations or other life changes this spring as people take stock of their lives.Anecdotally, one pattern I often see in the spring is an increase in conversations about ramping down at work. Being based in Minnesota, I have no doubt about the timing: Life is short, but summer is shorter. Worker bees suddenly freed from their parkas and wool hats start thinking about real bees, and birds, and flowers, and everything else they’ve been missing.It’s not a geographic phenomena by any means. Thanks to our school calendars, Americans are programmed to see summer as the season of freedom. But how to take advantage if you have a job?Following are four ways to ramp down your summer work schedule....

Gloversville duo arrested after drug sale investigation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Two Gloversville men were arrested following a lengthy drug sale investigation in the Amsterdam area, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. James Dean, 46, and Michael McDonald, 38, face several charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Dean and McDonald were arrested Friday on outstanding warrants for third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Deputies say these arrested stem from a proactive and lengthy investigation into drug sales in the Amsterdam area. Dean Charges:Third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substanceThird-degree criminal possession of a controlled substanceFourth-degree conspiracyMcDonald Charges:Third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substanceFourth-degree conspiracy Troy softball outlasts Averill Park in extras Dean and McDonald were arraigned in Root Town Court and are held at the Montg...

Banks remain wary of marijuana industry, even after Missouri legalization vote

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:55:03 GMT

Jason Nelson just wants to get as close to “fairly normalized business banking” as possible.But as the owner of Swade dispensaries and Sinse Cannabis cultivation, that’s much harder than it sounds.He’s a customer at Triad Bank in St. Louis, one of the few banks in Missouri willing to work with cannabis businesses. His employees have direct-deposit for payroll, 401-K contributions and full benefits packages. But there’s a lot that’s not normal, like the company’s inability to have a business credit card. “That’s just a non-starter for us with a cannabis business,” Nelson said.Major credit card companies want nothing to do with a business that sells a product the federal government still considers illegal — even in states that have legalized marijuana. That means all transactions for cannabis businesses nationwide are done in cash.Few banks nationwide serve cannabis businesses and their owners — or even their auxiliary partners – for the same reason.“There’s this divide...