Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator in do-over after Musk feud

Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator in do-over after Musk feud

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Wednesday, placing him atop the agency after a monthslong saga where President Donald Trump revoked his nomination as part of a feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk. Isaacman, who has promised to bring a business-minded approach to the space…

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Trump administration delays decision on federal protections for monarch butterflies

Trump administration delays decision on federal protections for monarch butterflies

MADISON, Wis. – President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced during the waning days of then-President Joe Biden’s term in December 2024 that the agency planned to…

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Disney invests B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool

Disney invests $1B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool

Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will bring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker to the AI company’s Sora video generation tool, in a licensing deal that the two companies announced on Thursday. At the same time, Disney went after Google, demanding the tech company stop exploiting its copyrighted characters…

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Blend of unusual weather conditions brings trillions of gallons in persistent rain to the Northwest

Blend of unusual weather conditions brings trillions of gallons in persistent rain to the Northwest

Warm water and air and unusual weather conditions tracing back as far as tropical cyclone flooding in Indonesia helped supercharge stubborn atmospheric rivers that have drenched Washington state with almost 5 trillion gallons (19 trillion liters) of rain in the past seven days, threatening record flood levels, meteorologists said. The worst and most persistent of…

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Blend of unusual weather conditions brings trillions of gallons in persistent rain to the Northwest

Blend of unusual weather conditions brings trillions of gallons in persistent rain to the Northwest

Warm water and air and unusual weather conditions tracing back as far as tropical cyclone flooding in Indonesia helped supercharge stubborn atmospheric rivers that have drenched Washington state with almost 5 trillion gallons (19 trillion liters) of rain in the past seven days, threatening record flood levels, meteorologists said. The worst and most persistent of…

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Congress would target China with new restrictions in massive defense bill

Congress would target China with new restrictions in massive defense bill

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration may have softened its language on China to maintain a fragile truce in their trade war, but Congress is charging ahead with more restrictions in a defense authorization bill that would deny Beijing investments in highly sensitive sectors and reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese biotechnology companies. Included in the 3,000-page…

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Australia demands social media giants report progress on account bans for children under 16

Australia demands social media giants report progress on account bans for children under 16

MELBOURNE – Australian authorities on Thursday demanded some of the world’s biggest social media platforms report how many accounts they have deactivated since a ban on accounts for children younger than 16 became law. Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch all said they would abide by Australia’s world-first law that…

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