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Giant SpaceX rocket launches, explodes minutes later over Gulf of Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday from Boca Chica Beach, but failed minutes after rising from the launch pad.Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas. It carried no people or satellites, and both the booster and spacecraft on top were to be ditched into the Gulf of Mexico.Plan for the launch. Photo: SpaceX websiteAfter the blast, SpaceX posted on Twitter, “As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.”“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary.”Musk said on Twitter the testing will continue, “Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.”Thousands of spectato...

Florida Division of Emergency Management officials apologize for early-morning alert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

The Florida Division of Emergency Management sent out a tweet apologizing after waking up Floridians at 4:45 a.m. Thursday. A loud buzzing sound emitting from phones with the alert: “EMERGENCY ALERT: TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”https://twitter.com/FLSERT/status/1649030370791178241?s=20The alert, according to FDEM was supposed to be only on TVs not on phones.Ron DeSantis announced he has reached out to FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie to bring accountability for what occurred, calling it “inappropriate.” https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1649061429348032512?s=20FDEM said they are taking the appropriate action to ensure this will never happen again and that only true emergencies are sent as alerts in the middle of the night.The state tests the emergency alert system once a month.

Elon Musk’s Starship rocket blows up minutes after launch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

Starship, Elon Musk’s space rocket, exploded shortly after launch in Texas on Thursday.The Starship rocket’s booster attempted to separate, at which point its systems failed and Musk’s company SpaceX was forced to blow up the rocket, which was uncrewed.FTS abort. Well done Booster 7 (and Ship 24)! That was still a big win. Launch site is fine and got a lot of first stage data!Next up, Booster 9!https://t.co/npUj2AHByW pic.twitter.com/KRxBwsLlKq— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) April 20, 2023“As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX said in a statement.Billionaire entrepreneur Musk had said that anything that got off the launchpad would be considered a win. The rocket is being tested with the aim of one day being used to shuttle passengers to Mars. “Congrats SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship!” Musk tweeted. “Learned a lot for next test ...

Patriots players help refurnish Fisher House apartments for military families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

The Patriots made a special delivery on Wednesday to help military families at the Fisher House in Boston feel at home. Teaming up with Bob’s Discount Furniture, the New England Patriots Foundation refurnished three apartments run by Fisher House, which provides housing for military families receiving medical care in the city. “If you’re a military member and you’re coming here and you were just told you have to stay three months, you’ll lose your home,” said Fisher House Executive Director Jennifer DeLuca. ” So we step in and we make sure if you serve this country we serve you.”Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona and tight end Matt Sokol helped upgrade and decorate the apartment of the Sam and Brynne Bish, who have been staying in an apartment provided by the Fisher House since January while their 9-week-old, Cillian, receives care at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Two days after his diagnosis, we flew out to Boston Children&#...

Tom Brady throws party to celebrate retirement from NFL

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

Tom Brady threw a party to celebrate his retirement from the NFL after a 23-year career. Patriots icons including Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman were in attendance and having a great time doing everything from beach football to hitting the dance floor. “Grateful to have the chance to celebrate such an amazing life on and off the field with friends and family,” Brady Tweeted. Brady, who is widely considered the most successful quarterback in NFL history, announced that he was “retiring for good” in February. https://twitter.com/TomBrady/status/1648696402761990144

House passes trans athlete ban for girls and women’s teams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would bar federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male to compete on girls or women’s sports teams.The legislation approved by a 219-203 vote is unlikely to advance further because the Democratic-led Senate will not support it and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it. Supporters said the legislation, which would put violators at risk of losing taxpayer dollars, is necessary to ensure competitive fairness. They framed the vote as supporting female athletes disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identify does not match their sex assigned at birth. Opponents criticized the bill as ostracizing an already vulnerable group for political gain. The House action comes as at least 20 other states have imposed similar limits on trans athletes at the K-12 or co...

Jalin Hyatt could be among the receivers the Jets could target in the NFL Draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

A week before the 2023 NFL Draft, which will begin on April 27, wide receiver isn’t a significant need for the Jets.However, that did not stop the Jets from pursuing Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency.Following weeks of speculation, Beckham signed a one-year contract with the Ravens, which can reach up to $18 million, including up to $3 million in incentives. Before Beckham joined the Ravens, the Jets signed Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman.But could Gang Green target a wide receiver at some point in the draft?It might not be in the first round, but there are a few receivers the Jets could have on their draft board. Among them could be Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.After two pedestrian years with the Volunteers, Hyatt had a breakthrough 2022 season. In 12 games, Hyatt registered 67 catches for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner for the nation’s best receiver, as Hyatt was also named a unanimous All-American.“The vertica...

It could be another next man up for Heat after Duncan Robinson uneven in place of Tyler Herro

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

The differences in depth could not have been more stark.With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench and inserted Bobby Portis into his starting lineup in what turned into a 138-122 blowout victory. Such was the luxury of having available the final Eastern Conference Player of the Week for 2022-23.With Tyler Herro out for the Miami Heat with the fractured right hand sustained in his team’s series-opening Sunday victory, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with a player who started just one game in 2022-23. No, it did not go well with Duncan Robinson in the loss that evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1 going into Saturday night’s Game 3 at Kaseya Center.Portis closed with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 27:57. Robinson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25:36, not scoring until both teams had emptied their benches in the fourth q...

US traffic deaths drop slightly in 2022 but still a ‘crisis’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The number of people killed on U.S. roadways decreased slightly last year, but government officials said the 42,795 people who died is still a national crisis.Estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that the number of fatalities dropped 0.3% from the 42,939 killed in 2021. Traffic deaths declined slightly in the fourth quarter, the third straight quarterly drop.But they’re still close to 2021 numbers, which were the highest in 16 years.“We continue to face a national crisis of traffic deaths on our roadways, and everyone has a role to play in reversing the rise that we experienced in recent years,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said in a statement Thursday.The department has adopted a national safe systems strategy in an effort to reduce the deaths, including more than $800 million in grants to help communities with projects in high-crash areas, NHTSA said in a statement.Estimates from the agen...

SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:41 GMT

By MARCIA DUNN (AP Aerospace Writer)SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off Thursday on it first test flight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites.Images showed multiple engines weren’t working on the 33-engine rocket as it climbed from the launch pad, reaching as high as 24 miles (39 kilometers.)The flight plan had called for the booster to peel away from the spacecraft minutes after liftoff, but that didn’t happen. The rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight, plummeting into the gulf.After separating, the spacecraft was supposed to continue east and attempt to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away fro...