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SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch X-37B plane, one of the US military’s most fascinating secrets

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

(CNN) — SpaceX’s hulking Falcon Heavy rocket will return to the skies Thursday evening, and this time it’s launching a mysterious spacecraft for the US military that will carry out cutting-edge research.The rocket is scheduled to lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:07 p.m. ET, carrying the military’s X-37B space plane — which is uncrewed and operates autonomously — to unprecedented altitudes. The launch will stream live on SpaceX’s website.It is not clear, however, exactly where the space plane is going.The X-37B’s activities in space have long been the subject of fascination and speculation in the space community as amateur enthusiasts race to track its whereabouts and share theories about its activities.Resembling a miniature NASA space shuttle with the windows blacked out, the reusable and fully autonomous X-37B has been known to carry out research on concepts such as relaying solar energy from space for use back on Earth and studying the...

SMU will face Boston College in the Fenway Bowl for its first taste of ACC play

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — No. 17 SMU gets an Atlantic Coast Conference prequel when it plays Boston College in the Fenway Bowl on Thursday.After winning the American Athletic Conference championship in their final season there, the Mustangs get a head start on their ACC membership when they face BC at the home of the Boston Red Sox in a preview of a new league rivalry set to begin next season.“It’s a neat way to kind of start to welcome you guys into the ACC,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said Wednesday at the Fenway Bowl media day. “It’s not only a future conference opponent. It’s one of the top teams in the entire country who won their conference and would have had a very successful season in the ACC if they were already in the ACC.”Conference realignment has shaken up college football, and perhaps nowhere is the shuffling weirder than in SMU’s jump to the ACC. The decidedly not Atlantic coast Dallas school is joining along with California and Stanford to create a — for now — 17-team ...

Anti-corruption authorities to investigate Zambia’s finance minister over cash-counting video

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Anti-corruption authorities in Zambia say they would investigate after a video posted on social media allegedly showed the country’s finance minister receiving piles of cash from a Chinese businessman.Finance Minister Stanley Kakubo resigned Tuesday but denied wrongdoing and said he had stepped down because he didn’t want to cause a distraction for the government. He did not deny he was one of the people seen in the video but said there had been “malicious claims over a business transaction between my private family business and our business partner.”“In due course, we will provide the accurate context,” he said.Kakubo said he would keep his position as a parliament member, while the Zambian Anti-Corruption Commission said it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the video.The video shows at least three men counting piles of money neatly stacked on a table, some of it in U.S. dollars and some of it in Zambian kwacha. None of the men&...

New weight loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New obesity drugs are showing promising results in helping some people shed pounds but the injections will remain out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare is forbidden to cover such medications. Drugmakers and a wide-ranging and growing bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are gearing up to push for that to change next year. As obesity rates rise among older adults, some lawmakers say the United States cannot afford to keep a decades-old law that prohibits Medicare from paying for new weight loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound. But research shows the initial price tag of covering those drugs is so steep it could drain Medicare’s already shaky bank account. A look at the debate around if — and how — Medicare should cover obesity drugs: WHAT OBESITY DRUGS ARE ON THE MARKET AND HOW DO THEY WORK? The Food and Drug Administration has in recent years approved a new class of weekly injectables, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’...

Recall of nearly 5 million portable blenders under way for unsafe blades and dozens of burn injuries

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

BlendJet is recalling about 4.8 million of its portable blenders over laceration and fire hazards after receiving dozens of reports of injuries, federal regulators said Thursday.BlendJet 2 Portable Blenders can overheat or catch fire, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and their blender blades can break off during use.There have been 329 reports of blades breaking during use to date, the CPSC said, as well as 17 additional reports of overheating or fires that resulted in about $150,000 of property damage claims. The company has also received 49 reports of minor burn injuries and one reported laceration injury.Regulators urged consumers to stop using the recalled blenders immediately and contact BlendJet for a free base unit replacement. To receive the replacement part, customers will need to remove and cut up the base’s rubber seal and email or upload a photo using BlendJet’s website.BlendJet said in a prepared statement that the reca...

CP NewsAlert: Last Canadian kidnapped by Hamas, Judih Weinstein Haggai, declared dead

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

OTTAWA — Judih Weinstein Haggai, the only Canadian citizen who was still missing amid the Israel-Hamas conflict and believed to be held in the Gaza Strip, has been confirmed dead. Her family says she died on Oct. 7, the day that Hamas militants conducted a brutal assault on Israel. More to come.The Canadian Press

Rescue efforts underway to evacuate 10 people after plane crash in N.W.T.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

Rescue efforts are underway after a small aircraft crashed on Wednesday leaving 10 people stranded with injuries near a diamond mine about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. The spokesman of the 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters says the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton launched a search-and-rescue operation after an Air Tindi Twin Otter aircraft landed about 16 kilometres southeast of Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories.David Lavallee says a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules aircraft flew from Winnipeg and arrived to the accident area on Wednesday evening. He says three search-and-rescue technicians, who are highly-trained first response and survival experts, were parachuted to the accident location with supplies and equipment.Lavallee says the plane had two crew members and eight passengers on board when it crashed and six of these people had minor injuries while two had moderate to serious injuries. The Joint Rescue Coordina...

Hoops star Gilgeous-Alexander named CP male athlete of the year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took 2023 by storm, blossoming into a superstar on both the NBA and international stages.The basketball star from Hamilton has added another feather to his cap, coming out on top of an impressive field to be named The Canadian Press male athlete of the year.Gilgeous-Alexander broke out in 2022-23 with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, who exceeded expectations by almost squeezing into the playoffs. This season, with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, the Thunder are currently second in a competitive Western Conference.He also led Canada to its first-ever FIBA World Cup medal in September, earning bronze with a win over the United States. Canada’s performance at the tournament earned it its first Olympic berth since 2000.“Representing Hamilton and helping grow the game of basketball in Canada is one of the true joys of playing in the NBA, and I greatly appreciate the recognition from The Canadian Press with this award,” he said in a statement. Rela...

Youth dead, one missing after teens fall through ice on the Rideau River

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

A teenager has died after falling through ice on the Rideau River Wednesday night.Ottawa Police Service and firefighters continue to search for one youth who still remains missing.Emergency crews were called to Nicolls Island Road, an area of the Rideau River near Barrhaven and Manotick, around 11:44 p.m..They were responding to reports of four youth who had fallen through the ice.Two of the four individuals were immediately rescued from the water and taken to CHEO by paramedics.Two others, a 16 and 17 year old, were believed to still be in the water.The Ottawa Police Marine Unit and Ottawa Fire later recovered the deceased body of one of the missing teens.The rescue operation, which took place through the night, included a surface and water search in very difficult conditions, police say.The search continues for the second missing teen.Police say in a statement, ‘This tragic incident affects us all and we have offered supports to the loved ones of the youths.’

Stock market today: Stocks edge higher on Wall Street in muted trading

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:58:14 GMT

Stocks edged higher on Wall Street in what’s expected to be another quiet day between the Christmas and New Year holidays. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63 points, or 0.2% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.1%. Markets have held on to slight gains for the week so far, and the S&P 500 is hovering just below its all-time high set in January of 2022. The benchmark index is coming off its eighth straight winning week and is is up more than 24% for the year.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Futures for the S&P 500 were virtually unchanged before the bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose nearly 0.3%.Trading has been subdued in the last trading week of the year. The S&P 500 is coming off its eighth straight winning week and is hovering just below its all-time high set in January of 2022.The final week of 2023 lacks any...