Part of a file, dated Nov. 24, 1963, quoting FBI director J. Edgar Hoover as he talks about the death of Lee Harvey Oswald, is photographed in Washington, Oct. 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)2025-03-18T12:05:13Z DALLAS (AP) President Donald Trump says files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy will be released Tuesday without any redactions, making good on a promise he made during his campaign.Trump told reporters Monday that his administration will be releasing 80,000 files, though its not clear how many of those are among the millions of pages of records that have already been made public.We have a tremendous amount of paper. Youve got a lot of reading, Trump said while at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.He also said he doesnt believe anything will be redacted from the files. I said, Just dont redact. You cant redact, he said.Many who have studied whats been released so far by the government say the public shouldnt anticipate any earth-shattering revelations from the newly released documents, but there is still intense interest in details related to the assassination and the events surrounding it. Here are some things to know: Trumps orderShortly after he was sworn into office, Trump ordered the release of the remaining classified files related to the assassination, which has spawned countless conspiracy theories.He directed the national intelligence director and attorney general to develop a plan to release the records. The order also aimed to declassify the remaining federal records related to the 1968 assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.After signing the order, Trump handed the pen to an aide and directed that it be given to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Trump administrations top health official. Hes the nephew of John F. Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy. The younger Kennedy, whose anti-vaccine activism has alienated him from much of his family, has said he isnt convinced that a lone gunman was solely responsible for his uncles the assassination. Nov. 22, 1963When Air Force One carrying JFK and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy touched down in Dallas, they were greeted by a clear sky and enthusiastic crowds. With a reelection campaign on the horizon the next year, they went to Texas for a political fence-mending trip.But as the motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald, who had positioned himself from a snipers perch on the sixth floor. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer.A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, which President Lyndon B. Johnson established to investigate, concluded that Oswald acted alone and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy. But that didnt quell a web of alternative theories over the decades.The JFK files In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection of over 5 million pages of records was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president. Trump, who took office for his first term in 2017, had said that he would allow the release of all of the remaining records but ended up holding some back because of what he called the potential harm to national security. And while files continued to be released during President Joe Bidens administration, some remain unseen.Researchers have estimated that 3,000 files or so havent been released, either in whole or in part. And last month, the FBI said that it had discovered about 2,400 new records related to the assassination. The agency said then that it was working to transfer the records to the National Archives to be included in the declassification process.There are still some documents in the JFK collection that researchers dont believe the president will be able to release. Around 500 documents, including tax returns, werent subject to the 2017 disclosure requirement. Whats been learnedSome of the documents already released have offered details on the way intelligence services operated at the time, including CIA cables and memos discussing visits by Oswald to the Soviet and Cuban embassies during a trip to Mexico City just weeks before the assassination. The former Marine had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning home to Texas.One CIA memo describes how Oswald phoned the Soviet embassy while in Mexico City to ask for a visa to visit the Soviet Union. He also visited the Cuban embassy, apparently interested in a travel visa that would permit him to visit Cuba and wait there for a Soviet visa. On Oct. 3, more than a month before the assassination, he drove back into the United States through a crossing point at the Texas border.Another memo, dated the day after Kennedys assassination, says that according to an intercepted phone call in Mexico City, Oswald communicated with a KGB officer while at the Soviet embassy that September.The releases have also contributed to the understanding of that time period during the Cold War, researchers said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00790-0National agencies too often use spurious reasons to deny researchers unfettered access to resources that are key to understanding past and future climate change.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00792-ySpaceX and other companies plan to launch tens of thousands of satellites, which could mar astronomical observations and pollute the atmosphere.

A French bulldog plays with a toy during breed group judging at the 148th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 13, 2024, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, file)2025-03-18T11:51:09Z NEW YORK (AP) The U.S. still has a major case of French bulldog fever, but a very different breed is staunchly chasing dog lovers hearts, according to American Kennel Club statistics released Wednesday. For the third year in a row, the comical, controversial Frenchie tops the clubs annual rundown of the nations most prevalent purebred dogs. Frenchies are followed by Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and some other longtime faves. (Rounding out the top 10: dachshunds, beagles, Rottweilers, bulldogs and German shorthaired pointers.)Yet keep an eye on the cane corso. The powerful, protective breed vaulted from nearly 50th to 14th in the rankings in just a decade.Popularity is seen as a mixed blessing among dog breeders and as an outright scourge by their critics. Some animal welfare activists say the AKC rankings drive fads that fuel puppy mills. The AKC says the list documents, not promotes, dog-ownership trends, and the nonprofit club notes that it conducts thousands of breeder and pet store inspections per year. Amid the arguments, theres no disputing that there are plenty of lovable dogs in the nations animal shelters. Heres a look at the trends and what they mean. The Frenchie phenomenonThe AKC ranking reflects purebreds, mostly puppies, that were added last year to the nations oldest dog registry. Nearly 74,500 were Frenchies. Thats down from 98,500 in 2023 and 108,000 in 2022, but the AKC isnt saying that the wave has crested. Registration is voluntary, and spokesperson Brandi Hunter Munden notes that the numbers can fluctuate year-to-year. The small, pointy-eared bulldog breed with a big personality is still way ahead of the once-dominant Lab, which logged 58,500 new registrations last year. French bulldogs have existed in the U.S. since at least the 19th century, but theyve been on a tear in the 21st, fueled partly by celebrity owners and social media. They are fabulous companions, the AKCs Gina DiNardo said. Frenchie folk praise the dogs modest grooming and exercise needs, generally confident and friendly demeanor and, of course, those smushy mugs that fans find irresistible but critics call irresponsible. There can be health problems associated with squished faces and other features, and both detractors and devotees lament that the breed has become too hyped for its own good, attracting unprincipled breeders, unprepared owners and sometimes violent thieves.The can-do cane corsoIf a Frenchie is sometimes described as a clown in the cloak of a philosopher, a cane corso is a protector with no use for a cloak. Big, strong and athletic, the cane corso (pronounced KAH'-neh KOHR'-so) served as a Roman war dog and later a farmers helper, boar hunter and household guardian.Todays cane corsi (the proper plural) are prized as loyal, rather august companions and adept dog-sports competitors. But breeders worry that social media is spreading misconceptions about the dogs, which they say are not suitable for everyone.Breeder Vickie Venzen insists that would-be puppy buyers visit her Maryland home, where she introduces them first to an outgoing, easygoing corso and explains that such a temperament isnt standard for the breed. Then she will bring out a corso with a classic and desirable demeanor: likely to greet an invited visitor peacefully, but without tail-wagging effusiveness. After its greeting, the dog may walk off and watch with cool vigilance.Next comes one of her hard dogs: one thats a bit too quick to display its protective instincts.The point is to show the spectrum of corsi temperaments and make clear that theyre neither lapdogs that just look tough nor rough-and-tumble creatures that can be left outside to guard. Theyre very sensitive to their families, Venzen said.Theyre very good dogs, and theyre very versatile, and they can be taught a lot, said Venzen, who was delighted to learn recently that a dog she bred mastered paddleboarding. But you cant be so foolish as to think you can put it in any situation and the dog will understand. New dogs The newest breed to be counted, the Lancashire heeler, came in at 189th out of AKCs 201 recognized breeds last year. The next-newest, the bracco Italiano, sprang last year from 152nd to 132nd, and some longtime aficionados already are concerned about its trajectory, said owner Deb Pereira of North Stonington, Connecticut. She stresses that the substantial, handsome and sociable hunting dogs need a good deal of physical and mental exercise. Quite a few still hunt; Pereiras bracco, Elvira, is an agility champion, and her daily walks cover about four miles (6.5 kilometers). Few dogsThe five rarest AKC-recognized breeds are the sloughi, the Norwegian lundehund, the grand basset griffon Venden, the Bergamasco sheepdog and, at 201st, the English foxhound. Doodle doingsTo date, the AKC hasnt recognized any sheepadoodles, Havapoos, borgis or other designer hybrids. The club said it has gotten some inquiries, but no doodle or other designer breed fanciers have formally begun the often yearslong process of seeking recognition. And about the everydogs ...Theres no census of everyday mixed-breed dogs in the U.S., but the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates the country has about 90 million dogs purebreds, designer mixes and others.After animal shelters cleared out during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and then filled to overflowing, last years data from advocacy groups Shelter Animals Count and Best Friends Animal Society differ as to whether dog arrivals and adoptions rose or fell and by how much. Thats not inexplicable, as the two groups count different sets of organizations. But both emphasize that purebreds and mixed-breeds come up for adoption. Really, if you find it in your heart to rescue or adopt a pet, thats the way to go, Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle said.

A mallard spreads his wings in the sun at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-03-18T13:17:42Z WASHINGTON (AP) Bird flu has devastated poultry and dairy farms, and sent the price of eggs soaring in the United States since it was first detected in North America in late 2021. But what has been the toll on wild birds? More than 170 species of North American wild birds including ducks, geese, gulls, owls, eagles and others have been infected with bird flu. Take precautions around sick or dead wild birds, experts recommend. But you can keep your bird feeder up. Despite the spread in birds and other wild animals, scientists say the threat to the general population is currently low. Which wild birds can get bird flu?More than 12,000 individual birds have tested positive since the virus began spreading, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. The count is a gross underestimate because most dead birds are never taken to a lab for testing, said Bryan Richards at the U.S. Geological Surveys National Wildlife Health Center in in Madison, Wisconsin. Dabbling ducks, such as mallards and blue-winged teal, can carry the virus with few symptoms because these viruses co-evolved in waterfowl, said Richards. But ducks can also shed the virus in their feces or saliva, sometimes infecting other birds or mammals like foxes. Birds without natural immunity that migrate or roost together in large flocks, such as geese, are most likely to die in large numbers. A recent bird flu outbreak among migratory eared grebes in Utah killed between 15,000 and 25,000 birds near Great Salt Lake, state wildlife officials said in early February. Seabirds, which tend to roost in large numbers, are also highly impacted.Songbirds such as Northern cardinals, blue jays or chickadees the kind of birds that might visit bird feeders can also become infected and die, but their populations appear to fare better since they dont gather closely in large groups where the virus could spread, said Michael J. Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy. What are bird flu symptoms in wild birds?Symptoms vary, but may include lack of coordination, inability to fly and respiratory distress. If people see a wild bird acting weird, the best thing they can do is call their local wildlife rehabilitator and avoid handling it directly, said Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein, a veterinarian and medical director at the University of Minnesotas Raptor Center. If you must handle an infected bird, its best to wear gloves and a mask as a precaution.Is it safe to have a backyard bird feeder?Experts say bird feeders are generally safe and arent a notable source of spreading bird flu. But if you also keep backyard chickens, Parr of the American Bird Conservancy recommends taking the bird feeder down to prevent possible transmission to poultry. Birdfeeders and nesting boxes should also be cleaned regularly. The risk of spread to people from bird feeders is very, very low, he said. How is the bird flu outbreak affecting endangered bird species? In the case of critically endangered California condors, scientists organized a vaccination program after some birds became infected. But thats not a realistic option for most wild bird species. Instead, experts recommend giving wild birds the best chance by taking other steps to protect habitats and reduce various risks that species face, such as exposure to pesticides or lead ammo.Bald eagles, which are federally protected but no longer endangered, are scavengers that will eat dead animals. That first year, we lost a lot of eagles likely from bald eagles eating infected ducks or bringing them to their nests, said Richards. Scientists also documented an unusually high number of eagle chicks that didnt survive into adulthood during the first breeding season after the virus appeared in North America, likely because the chicks got the virus or sick parents werent able to adequately feed and care for them.But over time, the number of confirmed infections in eagles nationwide has declined from 427 in 2022 to 48 last year. That may mean that eagles that survived the first year now have some acquired immunity, said Franzen-Klein. This past migration season, researchers counted a record number of bald eagles migrating through northern Minnesota. There are good signs of hope that eagles in the region are rebounding, she said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. CHRISTINA LARSON Larson is a science writer on The Associated Press Global Health & Science team. She has reported on the environment from five continents. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here.Using the Freedom of Information Act, 404 Media has obtained several memos that government agencies were required to create by President Trump in order to comply with his Defending Women executive order. The memos explain exactly how different agencies are seeking to purge the notion that trans people exist.Many of the changes laid out in the memos had been previously reported by 404 Media and other news outlets. But the fact that we got anything back from FOIA at all indicates that it will likely be possible to get information about what the administration is doing by using public records requests. FOIA may indeed be a way to bring transparency and some semblance of accountability to an administration that has gutted the federal workforce and has attempted to evade public records laws, especially when those FOIAs are filed with non-DOGE agencies. In the first month of Trumps administration, we have filed dozens of requests across many different agencies, including DOGE. We also led a training about how to do this yourself, which you can watch here. We will continue to report on the documents that we get as we get them.The Office of Personnel Management required all federal agencies to submit a memo to the email address defendingwomen@opm.gov on February 7 that included a.) a complete list of actions taken in response to this guidance and Defending Women; and b.) any agency plans to fully comply with this guidance and Defending Women. 404 Media has obtained these memos from both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor. Muckrock user Russel Neiss obtained memos from the American Battle Monuments Commission and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 404 Media has pending requests with 24 other agencies.The EPAs memo was sent to the defendingwomen@opm.gov inbox but was also sent directly to Amanda Scales, a former HR executive for Elon Musks xAI company who is now chief of staff for the Office of Personnel Management, which functions more or less as the HR department for the federal government.Both the EPA and Department of Labor memos have a series of bullet points that explain what the agencies did to comply with the executive order.For the EPA, these included, for example: Ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by biological sex and not gender identity, and Cancel any trainings that inculcate or promote gender ideology or have done so in the past.The Department of Labor, meanwhile, Removed requests for gender and substitute requests for sex in agency forms, and Reviewed all agency programs, contracts, and grants, and identified for possible termination those that promote or inculcate gender ideology. Additionally, all references to the word gender were modified sex; to men or women; males or females; or boys or girls as appropriate.The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights removed the universal bathroom signs at headquarters, and the American Battle Monuments Commission revised its internal policies, documents, and forms to replace gender with sex.DOL memoEPA MemoWe also obtained a mass email that the EPA sent to its employees instructing them to remove pronouns from their email signatures and informing them that the agency prohibits Employee Resource Groups that promote unlawful DEIA initiatives.The full memos are available here:Department of LaborEnvironmental Protection AgencyU.S. Commission on Civil RightsAmerican Battle Monuments CommissionA federal judge has ruled that DOGE itself must release records under federal records laws, but the case is still being litigated.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00771-3Memorable tripartite phrases in titles make studies more likely to be read and cited.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00788-8Satellites connect people around the world but they also interfere with astronomers views of the cosmos. There are ways to reduce these tensions.

Palestinians Ali Marouf and his mother Aisha cook on fire on the roof of their destroyed house by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-03-18T14:26:52Z The wave of Israeli strikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday was the culmination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus efforts to get out of the ceasefire with Hamas that he agreed to in January.Since the start of the war, Netanyahu has faced dueling, possibly incompatible pressures: Families of the hostages want him to cut a deal with Hamas to free them, while his far-right coalition partners want to continue the war with the aim of annihilating the militant group. On Tuesday, he appeared to cast his lot with the latter and U.S. President Donald Trumps administration has backed Netanyahus decision to unilaterally walk away from the ceasefire it took credit for brokering.Both Israel and the United States blame the renewed hostilities on Hamas refusal to release more hostages before negotiations on ending the war proceed which was not part of the ceasefire agreement. Israel has accused Hamas of preparing for new attacks, without providing evidence. The militant group has denied those allegations. Hamas which has yet to respond militarily to the Israeli strikes has spent weeks calling for serious talks on the ceasefire agreements second phase, which calls for the release of the remaining living hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire.Those talks were supposed to begin in early February. Now they may never happen. What did the ceasefire agreement say?The agreement reached in January, under pressure from the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump one, called for a phased ceasefire aimed at freeing all the hostages abducted in Hamas Oct 7, 2023, attack and ending the war it caused.Under the first phase, which ran from Jan. 19 to March 1, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in return for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, including senior militants serving life sentences for deadly attacks. Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to what remained of their homes, and there was a surge of humanitarian aid. Each side accused the other of violations, and Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians the military accused of engaging in militant activities or entering no-go zones. But the truce held.Still, the second phase was always seen as far more difficult. Through months of negotiations, Netanyahu had repeatedly cast doubt on it, insisting Israel was committed to returning all the hostages and destroying Hamas military and governing capabilities two war goals that many believe are irreconcilable.In a TV interview last June, Netanyahu cast doubt on the possibility of a lasting ceasefire before Hamas is destroyed. We are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. Im not willing to give up on that, he said.On Jan. 18, the eve of the ceasefire, he said we reserve the right to return to war if necessary with the backing of the United States. Why did Netanyahu back out of the ceasefire?Agreeing to a permanent ceasefire would almost certainly plunge Netanyahu into a political crisis that could end his nearly uninterrupted 15-year rule.Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had threatened to leave the coalition if Netanyahu progressed to Phase 2 instead of restarting the offensive. Opposition parties have promised to support him in any agreement that brings back hostages, but his coalition would still be severely weakened, making early elections likely.By resuming the fighting, Netanyahu ensured Smotrichs continued support. After the strikes, the Israeli leader regained another far-right partner, Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose party had bolted in January over the ceasefire but returned to the coalition Tuesday.Beyond the political jockeying, Netanyahus stated goal of annihilating Hamas would have almost certainly eluded him had he stuck with the ceasefire agreement.Hamas survived 15 months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations that killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed much of Gaza. When the truce took hold, the militant group immediately reasserted its rule. Theres no agreement on who should govern Gaza after the war, and even if the Western-backed Palestinian Authority were granted nominal control, Hamas would have strong influence on the ground and could rebuild its military capabilities.For many Israelis, especially Netanyahus hawkish base and far-right allies, that would look like defeat. It would add to the criticism he already faces over security failures surrounding the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. How did Netanyahu end the truce? After the first phase ended, Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to what he described as a new U.S. proposal in which Hamas would release half the remaining hostages in return for a seven-week extension of the truce and a vague promise to launch negotiations over a lasting ceasefire.Hamas refused, pointing out that the new proposal was different from the one they had agreed to in January and again called for the immediate launch of talks on Phase 2. It even offered to return an America-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages to get the talks back on track, an offer dismissed as psychological warfare by Israel. Trumps Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while making entirely impractical demands.In an attempt to impose the new arrangement on Hamas, Israel halted the import of all food, fuel and other humanitarian aid to Gaza. It later cut off electricity, affecting a vital desalination plant. Israel also said it would not withdraw from a strategic corridor on Gazas border with Egypt, as stipulated in the agreement.In recent days, Israel stepped up strikes across Gaza, targeting people it said were planting explosives or engaging in other militant activities. On Tuesday, at around 2 a.m., it launched one of the deadliest waves of strikes since the start of the war.What has Trump said about the ceasefire?Trump took credit for brokering the ceasefire in January, but since then has appeared to sour on it. He has warned that all hell will break loose if Hamas does not immediately release the hostages, while saying thats a decision for Israel to make.Trump has also proposed that Gazas roughly 2 million Palestinians be permanently relocated so the U.S. can take ownership of Gaza and develop it as a tourist destination. Netanyahu has embraced the plan, which has been universally condemned by Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights experts, who say it would violate international law.The White House said it was consulted ahead of Tuesdays strikes and supported Israels decision. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani waits on a pitch in the sixth inning of an MLB Japan Series baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)2025-03-18T14:31:51Z TOKYO (AP) Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a little extra zip on his fastball. Shohei Ohtani even admitted to some nerves.There was little doubt this was no ordinary baseball game.But the Japanese players who were playing in front of their home country at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday night handled any jitters they had quite well, delivering in clutch moments as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 in Major League Baseballs season opener.I was actually pretty nervous, Ohtani said through an interpreter. Its been a while since I was nervous, but today, definitely felt it.Ohtani finished with two hits in the Dodgers win, including a single in the fifth and a double in the ninth. Both hard-hit balls brought roars from the roughly 42,000 fans at a packed Tokyo Dome and were instrumental in helping the Dodgers get off to a good start this season. I dont think Ive ever seen Shohei nervous, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. One thing I did notice is how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. That was something very telling.Yamamoto pitched five quality innings to earn the win, giving up just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four. The right-handers fastball touched 98 mph and consistently sat in the 96-97 range, which is a few ticks higher than last year. It was the first time Yamamoto had been on the mound in a regular season game since his fantastic performance in Game 2 of the World Series, and the results carried over to the Tokyo Dome What I experienced in October, I learned a lot of things, Yamamoto said through a translator. What I should and what I shouldnt do in certain situations. Based on that, I feel more confident.Yamamoto said he wasnt trying to overthrow on his fastball. Instead, he said better mechanics have allowed him to throw a little harder. Roberts said theres no reason the 26-year-old cant compete for the NL Cy Young award if he pitches like he did against the Cubs and stays healthy. Great outing, I thought he commanded the baseball really well tonight, Roberts said. The fastball was as good as weve seen. Competed really well. There was some soft contact in there and he just navigated the game really well.Even in a losing effort, Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga was fantastic through four scoreless innings, giving up no hits while walking four. The Imanaga vs. Yamamoto matchup was the first all-Japanese starting pitching duel on opening day in MLB history.Imanaga and Yamamoto did a really good job handling the nerves of the start of the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. Imanaga said he was pleased with his outing, even if the final result wasnt what he wanted. The lefty retired Ohtani twice, once on a groundout and another time on a lineout. He said the experience from Tuesdays game should serve him well throughout the season.One of the lessons regarding the fastball was it felt really good, Imanaga said through an interpreter. Once I go back to the US obviously theres differences in humidity, environment and how far the ball goes but bottom line if I can throw the fastball I did today all the time and have confidence in it, Ill be good. The only Japanese player who had a quiet night was Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki, who finished 0 for 4 at the plate. With a runner on second in the eighth inning, he hit the ball fairly hard, but Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was there to snag the line drive.Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki will make his MLB debut on Wednesday night when the teams meet against at the Tokyo Dome for the finale of the two-game set. ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB DAVID BRANDT Brandt is an Associated Press sports writer based in Phoenix. He covers a wide variety of sports including the NBA, NFL and MLB. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00823-8AI demands a different approach to education

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00822-9Global cooperation is crucial for DeepSeek and broader AI research

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he leaves after a luncheon with the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-03-18T14:52:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a federal judge who tried to stop his deportation plans should be impeached, escalating his conflict with a judiciary thats been one of the few restraints on his administrations aggressive plans. Trump has routinely criticized judges, especially as they limit his efforts to expand presidential power and impose his sweeping agenda on the federal government. But his call for impeachment a rare step that is usually taken only in cases of grave ethical or criminal misconduct represents an intensifying clash between the judicial and executive branches.The Republican president described U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, as an unelected troublemaker and agitator in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. Boasberg recently issued an order blocking deportation flights under wartime authorities from an 18th century law that Trump invoked to carry out his plans. HE DIDNT WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY, Trump wrote on Tuesday. Im just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 has been used only three times before in U.S. history, all during congressionally declared wars. Trump issued a proclamation that the law was newly in effect due to what he claimed was an invasion by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. His administration is paying El Salvador to imprison alleged members of the gang. Boasberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, convened a hearing on Monday to discuss what he called possible defiance of his order after two deportation flights continued to El Salvador despite his verbal order that they be turned around to the U.S. Trump administration lawyers defended their actions, saying Boasbergs written order wasnt explicit, while an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union said I think were getting very close to a constitutional crisis.The Constitution gives the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority, the power to impeach a judge with a simple majority vote. But, like a presidential impeachment, any removal requires a vote from a two-thirds majority from the Senate.The presidents latest social media post aligns him more with allies like Elon Musk, who has made similar demands.What we are seeing is an attempt by one branch of government to intimidate another branch from performing its constitutional duty. It is a direct threat to judicial independence, Marin Levy, a Duke University law professor who specializes in the federal courts, said in an email.Only one day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, I have not heard the president talk about impeaching judges.Just 15 judges have been impeached in the nations history, according to the U.S. courts governing body, and just eight have been removed. The last judicial impeachment was in 2010. G. Thomas Porteous Jr. of New Orleans was impeached on charges he accepted bribes and then lied about it. He was convicted by the Senate and removed from office in December 2010.Calls to impeach judges have been rising as Trumps sweeping agenda faces pushback in the courts, and at least two members of Congress have said online they plan to introduce articles of impeachment against Boasberg. House Republicans already have filed articles of impeachment against two other judges, Amir Ali and Paul Engelmayer, over rulings theyve made in Trump-related lawsuits.____Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Mark Sherman contributed to this report. CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto

Military personnel search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno, File)2025-03-18T14:03:17Z SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) The parents of a U.S. college student who vanished almost two weeks ago in the resort town of Punta Cana have asked authorities to declare her legally dead.In a letter to Dominican police dated Monday, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki state that after an extensive search, local authorities believe that Sudiksha, a 20-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh, drowned.Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence, they wrote. While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.A police official not authorized to speak about the case confirmed Tuesday that authorities received the letter.Sudiksha Konanki and five female friends had traveled to the Caribbean nation on March 3 for spring break. Police said she disappeared at a beach by her hotel before dawn on March 6. Authorities have interviewed people who were with Konanki before she vanished, including Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota. Riibe has been detained by Dominican police and is believed to be the last person to see Konanki. He has not been named as a suspect.He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon following a request from his attorney that he be released. According to the transcript of an interview with prosecutors, reported by Dominican media as well as NBC and Telemundo, Riibe told police he was drinking with Konanki on the beach and they were kissing in the ocean when they got caught in a current. Riibe said he was a former lifeguard and helped bring her ashore.He told investigators he vomited upon reaching the beach and that Konanki said she was going to fetch her things. When he looked up, she was gone. He said he was later surprised to hear of her disappearance.In their letter, the Konankis wrote that the individual last seen with their daughter is cooperating and that no evidence of foul play has been found.Sudiksha Konanki was born in India and later became a U.S. permanent resident.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00824-7US disruptions to science could transform global research landscape

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08837-yAuthor Correction: Endocytosis in the axon initial segment maintains neuronal polarity

Relatives of hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, stand by the Israe-Gaza border fence, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-03-18T16:16:17Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) When a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began two months ago, Herut Nimrodi knew it would take time before her son was released from captivity in Gaza. The 20-year-old soldier was meant to be part of the second phase of the deal winding down the war.But with Israels surprise bombardment of Gaza, she fears he might not come home at all.I really wanted to believe that there is still a chance to reach a second stage without renewing this war. But it feels like my building of hope has collapsed, and I have no idea what to do next, Nimrodi said Tuesday. Herut Nimrodi poses for a portrait with a poster of her son, Tamir Nimrodi, an Israeli soldier who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) Herut Nimrodi poses for a portrait with a poster of her son, Tamir Nimrodi, an Israeli soldier who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, at a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Einav Zangauker, mother Matan, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and other relatives of hostages attempt to approach the Gaza border, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Einav Zangauker, mother Matan, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and other relatives of hostages attempt to approach the Gaza border, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, tries to pass a barbed wire to approach the Gaza border, calling for his release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts him at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, tries to pass a barbed wire to approach the Gaza border, calling for his release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts him at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nearly 60 families have relatives still held in Gaza. About two dozen hostages are believed to be alive.During the ceasefires first phase, which began in January, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But since that phase ended early this month, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward.Israels renewed airstrikes threaten to end the fragile deal.Nimrodis son, Tamir, was abducted from his army base when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. Shes had no sign of life. He hasnt been declared dead by Israel.Its so sad that this is the only solution that they could find, she said, lamenting the governments decision. The strikes early Tuesday killed more than 400 people and shattered a relative calm along with hopes of ending the war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the airstrikes because of lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials called the operation open-ended.The return to fighting could deepen the painful debate in Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.Netanyahu and his hardline governing partners believe renewing the war will put pressure on Hamas to free them and move Israel closer to its goal of destroying Hamas military and governing capabilities. An Israeli tank maneuvers on the border with northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) An Israeli tank maneuvers on the border with northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- Palestinians hold the hands of their relative who was killed in an Israeli army airstrike, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Karem Hanna) EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- Palestinians hold the hands of their relative who was killed in an Israeli army airstrike, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Karem Hanna) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- A man carries the body of a child to the Al-Ahli hospital following multiple overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.- A man carries the body of a child to the Al-Ahli hospital following multiple overnight Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More But most hostage families, and large parts of the Israeli public, believe such goals are unrealistic. They say time is running out, particularly after the recent releases of emaciated-looking hostages who later described harsh conditions in captivity.Hamas accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire and exposing the hostages to an unknown fate.Families of hostages called on supporters to protest with them outside Israels parliament Tuesday.Some families who already know their relatives in Gaza are dead called the governments decision unacceptable. This is not only a disaster in every way, shape or form on how the hostages keep suffering, being chained to walls, starved, abused, but also the death toll that keeps rising on the Gazan side, Udi Goren said.His cousin Tal Haimi was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken into Gaza. Goren said the international community must pressure Hamas, Israel and the mediators the United States, Egypt and Qatar to end the war.Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you? former hostage Omer Wenkert wrote on Instagram. Israels calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and saying the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Israels calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and saying the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Israels calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and saying the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Israels calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and saying the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Israeli hostages, from left to right, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem and Omer Wenkert, are told to show Hamas issued certificates by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamamd Abu Samra) Israeli hostages, from left to right, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem and Omer Wenkert, are told to show Hamas issued certificates by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamamd Abu Samra) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Romi Gonen, right, and her mother Merav hold each other near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel after Romi was released from captivity by Hamas militants in Gaza, Jan. 19, 2025. (Israeli Army via AP, File) Romi Gonen, right, and her mother Merav hold each other near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel after Romi was released from captivity by Hamas militants in Gaza, Jan. 19, 2025. (Israeli Army via AP, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Romi Gonen, among the first hostages to be freed in the ceasefires first phase, said she would never forget what it felt like in captivity to hear the bombs after previous ceasefire talks collapsed and realize she wouldnt be freed any time soon.I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them, she said on Instagram.Sylvia Cunio, whose two sons are held hostage, accused Israels leaders of not having a heart.It isnt right to continue the fighting. I want my children back home already. If he wants to kill me, the prime minister, let him do that already because I wont get through this, she said on local radio. Nimrodi said shes worried the airstrikes might not only harm her son and the other hostages but also make their living conditions worse.The last time she saw Tamir, he was a funny teenager who rode horses and loved learning about geology and astronomy, she said. The two had a similar humor and used to talk about everything.While shes terrified of whats to come, she said she wont stop fighting to see him again.Please, keep strong, survive, she said, addressing him. So theres a chance for us to meet once more. Relatives of hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sit by the Israe-Gaza border fence, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Relatives of hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sit by the Israe-Gaza border fence, escorted by Israeli soldiers, calling for their release and expressing concerns that the resumption of fighting in Gaza puts their loved ones at risk, in southern Israel, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-03-18T15:46:02Z MEXICO CITY (AP) FBI Director Kash Patel applauded Mexican authorities Tuesday for the arrest and handover of one of the FBIs Ten Most Wanted suspects, an alleged gang leader from El Salvador.Francisco Javier Romn Bardales is allegedly a senior leader of the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang. He was arrested Monday in the mountains of the Gulf coast state of Veracruz by soldiers and federal agents.This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America, Patel wrote.Mexicos security chief Omar Garca Harfuch applauded the arrest Monday, which his agency said was the result of international cooperation. The agency referred to his handover as a deportation to the United States.Romn Bardales faces charges related to violent crime, drug distribution and extortion in the Eastern District of New York. The Mara Salvatrucha was one of eight Latin American criminal organizations declared foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government last month.FBI Director Kash Patel said via X Tuesday that Roman Bardales was being transported within the U.S. He thanked Mexican authorities for their support. The arrest and swift handover came just weeks after Mexico handed over 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.Mexico has also stepped up operations against the Sinaloa cartel, a main trafficker of fentanyl to the United States. President Claudia Sheinbaum has worked to show U.S. President Donald Trump that Mexico is a reliable partner on security and immigration. The results have so far kept most of Trumps tariffs at bay.The Trump administration sent two other top members of MS-13 to El Salvador over the weekend, along with hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00805-wPlans to broadcast TV to villages in India to improve literacy rates, and camels that have settled in the Nevada desert, in our weekly dip into Natures archive.

A sign on the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency is photographed Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-03-18T17:49:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees who help provide the scientific foundation for rules safeguarding human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists 75% of the research programs staff could be laid off, according to documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.The planned layoffs, cast by the Trump administration as part of a broader push to shrink the size of the federal government and make it more efficient, were assailed by critics as a massive dismantling of the EPAs longstanding mission to protect public health and the environment.The plans were first reported by The New York Times. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said he wants to eliminate 65% of the agencys budget, a huge spending cut that would require major staffing reductions for jobs such as monitoring air and water quality, responding to natural disasters and lead abatement, among many other agency functions. The EPA has also issued guidance directing that spending items greater than $50,000 require approval from billionaire Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency. The Office of Research and Development EPAs main science arm currently has 1,540 positions, excluding special government employees and public health officers, according to the memo. A majority of staff ranging from 50% to 75% will not be retained,' the memo said. The plan calls for dissolving the research office and reassigning remaining staff to other parts of the agency to provide increased oversight and align with administration priorities, the memo says. EPA officials have presented the plan to the White House for review. Molly Vaseliou, an EPA spokeswoman, said the agency is taking exciting steps as we enter the next phase of organizational improvements, but said changes had not been finalized.We are committed to enhancing our ability to deliver clean air, water and land for all Americans, she said, adding, While no decisions have been made yet, we are actively listening to employees at all levels to gather ideas on how to increase efficiency and ensure the EPA is as up to date and effective as ever.California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the science committee, said in a statement that the agencys research office was created by Congress and eliminating it is illegal.Every decision the EPA makes must be in furtherance of protecting human health and the environment, and that just cant happen if you gut EPA science, Lofgren said.EPA cannot meet its legal obligation to use the best available science without (the Office of Research and Development) and thats the point,' she added. President Donald Trump and his adviser, Musk , are putting their polluter buddies bottom lines over the health and safety of Americans, Lofgren said. In his first term, Trump and his cronies politicized and distorted science,' she said. Now, this is their attempt to kill it for good.Ticora Jones, chief science officer at the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, said Trumps EPA yet again is putting polluters over people.She called on Congress to stand up and demand that EPA keep its scientists on the beat so that we all can get the clean air and clean water we need and deserve. MATTHEW DALY Daly covers climate, environment and energy policy for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

This image made from video by NASA shows Russian astronaut Alexei Ovchinin, left, Butch Wilmore, center, and Suni Williams wait to greet newly arrived astronauts after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (NASA via AP)2025-03-18T16:45:52Z Marcia Dunn, AP reporter: Almost all roads to space begin here in Cape Canaveral.Haya Panjwani, AP correspondent: Thats Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press space writer. Shes following Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return home from the International Space Station. AP AUDIO: Behind the story of the return of stuck NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, AP correspondent Haya Panjwani speaks with space writer Marcia Dunn. PANJWANI: Im Haya Panjwani. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, were unpacking how the two astronauts got stuck up there in the first place and what theyve done in the last few months at the station.DUNN: So Butch and Suni became the first people, the first astronauts, to strap into a Boeing Starliner capsule and be launched into space. This was last June, June 5th, 2024. They launched aboard the Starliner on what was supposed to be an eight-day trip to the space station and back. Here we are, more than nine months later. This eight-day mission has turned into a nine-month marathon for them. So, Butch and Suni strap in on June 5th. Launch goes off great from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Im there watching, watching the rocket fly. They get to orbit safely. All is well, except the next day, as theyre going into dock with the International Space Station as planned, the thrusters start to fail. Helium is leaking. There had been some helium leaks prior to liftoff, but nobody thought it would morph into something bigger and worse. These two are test pilots. Sunis a helicopter pilot by trade. Butch is a fighter pilot, combat pilot, both military skill people. They temporarily had to take control to try to get the thrusters back in business so that they could make a fully automated docking at the space station. They got docked to the space station, and months started rolling by. Were now into the summer of 2024. Because engineers on the ground could just not exactly figure out what had happened. Well, what went wrong with the Starliner? Why did all these thrusters malfunction? Whats the deal with all the helium leaking out of it? Now, they were safe at the space station, right? And they didnt need the Starliner at this point, but to come home. And because NASA was worried that it could be dangerous for them to get aboard this craft with these troubles, they kept them up there while they kept investigating the situation here on the ground. This dragged on for months. And finally, NASA told Boeing, thats it. Done. You know, you bring that capsule back empty. Well see if it survives entry and it lands OK. But, Butch and Suni, were sorry, but youre gonna have to be up there until next year. SpaceX was now the designated taxi service for Butch and Suni.There are only three ways to get Americans back from the space station. SpaceX, the Russians, right, because they have their capsules coming and going, and also, what should have been Starliner. The next SpaceX crew to go up, was launched in September. There should have been four people for astronauts on that flight. They knocked two people off the flight so that there were two empty seats on the SpaceX Dragon capsule for the return leg of Butch and Suni. Well, then they cant leave until the replacements get there. Right? Because NASA always likes a crew handover between two crews to sort of, like, show them the ropes. And it just makes it an easier transition for everybody. So then they were told, hopefully youll be home by the end of March. This month, the end of March. They switched capsules in the end. The brand new capsule that was taking so long to get ready is going to be used by other people on the later this spring. A private crew. They hurried up. Friday night, this past Friday night, finally the replacements lifted off. We know that the crew, the space station crew, was up and watching via monitors and everything. And Im sure there was a lot of hooting and hollering and a lot of smiles. PANJWANI: Butch and Suni were chosen specifically for this mission. DUNN: Both of them have been on military deployments. Right? So these are not your run of the mill scientists who or maybe a little more touchy feely. These two are like, you know, kick the tires. You know, fly boy, fly girl kind of people. But I have to say, Ive never seen two people who seem so upbeat. They look on the positive side. Butch has his wife. They have two daughters, ones college age. His youngest is a senior in high school, so hes missed most of her senior year of high school. And Sunis husband, they have two Labrador retrievers, right. Thats their babies. And she has an elderly mother who is and has been quite worried about all this going through all of this and this.They told reporters recently that being in space has got its challenges. No, they didnt know that this was going to obviously take so long, but theyve been busy doing experiments. They got to do a spacewalk together. Suni set a world record for most spacewalking time by any woman ever, with her latest spacewalk up there. They get to talk with their families almost every day with an internet phone. They got video hookups, but its not the same as being there. And they have told us repeatedly that its much harder on their families. Their families are down here on earth waiting and waiting and waiting. And while theyre busy, you know, theyre distracted with their mission. Theyre laser focused on their mission. These two are particularly upbeat, positive, optimistic people. Butch in particular is quite a religious man. And he is an elder in his Baptist church back home in Houston, and hes even done, I understand, some, put in some calls to some of his older church members to try to give them a pep talk, right? Right. He has said hes used his faith a lot to get him through this and that theres a reason for everything, and thats what hes trying to instill in his daughters as they deal with this as well, that, you know, persevere. This will make you stronger. PANJWANI: Now when they come back to Earth, whats next?DUNN: NASA wants to have an overlap of at least a few days between the crew thats recently launched, the replacements and Butch and Suni, and they will come back with two others. Right. The two people, people who launched in September with two empty seats, theyre coming back with them. And so they want a couple of spillover days so that the people who have been up there all this time can show them the ropes.Then they will undock in the SpaceX Dragon capsule thats been up there since September and splash down off the Florida coast, and then they will be directly taken to Houston. You know, they have had astronauts up there as long as a year. Theyll be treated the same, you know. And of course, any astronaut coming back after six months is not allowed to drive for a certain amount of period because, you know, youre wobbly when you get back. Your muscles are weak. Your bones are weak. Yes, youve been exercising two hours every day. But you know, some people do better than others coming back, right? And so they dont want you behind a wheel. They dont want you doing anything that could endanger you accidentally. Between the two of them, of course, theyve been asked, what cant... what do you miss? What cant you wait to to do besides hug your families when you get back? And Suni cant wait to take her dogs for a walk and jump in the ocean, she told us recently. And Butch cant wait to get back to face to face ministering of his flock back home at his church in Houston. PANJWANI: Launch audio courtesy of NASA.This has been the story behind the AP story. For more on APs space coverage, visit APNews.com. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00789-7Attacks on vaccines and the cancellation of research into what causes vaccine hesitancy puts people in harms way.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08873-8Structures and mechanism of human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier

This undated photo provided by Johanny Sanchez shows Sanchez, right, and her husband Franco Caraballo, who was sent over the weekend to El Salvador accused by the Trump administration of belonging to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. (Johanny Sanchez via AP)2025-03-18T18:10:17Z MIAMI (AP) Franco Caraballo called his wife Friday night, crying and panicked. Hours earlier, the 26-year-old barber and dozens of other Venezuelan migrants held at a federal detention facility in Texas were dressed in white clothes, handcuffed and taken onto a plane. He had no idea where he was going.Twenty-four hours later, Caraballos name disappeared from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements online detainee locator.On Monday, his wife, Johanny Snchez, learned Caraballo was among the more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants flown over the weekend to El Salvador, where they are now held in a maximum-security prison after being accused by the Trump administration of belonging to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.Snchez insists her husband isnt a gang member. She struggles even to find logic in the accusation. The weekend flightsFlights by U.S. immigration authorities set off a frantic scramble among terrified families after hundreds of immigrants vanished from ICEs online locator.Some turned up at that prison in El Salvador, a massive complex where visitors, recreation and education are not allowed. The U.S. has paid El Salvadors government $6 million to hold the prisoners, many of them Venezuelan. The Venezuelan government rarely accepts deportees from the U.S. But many families have no idea where to find their loved ones.I dont know anything about my son, said Xiomara Vizcaya, a 46-year-old Venezuelan. In this 2024 photo provided by Xiomara Vizcaya., Ali David Navas Vizcaya poses in front of his grandmothers house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. (Xiomara Vizcaya via AP) In this 2024 photo provided by Xiomara Vizcaya., Ali David Navas Vizcaya poses in front of his grandmothers house in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. (Xiomara Vizcaya via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Ali David Navas Vizcaya had been in U.S. detention since early 2024, when he arrived from Mexico at a U.S. border crossing where he had an appointment to talk to immigration officers. He called her late Friday night and said he thought he was being deported to Venezuela or Mexico. His name is no longer in ICEs system.Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2013, when its oil-dependent economy collapsed. Most initially went to other Latin American countries but more headed to the U.S. after COVID-19 restrictions lifted during the Biden administration. On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced he had invoked an 18th century wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the U.S. to deport noncitizens without any legal recourse, including rights to appear before an immigration or federal court judge. Many conservative have cheered the deportations and the Trump administration for taking a hard line to deal with immigration.The Trump administration says it is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Tren de Aragua members, saying the gang was invading the U.S., though it has not provided any evidence to back up gang-membership claims. U.S. officials acknowledged in a court filing Monday that many people sent to El Salvador do not have criminal records, though they insisted all are suspected gang members.The lack of a criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat, said a sworn declaration included in the filing, adding that along with their suspected gang membership the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose. This undated photo provided by Johanny Sanchez shows Sanchez, left, and her husband Franco Caraballo, who was sent over the weekend to El Salvador accused by the Trump administration of belonging to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. (Johanny Sanchez via AP) This undated photo provided by Johanny Sanchez shows Sanchez, left, and her husband Franco Caraballo, who was sent over the weekend to El Salvador accused by the Trump administration of belonging to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. (Johanny Sanchez via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More We followed the lawOn Feb. 3, Caraballo went to an ICE office in Dallas office for another mandatory check-in with the agents handling his asylum request. He had been coming regularly to the office for months.What gang member, his wife asked, would walk into a federal law enforcement office during a Trump administration crackdown that has left immigrants across the country terrified they would be deported?We followed the law like we were told to. We never missed any meetings with authorities, said Snchez, who remains in the U.S. trying to secure her husbands release. Snchez said her husband, who she married in 2024 in Texas, has had no run-ins with the law in the U.S. She also showed The Associated Press a Venezuelan government document showing he has a clean criminal record there.Snchez believes he was wrongly accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua because of a tattoo in the shape of a clock marking the birthday of his daughter from a previous relationship. He has lots of tattoos but thats not a reason to discriminate against him, she said.Snchez said she and her husband left Venezuela in 2023 with barely $200 and spent the next three months sleeping in plazas, eating out of trash cans and relying on the goodwill of fellow migrants as they journeyed north.She thought the sacrifice would be worth it. Her husband had been working as a barber since the age of 13 and in the United States he was hopeful he could find a new start, escaping the poverty wages and toxic politics of Nicolas Maduros ironfisted rule in Venezuela. Venezuela respondsThe Venezuelan government has blasted the transfers, calling them kidnappings and urging people to protest Tuesday in the capital, Caracas, to demand that detainees in El Salvador be sent to their homeland.Jorge Rodriguez, Maduros chief negotiator with the U.S., urged Venezuelans living in the U.S. to return to home.The American dream, he said, had turned into a Salvadoran nightmare.Snchez agrees. She wants to leave the U.S. once she finds her husband.We fled Venezuela for a better future. We never imagined things would be worse.___Associated Press journalists Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report. JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto GISELA SALOMON Salomon is a Miami-based reporter who covers Latin America and immigration affairs for The Associated Press.Salomon es una periodista que desde Miami cubre asuntos latinoamericanos y de inmigracion. twitter mailto

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responds to questions from reporters during a meeting with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey at the Pentagon, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-03-18T18:10:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday.To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in a civilian workforce of more than 900,000, the official said the department aims to slash about 6,000 positions a month by simply not replacing workers who routinely leave. A key concern is that service members may then be tapped to fill those civilian jobs. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide personnel details, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to ensure the cuts dont hurt military readiness. The cuts are part of the broader effort by the Department of Government Efficiency Service, including billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk, to slash the federal workforce and dismantle U.S. agencies. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 14 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00825-6First glimpse of the colour of mammals who lived alongside dinosaurs. Plus, what anti-vaccine rhetoric in the US government will mean for the countrys health and, in a world first, a man has survived with a titanium heart for 100 days.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08715-7Spin space group theory is applied to identify more than 200 collinear magnets with unconventional magnons; high-throughput calculations with spinorbit coupling find that most of these unconventional magnets are dictated by the Heisenberg exchange interaction.

People rally on 14th St NW in support of fired USAID workers during a protest, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, by the USAID headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-03-18T19:20:12Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development likely violated the Constitution and blocked billionaire Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency from further cuts. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to restore email and computer access to all employees of USAID, including those who were placed on administrative leave.The lawsuit singled out Musk as a defendant covered by the preliminary injunction. Lawyers for USAID employees and contractors had requested the order. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto

MPs of Momentum protest with flares during the plenary session of the Hungarian parliament in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Boglarka Bodnar/MTI via AP)2025-03-18T13:19:47Z BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) A new anti-LGBTQ+ law passed in Hungary on Tuesday bans Pride events and allows authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending the festivities, leading to a large demonstration on the streets of Budapest.More than 1,000 protesters gathered hours after the vote outside Hungarys parliament in opposition to the measures. Chanting anti-government slogans, they then marched to the Margaret Bridge over the Danube and blocked traffic, drawing a big police presence.The move by Hungarian lawmakers is part of a crackdown on the countrys LGBTQ+ community by the nationalist conservative party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.The measure in Hungary, reminiscent of similar restrictions against sexual minorities in Russia, passed in a 136-27 vote. The law, supported by Orbns Fidesz party and their minority coalition partner the Christian Democrats, was pushed through parliament in an accelerated procedure after being submitted on Monday. Opposing legislators led a vivid protest in the legislature involving rainbow-colored smoke bombs. What does the law say? Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban responds to speeches at the start of the spring session of the National Assembly in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban responds to speeches at the start of the spring session of the National Assembly in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Zoltan Mathe/MTI via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The bill amends Hungarys law on assembly to make it an offense to hold or attend events that violate Hungarys contentious child protection legislation, which prohibits the depiction or promotion of homosexuality to minors under 18.Attending a prohibited event will carry fines up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546), which the state must forward to child protection, according to the text of the law. Authorities may use facial recognition tools to identify individuals attending a prohibited event. Opponents protest the laws passageAs the vote was held in Hungarys parliament in Budapest, opposition lawmakers ignited smoke bombs in the chamber, filling it with thick plumes of colorful smoke. The opposition Momentum party called for a protest outside Hungarys parliament later in the day. In a statement on Monday after lawmakers first submitted the bill, Budapest Pride organizers said the aim of the law was to scapegoat the LGBTQ+ community in order to silence voices critical of Orbns government.This is not child protection, this is fascism, wrote the organizers of the event, which attracts thousands each year and celebrates the history of the LGBTQ+ movement while asserting the equal rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.Following the laws passage Tuesday, Budapest Pride spokesperson Joj Majercsik told The Associated Press that despite Orbns yearslong effort to stigmatize LGBTQ+ people, the organization had received an outpouring of support since the Hungarian leader hinted in February that his government would take steps to ban the event.Many, many people have been mobilized, Majercsik said. Its a new thing, compared to the attacks of the last years, that weve received many messages and comments from people saying, Until now I havent gone to Pride, I didnt care about it, but this year Ill be there and Ill bring my family. Government crackdown on gender madnessThe new legislation is the latest step against LGBTQ+ people taken by Orbn, whose government has passed other laws that rights groups and other European politicians have decried as repressive against sexual minorities.In 2022, the European Unions executive commission filed a case with the EUs highest court against Hungarys 2021 child protection law. The European Commission argued that the law discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.Hungarys child protection law aside from banning the depiction or promotion of homosexuality in content available to minors, including in television, films, advertisements and literature also prohibits the mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programs, and forbids the public depiction of gender deviating from sex at birth.Booksellers in Hungary have faced hefty fines for failing to wrap books that contain LGBTQ+ themes in closed packaging. Critics have argued Orbns campaign amounts to an attempt to cut LGBTQ+ visibility, and that by tying it to child protection, it falsely conflates homosexuality with pedophilia. Hungarys government portrays itself as a champion of traditional family values and a defender of Christian civilization from what it calls gender madness, and argues that its policies are designed to protect children from sexual propaganda.Is Orbn trying to distract the electorate?Hungarys methods resemble tactics by Putin, who in December 2022 expanded Russias ban on propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations from minors to adults, effectively outlawing any public endorsement of LGBTQ+ activities.Orbn, in power since 2010, faces an unprecedented challenge from a rising opposition party as Hungarys economy struggles to emerge from an inflation and cost of living crisis and an election approaches in 2026. Tams Dombos, a project coordinator at Hungarian LGBTQ+ rights group Httr Society, said that Orbns assault on minorities was a tactic to distract voters from more important issues facing the country, and that allowing the use of facial recognition software at prohibited demonstrations could be used against other protests the government chooses to deem unlawful. Its a very common strategy of authoritarian governments not to talk about the real issues that people are affected by: the inflation, the economy, the terrible condition of education and health care, Dombos said.Orbn, he continued, has been here with us for 15 years lying into peoples faces, letting the country rot basically, and then coming up with these hate campaigns.Aside from Budapest Pride, another event in the southern Hungarian city of Pcs has also been held in recent years. Budapest Pride is marking its 30th anniversary this year, and is scheduled to take place on June 28. JUSTIN SPIKE Spike is an Associated Press reporter based in Budapest, Hungary. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08673-0Digital image correlation measurements show that nominally stationary interfaces subjected to constant shear and normal loads are sliding at extremely small rates, confirming the predictions of rate-and-state friction formulations.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08705-9A study combining group decision-making tasks with fMRI shows that the brains dorsomedial prefrontal cortex uses basis functions, similar to those in the visual, motor and spatial domains, to represent patterns of social interaction.

Auburn forward/center Johni Broome (4) celebrates by getting the crowd pumped during the second half an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)2025-03-18T15:58:36Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. One is a fifth-year senior who began his career at a mid-major, the other a first-year wunderkind recruited by everyone. The first is a now leading a program on the rise, while the other is the unmistakable star for a traditional power.Johni Broome of Auburn and Cooper Flagg of Duke do have something in common, though: The forwards were unanimous first-team picks for The Associated Press mens college basketball All-America teams released Tuesday.They were joined on the first team by Alabama star Mark Sears, Purdues Braden Smith and Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida.Only Broome, a third-team pick a year ago, and Flagg were among the first five on the ballots of all 61 national media members who vote for the weekly AP Top 25. Broome becomes the Tigers fourth All-American and first to make the first team, while Flagg is the 19th different Blue Devils player to earn first-team recognition. Hes doing things nobody really has ever done before, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. And hes not about numbers. Im telling you, when this dude goes home, somebody says to him, Man, you had 42, six and seven, hell say, OK, cool. Thats not what hes about, which to me makes it even better because you can get caught up with that, especially as a young player. Maybe that is something else that Broome and Flagg have in common: Both are eyeing a national championship. Auburn spent eight weeks at No. 1 this year, while Duke ascended to the top spot when the Tigers stumbled down the stretch. Now, the two programs head to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in their respective regions.Ive proved a lot individually through my career but my main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, said Broome, who played two seasons at Morehead State before spending the past three with the Tigers. When the team shines, everyone shines individually. Coming from where I came from, it means a lot to me. Sears was a second-team pick last season, when he helped to lead the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four. He initially declared for the NBA draft but withdrew in late May, choosing instead to return to Alabama for another run at a national title.Hes the Crimson Tides second first-team All-American after Brandon Miller two years ago.Smith was an honorable mention pick last year, when Purdue teammate Zach Edey was a unanimous first-team pick for the second straight season. With Edey off to the NBA, Smith became the go-to player for a bunch of Boilermakers who will be trying to return to the national championship game after losing to UConn there a year ago.Florida had never had a first-team All-American before Clayton, who helped the Gators climb as high as No. 2 in the Top 25 this season. Hes also their first All-American since 2007, when second-teamer Joakim Noah and third-team choice Al Horford led the Gators to their second consecutive national championship.Perhaps the versatile Clayton will be able to lead Florida back to the top in March Madness.Whatever path, I like my guys, he said. Me and my guys against whoever. Second teamJT Toppin transferred from New Mexico to Texas Tech, John Tonje from Missouri to Wisconsin and PJ Haggerty from Tulsa to Memphis, and all took advantage of a change in scenery to have breakout seasons and earn second-team All-America honors. The trio was joined on the second team by Kam Jones of Marquette and RJ Luis Jr. of St. Johns.Third teamHunter Dickinson of Kansas and fellow big man Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton were third-team picks, making it three straight years that each appeared on an All-America team. Both were honorable mention two years ago, while Dickinson was a second-team pick and Kalkbrenner honorable mention again last season.They were joined on the third team by Zakai Zeigler of Tennessee, Eric Dixon of Villanova and Houstons LJ Cryer, who was the Big 12 player of the year and an honorable mention All-America pick last season.Honorable mentionChaz Lanier of Tennessee and Trey Kaufman-Renn of Purdue were among the next 10 (including ties) in voting who earned honorable mention recognition. Other honorable mentions included Donovan Dent of New Mexico, Drakes Bennett Stirtz and Chucky Hepburn of Louisville.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness DAVE SKRETTA Skretta is a Kansas City-based sports writer for The Associated Press. He covers the Royals, the Chiefs and college sports along with auto racing, the Olympics and other sports.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00767-zGenomic analysis suggests that the ancestors of lizards on Fiji today rafted from North America some 30 million years ago.

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00768-yThe protein keratin, the principle ingredient of wool and feathers, can be repurposed as strong, flexible plastic.

An American flag is displayed on the outside of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)2025-03-18T06:33:27Z NEW YORK (AP) Wall Street swung back down on Tuesday, and its former superstars once again led the way.The S&P 500 dropped 1.1% for its latest swerve in a scary ride, where it tumbled by 10% from its record and then rallied for two straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 260 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.7%.Tesla was one of the heaviest weights on the market after falling 5.3%. The electric-vehicle makers stock has been struggling on worries that it will lose sales because of anger at its CEO, Elon Musk, who has been leading efforts to cut spending by the U.S. government. EV rivals, meanwhile, continue to chip away at its business. Chinas BYD on Monday announced an ultra-fast charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a gasoline fill-up.Alphabet sank 2.2% after the owner of Google said it would buy cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion. It would be the companys most expensive purchase in its 26-year history, and it could boost the tech giants in-house cloud computing amid burgeoning artificial-intelligence growth. The drop for Big Tech continues a trend thats taken hold in the markets recent sell-off: Stocks whose momentum had earlier seemed unstoppable have since dropped sharply following criticism they had simply grown too expensive. AP AUDIO: Stock market today: Back down goes Wall Street as Big Tech resumes its slide Stocks are moving lower, again. The APs Seth Sutel has more. Chief among them have been stocks that zoomed higher in the frenzy around AI technology. Nvidia fell 3.3% as it hosted an event known as AI Woodstock. Super Micro Computer, which makes servers, lost 9.6%. Palantir Technologies, which offers an AI platform for customers, sank 4%. Theyve been among the biggest losers as Wall Street retrenches amid uncertainty about what President Donald Trumps trade war will do to the economy. Trumps rat -a- tat announcements on tariffs and other policies have created worries that U.S. households and businesses could hold pull on their spending, which would hurt the economy. It all makes things more complicated for the Federal Reserve, which is beginning its latest meeting on interest-rate policy and will make its announcement on Wednesday.The Fed could lower its main interest rate, which would make it easier for U.S. businesses and households to borrow. That in turn could boost the economy. But lower interest rates can also push inflation upward, and U.S. consumers have already begun bracing for higher inflation because of tariffs.Virtually everyone on Wall Street expects the Fed to hold its main interest rate steady on Wednesday, as it waits for clues about how conditions play out. The job market, for the moment at least, appears relatively stable after the economy closed last year running at a solid rate. More attention will be on the forecasts the Fed will publish after the meeting, showing where officials expect interest rates, inflation and the economy to head in upcoming years. For now, traders on Wall Street are largely expecting the Fed to deliver two or three cuts to rates by the end of 2025.One of the reasons the U.S. stock markets sell-off in recent weeks has so far been orderly, with the epicenter remaining within tech, may be because of faith that the Fed can protect Wall Street, according to strategists at Barclays. If conditions were to deteriorate quickly, the Fed could cut rates to support the economy. Such faith crucially could be put to test this week if the Fed appears to be more concerned about inflation than a weakening economy, at least relative to the markets expectations, according to the Barclays strategists led by Venu Krishna. All told, the S&P 500 fell 60.46 points to 5,614.66 Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 260.32 to 41,581.31, and the Nasdaq composite fell 304.55 to 17,504.12.In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Theyve been largely doing better than the U.S. stock market this year, flipping a yearslong trend and forcing questions about whether the end has arrived for what was called U.S. exceptionalism.Japans Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%. Investors expect the Bank of Japan to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a monetary policy board meeting due to wrap up Wednesday. Trading on Indonesias stock exchange was suspended temporarily as the benchmark JSX tumbled as much as 6%. But it later pared the loss to 3.8%. Investors have been sending shares of state-owned banks lower after the government launched a sovereign wealth fund, called Danantara, that so far has not proven popular. Worries over U.S. tariffs and other risks have also shaken confidence in the economy of the worlds fourth-most populous nation, said Budi Frensidy, a professor at the University of Indonesia. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.28% from 4.31% late Monday.___AP writers Matt Ott, Yuri Kageyama and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 18 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00829-2Some attendees of a packed presentation were curious about the prospect of the first topological qubits, but left with questions unanswered.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08694-9Dopamine release in the basal ganglia of the zebra finch is driven by neurons associated with reinforcement learning and by cholinergic signalling, and tracks performance quality during long-term learning of its song.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08647-2Long-term increases in heavy daily and hourly precipitation in Austria from different climatic mechanisms emphasize the need for flood management adaptation, especially in smaller catchments affected by the increased hourly rainfall.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08699-4Ancient DNA from the eastern Maghreb (Tunisia and Algeria) dating between 15,000 and 6,000 years ago shows that this region was far less affected by external gene flow than the rest of the Neolithic Mediterranean, including not only Europe but also the western Maghreb (Morocco).

Newly-elected President Kennedy posed for first pictures at his White House desk, Jan. 21, 1961, before plunging into a busy round of conferences. (AP Photo/Bill Achatz, File)2025-03-18T23:23:52Z DALLAS (AP) Previously classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy were released Tuesday following an order by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office.The documents were posted on the website of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The vast majority of the National Archives collection of over 6 million pages of records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts related to the assassination have previously been released.Trump told reporters Monday that has administration will be releasing 80,000 files, though its not clear how many of those are among the millions of pages of records that have already been made public.We have a tremendous amount of paper. Youve got a lot of reading, Trump said while visiting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Researchers have estimated that 3,000 records or so hadnt been released, either in whole or in part. And last month, the FBI said that it had discovered about 2,400 new records related to the assassination. Many who have studied whats been released so far by the government say the public shouldnt anticipate any earth-shattering revelations from the newly released documents, but there is still intense interest in details related to the assassination and the events surrounding it. Trumps January order directed the national intelligence director and attorney general to develop a plan to release the records. Kennedy was killed on Nov. 22, 1963, on a visit to Dallas. As his motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald, who had positioned himself from a snipers perch on the sixth floor. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer. A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, which President Lyndon B. Johnson established to investigate, concluded that Oswald acted alone and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy. But that didnt quell a web of alternative theories over the decades.In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president. Trump, who took office for his first term in 2017, had said that he would allow the release of all of the remaining records but ended up holding some back because of what he called the potential harm to national security. And while files continued to be released during President Joe Bidens administration, some remained unseen. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-03-18T23:40:54Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge blocked enforcement of President Donald Trumps executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday, the latest in a string of legal setbacks for his sweeping agenda. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trumps order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal. The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes, Reyes wrote. We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. On Jan. 27, Trump signed an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members conflicts with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in ones personal life and is harmful to military readiness. In response to the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. Gender dysphoria is the distress that a person feels because their assigned gender and gender identity dont match. The medical condition has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts. Plaintiffs attorneys contend Trumps order violates transgender peoples rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.Government lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy servicemembers without judicial interference.Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members. In 2016, a Defense Department policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trumps first term in the White House, the Republican issued a directive to ban transgender service members. The Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, scrapped it when he took office.Hegseths Feb. 26 policy says service members or applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.The plaintiffs who sued to block Trumps order include an Army Reserves platoon leader from Pennsylvania, an Army major who was awarded a Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan and a Sailor of the Year award winner serving in the Navy.Their attorneys, from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law, said transgender troops seek nothing more than the opportunity to continue dedicating their lives to defending the Nation.Yet these accomplished servicemembers are now subject to an order that says they must be separated from the military based on a characteristic that has no bearing on their proven ability to do the job, plaintiffs attorneys wrote. This is a stark and reckless reversal of policy that denigrates honorable transgender servicemembers, disrupts unit cohesion, and weakens our military. Government attorneys said the Defense Department has a history of disqualifying people from military service if they have physical or emotional impairments, including mental health conditions.In any context other than the one at issue in this case, DoDs professional military judgment about the risks of allowing individuals with physical or emotional impairments to serve in the military would be virtually unquestionable, they wrote.Plaintiffs attorneys say Trumps order fits his administrations pattern of discriminating against transgender people. Federal judges in Seattle and Baltimore separately paused Trumps executive order halting federal support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth under 19. Last month, a judge blocked prison officials from transferring three incarcerated transgender women to mens facilities and terminating their access to hormone therapy under another Trump order. Trump also signed orders that set up new rules about how schools can teach about gender and that intend to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports.From its first days, this administration has moved to strip protections from transgender people across multiple domains including housing, social services, schools, sports, healthcare, employment, international travel, and family life, plaintiffs lawyers wrote.___Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Gene Johnson contributed to this story.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08677-wHepatic stellate cells regulate hepatocyte functions via R-spondin 3.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08743-3ATP/ADP translocators in obligate intracellular parasites and plastids facilitate energy parasitism and endosymbiosis by mediating ATP import and ADP export, with their cryo-EM structures and mechanisms revealed, providing insights for drug development against intracellular pathogens.

This undated photo shows Louisiana death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr., who was convicted in the 1996 murder of Mary "Molly" Elliott. (Caroline Tillman/Federal Public Defender's Office For the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana via AP)2025-03-18T04:14:19Z ANGOLA, La. (AP) Louisiana used nitrogen gas to put a man to death Tuesday evening for a killing decades ago, marking the first time the state has used the method as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, authorities said, adding the nitrogen gas had flowed for 19 minutes during what one official characterized as a flawless execution. It was the fifth time nitrogen gas was used in the U.S. after four executions by the same method all in Alabama. Three other executions, by lethal injection, are scheduled this week in Arizona on Wednesday and in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday.Hoffman was convicted of the murder of Mary Molly Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive who was killed in New Orleans. At the time of the crime, Hoffman was 18 and has since spent much of his adult life at the penitentiary in rural southeast Louisiana, where he was executed Tuesday evening. After court battles earlier this month, attorneys for Hoffman had turned to the Supreme Court in last-ditch hopes of halting the execution. Last year, the court declined to intervene in the nations first nitrogen hypoxia execution, in Alabama. Hoffmans lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that the nitrogen gas procedure which deprives a person of oxygen violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The mans lawyers, in a last-ditch appeal, also argued the method would infringe on Hoffmans freedom to practice religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation in the moments leading up to death. Louisiana officials maintained the method is painless. They also said it was past time for the state to deliver justice as promised to victims families after a decade and a half hiatus one brought on partly by an inability to secure lethal injection drugs. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in declining to step in.Hours earlier at a hearing Tuesday, a 19th Judicial District Court Judge Richard Chip Moore also declined to stop the execution. He agreed with the states lawyers who had argued the mans religion-based arguments fell under the jurisdiction of a federal judge who had already ruled on them, according to local news outlets.Under the Louisiana protocol, which is nearly identical to Alabamas, officials had earlier said Hoffman would be strapped to a gurney before a full-face respirator mask fitted tightly on him. Pure nitrogen gas was then pumped into the mask, forcing him to breathe it in and depriving him of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions. The protocol called for the gas to be administered for at least 15 minutes or five minutes after the inmates heart rate reaches a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer.Each inmate put to death using nitrogen in Alabama had appeared to shake and gasp to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including an Associated Press reporter. Alabama state officials said the reactions were involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Alabama first used the lethal gas to put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death last year, marking the first time a new method had been used in the U.S. since lethal injection was introduced in 1982.Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center. Arkansas was added to the list on Tuesday. Seeking to resume executions, Louisianas GOP-dominated Legislature expanded the states approved death penalty methods last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Lethal injection was already in place. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation allowing executions using nitrogen gas, making hers the fifth state to adopt the method. Arkansas currently has 25 people on death row. Over recent decades, the number of executions nationally has declined sharply amid legal battles, a shortage of lethal injection drugs and waning public support for capital punishment. That has led a majority of states to either abolish or pause carrying out the death penalty. On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of execution opponents held a vigil outside the rural southeast Louisiana prison at Angola, where the states executions are carried out. Some passed out prayer cards with photos of a smiling Hoffman and planned a Buddhist reading and Meditation for Peace.Attorney General Liz Murrill said she expects at least four people to be executed this year in Lousiana. Ahead of Hoffmans execution, she said justice will finally be served by putting him to death. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This undated image released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows Savage Pet of El Cajon, Calif.'s Savage Cat Food Large Chicken Boxes and Small Chicken Boxes. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration via AP)2025-03-18T21:07:47Z A California pet food maker has recalled its raw chicken products after they were linked to bird flu infections in two cats and suspected in a third in New York City. The recall is the latest in recent months tied to products potentially contaminated with the virus that has sickened and killed cats in several states, after racing through poultry and dairy cattle in the U.S. and causing illnesses in at least 70 people. Savage Pet, of El Cajon, California, this week recalled one lot of large and small chicken boxes because they may be contaminated with Type A H5N1 influenza virus. The boxes are cardboard and contain individual plastic packages of products. The lot code and best-by date 11152026 is stamped on products. The pet food was distributed in California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington state. New York City health officials this week urged consumers to avoid Savage Pet products because of the cats illnesses. One cat fell ill and died this month after eating the Savage Pet products. Final test results are pending, but a preliminary test for H5N1 was nonnegative, which indicates that a certain amount of virus was detected, a department spokesperson said. A second cat was diagnosed with H5N1 and died and tests suggested it was infected with a strain related to that found in the recalled Savage Pet food. However, that cat did not eat the food; it was exposed to a third cat that fell ill after eating the food from the implicated lot. That cat survived but was not tested. The New York cases are the latest reports of cats in several states sickened and killed by H5N1. At least 115 bird flu infections in domestic cats have been reported to the U.S. Agriculture Department since 2022, with most logged since 2024. Cats can catch the virus from wildlife or contaminated milk and food.Earlier this month, Wild Coast Raw, of Olympia, Washington, recalled frozen boneless raw chicken cat food after it was linked to illnesses and deaths in cats in Oregon and Washington. In December, Morasch Meats of Portland, Oregon, recalled its Northwest Naturals brand of raw and frozen turkey pet food after it tested positive for the virus and was linked to the death of a local cat. Dr. Jarra Jagne, a veterinary expert at Cornell University, said pet owners should avoid feeding their animals unpasteurized milk or raw pet food because of the risk of bird flu as well as other germs such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli. I wouldnt give my animals raw anything, she said. Its all about cooking. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. JONEL ALECCIA Aleccia covers food and nutrition at The Associated Press. She is based in Southern California. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08721-9In a model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, extrachromosomal DNAs are shown to be a source of high-level focal amplification driving MYC heterogeneity and phenotypic adaptation.

Nature, Published online: 12 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08658-zHigh-enthalpy elastic metamaterials constructed from freely rotatable chiral metacells have high stiffness, large recoverable strain and improved buckling strength.