New research is upending what we thought about the consciousness of patients, leaving families with agonizing choices.

Following their historic moon flyby, the Artemis II crew will return to Earth on Friday. The Onion looks at the key facts and figures behind the lunar mission.15 mphSpeed limit in moon zone49 millionFewer streams than a British guy playing League Of Legends4Times mission specialist Jeremy Hansen has suggested playing charades$12Cost of single can of Coke from space capsules onboard minibar4.2 billionPeople on Earth who accidentally blinked during the taking of new planetary photos15Crimes committed in capsule not subject to Earth laws2Stoves left on back on Earth695,081Miles earned3Returning crew members who will come backdifferentThe post NASAs Artemis II Mission By The Numbers appeared first on The Onion.

The art museum will close to the public in March 2027 to replace its aging tram system and modernize some art galleries.

Erik Duran was leading an undercover operation when he knocked a Bronx man off his motorbike after throwing a cooler at him in 2023.

The departure of Max Verstappen's longtime race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will add fuel to the inferno that is building over the four-time world champion's immediate F1 future, writes ESPN's Nate Saunders.

This renter spent 10 years "stripping away decades' worth of paint that coated woodwork and fixtures to restore the charm of this 1930s apartment to its original glory and adding her own French Provincial style to the space. READ MORE...

There are even seat cushion covers, starting at $10!READ MORE...

Travelers wait in a lines to get through security at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)2026-04-09T11:41:52Z A new reality is setting in for travelers worldwide: rising fees, fewer flight options and difficult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost.The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.Volatility is the real story here, said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown Universitys business school. Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future.Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler.Budget airlines and the price-conscious customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch first and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins wont escape the higher prices and less convenient schedules. Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, plunging Wednesday below $95 on news of a two-week ceasefire that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and then climbing back toward $100 on Thursday as uncertainty over the fragile deal grew. Iran again closed the key artery for global oil shipments in response to Israeli strikes Wednesday in Lebanon. When prices move quickly in both directions, its very hard for airlines to make predictions, Gilad said. Thats why theres a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices. Read More In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Gilad said airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust prices as they wait for energy markets to stabilize.At this level of fuel, its hard to call anything temporary, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees. Global squeeze, local effectsBastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. Thats more than double what United earned in its most profitable year.For perspective, Kirby wrote, in Uniteds best year ever, we made less than $5B.According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started.Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees.United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week it is bringing the pay for what you want approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras. Hong Kongs Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.Experts say flexibility and careful monitoring can help offset the rising fares. Fare-tracking tools can alert travelers to price changes and compare multiple options in one place. Booking early and checking nearby airports can lock in better prices, while refundable tickets make it easier to cancel and rebook if fares drop. Traveling light with just a carry-on can also help avoid the rising bag fees. Flight cuts to cut costsFor some travelers, its not just the cost its the uncertainty thats changing how theyre planning trips.Bill Moorehouse, 50, a solutions director at a global provider of business and technology services, routinely travels for work every four to six weeks.When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you dont want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like its more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course, the Cupertino, California, resident said.For now, hes staying closer to home.I think its a good time to do your spring cleaning and reconnect with friends locally, Moorehouse said.Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly.BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America. United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than burning cash on trips that cant absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airlines CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats in June, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.Travel plans upendedThese moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than budget carriers, whose no frills model leaves them with less flexibility. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity.Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going, Gilad said.Its already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she met as a teenager during a volunteer internship.Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 about double what she has paid in past years.It wasnt even scratching the surface for the flight this time, she said, so I decided to delay the trip.But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasnt missed in years.It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less. RIO YAMAT Yamat is a national business reporter for The Associated Press. Based in Las Vegas, she covers airlines, travel and tourism. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In December 2023, the U.S. Justice Department sued a Texas land developer it accused of duping tens of thousands of Hispanic residents into predatory mortgages, a landmark case for the Biden administration.Colony Ridge, which sold plots in massive subdivisions north of Houston, had become a one-stop shop for discriminatory lending, Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. The developer targeted Hispanic applicants through false advertising and persuaded them to take out high-interest loans that many could not afford, then benefited when it foreclosed on their properties, the lawsuit alleged.Our goal at the end of the day is to ensure that victims are compensated for their loss, Clarke declared.Three years later, the Trump administration and Colony Ridge are on the verge of resolving the case. But the $68 million proposed settlement provides no money for victims of the alleged scheme. Instead, it sets aside $20 million for policing and immigration enforcement a provision that may be used to target the very people who were victimized by the developer, according to former government officials who worked on such cases.Ive never seen a settlement like this, with a complete misalignment between what youre settling and what the resolution is, said Elena Babinecz, who led fair lending investigations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for 12 years under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, before leaving in October.Its a slap in the face to the individuals that were harmed; that the Justice Department acknowledges were harmed, said Babinecz, who was at the bureau when it joined the Justice Department in filing suit against Colony Ridge. Its a complete misjustice, and its not at all why these civil rights laws were passed.The Justice Departments proposed settlement in the Colony Ridge case sets aside $20 million for policing and immigration enforcement but no money for victims of the alleged scheme. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Highlighted by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.Seven other attorneys and investigators who formerly enforced the federal governments lending and housing civil rights laws also told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that they were stunned by the agreement, which a U.S. district judge must still approve. Indeed, Colony Ridge is the largest Justice Department case since at least 2018 in which the settlement includes no monetary compensation for victims. The judge has scheduled a hearing on Friday over the proposal.A coalition of fair housing and civil rights groups has urged the court to reject the settlement, arguing the lawsuit is the only realistic prospect for many consumers to get recompense because they cannot afford private attorneys.The Justice Department had built a case against Colony Ridge with stark and overwhelming evidence, Clarke told the news organizations. Prosecutors said Colony Ridge repeatedly misled consumers about the condition of lots they purchased, forcing them to spend hundreds or thousands on drainage improvements and utility connections they hadnt known the land needed. This contributed to consumers defaulting on high-interest loans, according to the lawsuit. Colony Ridge then benefited from the improvements made to the land it foreclosed on and resold the lots at higher prices.In the end, tens of thousands of victims were exploited through the developers predatory practices in a span of eight years, the government argued. Colony Ridge repossessed more than 15,000 lots, many owned by immigrants, a 2023 investigation by the Houston Landing found.Of the 183 housing and civil enforcement Justice Department settlements since 2018, only 6% did not include money for victims. Each of those cases was smaller in scope than Colony Ridge. They included a suburban Maryland car dealership accused of racial discrimination in loan offers over a seven-month period and a California landlord who allegedly refused to provide handicapped parking to one tenant.None of the settlements except for Colony Ridge includes funding for police or immigration enforcement.The government argued that Colony Ridge exploited tens of thousands of people through predatory mortgages. Lexi Parra for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneAs federal investigators built a case around how Colony Ridge had treated its largely immigrant customers, conservative media and politicians aligned with Trump who had made immigration enforcement a cornerstone of his campaign did not focus on how consumers had been harmed. They instead accused the development of being a haven for immigrants.They claimed, without providing evidence, that the development was a base for Mexican drug cartels and a no-go zone for police. Local law enforcement disputed the assertions, saying that violent crime there was no different from other neighborhoods in and around Houston. State legislative panels convened to investigate the allegations also fizzled out after they were unable to substantiate such claims.Neither the federal government nor a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton months later raised public safety concerns or a need for more policing or immigration enforcement.The Justice Department declined to comment and did not respond to the concerns raised by former employees and people involved in the case. Paxtons office did not respond to multiple emails. But while announcing the settlement in February, Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the departments Civil Rights Division, argued that Colony Ridge had encouraged illegal immigration by targeting Hispanic consumers with the bait of affordable homeownership. This DOJ will go after all lenders, financiers, and land developers who participate in schemes which ultimately encourage illegal immigration, she said. In his own news release about the settlement, which would also resolve the Texas suit, Paxton focused primarily on funding set aside for immigration enforcement. Under my watch, Texas will never be a sanctuary for illegals, he said.The focus on immigration makes the lives of those who were harmed more difficult, said Catherine Bendor, a manager in the Justice Departments Housing and Civil Enforcement Section for eight years until 2024.Even if theyre citizens, theyll likely be hassled by immigration agents who target people based on appearance or accent, she said.John Harris, Colony Ridges CEO, declined to be interviewed. The settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing. He has long maintained that his company, which started in 2011 and offered mortgages for as little as a 1% down payment, has not preyed on its customers.The financing terms helped the development grow rapidly, albeit inconsistently, with neat modular homes, trailers and abandoned or vacant lots across more than 33,000 acres. Matt Rascon, a spokesperson for Colony Ridge, said the company found success offering a path to land ownership through flexible financing options with no credit checks. His comments echoed the companys argument in court that it created a path to homeownership for thousands of lower-income consumers whom risk-averse banks reject.Offering loans when others wouldnt is the most common argument predatory lenders make to justify their practices, said Nathalie Martin, a University of New Mexico law professor who has studied high-cost loans.You can see from this situation, it doesnt help people to get them into loans that are more costly than they need to be, Martin said.Former federal officials and Colony Ridge property owners acknowledge that the settlement includes some provisions to protect consumers in the future. It would require Colony Ridge to adopt stricter lending standards and allow buyers to back out of purchases without penalty within two months. The developer would also make $48 million in infrastructure upgrades and provide transparent, bilingual marketing and communication.Another provision bars Colony Ridge from developing new lots to sell for three years. But the agreement exempts 674 acres that the developer has already subdivided.The concessions are helpful but inadequate because they miss a clear opportunity to help victims recover money they lost, which is a key reason such cases are filed, said Jon Seward, who was principal deputy chief for the Justice Department when he left in May 2023 after 17 years in its Housing and Civil Enforcement Section.Maria Acevedo said Colony Ridge foreclosed on her property in 2021 even though she was making payments. Lexi Parra for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneOne such victim was Maria Acevedo, who describes herself as a lifelong Republican and U.S. citizen who said she voted for Trump three times.A former land developer herself, Acevedo took out a high-interest $40,000 loan in 2018 to buy a half-acre of land where she planned to retire. She then spent an additional $60,000 on surveying, engineering and adding dirt to protect against flooding.Acevedo said she planned to refinance her loan but learned that she couldnt because the property had a lien from a previous owner. Colony Ridge foreclosed on the property three years later, even though Acevedo said she was making payments. Colony Ridge did not comment on Acevedos case or those of other individuals in this story. The foreclosure ruined her retirement plans, Acevedo said, adding that the challenges strained her marriage and eventually led to divorce.She considered finding a lawyer to sue. But she said she decided to become a team player and serve as a government witness after federal investigators pledged to help victims like her recover what they lost.Now, Acevedo said, she feels betrayed by a settlement that ignores Hispanic consumers like her.I know we were targeted. A blind man could see it, Acevedo said.She added that the lawsuit was going smooth, but once the Trump administration came in and took it over, it changed.Even if she could now find a lawyer, her window to file a lawsuit has expired because state and federal laws require they be brought within five years.Since returning to office, the Trump administration has abandoned an $80 million settlement with Navy Federal Credit Union over illegal overdraft fees, which allowed the bank to continue operating without penalty, and halted dozens of investigations, including a case accusing a major Pennsylvania lender of defrauding student borrowers. Both defendants have denied wrongdoing.The Trump administration and White House budget director Russell Vought have taken aim at the CFPB, which was formed to protect consumers from getting ripped off by businesses. For Vought, the agency was an example of government overreach. It was also one of the first targets for Trumps Department of Government Efficiency. In April, in response to a lawsuit by bureau employees over the CFPBs attempt to lay off 90% of its staff, the administration offered a compromise proposal: slashing two-thirds.The White House and Voughts office declined to comment, but the administration has argued the agency was needlessly aggressive and wasteful.The shift away from pursuing consumer protection cases gives the impression that the federal government is no longer serious about protecting regular people from unscrupulous businesses, former Justice Department and CFPB employees said.Investigators spent months gathering stories and building trust with residents who were wary of cooperating, said Johnathan Smith, a former deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights during the Biden administration, who visited the development before the lawsuit. The team worked to ensure that the community believed something was going to be different because the Justice Department got involved.Its just heartbreaking how the settlement failed to meet that mark, he said.SuEllen Sanchez and her sister, Keilah Sanchez, were among those who shared their stories with investigators, expecting the government would help them reclaim what they lost. They also provided investigators with hundreds of records from neighbors who said theyd been scammed.A U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico, SuEllen Sanchez had purchased five lots in Colony Ridge in 2020. She saw it as a way to invest money shed earned as an aesthetician and perhaps open a business there.Sanchez said the advertisements and sales representatives for Colony Ridge led her to believe the lots would be ready to build on. They werent. Clearing the land for development, acquiring permits and connecting utilities cost her more than $10,000. Colony Ridge foreclosed on one of the lots in 2021, according to Sanchez, who disputes the developers claims that she had missed loan payments.Sanchez wondered if others also believed theyd been scammed. Thats when she and her sister, a web developer who also had purchased Colony Ridge properties, launched a website asking residents to share their experiences with the developer.Sanchez said she was dismayed that all of their efforts resulted in the proposed settlement.These were consumer-based lawsuits, so you would think theyd actually do something for consumers with everything that they stipulated that this company did wrong, Sanchez said. Theres no way somebody who has all these violations should still be operating.Acevedo feels the same way, and she wants the judge to know it as he mulls the settlement. She doesnt have a lawyer, but after the Justice Department proposed it, she filed a legal brief in the case demanding compensation as a victim. She offered to testify and present evidence.I want the court to hear me directly, she wrote to Judge Alfred H. Bennett. I am willing to swear to my experience.On Friday, she plans to drive 30 miles to Courtroom 9A in the Houston federal building for the settlement hearing, hoping for the judge to grant her request to be heard.The post A Slap in the Face: Trumps DOJ Plans to Settle Predatory Lending Case Without Compensating Victims appeared first on ProPublica.

Nature, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01112-83D-printed discs harness a previously overlooked feature of bacterial locomotion to power tiny motors.

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot will play in Thursday's game against the Panthers, returning to the lineup 2 weeks after suffering a broken arm.

The Trump administration has made countering antifa and other far-left groups a counterterrorism priority, despite increasing threats from the Middle East.

The Trump administration aims to deploy counterterrorism tools against far-left groups, even as it has offered little evidence they present a dire threat.

This image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew captured this view the Moon and Earth are shown on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)2026-04-09T16:48:04Z HOUSTON (AP) Drawing ever closer to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts tidied up their lunar cruiser for its upcoming fireball return and reflected on their historic journey around the moon, describing it as surreal and profound.As the next-to-last day of their flight dawned Thursday, humanitys first lunar explorers in more than half a century were less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) from home with the odometer clicking down.We have to get back. Theres so much data that youve seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There are so many more pictures, so many more stories, said pilot Victor Glover, adding that riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well.Being cut off from all of humanity for nearly an hour while behind the moon was especially surreal, according to commander Reid Wiseman. Theres a lot that our brains have to process ... and it is a true gift, Wiseman said late Wednesday during the crews first news conference since before liftoff. While out of contact behind the moon Monday, Wiseman, Glover, Christina Koch and Canadas Jeremy Hansen became the most distant humans ever, clocking in at a record 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before heading back. As they emerged from behind the moon, they experienced a wondrous total solar eclipse as the orb blocked the sun from their perspective. Launching from Florida on April 1 diminished the amount of illumination on the lunar far side, Glover noted, but the eclipse was the consolation prize and it was one of the greatest gifts. Read More Fridays reentry and Pacific splashdown off the coast of San Diego as dynamic and dangerous as liftoff now topped everyones minds. The recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha, was already at sea, with a squadron of military planes and helicopters poised to join the operation. Its the first time that NASA and the Defense Department have teamed up for a lunar crews reentry since Apollo 17 in 1972. Their Orion capsule will come screaming back, hitting the atmosphere at a predicted 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second or 23,840 mph (38,367 kph) not a record but still mind-bogglingly fast. Mission Control will be paying close attention to how the capsules heat shield holds up. During the only other Orion test flight to the moon in 2022 without a crew the heat shield suffered considerably more damage than expected from the 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) of reentry.Instead of replacing Artemis IIs heat shield, which would have forced another lengthy delay, NASA tweaked the capsules descent through the atmosphere to reduce the blisteringly hot exposure. Next years Artemis III and beyond will fly with redesigned heat shields. Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV in 2028 will attempt to land two astronauts near the moons south pole, setting the stage for what NASA hopes will be a sustainable lunar base. NASA officials have been loath to provide their risk assessment numbers for the nearly 10-day mission, acknowledging launch and entry as the biggest threats.Were down to the wire now, said NASAs Lakiesha Hawkins. Were down to the end of the mission, and obviously getting the crew back home and getting them landed safely, is a significant part of the risk thats still in front of us.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, May 15, 2022. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)2026-04-09T04:04:26Z NEW YORK (AP) Federal appeals court judges questioned during oral arguments Thursday whether a roughly four-year prison term given to Sean Diddy Combs for the hip-hop mogul s conviction on prostitution-related charges was too harsh.The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan did not immediately rule after hearing two hours of arguments.At the conclusion, Circuit Judge William J. Nardini called it an exceptionally difficult case that raises questions of first impression not only for this court but for any federal court in the country.Throughout the arguments, judges questioned whether a judge improperly considered elements of acquitted charges to sentence Combs to what his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, said was the most prison time ever given someone convicted of the same charges with a similar criminal history. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik, arguing for the government, challenged Shapiros claim, saying the four-year, two-month prison term given to Combs was below what federal sentencing guidelines called for and was in line with similar convictions in the 2nd Circuit. Combs, currently in federal prison in New Jersey, is challenging his conviction and prison sentence. He was convicted last July under the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime. But he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence. Read More In sentencing Combs, Judge Arun Subramanian said: Mr. Combs, youre being sentenced for the offenses of conviction, NOT the crimes he was acquitted of. However, under law, the court shall consider the nature of the offense and characteristics of the defendant.The judge also cited law which states that no limitation shall be placed on the background, character and conduct that a judge can consider. During Thursdays arguments, Shapiro asked the appeals panel for a speedy decision.Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he is scheduled for release in April 2028.His attorneys say Combs conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and resentenced to less time. Despite extensive written arguments on the subject, there was no discussion Thursday about claims by Combs lawyers that his conviction should be reversed on grounds that the First Amendment protects sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers because they were sometimes filmed and amounted to amateur pornography.There was extensive discussion, though, about his lawyers arguments that Subramanian wrongly considered evidence of fraud and coercion that they said the jury rejected as it exonerated him on the most serious charges. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. Combs trial last year exposed the sordid private life of one of the most influential figures in music. The case featured harrowing testimony about violence, drugs and sexual performances that witnesses said he called freak-offs or hotel nights. He did not testify. His defense team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were straining to make a federal crime out of his personal life. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Smoke rises following several Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)2026-04-09T16:51:41Z BEIRUT (AP) In the hours after the U.S. and Iran announced a tentative ceasefire, Israel dramatically escalated its attacks in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.The burst of strikes in central Beirut and other parts of the country killed more than 200 people and wounded more than 1,000, according to health officials. The Israeli military said it had targeted sites affiliated with Hezbollah and announced that it had killed an aide to the groups leader, Naim Kassem. But the strikes, which hit densely packed residential and commercial districts at rush hour, also killed a large number of civilians, Lebanese officials said, without providing details. Hezbollah retaliated to the heavy strikes which prompted an international outcry by launching missiles into in Israel, though no serious casualties have been reported. The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted after the U.S. and Israeli launched a war against Iran in late February. Since the ceasefire announced by U.S. and Iran earlier this week, a heated debate has ensued over whether it applies to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah; Iran says it does, while the U.S. and Israel say it does not. The lead-up to the latest war between Israel and HezbollahIsrael and Hezbollah have fought multiple wars since the militant group was formed in the 1980s as a guerrilla force resisting Israels then-occupation of southern Lebanon.On March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, Hezbollah launched missiles toward Israel. It said the salvo was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for repeated Israeli aggressions in Lebanon.The resumption of fighting came 15 months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted their previous war. That conflict started a day after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Read More Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, began firing on Israel after it launched its blistering counteroffensive against Hamas in Gaza. What began as a low-level conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border region erupted into a full-scale war in September 2024. After a ceasefire was reached in November 2024, Israel kept up near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon, saying it aimed to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Israeli troops also continued to occupy five hilltops on the Lebanese side of the border.Hezbollah, meanwhile, was under domestic and international pressure to surrender its remaining arsenal. The group stayed largely quiet and didnt enter the fray during last summers 12-day war between Israel and Iran. Many believed that the group was too weakened to fight after suffering heavy losses in the 2024 conflict and so were surprised when it entered the war following U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. More than 1 million Lebanese displaced by the warAs of Wednesday, more than 1,730 people had been killed and more than 5,870 had been wounded by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since March 2, according to the countrys health ministry. It is not clear how many of those were civilians, but they include hundreds of women, children and health workers.More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon. Israel has issued a series of blanket warnings for residents to leave wide swaths of the country, often followed by bombardment of those areas. Many are sleeping in cars, on the streets or in overcrowded schools turned into shelters. Israeli officials say Hezbollah has launched thousands of missiles and drones across the border but that most have been intercepted or fallen in open areas. The Israeli army says 12 soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon and more than 400 wounded.There have also been a small number of civilian fatalities in northern Israel, including one man killed by a rocket strike and another who was accidentally killed by Israeli army artillery fire during fighting along the border. The steady stream of missiles and drones has residents on edge in northern Israel. Many are angry that the government hasnt offered to pay to evacuate them as it did during the last war.The Israeli army has also launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Fierce battles have erupted with Hezbollah militants in the border area and U.N. peacekeeping forces have at times been caught in the middle; three members of the U.N. force have been killed. Some Israeli officials have called for their military to occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border. Israeli forces have demolished homes in villages along the border line. Many displaced Lebanese fear that Israel plans to create a depopulated buffer zone and they will never be able to return to their homes. Questions about the endgameLebanese officials have sought to directly negotiate with Israel to halt the fighting. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to enter into talks that would focus on disarming Hezbollah and a possible peace deal.When the U.S. and Iran announced a tentative ceasefire agreement Wednesday, Pakistans prime minister, whose country served as a mediator, said in a social media post that it applied to everywhere including Lebanon. Iranian officials also insist the deal includes Lebanon. But the U.S. and Israel are adamant it does not.Hezbollah has said it will not abide by the ceasefire unless Israel does.Joe Macaron, a Middle East analyst, said the ensuing negotiations will be a test of how much the Iranian regime is committed to help Hezbollah. It is unlikely Israel will agree to or be forced by the U.S. to accept a full ceasefire and withdrawal from Lebanon, he said.While the U.S. might pressure Israel to halt strikes in central Beirut, a long war of attrition is likely to unfold between Israel and Hezbollah in the south, he said. The Israeli military isnt capable of controlling the entire area south of the Litani River, Hezbollah isnt capable of forcing Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon, and neither Israel nor the Lebanese state can forcibly disarm the group, he said.The only resolution will have to be a negotiated settlement, Macaron said. ___Koral Saeed in Abu Snan, Israel, contributed to this report. ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Britain, France and the European Union condemned Israels strikes targeting Hezbollah in the country, saying these threatened the truce.

The Big Ten amassed $69.4 million from NCAA distributions that will be paid for appearances and performances in the 2026 men's and women's basketball tournaments.

A section of the landmarks original staircase will go up for auction next month and could sell for a towering sum.

As Moscow throttles Russias few remaining independent voices, the authorities targeted two of the most prominent, one a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the other headed by a Nobel laureate.

Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week. Scientists have observed an extremely rare chimpanzee civil war, a conflict that has killed at least seven adults and 17 infants, and which sheds new light on the nature of warfare in humans, according to a study published on Thursday in Science.Male chimpanzees are often aggressive to outsiders, but it is unusual for chimps to kill former members of their own social groups. Though Jane Goodall and her colleagues observed one famous examplethe Gombe Chimpanzee War of the 1970s, which resulted in seven adult deathsits estimated that these violent episodes occur only once every 500 years, based on genetic analyses of chimpanzee lineages.Now, a team led by Aaron Sandel, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, has reported a far more deadly group fissure among the Ngogo chimpanzees of Uganda. This population exceeded 200 individuals at one point, making it the largest group of chimpanzees ever observed in the wild. But over the past decade, the chimps have fractured into two factions, one of which has staged multiple lethal raids on the other.Certainly, these are not strangers, said Sandel in a call with 404 Media. These are chimps that once knew each other, and we know that for certain.The Ngogo group has been studied since the 1970s by primatologists like Thomas Struhsaker, and have been intensively observed since 1995 as part of the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project set up by David Watts and John Mitani. For more than three decades, researchers from around the world have convened to watch the group during summer field expeditions, while Ugandan research assistants have maintained a continuous presence at the site.Because of this longstanding observation, Sandel said, researchers were able to be on the ground witnessing every moment as the deadly chimp war unfolded.Chimpanzees from different clusters socialized together before the group fissure in 2015. Image: Aaron SandelThis group has always had distinct subpopulations that spent more time together, including the Western and Central clusters. Even so, before the fissure, the clusters regularly overlapped for shared activities like grooming, patrolling, and interbreeding.Sandel vividly remembers the exact day that this dynamic had noticeably shifted: June 24, 2015. He was following the Western cluster, which was at the center of its neighborhood territory, he said.They hear chimps from the Central neighborhood nearby, and they go quiet, he recalled. They seem nervous. They're touching each other with this reassurance that they typically do when they hear the outsider chimps, but I was just alone with them. I remember, just in that moment, being really puzzled and focused, like whats going on?They could have reunited and done what's typicalscreaming and charging around, maybe some slapping, and then come together, sit together, groom, maybe go their separate ways after, because they'd already started to be a bit more disconnected, Sandel continued. But instead of reuniting in typical chimpanzee fusion fashion, the Western chimpanzees ran and the Central chimps chased them.What started as a weird vibe transformed into a weeks-long chill between the groups, followed by a temporary thaw. Ultimately, the tension spiraled into bloody conflicts.You act like a stranger, you become a stranger, Sandel said. It seemed like that planted the seed of polarization.Over the course of the next few years, the males in each cluster began to treat each other like outsiders. The last offspring that had parents from different clusters was conceived in March 2015. The Western and Central chimps were fully separated by 2018.The Western chimps, despite being smaller in number, have since amped up hostilities by staging 24 violent attacks against their former kin, killing at least seven mature males and 17 infants from the Central cluster. The death toll may well be higher, but some deaths and disappearances cannot be conclusively attributed to the conflict.Sandel and his colleagues proposed a few possible causes of this civil war, a term that specifically refers to human conflicts, but that may have parallels in other species. First, the unusually large size of the group may have amplified feeding competition among individuals, even in their lush forest habitat. Social networks within the group may have also been disrupted by a wave of six deaths in 2014five adult males and one adult femalesome of whom likely died from disease.The beginning of the fissure also coincides with the rise of a new alpha male, Jackson, who replaced the previous alpha, Miles. Sandel recalled Miles grunting in submission to Jackson on the same day that the Western cluster ran away from the Central cluster. Such transitions between alphas can introduce social instabilities as the dominance hierarchy is upended, a process that can take several months.Indeed, Miles reacted violently toward other members of the group in the wake of his displacement. Jackson, who led the Central cluster, ended up as one the casualties of the conflict; he died from injuries inflicted by the Western cluster in 2022.Whatever the cause of the rupture, this group of former kin have now become hostile enemies. Its always dicey to draw broad comparisons between the behavior of humans and other animals, but the team speculates in the study that one possible takeaway is that "it may be in the small, daily acts of reconciliation and reunion between individuals that we find opportunities for peace.If we study chimpanzees in detail and start to understand the mechanisms driving their cooperation, their conflict, and something as complex as one group becoming polarized, splitting, and engaging in ongoing lethal conflict, then we might gain insights into similar dynamics that are happening in humans, Sandel said.If chimps are able to do this complex process in the absence of ethnicity, language, and religionthe things we often attribute to human warfarechimps don't have those narratives and those excuses, he concluded. They're stripped away of those cultural dimensions. It must be their interpersonal social bonds and daily conflicts, reconciliations, and avoidancesall those dynamics. If that's the case with chimps, to what extent is it the case in humans? Its a hypothesis to be tested.Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.

Nature, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01110-wVehicle-to-grid technology, if installed properly, could allow vehicles to serve as back-up batteries.

Nature, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01138-yNature correspondent Alexandra Witze describes the joy and tension at mission control in Houston.

The Wild signed a defenseman named Viking Gustafsson Nyberg, a former UConn standout who signed a two-year, entry-level contract that begins with the current season.

Justices often dont disclose why they disqualify themselves from hearing cases. Their silence echoes the courts unexplained emergency orders.

Trust us, this one trick will make your outdoor space pop big or small!READ MORE...

First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2026-04-09T18:44:07Z WASHINGTON (AP) First lady Melania Trump has delivered a statement at White House denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes, and is calling for a congressional hearing for survivors. The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation, she said.

NJ Transit users will be barred from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan for four hours before the start of each of the matches at MetLife Stadium.

There are reasons to believe the record-low U.S. birthrate could be only temporary as todays young women postpone pregnancy.

WASHINGTONIn an effort to call attention to a potentially life-threatening hazard, the State Department issued a travel warning Thursday for all women considering taking a vacation with their husbands. While we arent yet expressly banning women from traveling with their husbands, were emphatically urging them to use extreme caution if they feel they must take a trip at this time, said spokesman Derrick Solorio, adding that the State Department would soon be publishing a list of locations women should avoid when accompanied by their partner for life, such as remote hiking trails, cliffs, and the railings of watercraft. But if at all possible, we strenuously recommend that women adjust their plans with their husbands by making their vacation a group experience with friends or by participating in a package tour surrounded by lots of strangers and a guide who regularly takes a head count. And if nothing else, make plans to frequently check in with someone back home who knows exactly where you and the man who pledged to cherish you forever are staying. The spokesman added that the advisory would remain in effect until women everywhere could confidently vacation with the person who loved them most in the world without being thrown into a gorge.The post State Department Issues Travel Warning For Women Vacationing With Husbands appeared first on The Onion.

Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri will miss "some games" because of a finger injury, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Thursday.

The Justice Department has begun an investigation into whether the NFL has violated anticompetitive practices with their television contracts that require consumers to pay subscription costs to watch some games, sources confirmed to ABC News.

Will the shooting really stop? What should be Trumps red lines? A discussion on where Americas war on Iran stands.

Responding to what she said were smears, the first lady said she never had knowledge of Jeffrey Epsteins abuse of victims. She called on Congress to continue investigating.

After winning the national title, coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers still have something to prove. "People are always going to doubt us," lineman Tyrique Tucker said.

It helped me slow down and be more mindful.READ MORE...

Agents shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez in Patterson, Calif., this week. His lawyer said Thursday that they fired at Mr. Hernandez before he tried to flee.

Philadelphia star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with appendicitis and is undergoing surgery Thursday afternoon in Houston.

A long-running conflict in a Ugandan park may provide clues to the origins of human warfare, and how to avoid it.

Nature, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01147-xRepository would require US universities to register research fraud and workplace harassment.

Tennessee's J.P. Estrella, a 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore transfer, told ESPN he committed to Michigan, giving the Wolverines their first portal player since winning the national title Monday.

A Caribbean Airlines passenger went into labor while traveling to New York from Jamaica, giving birth as the flight was in its final descent to JFK Airport. What do you think?Then, by law, that child is a citizen of that plane.Isaiah Jensen, Novel OptionerNo human beings first sight should be JFK.Jack Krause, Morticians AssistantThat was way more than 3.4 ounces of liquid.Cassandra Robles, UnemployedThe post Passenger Gives Birth Mid-Flight appeared first on The Onion.

This might inspire you to choose an electric color for your next set of built-ins.READ MORE...

Jeffrey Springs took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a one-hitter to lead the Athletics to 1-0 win over the Yankees Thursday in the Bronx.

Thirty-four states accused the concert giant of suffocating competition and driving up ticket prices. The company denies being anything but big.