Month: September 2023

For the first time in NASA history an asteroid sample collected by the agency has touched down on Earth, seven years after launching the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft into space. The capsule flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. which will allow scientists the opportunity to learn more about the origins of the solar system.

OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, lifted off in 2016 and began orbiting Bennu in 2018. The spacecraft collected the sample in 2020 and set off on its lengthy return trip to Earth in May 2021. The mission traveled 3.86 billion miles total to Bennu and back.

OSIRIS-REx dropped the sample capsule — containing an estimated 8.8 ounces of asteroid rocks and soil — from a distance of 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface early Sunday, and entered the planet’s atmosphere at 10:42 a.m. ET while traveling at a speed of about 27,650 miles per hour (44,498 kilometers per hour).

The sample landed in the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range about 10 minutes after entering the atmosphere. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said: “Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx team. You did it.  It brought something extraordinary, the largest asteroid sample ever received on Earth. This mission proves that NASA does big things, things that inspire us, things that unite us. It wasn’t mission impossible. It was the impossible that became possible.” OSIRIS-REx will continue its tour of the solar system, with the spacecraft set to capture a detailed look at a different asteroid named Apophis.  That mission now has a new name: OSIRIS-APEX (for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-APophis EXplorer).

Details about the sample will be revealed through a NASA broadcast from Johnson Space Center on October 11.  NASA said the science team will not have had time to fully assess the sample, but researchers expect to collect some fine-grained material at the top of canister for a quick analysis that can be shared in October.

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According to a news release, six people, including three children, are dead after a train crashed into their SUV sitting on the tracks at a railroad crossing near Tampa, Fla. on Saturday evening. Hillsborough County Sherif Chad Chronister shared during a press conference that seven people were inside a Cadillac Escalade when the crash happened, with five of the passengers being “violenting ejected” from the vehicle upon impact.

Video on the front of the freight train showed the driver approaching the crossing in the area of Highway 92 and Jim Lefler Circle in Plant City, which reportedly wasn’t signalized. However, instead of yielding at the posted stop sign, Chronister said the driver slowly crawled across the tracks. Sheriff Chronister said: “the conductor of the train did everything he could to try to slow this train down. He signaled these loud train horns that they’re equipped with along with the flashing lights. We know that even from the witness that was parked by the tracks that he also was hitting the horn of his vehicle – all trying to get the driver’s attention and get [them] to stop and look both ways.” Once the train collided with the SUV, the vehicle reportedly catapulted and flipped multiple times before landing a distance away from its origin.

The driver and front passenger were rescued from within the car, according to Chronister, and were taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. It was later announced Sunday morning that the driver died from his injuries and was identified as 52-year-old Jose G. Hernandez. The other victims of the crash were also identified: Enedelia Hernandez, 51; Jakub A. Lopez, 17; Alyssa Hernandez, 17; Anaelia Hernandez, 22; and Julian Hernandez, 9. One passenger remains hospitalized in critical condition and was identified as 23-year-old Guillermo Gama.

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At least two adults died, with dozens injured – five critically – after a charter bus carrying high school students from Long Island, New York, crashed off a New York highway while heading to band camp in Pennsylvania, state police said. The bus was one of six carrying members of the Farmingdale High School band, which was heading to Greeley, Pennsylvania, for a band camp.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 21 on I-84 near Wawayanda, a town outside of Orange County in New York, about 45 miles northwest of New York City, as the vehicle careened down an embankment off the side of the roadway. Aerial footage showed ripped-up grass on the embankment and the bus lying on its left side with its roof warped. A ladder allowed rescuers to reach the windows.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said that 44 people were on the bus — most of whom were high-schoolers — and five young people who were taken to area hospitals in critical condition. As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, twenty-eight passengers from the crash had been admitted to four different area hospitals (Bon Secours, St. Anthony’s, Westchester Medical Center and Garnet Health). The extent of their injuries weren’t immediately clear.

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the accident was likely caused by a faulty front tire but that the cause was still under investigation. New York State’s Department of Transportation said in a statement: “The vehicle operator, Regency Transportation of Nesconset, N.Y., has valid operating authority from the State Department of Transportation and a valid semi-annual inspection. The driver is properly licensed.”

The company has eight vehicles and employs about 14 drivers. The driver behind the wheel was properly licensed, and the company received a satisfactory rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. State troopers and federal investigators likely will dig into details of the vehicle’s past in the coming days.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet with President Biden at the White House on Thursday during a visit to Washington, where he worked to gain additional U.S. support for Ukraine in their war with Russia. Zelenskyy shared a message on the war’s progress, but faced new questions about the aid the U.S. has donated for the last 19 months to help Ukraine in the fight against Russian forces. This is Zelenskyy’s second visit to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelenskyy came to the Capitol in private talks with Republican and Democratic leaders. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin greeted Zelenskyy; and at the Capitol, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy notably chose not to join House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in greeting the Ukrainian president when he arrived. McCarthy also confirmed that he declined Zelenskyy’s request for a joint session of Congress, saying there wasn’t time on short notice. Republican House lawmakers also questioned Zelenskyy on the way forward for Ukraine as the two-year mark approaches without major breakthroughs.

Later, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska at the White House, where they received a red carpet arrival on the South Lawn followed by time in the Oval Office, an expanded gathering in the East Room, and one-on-one time for the two first ladies. The Biden administration announced hundreds of millions of dollars in additional security aid for the country, including for air defense munitions. The new package of military assistance includes “significant” air defense capabilities to help Ukraine “harden” its defenses, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Biden assured Zelenskyy: “The American people are determined to see to it that we do all we can to ensure the world stands with you. That is our overwhelming objective.”

Zelenskyy’s meeting with senators on Thursday took place behind closed doors in the Old Senate Chamber, where the Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from both parties on his stop in the Senate, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer flanking him as he walked in. Schumer told reporters afterward one sentence summed up the meeting: “Mr. Zelenskyy said if we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.” Senate Republican leader McConnell said afterward he was proud to welcome Zelenskyy to the Capitol: “Americans’ support for Ukraine is not a charity. It’s an investment in our own self-interest.”

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The Federal Reserve said in a statement on Wednesday that it will pausing its extended campaign against inflation, leaving interest rates unchanged and giving borrowers a break after 11 increases since March 2022. They indicated, however, that one more interest rate hike is expected by year’s end.  Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters in a press conference: “We’re prepared to raise rates further, if appropriate.”

The Fed statement said: “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have slowed in recent months but remain strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated.” The Fed said it will hold the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the same level as it announced at its last meeting in July. The current U.S. annual inflation rate of 3.7% recorded in August is higher than the Fed’s goal of 2%, but it is much lower than the 8.3% recorded in August 2022.

Even though the Fed isn’t boosting rates, borrowing costs are at their highest levels in 22 years. The central bank is seeking to lessen demand for purchases like homes and cars.  According to projections, the Fed will raise interest rates to a median of 5.6% by the end of this year and said two rate cuts are likely in 2024, half of the number of cuts projected in June. The Fed statement said: “In determining the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2% over time, the committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.”

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Attorney General Merrick Garland testified Wednesday morning during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, where Republican lawmakers grilled him over his department’s handling of criminal probes into former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, the events of Jan. 6 and other high-profile investigations – all while Democrats charged the GOP with abusing the process. Garland’s appearance in front of the Judiciary Committee is his first since he appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump in his handling of classified documents and his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the cases connected with former President Donald Trump, and alleged it handed President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, a “sweetheart deal” that was rejected by a federal judge. Despite the questioning, Garland said he would not comment about ongoing investigations into Trump and Hunter Biden, frustrating some Republicans. He also didn’t engage in GOP attacks against special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump.

Meanwhile Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, attacked Jordan in his opening statement and asserted that nearly all of the chair’s statements have already been refuted in testimony. Nadler said: “They have used their power to stage one political stunt after another. They have wasted countless taxpayers’ dollars on baseless investigations into President Biden and his family to find evidence in an absurd impeachment, desperate to distract from the mounting legal peril facing Donald Trump.”

Repeatedly, Garland insisted that he did not ask questions about the Hunter Biden case because he made a promise not to weigh in. Garland said no one from the White House or connected with President Joe Biden had contacted him about the cases into Hunter Biden or Trump: “Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate. As the president himself has said, and I reaffirm here today: I am not the President’s lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people.”

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