(NEW YORK) — SpaceX lost contact with its Starship rocket on reentry over the Indian Ocean, the company said Thursday, but the third test flight was still deemed a success as it advanced further than either previous test.
The unmanned spaceship blasted off successfully from the company’s base in Boca Chica, Texas, at 8:25 a.m. local time.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hailed its entry into space, writing on X, “Starship reached orbital velocity! Congratulations @SpaceX team!!”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wrote on X, “Congrats to @SpaceX on a successful test flight! Starship has soared into the heavens. Together, we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon—then look onward to Mars.”
The rocket is being tested as the company pushes to travel to the moon, and even, eventually, Mars.
“As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights,” the company says. “Starship will also enable satellite delivery, the development of a Moon base, and point-to-point transport here on Earth.”
Musk touted Starship — at approximately 5,000 tons — as “the largest flying object ever made.”
SpaceX had conducted its second Starship rocket test flight in November 2023, during which the booster exploded after separating and the spacecraft apparently detonated after reaching space.
The Federal Aviation Administration had said it would oversee a mishap investigation led by SpaceX to determine the root cause of the event and ways to prevent it from happening again, and not allow another launch until it was satisfied there was no risk to public safety. The FAA gave SpaceX the go-ahead for the third test flight on Wednesday.
Thursday’s flight spent more than 45 minutes in space before the command center lost contact with the ship.
During the first test in April 2023, the rocket was forced to self-destruct about three minutes after liftoff when the boosters failed to separate.
(NEW YORK) — New data released by the American Library Association highlights the growing battle libraries and schools face over book bans and other challenges.
The number of books targeted by critics surged 65% from 2022 to 2023, according to the data published early Thursday. The ALA recorded 4,240 unique book titles that were targeted for removal or restriction in schools and libraries across the U.S. in 2023, topping the previous record of 2,571 unique titles in 2022.
About 47% of the titles targeted were by or about the LGBTQ community and/or people of color, the new data showed.
Public libraries experienced a 92% increase in challenges to books, while school libraries saw an 11% increase, according to the ALA.
“Every challenge to a library book is an attack on our freedom to read,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said in a statement on the new data.
“Libraries that reflect their communities’ diversity promote learning and empathy that some people want to hide or eliminate,” Drabinski said. “Libraries are vital institutions to each and every community in this country, and library professionals, who have dedicated their lives to protecting our right to read, are facing threats to their employment and well-being.”
Many of the efforts to target books came from politicized groups or individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles — often dozens or hundreds at a time — which drove the surge in book challenges, the ALA said.
In total, there were 1,247 overall demands to censor library materials and resources, according to the ALA.
At least 17 states saw more than 100 book censorship attempts, the ALA said: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“The reports from librarians and educators in the field make it clear that the organized campaigns to ban books aren’t over, and that we must all stand together to preserve our right to choose what we read,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The ALA compiles its data from reports filed with its Office for Intellectual Freedom by library professionals and news reports. However, the organization says the data is only a “snapshot” of book censorship attempts because it’s not likely that all attempts are reported to the ALA or covered by the press.
Across the country, some educators, librarians, parents and politicians have been at odds over classroom and library materials in part because of recent conservative-backed legislation restricting certain content in schools.
In 2021, legislation began to pop up in states — such as Texas, Florida and Oklahoma — restricting what content schools could share in classrooms regarding race, gender and sex. In one case in Florida, the Escambia County school district announced more than 1,500 book titles had been removed from shelves and were under review in January, the same day a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit challenging the ban could move forward.
Critics say these laws often use vague language that can lead to censorship and limit free speech, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights advocacy groups.
Advocates of such legislation say these policies ensure that “inappropriate” content is weeded out of classrooms to protect children from “indoctrination,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have said.
(NEW YORK) — Therese Mattingly’s two children were playing in the sand while the family was vacationing in Florida last month when suddenly “it just became chaos and horror,” the mother told ABC News’ Good Morning America.
Sloan Mattingly, 7, and her brother, Maddox Mattingly, 9, were both buried when the hole they were digging at the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea beach collapsed on Feb. 20, authorities said. Maddox was uninjured but Sloan died at the hospital, her family and police said.
Now, her parents are speaking out for the first time to honor their daughter and raise awareness about beach safety ahead of spring break.
“We’re the people that other parents or family members kind of roll their eyes at because we’re a little overprotective most of the time and think of everything,” Therese Mattingly told ABC News correspondent Erielle Reshef in an exclusive interview from the family’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “When we go to the beach, we think of water safety. And this never, ever once crossed my mind.”
Her husband, Jason Mattingly, told Good Morning America that the day had been “perfect” up until then.
“We were just relaxing,” he said. “We were just getting ready to end our day there. And then that’s when the incident happened.”
Therese Mattingly said the collapse happened “really fast.”
“That part just hurts really bad because it didn’t matter that we were literally right there,” she said. “It was just a hole, and then there’s nothing.”
Many beachgoers came over to help as they frantically dug the children out, from helping dig to calling 911, the parents said. Therese Mattingly said once they pulled out Maddox, who was buried up to his chest, a nurse stayed with him while she continued to dig for Sloan.
“Everyone tried their hardest. And unfortunately, it didn’t work out in our favor,” Jason Mattingly said.
The father said the sand collapse happened in an instant.
“It’s kind of a blur, and it’s probably maybe in my mind protecting itself, but it just happened so fast,” he said. “And in my mind I had her in my hands, but the weight of the sand was too much.”
“It didn’t matter that we were literally right there,” Therese Mattingly added. “It was just a hole. And there’s nothing.”
Sloan, who was a first grader at Lafayette Meadows School, was “a beam of light,” and pure “joy,” her mother said.
“She would come out in the morning and she would fist pump you right out of bed,” Therese Mattling said.
She was a fan of Taylor Swift and loved to make friendship bracelets for her family, friends and teachers, her mother said while wearing some that her daughter had made.
Maddox and his sister were each others’ “built-in best friends,” though he became an only child “just all of a sudden,” Therese Mattingly said.
“I think he’s holding a lot in,” she said when asked how he is doing. “There’s a lot of things we have in motion to help him with that and to help us help him.”
“I think he’ll always be a little different now, but we’re willing to do whatever we need to do to make sure he has the help to kind of process this and move forward with Sloan in his heart,” Jason Mattingly added.
Jason Mattingly said the support they’ve received from friends, family and strangers who have reached out from across the globe have helped in the weeks since Sloan’s death.
“The love and support that we received is overwhelming,” he said. “We’ve read every letter. We really appreciate all the support.”
The family hopes that by speaking out about what happened to Sloan, they can help prevent another family from going through the same tragedy.
“I don’t know what steps to take in order for that to happen — for, you know, signage or lifeguards or patrol,” Therese Mattingly said. “But hopefully we can make some sort of change from this.”
Chris Vincent, mayor of Lauderdale by the Sea, thanked the family for working with them to inform others about what can happen with sand holes.
“First and foremost, our heavy hearts remain with Sloan’s family,” Vincent said in his statement. “As a father myself, I can’t fathom what they are going through. I want to thank them for staying in contact with us as we develop a national public safety campaign in Sloan’s memory. We will share it with as many coastal communities as possible to help prevent another unimaginable tragedy. We’re also discussing how we monitor our beach, a local Ordinance to ban digging on our beach, and the best way to honor Sloan.”
According to Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University who studies how sand moves, for safety she advises beachgoers not to go deeper than the knee of the smallest person when digging a sand hole. If the hole is too deep, the walls can collapse, covering a person in the sand, she said. The sand can be heavy and impede a person from lifting themselves out of a hole to breathe, she added.
Daniels recommends that if you’re burying a friend in the sand, it’s better not to dig but to cover the friend with sand at the ground level so the foundation is sturdier. Additionally, she advises people to watch out for deep sand holes when walking on the beach as a fall in a deeper hole could lead to a broken limb.
An Alaska Airlines airplane takes off at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, CA, Dec. 5, 2023. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A 19-year-old student pilot is facing a federal charge over allegedly attempting to enter the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight multiple times, according to court documents.
The crew “reported a passenger disturbance” during a flight from San Diego International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on March 3, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The passenger, Nathan Jones, “got out of his seat multiple times and made three separate attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the aircraft’s cockpit door,” according to an affidavit from a federal air marshal filed in support of the criminal complaint.
Flight attendants ultimately requested the help of off-duty law enforcement officers, who “restrained Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the remainder of the flight,” the affidavit stated. Flight attendants also blocked the cockpit with the beverage cart, the affidavit stated.
When flight attendants asked Jones why he tried to access the cockpit, he allegedly said he was “testing them,” according to the affidavit.
Alaska Airlines Flight 322 landed safely at Dulles, according to the FAA, which is investigating the incident.
While searching Jones’ belongings upon landing, federal agents found a student pilot’s license and “multiple notebooks with writings describing how to operate an aircraft, including take-off, in-air, and landing techniques,” according to the affidavit. He was arrested and charged with interference with a flight crew.
Jones is in custody in Alexandria County pending a detention hearing on March 18, court records show.
His attorney, Robert Jenkins, filed a motion on Wednesday asking that the court order a competency evaluation for Jones. The motion included a letter from an Alexandria County therapist describing him as having “symptoms indicative of a serious mental illness” and being on “suicide protocols.”
Jenkins told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday that Jones does not have any history of criminal conduct or violence.
“The charges against Mr. Jones are shocking to his mother and family,” Jenkins said. “The allegations are completely inconsistent with the life he has lived.”
“At this stage we are acutely concerned with his mental health and are working to address his needs,” the statement continued. “We have confidence that at the end it will be clear that Mr. Jones never intended to harm or threaten anyone.”
(NEW YORK) — Several counties in Kansas are under a tornado watch.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday night issued the tornado watch for Atchison, Coffey, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee and Wyandotte counties. The warning is in effect until 1 a.m. CT on Thursday.
The NWS has forecast thunderstorms across northeast and north central Kansas on Wednesday night, which it warns could “quickly become severe.”
What the NWS described as large to very large hail balls of more than two inches in diameter could be produced by the storm.
Thunderstorms with lightning may be on the way for northeast and east central Kansas on Thursday.
(NEW YORK) — A 27-year-old Florida woman has been found dead on a cruise ship in the Bahamas, authorities say.
Initial reports of the woman’s death began at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday when members of the Royal Bahamas Force from the Criminal Investigation Department – Grand Bahama were told that a female passenger was found in a cabin onboard a cruise line en route to the Bahamas, according to a statement from the Royal Bahamas Police.
“A team of medical personnel from the ship assisted and performed CPR, but no vital signs of life were detected and she was declared deceased,” police said detailing their response to the case.
The cause of death is currently unknown, but police did confirm that they confiscated “a quantity of suspected cocaine from the cabin, and arrested a 32-year-old American male from Florida, U.S.A.”
The identity of the deceased woman and the 32-year-old male who was arrested has not yet been disclosed by authorities and an autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
The investigation into the death of the 27-year-old woman is currently ongoing.
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Boeing overwrote surveillance footage from the repair facility where a door plug was reinstalled ahead of the blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year, according to a letter Wednesday from National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy to the Senate Commerce Committee.
The NTSB had been requesting the footage in order to investigate what happened during the midflight scare.
The NTSB still does not know which Boeing employees worked on the failed door plug of Alaska Airlines 1282, which had its door plug blow out during a flight in January, Homendy also said in the letter.
“To date, we still do not know who performed the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft,” Homendy wrote to Sens. Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz. “Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work.”
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During her hearing in front of the committee earlier this month, Homendy informed lawmakers that Boeing had not yet handed over documents needed in their investigation, including the names of 25 people who worked on the door plug.
After NTSB investigators initially requested the documents on Jan. 9, they learned the door crew manager was out on medical leave, according to Homendy. They requested updates on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, though were informed by the manager’s attorney that “he would not be able to provide a statement or interview to NTSB due to medical issues,” Homendy wrote in her letter.
Following the March 6 hearing, Boeing provided a list of names to the NTSB of personnel who reported to the door crew manager, but that list did not identify who performed the door plug work, according to Homendy.
Homendy stated in her letter that she then contacted Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun after receiving the list and asked for the names of those who performed the work. Calhoun “stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,” according to Homendy’s letter.
“The absence of those records will complicate the NTSB’s investigation moving forward,” Homendy wrote in the letter, which was requested in response to questions during her testimony in front of the committee.
Homendy insisted in the letter that her agency is “not in any way seeking the names of employees who performed the work on the door plug for punitive purposes” — saying she instructed the NTSB to protect the identities of the door crew and other front-line employees who come forward.
Following the hearing, Boeing said in a statement to ABC News that the company has “worked proactively and transparently” to support the NTSB’s investigation, including by responding “comprehensively” to all agency requests with relevant information.
“Early in the investigation, we provided the NTSB with names of Boeing employees, including door specialists, who we believed would have relevant information. We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request,” the statement said. “With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share.”
“We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB’s investigation,” the company said.
The door plug of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 fell off a few minutes after take off from Portland International Airport on Jan. 5. Passengers captured footage showing a hole where the door plug came loose on the Boeing 737 Max 9 plane. The plane safely made an emergency landing and no one was seriously injured.
An NTSB preliminary report released last month found that four bolts designed to prevent the door plug from falling off the Boeing 737 Max 9 plane were missing before the plug blew off the flight.
The NTSB will hold a two-day investigative hearing on the door plug incident in August, the agency announced on Tuesday.
The investigating hearing will “assist in obtaining information necessary to determine the facts, circumstances, and probable cause of the transportation accident or incident under investigation and to make recommendations to improve transportation safety,” the NTSB said in a statement.
The agency held similar hearings last year on the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House has launched a nationwide call-to-action to save lives from opioid overdoses.
In its Wednesday announcement, the Biden-Harris Administration said it hopes the new effort will help get Naloxone, a drug meant to reverse opioid overdose, into as many communities as possible, increase training and broaden access to the drug.
“We really want to make sure that we’re flooding the zone with Naloxone, where appropriate, to ensure that everyone who needs it can get access,” White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said on a call with reporters.
The administration said it is encouraging businesses and organizations to join the effort, train their employees and make Naloxone readily available to both customers and employees in their community.
More than 100,000 people died from an overdose in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year for the first time, the Food and Drug Administration approved two Naloxone nasal sprays for over-the-counter use.
With funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, the administration has delivered free life saving medications across the country preventing more than 600,000 overdose deaths and delivered nearly 10 million Naloxone kits, Tanden said.
A senior administration official said what they’ve done so far is “not nearly enough” and hope this call-to-action will help save even more lives.
“We’re committed to working with communities and those who sign up through this challenge to identify the resources necessary to be able to deliver those Naloxone kits,” a senior official said.
“But we’re also hoping that members of the private sector community can step up and do their part and help provide avenues to ensure access to their workforce and to their communities to keep people safe.”
(NEW YORK) — Doors are closing for 1,000 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar locations after the discount variety store chain announced an unexpected surprise fourth-quarter loss in its earnings report Wednesday.
Dollar Tree plans to shutter 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of fiscal 2024. Over the next several years, the company intends to close 370 more Family Dollar locations, as well as 30 Dollar Tree stores.
At the opening bell Wednesday on Wall Street, Dollar Tree shares fell 14% in value on the news.
Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar in 2015 for over $8 billion after a bidding war with Dollar General, but Wednesday’s earnings report signals difficulty in maintaining the value of both brands.
“As we look forward in 2024, we are accelerating our multi-price rollout at Dollar Tree and taking decisive action to improve profitability and unlock value at Family Dollar,” Rick Dreiling, Dollar Tree chairman and CEO, said in a press release Wednesday.
Dollar Tree announced it will record a $950 million impairment against Family Dollar’s trade name, in addition to a $1.07 billion goodwill charge.
Within the three-month review that ended Feb. 3, Dollar Tree lost $1.71 billion, or $7.85 per share. Last year, Dollar Tree earned $452.2 million, or $2.04 per share.
Dollar Tree revenue rose to $8.64 billion from $7.72 billion, which fell below the Wall Street estimate of $8.67 billion.
Also within the three-month review that ended Feb. 3, Dollar Tree opened 219 new stores, bringing full-year new store openings to 641.
“We finished the year strong, with fourth-quarter results reflecting positive traffic trends, market share gains, and adjusted margin improvement across both segments,” Dreiling said in the press release. “While we are still in the early stages of our transformation journey, I am proud of what our team accomplished in 2023 and see a long runway of growth ahead of us.”
Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, Dollar Tree operates 16,774 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada, as of Feb. 3.
Popular for selling budget-friendly items, Dollar Tree has $3 and $5 center-store merchandise available at approximately 5,000 Dollar Tree stores and $3, $4, and $5 frozen and refrigerated items available at more than 6,500 Dollar Tree stores, according to the press release.
“As an organization, we continue to execute at a high level,” Jeff Davis, Dollar Tree Chief Financial Officer, added in the release, “Our core operating performance was strong in the fourth quarter, despite some unanticipated developments related to general liability claims.”
