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☆ A 7-year journey to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth will soon end in Utah
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The cargo van-size spacecraft arrived in orbit around the asteroid Bennu in December 2018, providing detailed views of the spinning top-shaped space rock. Other worldsA training model of the OSIRIS-REx mission's sample return capsule was released from an aircraft in August, simulating the upcoming recovery operations. Keegan Barber/NASAThe OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will fly by Earth this weekend and drop off its precious sample from Bennu. Watch as the sample capsule is set to plunge through Earth’s atmosphere and land in the Utah desert, with NASA’s live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. As the capsule parachutes down, OSIRIS-REx will keep going, embarking on a new adventure to explore the asteroid Apophis.

Persons: CNN —, REx, NASA’s, Keegan Barber, ”, Deutsches, Monopoly, you’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Rice University in Texas, Mechanical, Zimbabwe, Bochum, Iron, Swedish Museum of, Publishing, Andromeda Galaxy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Utah, Dürrnberg, Austria, Austrian, Zambia, Tasmania, Stockholm, Western Australia

☆ Ig Nobel prizes go to research into nose hairs, dead spiders and licking rocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The scientists who researched these questions are among the winners of this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes – an accolade that has no affiliation to the Nobel Prizes – which aim to “celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology.”Rice University graduate student Faye Yap with a dead wolf spider for use as a necrobotic gripper. Brandon Martin/Rice UniversityThe Ig Nobel Prize’s 33rd ceremony took place virtually on Thursday night, with prizes awarded by “genuine, genuinely bemused” Nobel laureates over Zoom. Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz won the coveted Chemistry and Geology Prize for his research into why many scientists like to lick rocks. The Medicine Prize was awarded for research into how many nose hairs are in each of a person’s nostrils. The researchers will have the opportunity to meet one another at a companion Ig Nobel Face-to-Face event in Cambridge, Massachusetts in November.

Persons: Faye Yap, Brandon Martin, Jan Zalasiewicz, Zalasiewicz, ”, urologist Seung, Homei, Hiromi Nakamura, Stanley Milgram, Leonard Bickman, Lawrence Berkowitz Organizations: London CNN, ” Rice University, Rice University, Ig, Zimbabwe, Rice University in Texas, Mechanical, Communication, Public Locations: United States, United Kingdom, China, Cambridge , Massachusetts

☆ Japan launches rocket carrying lunar lander and X-ray telescope to explore origins of universe
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An H2-A rocket carrying a small lunar surface probe and other objects lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Tanegashima island, Kagoshima prefecture on September 7, 2023. Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander. The launch of the HII-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan was shown on live video by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA. "We have a liftoff," the narrator at JAXA said as the rocket flew up in a burst of smoke then flew over the Pacific. That information helps in studying how celestial objects were formed, and hopefully can lead to solving the mystery of how the universe was created, JAXA says.

Persons: Ray, David Alexander Organizations: Space, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, Ray Imaging, NASA, Rice Space, Rice University Locations: Tanegashima, Kagoshima prefecture, Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander. The launch of the HII-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan was shown on live video by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA. Also aboard the latest Japanese rocket is the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, a lightweight lunar lander. The Smart Lander won’t make lunar orbit for three or four months after the launch and would likely attempt a landing early next year, according to the space agency. In February, the H3 rocket launch was aborted for a glitch.

Persons: Ray, David Alexander, ” Alexander, Smart, Shinichiro Sakai, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Yuri Kageyama Organizations: TOKYO, —, Space, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, Ray Imaging, NASA, Rice Space, Rice University, Smart, U.S . Apollo Locations: — Japan, Japan, U.S, Russia, China, India

☆ Texas Senate declines to toss impeachment charges against Republican Paxton
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Brad Brooks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. His fate rests with the 31-member state Senate, which has the power to remove him after a trial that opened on Tuesday on 16 of those articles of impeachment. Senators rejected a motion to dismiss all the charges by a vote of 24-6 and voted against additional motions to throw out individual charges. The state Senate's impeachment rules committee set aside four charges involving Paxton's private business dealings that House charges said were obstruction of justice and false statements in official records. At the end of the trial on the 16 remaining charges, the Senate could dismiss those four charges or hold a separate trial on them.

Persons: Ken Paxton, Donald Trump, Go Nakamura, Paxton, Trump's, Nate Paul, Paxton's, Angela, Joe Biden, Jonathan Stickland, Bob Stein, Stein, Cal Jillson, Jillson, Brad Brooks, Will Dunham, Donna Bryson, Andy Sullivan Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, The Texas Senate, Texas, Republicans, FBI, Democratic, Senate, Republican, Trump, Rice University, Congress, Southern Methodist University, Thomson Locations: Texas, Robstown , Texas, U.S, Paxton, Longmont , Colorado

☆ Miles Kruppa — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Miles Kruppa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Miles KruppaMiles Kruppa reports on Google and Alphabet out of The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau. Previously, he wrote about venture capital and startups for the Financial Times. Miles is originally from Austin, Texas, and graduated from Rice University.

Persons: Miles Kruppa Miles Kruppa, Miles Organizations: Google, San, Financial Times, Rice University Locations: San Francisco, Austin , Texas

☆ ‘Swifterature:’ Belgian university launches course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Poetry, prose and now songwriting: Ghent University in Belgium is launching a new literature course dedicated to the literary merit of Taylor Swift’s discography. “Highly prolific and autobiographical in her songwriting, Swift makes frequent allusions to canonical literary texts in her music,” the class syllabus explains. “Using Swift’s work as a springboard, we will explore, among other topics, literary feminism, ecocriticism, fan studies, and tropes such as the anti-hero. In 2016, the University of Texas launched an English Literature course unpacking Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” and its relationship to Black feminism. “But if anyone can teach you a lesson in how to respond to trolls, it’s Taylor Swift,” she concluded.

Persons: Taylor, Elly McCausland, McCausland, Sylvia Plath, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare —, Geoffrey Chaucer’s “, Criseyde, Charlotte Brontë’s “, Margaret Atwood, Simon Armitage, “, Swift, Taylor Swift, ” McCausland, ”, Sylvia Plath’s, —, I’ll, “ I’m, There’s, it’s Taylor Swift Organizations: CNN, Ghent University, Oxford University, University of York, University of Oslo, New York University, Arizona State University, Berklee College of Music, Rice University, University of Texas, University of Copenhagen Locations: Belgium, Charlotte Brontë’s “ Villette, ”, ’, United Kingdom, Norway, Europe, United States, Houston

☆ Ukraine seeks progress towards peace at Saudi Arabia talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian, Russian and international officials say there is no prospect of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at present, with the war raging. The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which has maintained contacts with both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, has played a role in convening countries that did not join earlier meetings, Western diplomats have said. SAUDI DIPLOMACYWestern officials and analysts said Saudi diplomacy had been important in securing China's presence at the talks. Zelenskiy attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia last year where MbS voiced readiness to help mediate in the war. In March, Beijing brokered a resumption of ties between Saudi Arabia and its arch regional foe Iran.

Persons: Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Zelenskiy, Russia's, Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, Ajit Doval, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Xi Jinping, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice, Yun Sun, Sun, Lidia Kelly, Maha El Dahan, Omar Abdel, Michael Martina, Aftab Ahmed, Angus McDowall, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: International, REUTERS, Saudi, Global, Kremlin, Eurasian Affairs, Indian National Security, Crown, Arab, MbS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Iran, Baker Institute, Stimson, Razek, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, China, India, Jeddah Ukraine, Russia, DUBAI, United States, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian, Copenhagen, Beijing, Moscow, Jeddah, Riyadh, SAUDI, Saudi, Turkey, Middle East, Washington, Warsaw, Maha, Dubai, New Delhi

☆ Moving Out of Harm’s Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Manuela Andreoni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The floods and fires exacerbated by climate change will push an increasing number of people out of their homes. It turns out, though, that many people who’ve already had to move out of harm’s way haven’t gone very far. At least not in the United States, according to a new study by researchers at Rice University who focused on floods. And race appears to be a factor in how and where they move. About three-quarters stayed within a 20-mile drive of their old homes.

Persons: who’ve, James R, Elliott Organizations: Rice University, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hurricane Locations: United States

☆ We all need 'Sushi Tuesdays': Finding a way forward after suicide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jodie Sadowsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —When Sam Maya, a beloved husband, father, friend, stockbroker and coach, died by suicide 16 years ago, he left a note. Maya spent nearly a decade writing "Sushi Tuesdays," which aims to humanize the face of suicide. Post Hill PressShe spent nearly a decade writing “Sushi Tuesdays,” beginning with a blog by the same name, an homage to the weekly ritual she created after her husband’s death. When Sam Maya died, Tasheff was a single mother living on a budget in Brooklyn and couldn’t travel to California to visit. Maya continues to honor her Tuesdays with therapy and yoga, a hike with a friend, and sometimes a sushi lunch.

Persons: Sam Maya, Charlotte, Charlotte Maya, Maya, Ashwini, Nadkarni, ”, “, Sam, ” Maya, Gregory Stratz, Tim Stratz, Jason Maya, Parker, Danny Maya, Daniel Stratz, Karen Ray, they’d, The, Jane Doe, Jane, she’s, Jane ”, Bess ”, Katherine Tasheff, Tasheff, swiftness, Daniel, Daniels, —, Lauren Kerwin, Kerwin Organizations: CNN, Post, Press, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Research, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Psychological, Karen Ray Photography, Rice University, American Foundation for Suicide Locations: Boston, Maya’s, Brooklyn, California

☆ Obama agreed to spending cuts to end the 2011 debt ceiling crisis. Here's what happened next
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

What happened after the 2011 deal was signedThe joint committee in 2011 was tasked with finding additional deficit reduction measures to offset a $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. The committee did not accomplish its goal, which triggered the spending caps, known as sequestration. In the end, spending was curtailed by about $1.5 trillion out of the total $2.1 trillion agreed to in the 2011 deal, Riedl said. One of the major sticking points to ending the debt ceiling impasse was the depth of the spending cuts. “People were operating under the presumption that the spending caps would never actually happen,” Payne said.

☆ Fight still ahead for Texas' Ken Paxton after historic impeachment deepens GOP divisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Republican Texas Gov. "Free Ken Paxton," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with the impeachment, "I will fight you." "The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just," Paxton said. The impeachment accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. "But for Paxton's own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment," the panel said.

☆ 'Hope is action': White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells Rice grads 'change is possible'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered the commencement speech to Rice University's undergraduate class of 2023 on May 6. Throughout the 22-minute address, Jean-Pierre had one central message, which she repeated 12 times: "Hope is action." "My parents worked hard jobs, and even harder hours, to make sure my siblings and I got the education we needed," she said. It was a significant moment for Jean-Pierre and especially for her father. Still, Jean-Pierre points to voting as one of the key actions an individual can take to change their community.

☆ With 'The Ferryman,' Justin Cronin explores a brave new dystopian world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"I didn't sit down and say to myself, 'I'm going to write another dystopia,'" Cronin told CNBC in an interview Tuesday at a bustling lower Manhattan diner. There was a very specific arrangement, military and political, that's no longer there. Some point I'm going to do something else. As a writer, you need to walk a lot of different streets, in a lot of different ways, to know this stuff. Even where political will is absent, even where there are strong disincentives to change, things come along and make it happen.

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Analysis: 21-year-old's arrest exposes larger classified documents problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

If the many earlier and ongoing scandals regarding classified information aren’t a wakeup call that the US government has a problem, maybe the arrest of Jack Teixeira will do the trick. Classified material scandals aplentyOne thing that should be abundantly clear from the string of leaks and improperly handled pieces of classified information beyond this story is that the system has problems. The New York Times reported Wednesday that witnesses questioned as part of the Trump investigation have been asked if he was showing off a map with sensitive intelligence information. There are additional people who have security clearance but don’t currently have access to information. Gen. Pat Ryder, compared the method by which classified information is stored to a locked house where people with clearance can get a key.

☆ Russia risks becoming an 'economic colony of China' following its invasion of Ukraine, says CIA director
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CIA director William Burns said Russia is becoming "more and more dependent on China." And it "runs the risk of becoming an economic colony of China over time." Putin recently dismissed "jealous people" who say Russia is becoming too dependent on China. China initially appeared unhappy with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Putin saying in September that China had "questions and concerns" about it. But the war appears to have strengthened economic ties, which includes China buying more Russian oil now than it did before the invasion began.

REUTERS/Ramzi BoudinaHOUSTON/WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers announced over the weekend they would launch deep oil production cuts starting next month, a surprise move that sent oil prices surging. If refiners reduce capacity, the drain on stocks could lead to a sudden jump in retail fuel prices, he said. U.S. gasoline prices have climbed 11.6 cents a gallon from a month ago to $3.506, the AAA said on Monday. A 6% jump in oil prices would boost retail gasoline prices 10 cents a gallon, said Mark Finley, an expert in energy policy at Rice University's Baker Institute. OPEC's reason for cutting production - as a precautionary step - suggests it expects global oil demand to slow this year.

☆ Analysis: Saudi crown prince acts to realign Mideast dynamics amid concern over US support
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"Saudi Arabia is moving from disengagement towards engagement to allow it to focus on pushing ahead on Vision 2030," said Saudi analyst Abdulaziz Sager. A Saudi official said the United States and China are both very important partners for Riyadh. Washington and Riyadh are working on addressing common security challenges, he said. "The Saudis don’t want to be in a shooting war between Iran and the United States. Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution in Washington said Saudi Arabia's view that the U.S. is increasingly disengaged from the region is not entirely wrong.

☆ Reaction to Iran and Saudi Arabia resuming ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

STATEMENT ISSUED BY IRAN, SAUDI ARABIA AND CHINATehran and Riyadh agreed "to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months". HEZBOLLAHThe head of Lebanon's powerful armed group said the resumption of ties between its backer Iran and longtime rival Saudi Arabia was a "good development". ANWAR GARGASH, DIPLOMATIC ADVISER TO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES PRESIDENT"We welcome the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic relations, and we hail the Chinese role in this regard," he tweeted. QATARPrime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who also acts as foreign minister, called the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia to welcome the deal. IRAQ STATE NEWS AGENCYIraq welcomes "turning a new page" between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to Florida's Supreme Court and several universities in the United States and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. Florida Supreme Court spokesman Paul Flemming told Reuters that the affected infrastructure had been used to administer other elements of the Florida state court system, and that it was segregated from the Supreme Court's main network. "Florida Supreme Court's network and data are secure," he said, adding that the rest of the state court system's integrity also was not affected. Because internet-facing servers were affected, researchers and tracking services like Ransomwhere or Onyphe could easily follow the criminals' trail. Digital safety officials in Italy said on Monday that there was no evidence pointing to "aggression by a state or hostile state-like entity."

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to Florida's Supreme Court and several universities in the U.S. and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. The Florida Supreme Court didn't respond to messages. Reuters contacted the hackers via an account advertised on their ransom notes but only received a payment demand in return. Because internet-facing servers were affected, researchers and tracking services like Ransomwhere or Onyphe could easily follow the criminals' trail. Reporting by James Pearson in London and Raphael Satter in Washington; Editing by Anna DriverOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. is 'absolutely' behind on supply chain independence from China, Biden advisor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowThe U.S. has some rapid catching up to do if it is to secure the reliability of its supply chain and its independence from competitors like China, a top White House advisor admitted this week. "We can't have a supply chain that is concentrated in any country, doesn't matter which country that is," he said. Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 31, 2010. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have also highlighted the fragility of the global supply chain. Globally, China controls most of the market for processing and refining for cobalt, lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals."

☆ Layoffs at Google, Microsoft, Salesforce Teaching Tech Employees a Harsh Lesson
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Tech workers are using all sorts of emotional phrases to describe the layoff wave that has gripped the industry and become the talk of the business world. "I'm shocked and hurt and still processing," Katie Olaskiewicz, a former human-truths strategist at Google, wrote on LinkedIn last week shortly after 12,000 Google employees were let go. Over the past two weeks, a total of 40,000 employees have been laid off from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, a nightmare come true for tech workers. The tech layoffs have been starkly different from Wall Street, which has in recent months instituted its own rounds of job cuts. Wall Street realitiesIn many ways, tech workers are waking up to a reality that their peers in other high-flying industries have always known.

☆ Why urgent care centers are popping up everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And there are questions about the quality of care at urgent care centers and whether they adequately serve low-income communities. Additionally, passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 spurred an increase in urgent care providers as millions of newly insured Americans sought out health care. Private-equity and venture capital funds also poured billions into deals for urgent care centers, according to data from PitchBook. Equity concernsSome doctors and researchers worry that patients with primary care doctors – and those without – are substituting urgent care visits in place of a primary care provider. There are also concerns about the oversaturation of urgent care centers in higher-income areas that have more consumers with private health care and limited access in medically underserved areas.

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