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But in granting her petition, the appellate judges wrote that Newsom's conclusion "fails to account for the decades of therapy, self-help programming, and reflection Van Houten has undergone in the past 50 years." It marks the first time a court has overruled a governor's denial of parole to a Manson follower, according to the Los Angeles Times. Van Houten was convicted of fatally stabbing grocery owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in their Los Angeles home on Aug. 10, 1969. Van Houten's 1971 original conviction and death sentence were initially overturned on appeal, but she was retried, convicted and sentenced to prison in 1978. Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Leslie Van Houten, Charles Manson's, Van Houten, Newsom, Jerry Brown, Van Houten's, Van, Manson, Sharon Tate, Leno LaBianca, Rosemary, Tate, Roman Polanski, Abigail Folger, hairstylist Jay Sebring, Gary Hinman, Donald, Shorty, Shea, Steve Gorman, Daniel Trotta, Leslie Adler Organizations: ANGELES, Court, California Supreme, Los Angeles Times, Thomson Locations: California, Los Angeles, Angeles, Europe, Carlsbad , California

☆ Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, heads for splashdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File... Read moreMay 30 (Reuters) - An all-private astronaut team of two Americans and two Saudis, including the first Arab woman ever sent into orbit, headed for splashdown off Florida's coast on Tuesday, capping an eight-day research mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Crew Dragon vessel carrying the foursome, undocked from the ISS late on Tuesday morning to begin its 12-hour return flight. The return flight concludes the second space station mission organized, equipped and trained entirely at private expense by Axiom Space, a 7-year-old Houston-based company headed by NASA's former ISS program manager. In August 2022, Sara Sabry became the first Arab woman and the first Egyptian to fly to space on a brief suborbital ride operated by the Blue Origin astro-tourist venture of Jeff Bezos. NASA furnished the launch site at its Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the Axiom crew during their stay aboard the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

Persons: Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Alqarni, Joe Skipper, Read, NASA's, Rayyanah Barnawi, Sara Sabry, Jeff Bezos, Barnawi, Sultan Alneyadi, Elon Musk, Steve Gorman, Howard Goller Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS, Space, SpaceX, ISS, NASA, U.S, Royal Saudi Air Force, United Arab, Twitter, Tesla Inc, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Florida, U.S, Florida's, Gulf of Mexico, Panama City , Florida, Houston, Alaska, Saudi, Gulf, United Arab Emirates, California, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Los Angeles

☆ NASA looks to spice up astronaut menu with deep space food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] A team member from Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, prepares Daikon Radish sprouts during NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2 prize announcement on May 19, 2023. The NASA-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge prompted Sheehan to modify his invention as a way of producing edible proteins, carbohydrates and fats from the same system. TASTES LIKE ... SEITANThe resulting single-cell protein drink entered in NASA's contest has the consistency of a whey protein shake, Sheehan said. But the imperative for self-contained, low-waste food production requiring minimal resources has become more pronounced as NASA sets its sights on returning astronauts to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond. Advances in space-based food production also have direct applications for feeding Earth's ever-growing population in an era when climate change is making food more scarce and harder to produce, Fritsche said.

A welder by trade, Schwartz was arrested in early February in his hometown of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Schwartz and two co-defendants, Jeffrey Scott Brown and Markus Maly, became the first three individuals convicted at trial of assaulting police officers with pepper spray on Jan. 6. Schwartz's wife, Shelly Stallings, received a two-year prison term last month. His 170-month prison term surpasses the previous longest sentence yet handed down in a case related to the Jan. 6 attack - 10 years received by former New York City cop Thomas Webster for assaulting a Washington police officer that day. The Jan. 6 attack marked the most violent assault on the halls of Congress since the British invasion of Washington during the War of 1812.

☆ Suspect in killings of 5 people in Texas arrested after days-long manhunt -NBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - A man who authorities think is the suspect accused of killing five neighbors in Texas over complaints of noise he was making by firing his gun outside at night was arrested near the crime scene on Tuesday, NBC News reported, citing a prosecutor. The report came as the FBI said it was working with law enforcement agencies nationwide and in Mexico in an expanded, four-day-old manhunt for the killer sought since Friday night's violence in Cleveland, Texas, north of Houston. A man thought to be Oropesa was arrested on Tuesday in the town of Cut and Shoot, Texas, roughly 17 miles west of Cleveland, NBC News reported, citing San Jacinto District Attorney Todd Dillon. Law enforcement officials said on Sunday that the suspect's trail had grown cold as they appealed to the public for tips and offered an $80,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

May 1 (Reuters) - Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, best known for folk-pop hits such as "If You Could Read My Mind" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," died on Monday in a Toronto hospital, it was announced on his official Facebook page. Canadian news outlets CTV and the CBC cited a family representative, Victoria Lord, as confirming his death. Known for his evocative lyrics and melodic compositions, Lightfoot received five Grammy nominations over the years and won 17 Juno awards, Canada's equivalent. Lightfoot emerged from the folk music movement of the mid-1960s with signature tunes such as "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" and "Pussywillows, Cat-Tails." In it, Lightfoot coupled a soaring melody with poignant lyrics about the sailors' last hours.

☆ Environmental groups sue U.S. over SpaceX launch license for Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

May 1, (Reuters) - Conservation groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, challenging its approval of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk's SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in South Texas without requiring greater environmental study. SpaceX had vigorously opposed subjecting its Starbase to an EIS review, a process that typically takes years, even decades. The FAA granted its license following a far less thorough environmental assessment and a finding that SpaceX activities at Boca Chica pose "no significant impact" on the environment. The lawsuit challenges that finding as a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. The lawsuit highlights a history of tension between environmentalists, who have sought to limit development at Boca Chica, and Musk, a hard-charging entrepreneur known for risk taking.

☆ Car crashes in Illinois dust storm cause deaths, injuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 1 (Reuters) - Multiple people were reported killed and dozens of other people wounded on Monday in car crashes along Interstate 55 in southern Illinois during a dust storm, state police said. Roughly 40 to 60 passenger cars and several big-rig trucks were involved in the crashes shortly after 11 a.m. CT (1200 ET), an Illinois State Police spokesman said during an afternoon press conference. Some 30 people were transported to local hospitals with injuries, the spokesman said. Please be safe as this situation continues to unfold," U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski of Illinois said on Twitter. Reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman; Editing by Tim AhmannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Montana governor signs bill banning transgender medical care for youths
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Montana's governor on Friday enacted a Republican-backed ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender children, days after a transgender lawmaker protesting the bill was barred from the floor of the state legislature, sparking a national furor. The legislation, Senate Bill 99, passed the House of Representatives three days later, and Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed it into law on Friday. Republican House leaders initially reacted to Zephyr's floor statements by turning off her microphone. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday called the Montana Republican House action against Zephyr a "denial of democratic values". The Tennessee lawmakers were promptly reappointed to their seats by their county legislatures and earned a trip to the White House.

☆ California's fire season under way weeks after heavy rain and snow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Reuters) - Barely five weeks after the last bout of heavy rain and snow in California's historically wet winter, firefighters on Friday battled the state's first large wildfire of the year in rugged foothills east of Los Angeles. The blaze posed no immediate threat to populated areas as it burned steep terrain deep in the forest, agency spokesperson Lyn Sieliet said. Still, it marked the first blaze of the 2023 season measuring 100 acres or more, signaling the potential for extreme wildfire activity this summer and fall. Forecasters said a warming trend hastened a spring thaw following a spate of Pacific storms that pummeled California with torrential rains and mountain snow from late December until late March. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Fish and Wildlife Service. Damage to the launch pad, the floor of which was largely demolished during liftoff, was visible in photos of the aftermath. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Fish and Wildlife Service findings. The April 20 launch was days after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted SpaceX a license to launch the Starship via its Super Heavy rocket booster. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 1 2 3The report by the Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the U.S.

April 25 (Reuters) - Most of the vast, scenic valley at the heart of Yosemite National Park in California will close to visitors this weekend in a rare shutdown prompted by forecasts of floods from rapid snowmelt. The closure will start at 10 p.m. on Friday and last at least until Wednesday, May 3, possibly longer, depending on how swiftly melting mountain snow runs off into the Merced River through Yosemite Valley, the National Park Service said on Tuesday. About 100 miles to the north, the Merced River at the Pohono Bridge at the west end of the Yosemite Valley was forecast to top flood stage late this week, the park service said. The vast glacial Yosemite valley received a record 40 inches of snow during the winter, prompting the closure of the entire park to the public on Feb. 25 for three weeks. That shutdown marked one of the longest and most expansive weather-related closures in the park, according to park spokeswoman Nancy Phillipe.

The pad and surrounding area were cordoned off well in advance of the test, SpaceX said. [1/7] SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft, atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket, explodes after its launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on a brief uncrewed test flight near Brownsville, Texas, U.S., April 20, 2023. "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch," he tweeted. Still even a textbook test flight would have by design ended with crash landings of both portions of the spacecraft at sea.

REUTERS/Joe SkipperLOS ANGELES, April 20 (Reuters) - The spectacular explosion of SpaceX's new Starship rocket minutes after it soared off its launch pad on a first flight test is the latest vivid illustration of a "successful failure" business formula that serves Elon Musk's company well, experts said on Thursday. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTAt least two experts in aerospace engineering and planetary science who spoke with Reuters agreed that the test flight delivered benefits. "This is a classical SpaceX successful failure," said Garrett Reisman, an astronautical engineering professor at the University of Southern California who is a former NASA astronaut and is also a senior adviser to SpaceX. Reisman called the Starship test flight a hallmark of a SpaceX strategy that sets Musk's company apart from traditional aerospace companies and even NASA by "this embracing of failure when the consequences of failure are low." She said the risks of a single flight test were small in comparison to the ambitious gains at stake.

NASA chief Bill Nelson tweeted: "Congrats to @SpaceX on Starship’s first integrated flight test! Looking forward to all that SpaceX learns, to the next flight test — and beyond." Musk, the founder, chief executive and chief engineer of SpaceX, said on Twitter that the next Starship test launch would be "in a few months." "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months," he tweeted.

REUTERS/Go NakamuraBOCA CHICA, Texas, April 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX aimed on Thursday to launch the company's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket for the first time, on a highly anticipated but brief uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas. A successful flight would instantly rank the Starship system as the most powerful launch vehicle on Earth. In February, SpaceX conducted a test-firing of the Super Heavy, igniting 31 of its 33 engines for roughly 10 seconds with the rocket bolted in place vertically atop a platform. The Federal Aviation Administration last Friday granted a license for the first test flight of the fully stacked rocket system, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the long-awaited launch. After separating from the Starship, the Super Heavy booster is expected to execute the beginnings of a controlled return flight before plunging into the Gulf.

☆ Flash of light above Kyiv sparks buzz about falling satellite, aliens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - The night sky above wartime Kyiv was lit up by a flash of light on Wednesday, social media channels said, prompting speculation that a crashing satellite or even aliens might be responsible. Four short video clips posted to a Telegram channel by journalist and blogger Anatolii Sharii showed the sky suddenly illuminated by a bright light. The Kyiv city military administration, citing what it called preliminary information, said it was a crashing NASA satellite. The Ukrainian air force, responsible for trying to down missiles and drones fired by Russia, said a satellite or a meteorite could be responsible. "Please do not use official air force symbols to create memes for the enemy to enjoy!"

REUTERS/Gene BlevinsBOCA CHICA, Texas, April 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX made final preparations early on Monday to launch its powerful new Starship rocket system to space for the first time, on a brief but highly anticipated uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas. But neither stage will be recovered for the expendable first test flight to space, expected to last no more than 90 minutes. The Federal Aviation Administration just last Friday granted a license for what would be the first test flight of the fully stacked rocket system, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the long-awaited launch. As designed, the Starship rocket is nearly two times more powerful than NASA's own Space Launch System (SLS), which made its debut uncrewed flight to orbit in November, sending a NASA cruise vessel called Orion on a 10-day voyage around the moon and back. Reporting by Joe Skipper in Boca Chica, Texas, and Joey Roulette in Denver; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BOCA CHICA, Texas, April 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX called off the highly anticipated debut launch of its newly-combined Starship cruise vessel and Super Heavy rocket in the final minutes of countdown due to a frozen valve, delaying the uncrewed test flight for at least two days. But the California-based space company announced in a live webcast that it was scrubbing the planned 90-minute flight into space for a minimum of 48 hours, citing a frozen pressurization valve in the lower-stage rocket booster. A successful debut flight would also instantly rank the Starship system as the most powerful launch vehicle on Earth. But neither stage would be recovered for the expendable first test flight to space. After separating from the Starship, the Super Heavy booster is expected to execute the beginnings of a controlled return flight before plunging into the Gulf of Mexico.

☆ Record California snowpack bounty poses renewed flood risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But this year's abundant Sierra snowpack also poses a severe risk of renewed flooding to parts of California, especially the lower San Joaquin Valley, during the spring thaw, according to state Department of Water Resources (DWR) officials. More widely, however, electronic readings from 130 snow sensors throughout California showed the statewide snowpack's water equivalent at 61.1 inches, or 237% of average, tying the record statewide average level set in April of 1952. "This year's result will go down as one of the largest snowpack years on record in California," said Sean de Guzman, manager of the DWR snow survey8 and water supply forecasting unit. Guzman said California's reservoirs, severely drained just months ago, have all been replenished to more than 100% of average statewide. Long-term drought conditions in the Colorado River watershed will continue to impact millions of residents of Southern California residents, the DWR said.

☆ NASA to announce astronauts chosen for Artemis II lunar flyby mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] People gather ahead of an event of NASA to announce the crew of the Artemis II space mission to the moon and back in Houston, Texas, U.S., April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Go NakamuraApril 3 (Reuters) - NASA plans on Monday to introduce the four astronauts for its Artemis II lunar flyby mission, set for launch as early as next year in what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon since the end of the Apollo era more than 50 years ago. The newly introduced crew will include the first Canadian astronaut for a moon mission, as well as three Americans from a pool of 18 NASA astronauts - nine women and nine men - selected for the Artemis program in 2020. They were the last of 12 NASA astronauts who walked on the moon during six Apollo missions starting in 1969 with Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. If Artemis II is a success, NASA plans to follow up a few years later with the programs' first lunar landing of astronauts, one of them a woman, on Artemis III, then continue with additional crewed missions about once a year.

☆ Authorities search for more victims after tornado pummels Arkansas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Liliana Salgado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, April 1 (Reuters) - Arkansas first responders on Saturday will sift through debris for more possible victims after a fierce tornado sliced through the Little Rock area and northeastern part of the state, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others. Two fatalities in Arkansas were reported in Wynne, about 100 miles (160 km) east of Little Rock, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Friday night. One person was killed and more than 50 people hospitalized in North Little Rock, Pulaski County spokeswoman Madeline Roberts told the Washington Post. Although more than 30 people were taken to hospital in the Little Rock area, none had died as of Friday night, said Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., who added that the count remained imprecise. [1/9] A view of destroyed buildings following the tornado in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S., March 31, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.

☆ Looming spring storm to spawn blizzards, ice, tornadoes across central U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Other cities potentially in harm's way but at lower risk for tornadoes included Chicago, Nashville, Tennessee, St. Louis, Missouri, Madison, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa. "There's a potential for some very strong tornadoes and some tornadoes that could be on the ground for quite some time, especially in northern Arkansas and western Tennessee," said John Feerick, senior meteorologist at private forecasting service AccuWeather. Feerick said the storm system would intensify through Friday as the sprawling low-pressure system at its core moves farther eastward, drawing up greater moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Dust storm warnings were in effect for portions of the Southern Plains. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Footage shows police killing Nashville school shooter as investigators seek motive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sandra Stojanovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began receiving calls about a shooter at 10:13 a.m., police spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters. Investigators were examining a "manifesto" written by the 28-year-old former student at the Covenant School, hoping to learn what motivated the latest U.S. mass shooting. Monday's violence marked the 90th school shooting – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the United States this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random. Also shot dead were Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian; Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; and Katherine Koonce, 60, listed on the Covenant website as "head of school."

☆ Former Christian school student kills 3 children, 3 staff in Nashville shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sandra Stojanovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random. [1/5] A still image from surveillance video shows what the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department describe as mass shooting suspect Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, entering The Covenant School carrying weapons in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 27, 2023. Also shot dead were staffers Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian, Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Katherine Koonce, 60, listed on the Covenant website as "head of school." "We have to do more to stop gun violence," Biden said at the White House. Monday's violence in Nashville marked the 90th school shooting – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the U.S. so far this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman.

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