Private lander makes first US moon landing in more than 50 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private lander has made the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years. Intuitive Machines’ lander touched down Thursday, but left flight controllers scrambling before gaining better contact. Tension mounted in the company’s Houston control center when there was no immediate word from the lander following the designated touchdown time. A faint signal finally was acquired. Once communication was improved, the company confirmed the lander was upright and starting to send back data. The landing put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo moonwalkers.
Some Republicans are voicing doubt over Alabama IVF ruling. Democrats see an opportunity
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and reproductive rights groups are seizing on a ruling this week by the Alabama Supreme Court that plunges the future of access to in vitro fertilization, commonly known as IVF, into uncertainty. They’re banking on the decision, controversial even among Republicans, motivating voters this year much the way the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade did two years ago, during midterm elections that saw Democrats outperform expectations up and down the ballot. The bombshell decision landed as Democrats and left-leaning interest groups already were beginning to message that abortion rights would be on the ballot in November, making it a centerpiece issue in races for the president and Congress.
Mideast cease-fire efforts gain steam as US envoy visits. Mediators report ‘encouraging’ signs
JERUSALEM (AP) — International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining new momentum. The White House says a visit by a senior envoy with Israeli leaders is “going well” and other mediators report encouraging signs from the warring parties. The new signs of progress come ahead of an expected summit this weekend in Paris. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been struggling for weeks to find a formula that could halt Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, but now face an unofficial deadline as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to US custody
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Defense lawyers say a former FBI informant who claims to have links to Russian intelligence and is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family has been taken back into the custody of U.S. Marshals. Alexander Smirnov had been released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial. He was arrested during a meeting Thursday morning at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Las Vegas. The arrest came after prosecutors asked a judge in California, where the case originally was filed, to reconsider Smirnov’s custody status while he awaits trial. He is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
4 charged in transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons. 2 SEALs died in intercepting the ship
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Four foreign nationals have been arrested and charged with transporting suspected Iranian-made weapons after U.S. naval forces interdicted a vessel in the Arabian Sea last month. Two Navy SEALs died during the mission. The criminal complaint alleges that the four defendants were transporting suspected Iranian-made missile components for the type of weapons used by Houthi rebel forces in recent attacks. They were all carrying Pakistani identification cards. U.S. officials said that Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers was boarding the boat on Jan. 11 and slipped into the gap created by high waves between the vessel and the SEALs’ combatant craft. As Chambers fell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped in to try to save him.
AT&T says the outage to its US cellphone network was not caused by a cyberattack
AT&T says the hourslong outage to its U.S. cellphone network appeared to be the result of a technical error, not a malicious attack. The Dallas-based company blamed the outage Thursday on an error in coding while it was expanding its network, without elaborating. It restored wireless coverage after the outage knocked out cellphone service on its network across the U.S. Outage tracker Downdetector noted that outages began at about 3:30 a.m. ET and peaked at around 73,000 reported incidents. AT&T had more than 58,000 outages around noon ET, in locations including Houston, Atlanta and Chicago. The carrier has more than 240 million subscribers, the country’s largest. By 8 p.m. ET, the outage reports on AT&T’s network were down to fewer than 1,000.
Texas school legally punished Black student over hairstyle, judge says
ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination. Darryl George hasn’t been in his regular classes at his Houston-area high school since Aug. 31 because his school district says he’s violating its policy limiting the length of boys’ hair. George wears his hair in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, and his attorney says his hairstyle is protected by the CROWN Act. State District Judge Chap Cain III on Thursday ruled in favor of the Barbers Hill school district, which argued its policy doesn’t violate the law.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother who left her 16-month-old daughter home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. Thirty-two-year-old Kristel Candelario also pleaded guilty Thursday to child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who agreed to dismiss two murder counts and a felonious assault charge. Candelario now faces a life term when she’s sentenced on March 18. Authorities have said Candelario left her daughter, Jailyn, in their Cleveland home when she went on vacation to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June 2023.
Atlanta is the only place in US to see pandas for now. But dozens of spots abroad have them
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Only four pandas remain in the United States. But many zoos around the globe still have the iconic black-and-white bears on loan from China. On Thursday, China announced it will be sending a pair of pandas to the San Diego Zoo. In the meantime, the only U.S. zoo with pandas is in Atlanta. Most pandas live in China. Visitors there can see them in various zoos. More than 1,800 are estimated to exist in the wild. Outside of China, the playful bundles of fur can be seen in person at zoos from Germany to Mexico.
Wendy Williams diagnosed with same form of dementia as Bruce Willis
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with the same form of dementia that actor Bruce Willis has. A statement released on behalf of her caretakers Thursday says the 59-year-old’s diagnoses of primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia “have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life” and have behavioral and cognitive impacts. The announcement came a day after a cover story in People magazine quoted Williams’ family about the nature of her struggles, ahead of a Lifetime documentary set to air Saturday. A representative listed on the release referred questions back to the statement.