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WTOP Space Reporter gets rare glimpse of hybrid solar eclipse from cruise ship off Australian coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

A rare hybrid solar eclipse, when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, was on view this week  — but only in Australia and parts of Indonesia and East Timor. WTOP Space Reporter Greg Redfern got a coveted view of the celestial spectacular aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Australia. Here’s Redfern’s first-person commentary. The Southern Cross and the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way were resplendent for the hundreds of ship passengers gathered on Deck 11 Wednesday night for our second star party at sea in the Indian Ocean.The Southern Cross and the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way were resplendent for the hundreds of ship passengers gathered on Deck 11 Wednesday night for the second star party at sea in the Indian Ocean. (Courtesy Greg Redfern)As I pointed out the stars with my green laser, the only problem was that the sky was partly cloudy and blocking our view of the whole sky. The night before had been crystal clear. Kelly Beatty, the Sky and Telescope Eclipse...

Today in Sports – Bulls win most regular season NBA games-72

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

April 211904 — Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League)1948 — Basketball Association of America Finals: Baltimore Bullets beat Philadelphia Warriors, 88-73 to take series, 4 games to 2.1951 — Bob Davies’ two foul shots and Jack Coleman’s layup give the Rochester Royals a 79-75 triumph over the New York Knicks in the seventh game of the NBA championship series.1951 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in five years as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in the fifth game.1955 — Brooklyn Dodgers win, then record 10th straight game to begin a season.1980 — Bill Rodgers wins his third straight Boston Marathon. Rosie Ruiz is disqualified eight days later as women’s champion when it’s discovered she did not run the entire distance.1989 — George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose become joint CEOs of the Texas Rangers.1991 — NFL Draft: University of Miami defensive tackle Russell Maryland first pick by Dallas Cowboys.1991 — PGA Seniors’ Champion...

Remembering those lost 24 years ago at Columbine High School

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — Thursday marks 24 years since 12 students and one teacher were killed at Columbine High School in Littleton. Over 20 other people were injured during the mass shooting on April 20, 1999.On this day, we remember the 12 students who were killed:Cassie Bernall, 17Steven Curnow, 14Corey DePooter, 17Kelly Fleming, 16Matthew Kechter, 16Daniel Mauser, 15Daniel Rohrbough, 15Rachel Scott, 17Isaiah Shoels, 18John Tomlin, 16Lauren Townsend, 18Kyle Velasquez, 16We also remember Columbine teacher and coach Dave Sanders who was also killed. He was 47 years old. Semi-automatic rifle ban passes Washington legislature The Columbine Memorial, located at Clement Park, is a safe space for all who wish to honor and remember those who were killed, injured, survived and were affected by that day. Every year on April 20, classes at Columbine High School are closed so that students and the community can participate in a day of service. This year makes the seventh annual Columbin...

2 carjackers in custody after multi-county chase that included desperate swim

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

A multi-county police chase has ended after two desperate and armed suspects terrorized drivers, and one tried to flee by swimming in a canal and breaking into a home. Police responded to a report of an armed carjacking of a white Lexus at the 12800 block of North Bayshore Drive in North Miami, early Wednesday afternoon.Soon after, a dramatic chase ensued that went all the way into Palm Beach County and came to a stop in Tamarac, at around 3 p.m., after the chase wound its way back down to Broward County.Most of the chase was caught on camera by 7 Skyforce, where the subjects were seen weaving through traffic, even at one point going against traffic.Toward the end of the chase, at Commercial Boulevard and the Florida Turnpike overpass, the passenger in the stolen car, holding a rifle, tried to carjack another driver in a silver car. When the driver refused to open the door, the subject gave up and returned to the Lexus.The car thieves took off and, in the area of Commercial Boulevar...

BuzzFeed News will shut down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

(CNN) — BuzzFeed News, the Pulitzer Prize-winning digital news website that once inspired jealousy from legacy media organizations, will shutter, BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti announced Thursday.The move was part of broader layoffs across BuzzFeed, Peretti said, with the company moving to slash 15% of its workforce.“While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” Peretti told staffers in a memo.BuzzFeed has “begun discussions with the News Guild,” the union which represents staffers at the company, about the actions.Peretti indicated that some staffers might be able to find roles at HuffPost, the digital news website that BuzzFeed acquired in a 2020 deal.“HuffPost and BuzzFeed Dot Com have signaled that they will open a number of select roles for members of BuzzFeed News,” Peretti told employees. “These...

EU calls for global renewable energy target

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has joined calls for countries to set a worldwide target for renewable energy. Von der Leyen, who also proposed setting a separate global target for energy efficiency, suggested this could be achieved by the COP28 United Nations climate talks taking place in Dubai at the end of this year. “Today, I would like to launch a new initiative to work together towards global targets for energy efficiency, and renewable energy,” she said Thursday in remarks to the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. “We could develop these targets by COP28.” As previously reported by POLITICO, ministers from 43 countries discussed the idea of a global renewables target at a meeting in Copenhagen last month. Francesco La Camera, head of the International Renewable Energy Agency, also told POLITICO in an interview earlier this month that his organization backed the initiative. In a vide...

SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifts off for inaugural test flight, but explodes midair

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

(CNN) — SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launch pad on the coast of South Texas on Thursday at 9:28 a.m. ET, but exploded midair before stage separation.Thursday’s launch marked the vehicle’s historic first test flight. “As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX tweeted.The massive Super Heavy rocket booster, which houses 33 engines, lifted off and sent a massive boom across the coastal landscape as it fired to life. The Starship spacecraft, riding atop the booster, soared out over the Gulf of Mexico.About two and a half minutes after takeoff, the Super Heavy rocket booster was scheduled to expend most of its fuel and separate from the Starship spacecraft, leaving the booster to be discarded in the ocean. The Starship was meant to use its own engines, blazing for more than six minutes, to propel itself to nearly or...

IRS agent seeks whistleblower protections to share allegations of mishandling in Hunter Biden probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

(CNN) — An IRS supervisory special agent who claims to have information about alleged mishandling and political interference in the ongoing criminal probe into Hunter Biden is seeking whistleblower protections to share the information with Congress, according to a letter obtained by CNN.“Despite serious risks of retaliation, my client is offering to provide you with information necessary to exercise your constitutional oversight function and wishes to make the disclosures in a non-partisan manner to the leadership of the relevant committees on both sides of the political aisle,” Mark Lytle, an attorney for the IRS whistleblower, said in a letter to a handful of Democrats and Republicans leading committees in the House and Senate.The letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, describes the IRS agent as “overseeing the ongoing and sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject,” which a source familiar wi...

Could Victor Oladipo start after Duncan Robinson struggled in place of Tyler Herro?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

The differences in depth could not have been more stark.With Giannis Antetokounmpo out for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, coach Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench and inserted Bobby Portis into his starting lineup in what turned into a 138-122 blowout victory. Such was the luxury of having available the final Eastern Conference Player of the Week for 2022-23.With Tyler Herro out for the Miami Heat with the fractured right hand sustained in his team’s series-opening Sunday victory, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with a player who started just one game in 2022-23. No, it did not go well with Duncan Robinson in the loss that evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 1-1 going into Saturday night’s Game 3 at Kaseya Center.Portis closed with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 27:57. Robinson finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25:36, not scoring until both teams had emptied their benches in the fourth q...

San Diego among large U.S. cities with lowest crime rates, data shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- America's Finest City is also one of the safest in country, according to annual crime statistics. The San Diego Police Department announced Thursday that last year's data has revealed an overall decrease of 7.5%, which authorities say is one of the lowest violent crime rates among the nation's largest cities. Rules of the Road: California license plate rules When taking a deeper look at the data, there are annual decreases in four of the seven categories that are considered when compiling the statistics. SDPD says those violent crimes categories include homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault and by property crimes like burglary, theft and vehicle theft.Data shows San Diego saw decreases in both murder and rape, with a slight increase in violent crime due to upticks in robbery and aggravated assault. The statistics also show property crimes had a 9.7% decrease overall.Other decreases include hate crime reports, which went down 17.4 %, and crimes committed by g...