Elon Musk says SpaceX hopes to launch Starship for the first time within ‘2 to 3 months.’ But the ship may be just one of 20 different prototypes…
December 31, 2019
- SpaceX founder Elon Musk has posted new details about Starship: a fully reusable and potentially industry-upending rocket system that may land the first people on Mars.
- In September, Musk unveiled the first 16-story prototype. However, a pressure test in November caused the Starship to partly explode, shooting its giant domed bulkhead hundreds of feet into the air.
- Over the weekend, Musk shared photos and videos of a new ship under construction at SpaceX's South Texas launch site. He also told fans that its first flight "is hopefully 2 to 3 months away."
- But Musk added that the first Starship to launch — if it does indeed fly by the spring — may be just one of perhaps 20 different prototypes the company could build.
Judge in Hunter Biden’s Paternity Case Suddenly Recuses Himself as Lunden Roberts’ Attorneys Ask For Hunter to be Held in Contempt For Withholding Financial Records…
December 31, 2019
Kevin Spacey Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit After Accuser’s Death…
December 31, 2019
The accuser’s estate filed a notice dismissing the lawsuit on Monday. Each side agreed to pay their own costs. Any other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
US & China to sign trade deal in January at the White House…
December 31, 2019
I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Obama, Trump Tie as Most Admired Man in 2019…
December 31, 2019
Americans' choice for most admired man this year is sharply divided along party lines: 41% of Democrats name Obama, while 45% of Republicans choose Trump. Relatively few Democrats choose Trump and relatively few Republicans pick Obama, while independents' choices are divided about equally between the two men.
Texas judge rules Alex Jones must pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook legal fees…
December 31, 2019
Judge Scott Jenkins of the Travis County District Court made the order in a Dec. 20 ruling that said Jones and his attorney intentionally ignored an October court order to present documents and witnesses to the plaintiff, Neil Heslin... Jenkins said that the move “should be treated as contempt of court" and ordered Jones to pay Heslin $65,825. The judge also denied Jones's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in a separate ruling issued the same day. In that ruling, he ordered the InfoWars founder to pay an additional $34,323.80 in legal fees...
U.S. to get greater access to Japan agriculture market as trade deal takes effect…
December 31, 2019
The deal eliminates or lowers tariffs on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. exports, including beef, and puts American farmers on level ground with competitors from Australia and Canada, which along with Japan are part of the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
[...]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump have also agreed to continue negotiations for a more comprehensive trade agreement covering services and investment between the world’s largest and third-largest economies, which together account for roughly 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.Japan is reluctant to continue talks on a bilateral deal as it wants Washington to return to the Pacific free trade pact.
Hawaii’s new ‘Red flag’ gun law goes into effect on New Year’s Day…
December 31, 2019
Hawaii joins 17 other states and Washington, D.C., with legislation. Some of the states that approved, are typically known as Second Amendment strongholds, including Indiana and Florida...
Mysterious swarms of giant drones have started to appear in the Colorado and Nebraska night sky, and nobody knows where they’re coming from…
December 31, 2019
- The drones appear and disappear at roughly the same time each night in swarms of at least 17 and up to 30. The drones appear to measure about 6 feet across.
- Local and federal government authorities say they have no idea where the drones are coming from. They do not appear to be malicious, however, and a drone expert says they appear to be searching or mapping out the area.
Scientists have developed the first machine that can purify dirty water into clean drinking water within minutes. This could potentially provide a solution to billions of people around the world…
December 31, 2019
Although this isn't the first tech to purify water, these guys basically created an industrial-sized (but light and portable) unit that is also able to generate enough clean water for the needs of entire villages in a matter of hours running off nothing more than solar energy and fuses both electronic and traditional filtration for fast, cheap, water in areas traditionally unable to get it.
Up to 4,000 US troops could deploy to Middle East amid Baghdad unrest: officials…
December 31, 2019
The U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division’s alert brigade has been issued orders to deploy rapidly to Kuwait amid the unrest in Baghdad, three U.S. defense officials told Fox News on Tuesday. At least 500 paratroopers are already making their way to Kuwait, Fox News is told. The alert brigade of roughly 4,000 paratroopers, known as the DRB -- the Deployment Ready Brigade -- has been told to pack their bags for a possible deployment in the days...
Iranian Militia Leader Leading Iraq U.S. Embassy Raid Listed as Obama White House Guest…
December 31, 2019
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that among those agitating protesters in Baghdad on Tuesday was Hadi al-Amiri, a former transportation minister with close ties to Iran who leads the Badr Corps, another PMF militia.
In 2011, both Fox News and the Washington Times noted that then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brought his transportation minister, al-Amiri, to a meeting at the White House. The Times noted that the White House did not confirm his attendance, but the official was on Iraq’s listed members of its delegation...
Angola has frozen the assets of Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the country’s previous leader, in a sign that President João Lourenço is taking a tougher line against the former first family…
December 31, 2019
Called “Africa’s wealthiest woman”, Isabel dos Santos amassed a fortune estimated at more than $2 billion through stakes in Angolan companies including banks and the telecoms firm Unitel, earning her the nickname “the Princess”. She chaired the state oil company Sonangol before being sacked by Lourenço months after he came to power...
US Embassy compound in Baghdad targeted by mob protesting airstrikes; sit-in planned
December 31, 2019
Crowds of angry Iraqis protesting America’s recent airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia laid siege to the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad Tuesday, chanting “Down, Down USA!” as they stormed through a main gate, prompting U.S. guards to fire back tear gas in response... About 100 Marines are being sent to the embassy to bolster security and an Army Apache helicopter flew over the premises and dropped flares in a "show of force", hoping to disburse the crowd, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.
Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
VIDEO: AH-64 Apaches protect @USEmbBaghdad. 🚁“We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens...and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.”~@EsperDoD 🇺🇸🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/amABHBAOcL
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) December 31, 2019
More than 30 West Virginia corrections cadets and staff fired over photo of Nazi salute…
December 31, 2019
The investigation found the gesture was used in the classroom within the first two or three weeks of training and symbolized a “sign of respect for Byrd,” the class instructor... The photo was reportedly taken multiple times because not everyone participated until Byrd instructed them to do so, and some cadets made a fist instead of the salute in an attempt to appease the instructor. The report recommended that every cadet be terminated because of the “far-reaching and harmful perceptions” of the gesture.
N Korea’s Kim to unveil ‘new path’ after US misses deadline…
December 31, 2019
The New Year address is expected to touch upon a wide range of issues, from foreign affairs and military development to the economy and education...
The past year’s population growth rate in the United States was the slowest in a century due to declining births, increasing deaths, and a slowdown of international migration…
December 31, 2019
The U.S. grew from 2018 to 2019 by almost a half percent, or about 1.5 million people, with the population standing at 328 million this year, according to population estimates. That’s the slowest growth rate in the United States since 1917 and 1918... For the first time in decades, natural increase—the number of births minus the number of deaths—was less than 1 million in the U.S. due to an aging population of baby boomers, whose oldest members entered their 70s within the past several years. As the large boomer population continues to age, this trend is going to continue....
Tesla’s New Lithium-Ion Patent Brings Company Closer to Promised 1 Million-Mile Battery…
December 31, 2019
The 1 million-mile battery is integral to Musk’s plans for fleets of ‘robotaxis’ and long-haul trucks, both of which would strain the ranges and lifetimes of the current Li-Ion batteries found in Tesla’s passenger vehicles...
Elon Musk shared an animation showing what SpaceX soon hopes to achieve after nearly a decade of effort: Launching astronauts into space…
December 31, 2019
New York is losing residents at an alarming rate…
December 31, 2019
The total state population as of mid-2019 was 19,453,561 — a drop of 76,790, or 0.4 percent, from the previous year, according to the study by the Empire Center for Public Policy.
New York was one of only 10 states to suffer a total population decline in 2018-19 — its fourth consecutive annual decrease after five years of growth, and the largest population drop of any state...