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A growing list of foreign policy challenges faces Trump in his second termCLEVELAND — The NFL has closed an investigation into sexual assault allegations against former Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson . Watson started his career with the Houston Texans. The league has been reviewing the case for months , trying to determine whether Watson should be punished. “The matter is closed,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Friday in an email to The Associated Press. “There was insufficient evidence to support a finding of a violation of the personal conduct policy.” Watson, who served an 11-game suspension in 2022, was accused of assault in Texas by a woman in September. She was seeking more than $1 million in damages before the sides reached a confidential settlement. Watson strongly denied the allegations through his attorney, Rusty Hardin. The 29-year-old Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in October. He's been rehabbing the injury in hopes of returning next season. The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons after they signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract that has backfired. Watson has only played in 19 games over three seasons due to the suspension and injuries.
I couldn't stop myself from giggling. A sudsy giggle. I was brushing my teeth, but this was no ordinary toothbrush I was using. It was the Feno Smartbrush — and with its 18,000 bristles, it was navigating all of my teeth, top and bottom, at the same time. The vibration was startlingly different. The entire lower part of my face was shaking, from my gumline to the base of my jaw. It felt like a massage for my teeth, cheeks and the craniofacial muscles surrounding my mouth. Foamy residue escaped onto my chin and chest. The Feno Smartbrush is a mouthful. It was a mouthful. In a good way. For an anxious, teeth-grinding adult like me, the silly visual in the mirror of my mouth vibrating for 20 seconds was worth the feeling that came along with it. Plus, it removed all those tricky goji berry remnants that always seem to evade my regular electric toothbrush. The Smartbrush is a U-shaped device, with top and bottom sections like the mouthguards that athletes use, attached to a fist-sized handle that holds the power source and a camera. It's the flagship product of Feno, a 3-year-old company driven by the belief that "transformative oral health technology" is on the cusp of a breakthrough moment. It was created by Dr. Kenny Brown, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who's also Feno's CEO and a co-founder. He designed it to address problems he saw firsthand with his patients. "We believe oral health is your overall health," Brown tells me when we meet at BioscienceLA , which for Feno doubles as a nonprofit organization for health tech companies and its brick-and-mortar. "When it comes to oral hygiene, patients tend to fail in two aspects: time and technique." How many of us really put in the 2-plus minutes of brushing that dentists recommend? And are we really putting brush to tooth as effectively as we should? Feno cuts the time to just 20 seconds, and its Smartbrush does the work for you. It's a radically different approach from the normal options available for oral care at home, and retails at a breathtaking $299 for a three-month starter kit. There are other high-end, high-tech devices, including Curaprox's U-shaped Samba robotic toothbrush and the Philips Sonicare Prestige 9900 , which packs some AI into a more standard-looking electric toothbrush. But neither of those devices has Feno's customization features, like six variations of its U-shaped, top-and-bottom mouthpiece. Feno also stands apart in tracking and analyzing your brushing habits and your mouth as a whole, with reports through a $10 monthly Feno Plus membership intended to support long-term preventive care. Brown's training and experience is another differentiating factor. What you get with the Feno Smartbrush I did my trial with the $299 Founder's Edition bundle , which contains the Smartbrush (comprising the Feno Smarthandle and SnapCharger), a TrueFit Mouthpiece, three tubes of mint-flavored XyFoam toothpaste, a tongue scraper and three months of Feno Plus for access to personalized health insights and virtual oral health coaching. First, I sent in selfies of my mouth through Feno's FitKit , an app that allows the Feno team to map, size and pair it with one of six mouthpieces, and waited for my images to be analyzed and approved. The kit arrived in the mail a week later, in a large, well-designed box. After the unboxing, I downloaded the Feno app and connected it to my newly charged Smartbrush. (The Apple MagSafe-like charger attaches to the back of Feno's Smarthandle, looking rather like a stethoscope.) Here, I was able to customize my Feno experience. I could change the speed and time of the brush while the AI tracked my brushing cadence. The vibration of the brush allowed me to maneuver it around the sides of my mouth, which provided a pleasant jaw massage in the process. You use the Smarthandle to take a scan of your mouth. Over the next two weeks, I used the Smartbrush twice a day for 20 seconds at a time. Once connected to Feno's Wi-Fi network (this will not affect your home's internet connection), I could also connect my Smartbrush to Feno's app, which monitored my brushing and scanning cadence. After brushing, I positioned the Smartbrush 10 inches from my face and pressed a button to capture and send data concerning my oral health to Feno's team for feedback. With regular use, the reports come back every two weeks with insights about the condition of your teeth, gums, tongue and soft tissue, plus a digital health score, summary analysis of your mouth and feedback to improve or adjust your mouth scans. With consistency, the embedded scanner will learn your mouth and note any changes that occur. "[Over time] you're going to have the biggest longitudinal data set on the mouth, actionable data made as effortless as possible, so that it can be done as easily as once a day," Brown said. "You can then get insight into what's happening in your mouth." Feno will send you regular reports on the state of your oral health. Feno's evolution After my trial run with the Smartbrush, I visited Feno's facilities, where the product is tested, packaged and shipped out, to speak with Brown about the device, its AI integration and the state of oral health care. Feno's prototyping space, fulfillment center and company office all sit within the health tech hub's long, single-story brick exterior; blue and green letters read "BioscienceLA" across its windows. Inside, shiny white plaster walls and squeaky-clean floors make up the building's sleek, modern interior. Dr. Kenny Brown is the creator of the Feno Smartbrush. This is where members of the equally passionate core team — eight people, including three dentists — can be found. (It's also where Brown can be found chatting on the phone with customers about postpurchase feedback.) Our conversation took place in Feno's prototyping office, the largest of the three spaces I toured. Nearby, 3D printers for prototyping emit a soothing hum and ambient orange glow. Physical evolutions of Feno's TrueFit Mouthpiece lie to my right. As an oral surgeon and entrepreneur, Brown is an anomaly, a Black oral surgeon in an industry where just under 4% of dentists, dental specialists and oral surgeons are Black. With his creation of the AI-powered Smartbrush, he's also a pioneer. He radiates a passion for oral care — and humanity. (We'll take a moment here to acknowledge another pioneer, Dr. Bobbi Peterson , the Shark Tank-famous orthodontist who invented the Big Mouth electric toothbrush.) Brown estimates that nearly 50% of American adults have some form of gum disease and chronic inflammation. Feno, he says, could address this challenge with "full mouth," U-shaped products. "The idea is better, faster, easier — but it also levels a playing field," Brown said. "Doing this on a technology front shows, 'Look, these solutions are for everyone.' At the end of the day, it's to serve others." The TrueFit Mouthpiece design The TrueFit Mouthpiece began with over 20,000 patient digital impressions to inform a mouth-sizing algorithm, which translated into over 100,000 designs of various shapes, widths, heights and bristle configurations. "It can be extremely risky and expensive to make thousands of prototypes. We used a combination of clinical knowledge, digital impressions, generative AI technology and 3D printing to help us create [ours]," Brown said. "Efficacy is the number one thing. If it doesn't work, it doesn't matter." The design of Feno's mouthpiece went through many iterations. Brown and his team used generative AI — custom algorithms written with design software Rhino 3D and Grasshopper — to test and optimize for the most effective mouthpiece, including features like "bristle contact with tooth surfaces and your gum line." Those iterations became several hundred 3D-printed prototypes, tested again on patients to ensure clinical standards. Today, Feno has six TrueFit Mouthpiece variations that differentiate in dental arch, jawline and oral cavity dimensions, depending on customers' needs. Whether that's arch width or depth, a crooked tooth or gum recession, the goal is that all 18,000 bristles on your Feno TrueFit Mouthpiece touch all of your teeth — 250 strokes per tooth — so you can brush your teeth within 20 seconds. The Smarthandle will pause and alert you to soften your brushing pressure if need be. The TrueFit Mouthpiece connects to Feno's Smarthandle, which uses camera vision, artificial intelligence that can analyze visual data. Each time you scan your mouth with the Smarthandle's embedded scanner, it tracks signs of poor oral health or abnormalities that need attention and compiles it into a data report. While these insights are not considered diagnostic, Feno has a dentist quality-checking information for precision and accuracy. "We really try to be intentional about what we're giving customers," Brown said. "Seeing people and meeting them where they're at is the best form of care, something you cannot capture with any tech. That's humanity." My experience with the Feno Smartbrush For me, in that two-week trial run, the Smartbrush worked. My gums were initially sore (Feno notes this might happen) but my teeth felt... purified, as if all 18,000 bristles, vibrating in various directions, had extracted all the plaque in my mouth. As new to the market as Feno is, there's a lot yet to unfold about how well the Smartbrush performs and what the oral analytics reveal over time. At $299 upfront plus $10 a month, this system is asking you to make a significant investment. Still, I'm intrigued by this innovative approach. After my trial, I decided to keep my Smartbrush. For the last three years, I've been told by two different dentists that I will need veneers before I'm 40. (An alarming statement for a 29-year-old who's had braces twice.) Every six months, I leave my checkup increasingly anxious about what's happening inside my mouth — or, to Brown's point, my body — with no solution or long-term plan. Maybe this is the start of one. As always, as a savvy consumer, you should do your research, talk to your dentist and consider your comfort level with spending on a pricey cutting-edge device. Alongside brushing your teeth, twice a day.Wade Taylor IV helps No. 13 Texas A&M rout Abilene Christian
Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in the Egypt-Gabon Business Forum held in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. The event brought together Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, seven key Gabonese government ministers—including those responsible for Foreign Affairs, Public Works, Energy and Water Resources, Health, Economy, Digital Economy, and Transport—alongside a prominent group of Egyptian and Gabonese business leaders and investors. In his address, Abdelatty underscored the forum’s importance as a platform to deepen economic ties between Egypt and Gabon. He highlighted President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations by expanding trade volumes and fostering joint investments. Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s readiness to actively participate in Gabon’s market by supporting its comprehensive development initiatives and sharing expertise in key sectors such as infrastructure, energy, construction, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. These efforts, he noted, are designed to advance Gabon’s sustainable development goals. The Minister also emphasized the critical role of public and private sector companies in driving economic progress across Africa. He revealed that Egyptian investments across the continent have exceeded $14bn, attributing this success to the efficiency and reliability of Egyptian companies, known for completing projects on time and within budget. The forum facilitated extensive discussions between Gabonese ministers, investors, and Egyptian business representatives. These dialogues focused on strengthening economic and investment partnerships, with Egyptian delegates presenting proposals for developmental projects in areas such as road construction, port development, and renewable energy. Additionally, the discussions explored opportunities to enhance agricultural cooperation for improved food security and the exchange of expertise in technology and manufacturing.Former commissioner for Information in Ogun State and longstanding coordinator of the popular Ojude Oba festival, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, tells AYOOLA OLASUPO about his leadership experience, how cultural preservation and promotion can foster societal growth and forthcoming 70th birthday celebration As a former commissioner, how did your experience in governance shape your understanding and approach to cultural preservation and promotion in Ogun State? As the coordinator of the Ojude Oba festival for the past 20 years and a former Ogun State commissioner for Culture, Sports, and Social Welfare, I have leveraged my extensive experience to promote cultural awareness and unity. During my tenure, I facilitated a cultural renaissance across the state, making it seamless to oversee the festival’s growth. We transitioned the festival from the palace forecourt to the annex, now named the Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre. This role has deepened my appreciation of our culture as a powerful tool for tourism and societal cohesion, showcasing our uniqueness to the world. Ojude Oba exemplifies religious tolerance and harmony, uniting Muslims, Christians, and Iseese worshippers in celebration. It is a vibrant spectacle that underscores togetherness. We continue to raise the bar, aiming for an even greater festival in 2025, surpassing the achievements of 2024. How did your influence affect the celebration of Ojude Oba? Normally, we look at the people we want to invite. We know our sponsors and every year, we attract a new sponsor because we have raised the bar, and Kabiyesi has succeeded in lifting the festival to new heights. Our people think of innovations each year to ensure that the festival is seen as a symbol of unity, cohesion, and what the totality of Ijebu stands for. We also liaise with sponsors and look for special guests to honour. We have been expressing the state government’s interest since I joined, and of course, you will recall that it was when we started raising the bar that we also witnessed the re-emergence of the legbelegbe or age grade. They have injected flavour and friendship into the festival, attracting significant development to the town and other Ijebu towns and villages. As a highly recognised event, what strategies have you and your team employed to sustain the relevance of Ojude Oba over the years? Every year after the festival, we take stock. We (organisers) receive feedback and assess how to project into the future. We don’t take things for granted, and we ensure that we improve our activities every year because we try to be proactive. We associate with the various components of the community so that they know what we are doing and can also tell us what we should do. It is society-driven. If the visitors are unhappy with what they see, the festival will not grow. Don’t forget that sponsors have their criteria for ensuring success; if we haven’t succeeded, they will not return. We thank God. How has the festival been receiving much attention, especially from the youths in recent times? That is because of the type of advocacy we do and the publicity we create. Don’t forget that I’m also a journalist, PR expert, and marketing professional. So, it’s not difficult for me to attract my colleagues. We organise press conferences, sensitise the media, get our sponsors to speak, and start the arrangements in earnest. We thank God we have a monarch who has seen it all. Dr. Sikiru Kayode Adetona (GCON), the monarch, has been on the stool since April 2, 1960; that’s about 65 years ago and he is still waxing strong. How do your sponsors benefit from the festival? If they’re not benefiting, will they throw their money into the lagoon? No! They have done some auditing and compared their participation in the festival to the gains they accrue, whether in terms of return on investment, sales returns, or image, which cannot be quantified, but sales can. That is why we continue to have more sponsors every year because they know there’s something to gain. What legacy has your continued involvement in promoting cultural heritage left behind on cultural leadership? A people without culture will go into extinction, and a people without tradition cannot survive. Appreciating, developing, embracing, and growing our culture is the best way to thrive. My involvement has been beneficial to my society and some extent, to the country. When people read about Ojude Oba, they know the festival belongs to the people of Ijebu. The benefits and publicity don’t stay with Ijebu alone; they spread to the entire country. When they read about the country, they attribute it to the country and narrow it down to the community. It’s a win-win situation for developing your country, state, or community’s culture. What is your view about the recurring religious disputes between the Iseese worshippers and other religions in the country? Religious conflicts are unnecessary. Almighty Allah says in the Quran, ‘Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion’. If Allah had wished, He could have made everyone Muslim, but in His wisdom, He created diverse religions. Christianity and Islam are Abrahamic religions, that share roots in the teachings of Abraham. Christianity originated in Jerusalem, part of modern Israel and Palestine, while Abraham’s journey was linked to Saudi Arabia. Reflecting on our ancestors who lived before these religions, one must ask: would they go to hell? Ultimately, no one knows heaven’s workings. Worshipping the Creator, whatever one chooses is what matters. For instance, the Iseese people worship their Creator in their way. In Ijebuland, the saying, ‘Esin o le fa’ja’ (religion cannot cause acrimony) highlights the importance of harmony. Nigerians must realise that religion is personal and should not be a cause for division. The Bible says, ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’, without distinction of faith. Similarly, Allah teaches acceptance: ‘If it is my wish, I will make everyone Muslim or Christian.’ Religion should unite, not divide, fostering mutual respect and peace. You’re clocking 70 years soon; how do you feel about that? I must express my gratitude to my Creator, who has kept me this far. He has made me who I am. I may not have had it all, but comparatively, I’m grateful for all I have achieved. I thank Almighty God that it has not been too bad. He has been kind to me because the environment has been kind to me. As the late sage Obafemi Awolowo would say, there will be light at the end of the tunnel. It cannot be like this forever. The world itself is a passing phase. The world is like a stage, and we are all actors. We are just here to play our parts. So, I am playing my little part, and when the time comes, I pray I live to be old. I pray to reach 80, 90 years, and whatever age God decides, but as long as I have good health, I will continue to thank God. At 70, some people want to retire and focus on their grandchildren, but you seem strong enough to be involved in state development. What is the secret behind your energy at this age? Related News Did police fail to stop only one robbery in Lagos since 2007? FG plans crackdown on cultism, bullying in schools Police foil robbery, arrest 12 suspects in Delta One thing I have discovered is that life should not allow you to be complacent, despondent, or withdrawn. Lack of activity is a negative thing that will not help you grow intellectually, spiritually, or physically. If you don’t exercise your brain, it will become rustic and demented. But if you strive to keep your body and mind active, it benefits your brain, mind, muscles, and more. You won’t become despondent or rusty. The body requires nourishment, energising, and fuelling. You can only fuel your body if you stay active. What advice would you give to youths who also pray for long life? Nigerian youths are often criticised for being mentally, intellectually, and spiritually lazy. While this doesn’t apply to all, many seem fixated on quick, effortless wealth, regardless of its sustainability. Some young people engage in harmful behaviours, quarrelling and even resorting to violence, which neither contributes to personal growth nor nation-building. Unlike in developed countries, where youths are exposed to volunteer jobs and taught the value of hard work from a young age, many Nigerian youths lack this ethic. They often misuse technology, turning it into tools for cybercrime instead of productive endeavours. In developed societies, dignity in labour is emphasised; earning and education require effort. Conversely, many Nigerian youths prioritise materialism over hard work, evident in their possession of expensive gadgets their families cannot afford, raising questions about their sources of income. The issue extends to young women engaging in prostitution to keep up appearances, while young men often join cults, commit cybercrimes, or resort to armed robbery. This reflects a broader societal dysfunction, marked by leadership and followership paralysis. Who should be blamed for the decadence in society? Yes. It’s a societal issue. Families must also take responsibility for the values their children inherit. This isn’t only a question of government policy or leadership; it is about the collective moral compass of the society. When the family fails to teach core values such as hard work, humility, and integrity, the youth are left to wander without direction. Government policies, alongside proper family structures and societal values, must work in tandem to guide the younger generation towards more productive and responsible lives. Why are most state governments against local government autonomy? I was in government before, and I believe the Federal Government has no business interfering in local government affairs. These are functions of state governments, which should create and manage local governments to suit their developmental goals. For example, when Bola Tinubu expanded Lagos 20 local governments to 57 LCDAs, former President Olusegun Obasanjo withheld allocations to those local governments. This issue arises from the country’s poorly structured federal arrangements, where the constitution is often ignored, and successive governments exploit the system. To move forward, Nigeria must embrace true federalism and strictly follow constitutional provisions. However, resistance to change persists. Some benefit from the current system, others fear uncertainty, and some lack understanding of potential reforms. Nonetheless, change is inevitable and crucial for progress. State governments must allow local governments to grow within constitutional limits. We must clarify these issues. If Local Government Service Commissions exist, to whom will they report; state governments or local chairmen? Availability of reliable infrastructure is one of the factors that can attract investors to the country. Why do you think there are many bad roads in Ogun State? The state of roads in Ogun varies depending on the area. For example, the Lagos-Sagamu and Sagamu-Abeokuta roads are in good condition. However, Ogun State’s role as a gateway state, connecting Lagos, the country’s commercial hub, to other regions, leads to heavy vehicular traffic. Virtually all vehicles leaving Lagos pass through Ogun, whether via Epe, Badagry, or the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. This problem is largely due to the neglect of the railway system. In the past, railways were used to transport heavy goods such as iron ore and cement. Today, trailers and tankers dominate the roads, which are often asphalted rather than made of durable concrete. These heavy vehicles damage the roads, especially when breakdowns or fires occur, creating potholes. Rebuilding and promoting rail transport will ease pressure on roads, reducing damage and associated repair costs. Coastal areas like Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, and Delta face additional challenges due to marshy terrain and heavy rainfall, making road construction more expensive compared to the northern regions. Moreover, government funds are often limited, complicating infrastructure development. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive planning, better allocation of resources, and a revitalised rail network to support transportation needs. Is it that successive administrations have not paid much attention to this aspect? Well, I think they will tell you they are trying their best. It’s obvious due to the availability of funds and other factors. For example, when Ibikunle Amosun was in office, his focus was on bridges, roads, and other infrastructure. I’m not in a position to assess or pass judgment on them, but I believe it depends on their focus. “They will tell you that some of these roads, which expose them to ridicule or criticism, are not state roads but federal roads. If they attempt to reconstruct or rehabilitate these roads, the Federal Government may not reimburse them. In contrast, perhaps at the federal level, money has been allocated for the rehabilitation or reconstruction of these roads. However, due to bureaucracy, the funds are not released on time. So, they blame the state. We need to understand the dynamics of some of these things before we can pass judgment. What is your view on the recently proposed tax reform bill? As I said earlier, it is difficult to implement change within the polity. Some people, who had been benefiting from the old system, would not want change. For example, we have been told that the higher you earn, the more tax you pay. Again, we need a lot of sensitisation in this country. Our people are not in the habit of paying taxes. In some countries, especially in the Western world, you can pay as much as 60 per cent of your salary in taxes. What is tied to this is that if you fail to pay your taxes abroad, you will go to jail. How many people have been jailed in this country for not paying taxes? People take it for granted, yet this is where governments get money to provide amenities and take care of their responsibilities. But when we don’t want to pay our taxes and still expect governments to provide so many things, then there is a paradox. It is paradoxical. How do we get to El Dorado without making fundamental changes? So, it is up to Tinubu’s administration to take some of these steps.Time to apply for health insurance
Social media users said Hawk Tuah girl Hailey Welch will be arrested because of crypto scam. As people faced a huge loss after buying Hawk Tuah girl's cryptocurrency $HAWK, demands to arrest Hailey Welch were raised on social media. A law firm stepped up to assist victims who lost millions in the memecoin that crashed after the viral Hawk Tuah meme-fame girl launched it. Hailey Welch said they did not do any intentional wrongdoing. Many social media users debunked what she actually did and called it a scam. "Team hasn’t sold one token and not 1 KOL was given 1 free token. We tried to stop snipers as best we could through high fee’s in the start of launch on @MeteoraAG. Fee’s have now been dropped," Welch posted amid huge backlash. "Hailey I’m not even kidding when I say this, you are most likely going to prison," a social media user said. And several others threatened her with a lawsuit. What did the Hawk Tuah girl do? Hawk digital coin hit a a $490m market cap shortly after it launched on Wednesday, before suddenly losing more than 95% of its value within hours. YouTube cryptocurrency investigator Coffeezilla accused Welch of scamming investors with a "pump and dump" scheme where the people behind a coin hype up its price before launch, then sell it for profit. Welch said her team did not sell any of the tokens. Coffeezilla said Hailey Welch's team actually targeted her fans and exploited them as these fans are those who have never been involved in the crypto space and they did not target crypto bros because they would not buy her coin in all probability. "These people were unwilling to take any accountability" of the "Hawk Tuah scam", he claimed. In 2021, Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26m by US regulators after she failed to disclose that she had been paid to post an advert for a cryptocurrency scheme called EthereumMax. If Hailey Welch is sued and it's proved that she scammed her fans, she will be penalised but as of now claims that she would be going to jail are only social media speculations.
“I’m mad but I don’t eat glass,” explained Javier Milei in more than one friendly interview since being president. Just his way of justifying a dose of pragmatism that reached another peak of exposure in recent days with the G20 Leaders Summit in Brazil as the excuse. At the symbolic level Milei finally yielded, adhering to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s “global alliance against hunger” and the final G20 statement from Rio de Janeiro where the main world powers advocated a decalogue of good economic, social and even environmental intentions. Always with reservations and explanations, while shunning the final family photo of the event as if to give some proud argument to his digital libertarian wolf-pack. Preceded a few hours beforehand by images of the frosty greeting between President Milei and his Brazilian colleague Lula. It was the first meeting between the two after a history of unfortunate insults. But, at the same time, Economy Minister Luis ‘Toto’ Caputo was signing with a Brazilian Mining and Energy colleague an understanding to open the door to Argentina selling gas from its Vaca Muerta mega-deposits to Brazil. Such libertarian flexibility was also ratified by Milei’s first meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the head of state put behind him declarations of “assassins” and “Communists” and a refusal to negotiate between states. There was a previous stepping-stone towards that flexibility when Milei described China as “a very interesting trading partner,” adding “they don’t demand anything, just that you don’t bother them.” This presidential rewind came after China renewed the currency swaps propping up Argentina’s squalid Central Bank reserves, along with renewing its intention to keep investing in the country with an eye to the pending hydro-electric dams of Santa Cruz, mining and the reprivatisation of the Hidrovía waterway and the rail freight network. What would Donald Trump say about that? Milei also needed to show his flexibility with Emmanuel Macron in town. The centre-right French president stopped over in Buenos Aires prior to the G20 summit. Macron visited the Santa Cruz church, infiltrated during the 1976-1983 dictatorship by the naval officer Alfredo Astiz to identify the families of the abducted and the still missing French nuns Léonie Duquet and Alice Domon. Astiz was one of those recently visited by a troop of libertarian deputies at his Ezeiza prison cell. Argentina’s head of state also had to bite his tongue when Macron was explaining his opposition to the free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, due to the resistance of the French farming sector which fears unfair competition and aspires to not losing its protection. Ah, those Communists! Another summit with Italian premier Giorgia Meloni then followed. Did the far-right leader explain to Milei why she did not fire or reprimand her foreign minister after Italy voted at the United Nations in favour of the United States lifting its blockade against Cuba? Or why, in contrast to Argentina, Italy did not withdraw its UN peace-keeping troops from Lebanon? Those who frequented Néstor Kirchner’s office narrate that he used a stock phrase to banish fears when he began his presidency, explaining: “Do not listen to what I say, look at what I do.” Milei is paying a curious tribute to this maxim, and he’s not the only one. Ads Space Ads Space
In the continuing saga of billionaires and big rockets comes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with his latest space vehicle, New Glenn. The rocket, which stands taller than the Statue of Liberty, is named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first person to orbit Earth in 1962. Though much shorter than SpaceX 's towering Starship , it is about the size of NASA's mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System . Years in the making, the commercial rocket is on the verge of its maiden flight. On Friday, while strapped firmly to its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, New Glenn nailed its final dress rehearsal, firing all seven of its engines for 24 seconds. It was the first time Bezos' company, Blue Origin, had operated the entire stacked rocket as an integrated system. Flashes from the engines pierced through billows of steam, like cracks of lightning amid storm clouds. "Next stop launch," said Bezos in a post on X, the social media platform owned by his space launch competitor, Elon Musk . Despite their rivalry, Musk replied with a wish for godspeed. A video of the test, called a hot fire, can be watched in the above post. The demonstration involved a complete fueling and practice countdown. New Glenn's booster runs on methane and liquid oxygen, while the second stage of the rocket, which propels a spacecraft further into space, runs on liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. When all seven booster engines are firing in concert, they produce enough horsepower for two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers at full tilt, said David Limp, Blue Origin's CEO. For 13 seconds of the hot fire test, New Glenn was operating at 100 percent of its thrust capacity. Bezos started Blue Origin in 2000, but its first small rocket, New Shepard, has primarily focused on space tourism, providing short flights for wealthy passengers to the cusp of space and back. Star Trek actor William Shatner, one of the most familiar space figures in pop culture, became a real space traveler in October 2021. But the company has aspirations to do much more. It's building a lunar lander for NASA, to be named Blue Moon , that will perform several uncrewed test flights with the New Glenn rocket, before ferrying Artemis V astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon. It's also building a commercial space station, dubbed Orbital Reef . NASA awarded Blue Origin a $130 million contract to build it as the U.S. space agency tries to transition to a new model of space research, wherein businesses own and operate space labs in low-Earth orbit and NASA becomes one of their many customers. Just prior to Friday's test, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Blue Origin a launch license for New Glenn, its final administrative approval. Though the company hasn't yet announced when it will attempt a liftoff, an FAA operational advisory indicates a tentative plan of a launch window opening at 11:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 31, with a backup window at the same time on New Year's Day. "Well, all we have left to do is mate our encapsulated payload...and then LAUNCH!" Limp said on X . "Congrats to the many Blue folks on today's test." Blue Origin will attempt to use a sea-based landing platform, named Jacklyn, to save New Glenn boosters. The license allows Blue Origin to launch New Glenn from the Space Force station at Cape Canaveral, as well as land its reusable booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. That sea-based landing platform, named Jacklyn , is one of the largest remotely operated vessels in the world. The company hopes to be able to reuse a single booster at least 25 times. Reusability is an important facet of the burgeoning commercial space industry, significantly lowering the cost per launch. Blue Origin wanted to get to this point months ago. The inaugural flight was slated for October, which would have included two Mars orbiters built by Rocket Lab for NASA. Had New Glenn launched then, the twin spacecraft would have taken advantage of the planetary alignment that shortens the travel time to the Red Planet, an average of 140 million miles away from Earth. NASA and Blue Origin are now in talks for a potential launch for that mission, known as Escapade , no earlier than spring 2025.
DALLAS (AP) — More than 60 years after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated , conspiracy theories still swirl and any new glimpse into the fateful day of Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas continues to fascinate . President-elect Donald Trump promised during his reelection campaign that he would declassify all of the remaining government records surrounding the assassination if he returned to office. He made a similar pledge during his first term, but ultimately bended to appeals from the CIA and FBI to keep some documents withheld. At this point, only a few thousand of the millions of governmental records related to the assassination have yet to be fully released, and those who have studied the records released so far say that even if the remaining files are declassified, the public shouldn't anticipate any earth-shattering revelations. “Anybody waiting for a smoking gun that’s going to turn this case upside down will be sorely disappointed,” said Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed,” which concludes that assassin Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Friday's 61st anniversary is expected to be marked with a moment of silence at 12:30 p.m. in Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy's motorcade was passing through when he was fatally shot. And throughout this week there have been events marking the anniversary. When Air Force One carrying Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy touched down in Dallas , they were greeted by a clear sky and enthusiastic crowds. With a reelection campaign on the horizon the next year, they had gone to Texas on political fence-mending trip. But as the motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested 24-year-old Oswald and, two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer. A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, which President Lyndon B. Johnson established to investigate the assassination, concluded that Oswald acted alone and there was no evidence of a conspiracy. But that hasn't quelled a web of alternative theories over the decades. In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection of over 5 million records was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president. Trump, who took office for his first term in 2017, had boasted that he'd allow the release of all of the remaining records but ended up holding some back because of what he called the potential harm to national security. And while files have continued to be released during President Joe Biden's administration, some still remain unseen. The documents released over the last few years offer details on the way intelligence services operated at the time, and include CIA cables and memos discussing visits by Oswald to the Soviet and Cuban embassies during a trip to Mexico City just weeks before the assassination. The former Marine had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning home to Texas. Mark S. Zaid, a national security attorney in Washington, said what's been released so far has contributed to the understanding of the time period, giving “a great picture” of what was happening during the Cold War and the activities of the CIA. Posner estimates that there are still about 3,000 to 4,000 documents in the collection that haven’t yet been fully released. Of those documents, some are still completely redacted while others just have small redactions, like someone's Social Security number. There are about 500 documents where all the information is redacted, Posner said, and those include Oswald's and Ruby’s tax returns. “If you have been following it, as I have and others have, you sort of are zeroed in on the pages you think might provide some additional information for history,” Posner said. Trump's transition team hasn’t responded to questions this week about his plans when he takes office. From the start, there were those who believed there had to be more to the story than just Oswald acting alone, said Stephen Fagin, curator of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which tells the story of the assassination from the building where Oswald made his sniper's perch. “People want to make sense of this and they want to find the solution that fits the crime," said Fagin, who said that while there are lingering questions, law enforcement made “a pretty compelling case” against Oswald. Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said his interest in the assassination dates back to the event itself, when he was a child. “It just seemed so fantastical that one very disturbed individual could end up pulling off the crime of the century," Sabato said. “But the more I studied it, the more I realized that is a very possible, maybe even probable in my view, hypothesis.”
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