Boeing's Starliner astronauts could return on SpaceX capsule in Feb 2025, NASA says

WASHINGTON - NASA officials said on Wednesday the twoastronauts delivered to the International Space Station in June by Boeing's Starliner could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February 2025 if Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth.

The U.S. space agency has been discussing potential plans with SpaceX to leave two seats empty on an upcoming Crew Dragon launch for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who became the first crew to fly Boeing's Starliner capsule.

The astronauts' test mission, initially expected to last about eight days on the station, has been drawn out by issues on Starliner's propulsion system that have increasingly called into question the spacecraft's ability to safely return them to Earth as planned.

A Boeing spokesperson said if NASA decides to change Starliner's mission, the company "will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return."

Thruster failures during Starliner's initial approach to the ISS in June and several leaks of helium - used to pressurize those thrusters - have set Boeing off on a testing campaign to understand the cause and propose fixes to NASA, which has the final say. Recent results have unearthed new information, causing greater alarm about a safe return.

The latest test data have stirred disagreements and debate within NASA about whether to accept the risk of a Starliner return to Earth, or make the call to use Crew Dragon instead.

Using a SpaceX craft to return astronauts that Boeing had planned to bring back on Starliner would be a major blow to an aerospace giant that has struggled for years to compete with SpaceX and its more experienced Crew Dragon.

Starliner has been docked to the ISS for 63 of the maximum 90 days it can stay, and it is parked at the same port that Crew Dragon will have to use to deliver the upcoming astronaut crew.

Early Tuesday morning, NASA, using a SpaceX rocket and a Northrop Grumman NOC.N capsule, delivered a routine shipment of food and supplies to the station, including extra clothes for Wilmore and Williams.

Starliner's high-stakes mission is a final test required before NASA can certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights to and from the ISS. Crew Dragon received NASA approval for astronaut flights in 2020.

Starliner development has been set back by management issues and numerous engineering problems. It has cost Boeing $1.6 billion since 2016, including $125 million from Starliner's current test mission, securities filings show.

CONCERNS AT NASA

A meeting this week of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner, ended with some officials disagreeing with a plan to accept Boeing's testing data and use Starliner to bring the astronauts home, officials said during a news conference.

"We didn't poll in a way that led to a conclusion," Commercial Crew Program chief Steve Stich said.

"We heard from a lot of folks that had concerns, and the decision was not clear," Ken Bowersox, NASA's space operations chief, added.

A Boeing executive was not at the Wednesday press conference.

While no decision has been made on using Starliner or Crew Dragon, NASA has been buying Boeing more time to do more testing and gather more data to build a better case to trust Starliner. Sometime next week is when NASA expects to decide, officials said.

The agency on Tuesday delayed by more than a month SpaceX's upcoming Crew Dragon mission, a routine flight called Crew-9, that is expected to send three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS.

NASA's ISS program chief said the agency has not yet decided which astronauts they would pull off the mission for Wilmore and Williams if needed.

Boeing's testing so far has shown that four of Starliner's jets had failed in June because they overheated and automatically turned off, while other thrusters re-fired during tests appeared weaker than normal because of some restriction to their propellant.

Ground tests in late July at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico have helped reveal that the thrusters' overheating causes a teflon seal to warp, choking propellant tubes for the thrusters and thereby weakening their thrust.

"That, I would say, upped the level of discomfort, and not having a total understanding of the physics of what's happening," Stich said, describing why NASA now appears more willing to discuss a Crew Dragon contingency after previously downplaying such a prospect to reporters.

NASA astronauts voice confidence that Boeing Starliner will bring them home Read full story

FACTBOX-Who are the first astronauts to fly aboard Boeing's Starliner? Read full story

NASA to push back moon mission timelines amid spacecraft delays - sources Read full story

Boeing Starliner's return from space to hinge on weeks of more testing Read full story

EXPLAINER-How Boeing's Starliner can bring its astronauts back to Earth Read full story

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Chris Sanders)

-reuters

FIBA: Canada targets Olympic success after first World Cup bronze

MANILA -- Small forward Dillon Brooks said Canada would take "good momentum" into next year's Paris Olympics after beating the United States to win bronze at the FIBA World Cup on Sunday.

Canada won 127-118 in overtime in Manila to claim their first World Cup podium finish, denying the United States a medal for a second straight tournament.

Canada had already qualified for their first Olympics since 2000 by finishing as one of the two highest-placed teams from the Americas at the World Cup.

Brooks, who finished the game as Canada's top scorer with 39 points, said the medal would fuel their ambitions when the new NBA season starts next month.

"It's good momentum for us, we'll hold on to that throughout the season," he said.

"I'm going to see a lot of my team-mates during the season.

"Guys that weren't here, that's motivating to them as well, to want to join us, to get better, to make a run at the Olympics."

Canada led for most of the game and built double-digit leads in both the first and third quarters.

They looked to have the game won until the United States' Mikal Bridges hit a game-tying three-pointer with 0.2sec remaining.

Canada quickly took control in overtime, with Brooks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in imperious form.

"This team was amazing, special, it's the beginning of something that's going to last for a long time," said head coach Jordi Fernandez.

"All 12 guys came in and worked every day since August 1, they got at least 1 percent better every day.

"They built the identity that we just showed."

Fernandez said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 31 points, was "to me the MVP of this World Cup".

Bridges called Canada's point guard a "slithery" player to defend.

"He knows how to get away from you," Bridges said of Gilgeous-Alexander.

"He's an unbelievable player."

Fernandez paid tribute to Brooks's leadership after the Houston Rockets player helped keep the United States' stars quiet while scoring points at the other end.

Brooks was booed by the Manila crowd earlier in the tournament but they serenaded him with chants of "MVP" against the United States.

Brooks said he was determined to help the team win after losing in the semi-finals to Serbia.

"Having that edge every single game, how I prepared for the game, how I was trying to be a leader out there for my team-mates, I've got to bring this back to Houston," he said.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Red-hot Suns feeding off Kevin Durant ahead of clash with Spurs

The Phoenix Suns will go for their sixth straight win when they host the suddenly dangerous San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

Phoenix (43-35) is coming together as the regular season heads into the final stretch and its roster is nearly whole. The Suns flexed their considerable muscle on Sunday in a 128-118 win on the road in Oklahoma City, with Kevin Durant scoring 35 points, 13 of those in the fourth quarter, in Phoenix’s fifth consecutive victory, its longest winning streak since November.

Devin Booker finished with 22 points and 10 assists for the Suns, while Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists.

Phoenix shot 56.8 percent from the floor in Sunday’s win to match its season high. The Suns remain in fourth place in the West and are three games up on the Lakers and New Orleans in the race to clinch the conference’s guaranteed playoff spots without having to participate in the play-in tournament.

The Suns are 6-0 with Durant in the lineup. Phoenix is becoming the team insiders expected it to be when Durant was brought to the Valley of the Sun.

“There’s not a way that he can’t score,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said about Durant after Sunday’s win. “Those kind of players — they want those (clutch) shots. They’re so used to having the ball in their hands. … Guys work their tails off to be ready for those shots and he and Booker are a case in point. That’s what Kevin does.”

Phoenix has won the first two games with the Spurs this season and has defeated San Antonio eight straight times dating back to May 2021.

The Spurs (20-58) head to Phoenix after a rousing 142-134 overtime win in Sacramento on Sunday that snapped a six-game losing streak. San Antonio got a combined 56 points from reserves Doug McDermott (season-best 30 points) and Julian Champagnie (career-high 26 points).

Nine of McDermott’s points came in the extra period in which the Spurs never trailed, while Champagnie scored 22 of his points before halftime.

San Antonio also got a triple-double from Tre Jones (17 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) in the win, a double-double from Dominick Barlow (12 points, 10 rebounds), 16 points from Zach Collins, 15 from Malaki Branham and 13 from Keita Bates-Diop.

“I think it’s the defensive end, really,” Jones said. “That’s the main thing for us. We came out in overtime and they scored right away but then we were able to string a few stops together. We were able to get some stops in the middle of it all and that really helped us.”

San Antonio was without Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson due to injuries.

“It was a great night for us,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We had a lot of guys play really well. We had career games by three or four guys. I’m just happy for them. They have been busting their butts all year. We don’t have many wins.”

-reuters

Dozens injured after train derails in Netherlands: emergency services

The HAGUE, Netherlands  — At least 30 people were injured after a passenger train derailed in the southern Netherlands on Tuesday, emergency services said.

The train derailed after colliding with construction equipment on the line near the village of Voorschoten, between The Hague and Amsterdam, it said.

"At least 30 people were injured and are being treated at the spot. The seriously injured are being taken to hospital, while 11 are at homes of nearby residents," Hollands Midden emergency services said.

"Specialists are working to secure the train."

The accident happened at around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) when the double-decker intercity train smacked into the building material on the tracks at Voorschoten, about eight kilometers (five miles) north of The Hague.

Images from the scene and news reports showed a front carriage derailed and plowing into a field, while a second derailed carriage landed on its side.

A third carriage remained upright, while a fourth caught fire, the ANP news agency said.

Around 60 people were on board at the time of the accident.

Ambulance services rushed to the scene en masse, including a trauma helicopter, to take the most seriously injured passengers to the hospital.

It was not immediately clear how serious their injuries were.

"We heard a loud bang and suddenly the lights went out," an unidentified witness told the local Omroep West television news.

"We couldn't initially get out of the train because there was no electricity," said the man, who appeared in a state of shock.

Agence France-Presse

How AI 'revolution' is shaking up journalism

PARIS, France — Journalists had fun last year asking the shiny new AI chatbot ChatGPT to write their columns, most concluding that the bot was not good enough to take their jobs. Yet.

But many commentators believe journalism is on the cusp of a revolution where mastery of algorithms and AI tools that generate content will be a key battleground.

The technology news site CNET perhaps heralded the way forward when it quietly deployed an AI program last year to write some of its listicles.

It was later forced to issue several corrections after another news site noticed that the bot had made mistakes, some of them serious.

But CNET's parent company later announced job cuts that included editorial staff -- though executives denied AI was behind the layoffs.

The German publishing behemoth Axel Springer, owner of Politico and German tabloid Bild among other titles, has been less coy.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to make independent journalism better than it ever was –- or simply replace it," the group's boss Mathias Doepfner told staff last month.

Hailing bots like ChatGPT as a "revolution" for the industry, he announced a restructuring that would see "significant reductions" in production and proofreading.

Both companies are pushing AI as a tool to support journalists, and can point to recent developments in the industry.

'Glorified word processor' 

For the past decade, media organizations have been increasingly using automation for routine work like searching for patterns in economic data or reporting on company results.

Outlets with an online presence have obsessed over "search engine optimization", which involves using keywords in a headline to get favored by the Google or Facebook algorithms and get a story seen by the most eyeballs.

And some have developed their own algorithms to see which stories play best with their audiences and allow them to better target content and advertising -- the same tools that turned Google and Facebook into global juggernauts.

Alex Connock, author of "Media Management and Artificial Intelligence", says that mastery of these AI tools will help decide which media companies survive and which ones fail in the coming years.

And the use of content creation tools will see some people lose their jobs, he said, but not in the realms of analytical or high-end reporting.

"In the specific case of the more mechanistic end of journalism -- sports reports, financial results -- I do think that AI tools are replacing, and likely increasingly to replace, human delivery," he said.

Not all analysts agree on that point.

Mike Wooldridge of Oxford University reckons ChatGPT, for example, is more like a "glorified word processor" and journalists should not be worried.

"This technology will replace journalists in the same way that spreadsheets replaced mathematicians -- in other words, I don't think it will," he told a recent event held by the Science Media Centre.

He nonetheless suggested that mundane tasks could be replaced -- putting him on the same page as Connock.

'Test the robots' 

French journalists Jean Rognetta and Maurice de Rambuteau are digging further into the question of how ready AI is to take over from journalists.

They publish a newsletter called "Qant" written and illustrated using AI tools.

Last month, they showed off a 250-page report written by AI detailing the main trends of the CES technology show in Las Vegas.

Rognetta said they wanted to "test the robots, to push them to the limit".

They quickly found the limit.

The AI struggled to identify the main trends at CES and could not produce a summary worthy of a journalist. It also pilfered wholesale from Wikipedia.

The authors found that they needed to intervene constantly to keep the process on track, so while the programs helped save some time, they were not yet fit to replace real journalists.

Journalists are "afflicted with the syndrome of the great technological replacement, but I don't believe in it", Rognetta said.

"The robots alone are just not capable of producing articles. There is still a part of journalistic work that cannot be delegated."

Agence France-Presse

Brazil's Bolsonaro faces probes over $3.2M Saudi jewels

BRASILIA - Brazil's justice minister asked federal police Monday to investigate reports ex-president Jair Bolsonaro tried to illegally import jewelry worth $3.2 million gifted by Saudi Arabia, as tax officials probe a second present of jewels.

The far-right former president has faced mounting questions over the jewels since newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported Friday that customs officers blocked an aide to his former mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, from bringing them into Brazil without paying the required import duty after an official trip in October 2021.

According to the newspaper, Bolsonaro administration officials intervened at least eight times to try to convince customs officers to release the diamond jewels -- a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings from Swiss luxury house Chopard -- that had been given to the president's wife.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.

"They're accusing me over a gift I neither requested nor received. There was no illegality on my part," he told CNN Brasil on Saturday from the United States, where he has been living since two days before his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1.

The scandal deepened Monday when Brazil's tax agency said it had opened its own investigation over reports Albuquerque's delegation entered the country with a second, previously undetected set of jewels, also a gift from the Saudi government.

Albuquerque mentioned the second set of jewels -- a watch and a pen, also made by Chopard -- in an interview with Estado de Sao Paulo.

"The incident could constitute a violation of customs law for failure to declare goods and pay the required duties," the tax agency said in a statement, vowing to take "all necessary measures" to enforce the law.

Brazilian media reports said the second set of jewels had been handed over to the presidential palace's official collection on December 29, 2022.

Under Brazilian law, travelers entering the country with goods worth more than $1,000 are required to declare them.

The first family would then either have had to pay import duty on the jewels -- equal to half their value -- or give them to the presidential palace collection as official gifts to the nation.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok hit by US lawsuits over child safety, security fears

WASHINGTON — TikTok was hit Wednesday with a pair of lawsuits from the US state of Indiana, which accused it of making false claims about the Chinese-owned app's safety for children.

The legal salvo came as problems are mounting for TikTok in the United States, with multiple accusations that the extremely popular app is a national security threat and a conduit for spying by China.

"The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users," said Attorney General Todd Rokita in a statement.

The lawsuit said TikTok algorithms served up "abundant content depicting alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; sexual content, nudity, and suggestive themes" to users as young as 13.

The state also sued TikTok for allegedly deceiving customers into believing that "reams of highly sensitive data and personal information" were protected from the Chinese government.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson did not comment specifically on the case but said "the safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority."

"We build youth well-being into our policies, limit features by age, empower parents with tools and resources, and continue to invest in new ways to enjoy content based on age-appropriateness or family comfort," the company said.

TikTok is facing a growing front of opposition in the United States, with several states and the US military banning its use on government devices.

Texas on Wednesday became the latest state to do so, calling for "aggressive action" against TikTok.

The highly popular app is often singled out for its alleged connections to the Beijing government with fears that China is able to use TikTok's data to track and coerce users around the world.

TikTok is currently in negotiations with the US government to resolve national security concerns, hoping to maintain operations in one of its biggest markets.

TikTok said it was "confident that we're on a path...to fully satisfy all reasonable US national security concerns."

The spectacular success of TikTok has seen rival sites such as Meta-owned Instagram or Snapchat struggle to keep up, with once soaring ad revenues taking a hit.

But Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last month that he is "extremely concerned" about security risks linked to TikTok.

Agence France-Presse 

Brexit compounded UK's shortage of doctors, says study

LONDON, United Kingdom - Brexit has compounded a shortage of doctors in Britain, with an estimated shortfall of 4,000 in major specialty areas from EU countries, a study published Sunday said.

It comes as the crisis-hit NHS state-funded health service struggles after years of underfinancing, with record waiting lists for some hospital care due to the Covid pandemic but also a lack of doctors and nurses.

The Nuffield Trust, an independent health think tank, focused on four fields of medicine -- anaesthesia, pediatrics, cardio-thoracic surgery and psychiatry -- where European doctors had been particularly relied upon before the UK left the European Union.

It found that in the four areas -- where recruitment was already challenging -- "the increase in EU and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) staff slowed down, falling below the projected increase".

If the trend seen before Brexit had continued, there should have been more than 41,000 doctors from the EU or EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) registered in 2021, or at least 4,000 more than the figures showed.

"The campaign and result of the EU referendum is the obvious reason for a change in trend around 2015 and 2016," the study, commissioned by The Guardian newspaper, said.

It highlighted initial uncertainty over new rules for the movement of people, followed by tighter visa rules and "deteriorating work conditions" in the health system.

"The findings suggest that stagnation in the number of EU doctors in these specialities has exacerbated existing shortages in areas where the NHS has not been able to find enough qualified staff elsewhere," it added.

The Royal College of Nursing last week announced that its members would next month hold their first strike action in the union's 106-year history in England and Wales, citing pay, conditions -- and chronic staff shortages.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Doncic dazzles in vain as Mavs downed by Pelicans

LOS ANGELES -- Luka Doncic scored 37 points but it was not enough to stop the Dallas Mavericks from slipping to defeat against the depleted New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Slovenian star Doncic dragged the Mavs to within one point of the Pels with four seconds remaining after a driving lay-up made it 112-111.

The 23-year-old was left shaking his head in disappointment after a three-point effort on the buzzer that would have snatched victory bounced off the rim to hand New Orleans a 113-111 win.

Doncic finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists in addition to his 37-point haul, with Spencer Dinwiddie providing support with 24 points and Christian Wood 23 points.

But Dallas were ultimately pipped by a balanced New Orleans line-up that saw eight players finish in double figures.

The victory was made all the more impressive given injuries that deprived New Orleans of regular starters Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Trey Murphy III scored 22 points -- making 8-of-8 from the field -- while C.J. McCollum made 14 points with 11 assists.

McCollum later admitted he could barely watch as Doncic launched his last-gasp three-point attempt on the buzzer.

"When he shot it I just thought 'Please don't go in, please don't go in'," McCollum told an on-court interviewer.

"I didn't shoot the ball well but a lot of young guys stepped up tonight and that's what we're going to need all season long.

"We're a solid team. Guys work hard, get in early and stay late and they relish these kind of opportunities to come out and put on a show."

The Pelicans improved to 3-1 with a win to move into second in the Western Conference behind leaders Portland. Dallas fell to 1-2 with the loss.

In other games on Tuesday, the Washington Wizards took their season record to 3-1 with a 120-99 romp against the Detroit Pistons at home.

Kyle Kuzma led the Washington scorers with 25 points with Kristaps Porzingis adding 20. Will Barton added 16 from the bench, including four three-pointers.

Agence France-Presse

Death toll from missiles on Ukraine town rises to 17

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine - At least 17 people including a child died when seven Russian missiles struck the industrial town of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities said Saturday.

The missiles struck before dawn on Thursday, with three landing in the town center, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the artillery battles of the southern front.

"In total, 17 people were killed," Ukraine's State Emergency Service said on Telegram, adding that one of them was a child.

The toll has repeatedly risen since an initial tally of one dead. Earlier on Saturday, it had stood at 14.

A five-storey residential building on the main street was almost razed to the ground.

President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out on Telegram saying Zaporizhzhia "is subjected to massive rocket attacks every day... (it's a) deliberate crime".

The Ukrainian-controlled city is located in the eponymous Zaporizhzhia region, also home to the Russian-occupied nuclear plant that has been the site of heavy shelling.

Moscow claims to have annexed the region even though its forces do not control all of it.

Ukraine said at least 30 people were killed last week when a convoy of civilian cars in the Zaporizhzhia region was shelled in an attack Kyiv blamed on Moscow.

Agence France-Presse