Filling in for side pocket
Kris Kristofferson, “A Star Is Born” Actor and Country Legend, Dies at 88
Kris Kristofferson, the renowned actor and country singer-songwriter, has died. He was 88.
A representative for the star said he was surrounded by family when he died "peacefully" at his home in Maui on Saturday, Sept. 28.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all," his family said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
Kristofferson was born on June 22, 1936, in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (née Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson — a first-generation Swedish immigrant and U.S. Army Air Corps officer and Air Force general. His love for country music began at a young age, and, according to a 2013 interview with NPR, Kristofferson penned his first song, "I Hate Your Ugly Face," at only 11 years old. A military brat, he moved often throughout his childhood until his family landed in San Mateo, Calif., when he was a teenager.
SpaceX capsule set to bring home Boeing Starliner astronauts arrives at space station
After their weeklong journey turned into a monthslong stay on the International Space Station, two Boeing Starliner astronauts are now within reach of the spacecraft that will eventually bring them home.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, chosen by NASA to carry astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after their Starliner spacecraft was deemed too risky for crew, has arrived the space station. The vehicle, on a mission called Crew-9, docked at the ISS at about 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
On board the SpaceX vehicle are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Alongside them are two empty seats, saved for Williams and Wilmore to occupy when the group returns to Earth next year.
Astronomers prepare for once-in-a-lifetime event: A 'new star' in the night sky
Any day now, our night sky will host a guest star.
Stargazers and astronomers around the world continue to gaze toward the Corona Borealis constellation 3,000 light-years from Earth, where a long-dead star is expected to reignite in an explosion so powerful it will briefly rival the brilliance of Polaris, the North Star. The stellar corpse last turned on almost 80 years ago and will not reignite for another 80 years, making this a nearly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Already, the stellar remnant, a white dwarf called T Coronae Borealis that's feasting on material from a nearby red giant star, has revealed a tell-tale dip in brightness that "is right on top" of the one that preceded its previous outburst in 1946. Astronomers don't yet know for sure what's causing the dip, but they say it's just a matter of time before the nova satiates its hunger and explodes into a spectacular nova. "We know it's going to go off — it's very obvious," Edward Sion, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told Space.com.
The remarkable event is a treat not just for skygazers. Astronomers have earmarked precious time onboard a host of ground- and space-based telescopes to catalog every possible detail to learn more about novas, whose dynamics remain murky thanks to only a few outbursts cataloged over decades. T Coronae Borealis, or T Cor Bor for short, belongs to an elite club of ten recurrent novas known across the Milky Way, our home galaxy, offering astronomers a rare front-row seat to closely study a stellar corpse as it devours material to the extent that it caves in, thus recoiling in a violent explosion.
An asteroid known as a 'mini-moon' will join Earth's orbit for 2 months starting Sunday
Beginning Sunday, Earth's skies will soon have a temporary visitor.
On September 29, an asteroid dubbed 2024 PT5 will become a "mini-moon" of sorts, temporarily entering Earth's orbit for almost two months before the forces of gravity return it to a vast field of space rocks known as the Arjuna asteroid belt that follows a similar orbital path around the sun as our own home planet.
Scientists discovered the object Aug. 7 using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in Sutherland, South Africa during routine monitoring, according to a study published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.
"Mini-moon" events are when pieces in space like an asteroid or floating pieces of space junk temporarily participate in orbiting the Earth with some completing a full revolution.
Multiple people dead after plane crash at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport
Multiple people died after a single-engine plane crashed Saturday afternoon in a wooded area at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport, the National Park Service said.
The crash occurred at 5 p.m. as, according to eyewitnesses, the airplane was trying to land at the airport, the park service said in a news release.
The airplane caught fire after the crash, the park service said. The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments put out the fire.
The airport is closed until further notice, the park service said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration has also been notified.
Brian Williams Set to Make Shock Return to Anchor Chair
Brian Williams’ surprise return to the anchor chair is “imminent,” and the veteran newsman is set to sign a deal with Amazon Prime Video for an Election Night special, a source close to the discussions told the Daily Beast.
Williams, 65, has not anchored a program since he abruptly resigned from NBC in 2021. Now, his surprising return from the television wilderness appears set to take place at Amazon as the e-commerce giant makes its first foray into the breaking news space.
“It’s a reimagining of a traditional election night,” the well-placed source told the Daily Beast, adding that the program would not call the results of the 2024 election, but would include “comprehensive coverage” with access to the same exit polling information as traditional news organizations
Boeing Union Says Talks Halted on Pensions, Pay Demands
Boeing Co.’s largest union said talks with the planemaker have broken off as the two sides failed to reach a deal to potentially resolve a debilitating strike.
There was no progress made on pensions, and the company “would not engage substantively” on issues such as higher pay and quicker wage progression, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a statement on Friday night. No further talks are scheduled for now, it said.
The two sides have been at odds over wages and other demands of roughly 33,000 members of the union. The workers have been on strike since Sept. 13, idling Boeing factories near Seattle where it jetliners including the cash-cow 737 Max are built.
I haven’t found stories very easy today, don’t know why either.
I need a nap, maybe I can do better then.
