desertsun.com cannot provide a good user experience to your browser. To use this site and continue to benefit from our journalism and site features, please upgrade to the latest version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
- Chrome: https://www.google.com/chrome/
- Edge: https://www.microsoft.com/edge/
- Firefox: https://www.firefox.com/
- Safari: Update to latest version through the App Store
Dec. 9—The next time you visit the airport, your security checkpoint experience might be a bit different.
The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) is one of 16 airports around the United States testing facial recognition software as a part of identity verification at TSA checkpoints.
"The Transportation Security Administration is always implementing new innovative technologies and methods to enhance the safety of the flying public," said Clay Williams, the airport's director. "At Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, we are pleased to often be one of the first smaller airports considered when implementing the new passenger safety enhancement measures."
The technology, called Credential Authentication Technology with Camera (CAT-2) — which was implemented at the airport earlier this year — takes a photo of you and compares it with the photo on your license or passport to verify your identity. It then cross references it with the TSA's Secure Flight program, which verifies that you are cleared to fly, according to TSA Spokesperson Sari Koshetz.
Before the use of this technology, individual TSA agents had to compare travelers to their IDs. With this new technology, TSA agents will still be on hand to make the final call, but according to the TSA, the technology will help reduce contact between TSA officers and passengers, as well as Excellerate the effectiveness of security and make security checkpoints more efficient.
"TSA is exploring facial identification to automate identity verification at airport checkpoints and modernize the screening experience for passengers," TSA Spokesperson Sari Koshetz said in an email. "Biometric technology has the potential to enhance security effectiveness, Excellerate operational efficiency, and yield a more streamlined passenger experience at what is known as the TDC or Travel Document Checker point before you enter the federal security checkpoint."
Currently the technology is optional, and limited to certain airports. Passengers who chose not to have their face scanned can notify a TSA agent to have their identity and boarding pass checked the standard way.
While the TSA said they currently don't know if or when the pilot program of this technology will expand, a report from the Washington Post says the technology could be expanded to more U.S. airports in 2023.
Some travelers have expressed concerns over privacy issues and bias in the use of technologies that collect biometric information, such as facial recognition software.
According to the TSA, the photos collected on the system are deleted everyday and cannot be taken off the system. As far as accuracy in identifying travelers, the TSA says it can accurately identify people even if they've made minor or drastic changes in their appearance since their driver's license or passport photo was taken.
At this point, the TSA has not released any data about the use of its facial recognition software, but they "continue to monitor these pilots to ensure there is no inherent bias in the technology."
This is not the first time Gulfport has been utilized by the TSA to test new security features, Williams said.
The Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson was also selected to test this technology. For a full list of all the U.S. airports using this technology, click here.
(c)2022 The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
© NASA The Orion spacecraft used an exterior camera to take this selfie, with the Earth and the moon in the background
The crew of Apollo 8 had a lot of things on their minds when they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 27, 1968, after becoming the first humans to orbit the moon—and one of the biggest was the matter of the sharks. The spacecraft hit the water at 4:51 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian time, more than an hour before the Pacific sunrise. A recovery crew of Navy frogmen was standing by on the nearby USS Yorktown, but they dared not jump into the water until day broke—and the astronauts dared not exit their spacecraft—because sharks prowl in the predawn darkness. Only when the sun came up would it be safe to attempt a recovery.
Landing in a daylit part of the world would have clearly been preferable, but back in the Apollo era, returning lunar astronauts could not be so choosy. Once they hit the atmosphere they were essentially in free-fall, flying at a steep angle and eventually splashing down 2,776 km (1,725 mi.) from their point of atmospheric entry. If that happened to be in dark, shark-infested waters, well, that was the price you paid for going to the moon.
Things are different today. When Artemis 1’s Orion spacecraft returns to Earth this Sunday, Dec. 11, after its 25-day lunar orbital mission, it will execute a never-before-tried means of reentry that will allow its guidance system to land it anywhere—and at any time—mission planners choose within an 8,890 km (5,524 mi) range. Want to land in daylight? Done. Want to land just 80 km (50 mi.) off the coast of San Diego at precisely 12:40 p.m. Eastern Time, as is currently planned? Not a problem. That, of course, is provided that that never-before-tried maneuver works as intended—and that is a worry that is surely causing some NASA personnel a few sleepless nights.
Read more: Inside NASA’s Struggle to Launch America Back to the Moon
Reentering the atmosphere from Earth orbit is a relatively easy thing: a matter of firing retro-rockets and slowing the spacecraft’s velocity below the 28,160 km/h (17,500 mph) speed necessary to maintain orbit. After that, the ship basically falls from the sky.
Returning from the moon is a different matter. In order to reenter the atmosphere safely, the ship must aim for a keyhole in the sky just 24 km (15 mi.) wide. That sounds like a mighty big target, but if the Earth was the size of a basketball and the moon the size of a baseball, and the two were placed 6.7 m (22 ft.) apart—the relative translunar distance at that scale—the reentry target would be no thicker than a piece of paper. Miss it and enter too steeply, and the spacecraft would not survive the heat of reentry; miss it and enter too shallowly and the spacecraft would simply skip off the atmosphere and bounce back into space.
Even a bullseye hit on that tiny target—which all nine Apollo lunar crews pulled off—did not make for a pleasant ride. The astronauts had to endure forces of 6.8 g’s (or 6.8 times Earth’s gravity) on the way down before their speed slowed, their parachutes opened, and they hit the water.
Artemis 1’s return will Excellerate on things by attempting what flight engineers call a “skip entry.” When the Orion capsule enters the 24 km-wide keyhole in the atmosphere it will be traveling at a speed of more than 32,000 km/hr (20,000 mph). The atmospheric friction from entering so fast will cause the temperature on its heat shield to rise throughout the descent process to a peak of 2,760º C (5,000º F).
Read more: NASA’s Mega-Moon Rocket Finally Blasts Off, Heralding America’s Lunar Return
The uncrewed spacecraft will initially plunge to an altitude of 61,000 m (200,000 ft.)—or about 61 km (38 mi.). Then it will pull off a fancy bit of flying. Rolling 180 degrees—so that future astronauts who were sitting straight up inside would now be upside down—it will change its center of gravity, causing it to skip off the atmosphere, just as it would on a too-shallow reentry, but not so hard and fast that it would fly off into space. Instead, it will climb back up to 99,000 m (325,000 ft)—or 99 km (61 mi)—essentially taking it back into space. After that parabolic maneuver, it will resume its descent, with its guidance system pointing it straight for the waters off of San Diego.
The skip entry not only increases the spacecraft’s reentry footprint, it also reduces the temperature load on the heat shield, as the ship briefly roller coasters back into the chill of space. What’s more, astronauts on board would have an easier ride: dividing the reentry into two parts this way reduces the maximum g-forces from 6.8 to just 4.
The skip entry concept was around in the days of Apollo—and the physics certainly aren’t any different now from what they were then. But the power of the guidance computer aboard the spacecraft—not to mention the computer modeling that has allowed the maneuver to be run and rerun on the ground first—did not exist at the time, making the maneuver too risky a trick to try. This Sunday—54 years after the return of Apollo 8—the entry maneuver will at last be attempted. If all goes well, the next time it’s tried will be in 2024, when Artemis 2 carries a crew of astronauts around the moon—bringing them back to Earth for a smooth and close-to-home splashdown.
As the fall semester comes to a close, students are preparing for the upcoming finals period, facing stress and navigating study resources for the exam-filled week.
With classes ending on Dec. 5, the three-day study period allows students to dedicate their time to studying and working on final projects, without the obligation of classes. Finals will begin on Dec. 9 and end on Dec. 17.
Students largely expressed feeling overwhelmed about their upcoming final exams, saying that they feel they have little time to prepare before the finals period begins.
“I have one [exam] the first Saturday and then also Sunday. It’s very front loaded this year,” said Emily Crites ’25. “ I feel like I’m still catching up, making sure I know all the material the first time around.”
Anjali Kulkarni grad echoed this sentiment, though she also appreciated the respite from work that Thanksgiving break provided.
“I think it gave me some time to take a step back, regroup and be more mentally prepared for what’s coming,” Kulkarni said, noting the additional stress of her upcoming graduation from her Masters of Engineering program this semester.
Kristen Moon ’25 also said she enjoyed taking time off from schoolwork, but she felt that the University-designated days for Thanksgiving break did not provide enough time for her to travel home.
“I did skip the Monday and Tuesday last week, so, with skipping, [the break] was enough, but I feel like if I had gone to classes on Monday and Tuesday, it wouldn’t have been,” Moon said. “I live in Oregon, so if I didn’t skip, there wouldn’t have been enough time to get home.”
As they begin to study for final exams, students said that additional office hours were a helpful resource.
“Office hours have always been really good for me — being able to go meet with my TAs, my professors,” said Grace Ryan ’24. “I make sure that I’m on track with everything, that I know what I’m preparing for.”
Kelly Jiang grad said she especially appreciates office hours from course teaching assistants, who help make the material more accessible.
“My TAs are great. They’re always there if you have questions, they respond to emails really quickly and they go over the material in a way that we understand a lot better than the professor does,” Jiang, who is concluding her first semester as a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student, said. “They’re a lot less intimidating to go [to] and ask questions.”
Despite this support from professors and course staff, some students expressed frustration at having to take multiple final exams in one day. During finals week, Moon and Crites both have two exams scheduled in one day, with one test in the morning and another at night.
“I wish the two tests in one day were illegal,” Moon said.
Ryan said she wished finals period allowed for more flexibility with rescheduling exams to avoid taking multiple in the same day, though she acknowledged the difficulty in providing this accommodation to every student.
“I know this is a very difficult thing — especially with big classes, because everyone has very different schedules — but I always end up having multiple exams on the same day, and I just wish there was some way around that,” Ryan said.
Although she expressed feeling stressed about finals week, Moon said she appreciates the support from her professors.
“There are a lot of study materials already out. I think [professors] want us to start preparing, and they support us in that way,” Moon said. “They’re encouraging us to study and do well. They’re trying to set us up for success.”
Studying an atomic clock on-board a spacecraft inside the orbit of Mercury and very near to the sun might be the trick to uncovering the nature of dark matter, suggests a new study published in Nature Astronomy.
Dark matter makes up more than 80% of mass in the universe, but it has so far evaded detection on Earth, despite decades of experimental efforts. A key component of these searches is an assumption about the local density of dark matter, which determines the number of dark matter particles passing through the detector at any given time, and therefore the experimental sensitivity.
In some models, this density can be much higher than is usually assumed, and dark matter can become more concentrated in some regions compared to others.
One important class of experimental searches are those using atoms or nuclei, because these have achieved incredible sensitivity to signals of dark matter. This is possible, in part, because when dark matter particles have very small masses, they induce oscillations in the very constants of nature. These oscillations, for example in the mass of the electron or the interaction strength of the electromagnetic force, modify the transition energies of atoms and nucleii in predictable ways.
An international team of researchers, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU) Project Researcher Joshua Eby, University of California, Irvine, Postdoctoral Fellow Yu-Dai Tsai, and University of Delaware Professor Marianna S. Safronova, saw potential in these oscillating signals. They claimed that in a particular region of the solar system, between the orbit of Mercury and the sun, the density of dark matter may be exceedingly large, which would mean exceptional sensitivity to the oscillating signals.
These signals could be picked up by atomic clocks, which operate by carefully measuring the frequency of photons emitted in transitions of different states in atoms. Ultralight dark matter in the vicinity of the clock experiment could modify those frequencies, as the oscillations of the dark matter slightly increase and decrease the photon energy.
"The more dark matter there is around the experiment, the larger these oscillations are, so the local density of dark matter matters a lot when analyzing the signal," said Eby.
While the precise density of the dark matter near the sun is not well-known, the researchers argue that even a relatively low-sensitivity search could provide important information.
The density of dark matter is only constrained in the solar system by information about planet orbits. In the region between the sun and Mercury, the planet nearest to the sun, there is almost no constraint. So a measurement onboard a spacecraft could quickly uncover world-leading limits on dark matter in these models.
The technology to put their theory to the test already exists. Eby says the NASA Parker Solar Probe, which has been operating since 2018 with the help of shielding, has traveled closer to the sun than any human-made craft in history, and is currently operating inside the orbit of Mercury, with plans to move even closer to the sun within a year.
Atomic clocks in space are already well-motivated for many reasons other than searching for dark matter.
"Long-distance space missions, including possible future missions to Mars, will require exceptional timekeeping as would be provided by atomic clocks in space. A possible future mission, with shielding and trajectory very similar to the Parker Solar Probe, but carrying an atomic clock apparatus, could be sufficient to carry out the search," said Eby.
Details of their study were published in Nature Astronomy.
More information: Yu-Dai Tsai, Direct detection of ultralight dark matter bound to the Sun with space quantum sensors, Nature Astronomy (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01833-6
Provided by Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
Citation: Researchers say space atomic clocks could help uncover the nature of dark matter (2022, December 5) retrieved 9 December 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-12-space-atomic-clocks-uncover-nature.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
In a presentation showcasing the Neuralink implant that Elon Musk hopes will someday connect the human brain to a computer, two monkeys were reportedly moving computer cursors with their brains.
The feat was first documented by others in a human in 2006 in the pre-YouTube era and with technology that is far more cumbersome, mooring patients to a computer with a cord.
Advertisement
Musk’s presentation Wednesday night offered little that was significantly new from previous demonstrations of the device. He continued to claim that the implant could make computer control possible for people with paralysis outside of a lab setting. But experts in the field questioned whether the demonstration showed major progress with the device, especially given the breadth of work underway nationwide.
“These are incremental advances,” Daniel Yoshor, a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who has worked with similar devices, said after watching the presentation. “The hardware is impressive but does not represent a dramatic advance in restoring or enhancing brain function.”
Advertisement
Neuralink does not have approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell the device. Musk said Wednesday that the company had submitted most of its paperwork to the agency to seek permission to implant its device in a human. He predicted a test in humans in six months, but any step toward trials in people would be up to the FDA after a full evaluation of the risks of surgical implantation and safety of the device.
Neuralink originally scheduled the event for the end of October, before Musk, a multibillionaire, postponed the presentation amid one of the more chaotic months of his career. He recently completed his off-again, on-again purchase of Twitter, which has commanded much of his attention — and generated considerable controversy — over management of the social media company.
While Musk juggles that and other duties — he also oversees electric carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX — Neuralink is emerging from a period of change. Last year, Max Hodak, the company’s president and one of its co-founders, left to launch his own venture in the field. Neuralink’s CEO is officially Jared Birchall, a wealth manager who runs Musk’s family office.
Wednesday night’s presentation focused on the “Link” device, which resembles an inch-wide stack of several coins with hundreds of hair-thin threads. A surgical robot would cut a hole in the skull and slip the electrode threads into the gray matter of the brain, according to Musk’s 2020 company presentation. The coinlike piece would sit flush with the skull.
Leaders in the field of brain-computer interface technology have been closely watching Neuralink’s investment in a device that operated without protruding wires or hardware. Yet Musk’s presentations thus far have concerned and underwhelmed many of them.
A 2021 Neuralink presentation of a monkey playing the video game Pong with his mind was similar to a primate demonstration at Brown University in 2001, although it had a far clunkier system.
In a 2020 presentation showcasing a pig with the implant, Musk suggested the device could “solve” conditions including paralysis and insomnia and could even deliver a user “superhuman vision.” Such applications sound like science fiction to scientists who are singularly focused on restoring basic functions, like typing, speaking or lifting a fork, to those who have lost them after a spinal cord injury or a dire diagnosis. For such patients, the benefits weigh favorably against the small, but serious, risk of brain surgery.
“No one is talking about implanting able-bodied people,” said Cindy Chestek, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan whose lab is working on restoring function to amputees.
Advertisement
On Wednesday night, Musk said plans for his device included making the blind see and giving someone with a severed spinal cord “full-body functionality.” The claims drew applause from the audience but do not reflect the state of the field.
“I would not say that with confidence,” Yoshor said after Musk had claimed that the Neuralink device would deliver sight to people who have never seen before. “I would be highly unsure of this kind of device in a patient with congenital blindness.”
Safety will be the FDA’s primary concern in considering whether the device could be tested in humans, said Cristin Welle, an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Colorado, who helped draft FDA guidance on brain-computer implants before leaving the agency in 2016.
Breaking News Alerts
As it happens
Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts.
Welle said regulators will focus on whether the device would damage the brain or present unreasonable risks to patients. She said device durability would also be considered, given the potential for brain fluids to eat through insulation coating the hundreds of hairlike electrodes on the Link device.
Neuralink has tested the device on sheep, pigs and primates, according to records filed with the Agriculture Department.
Several other companies and scientists have already obtained approval from the FDA to study similar devices in humans. In 2004, researchers conducted human trials with the Utah array, a device the size of a baby aspirin and fitted with spikes that is surgically placed on the brain. It connects through a wire to a small computer installed on the head that transmits to a computer. This neural interface system is called BrainGate.
Advertisement
With the pieces in place, scientists seek patterns in the electrical current of neurons that signal the brain’s intention to type letters or lift a hand. The code, in turn, commands a computer or robot to perform the task.
Nearly three dozen patients have undergone testing with the Utah array device. Using the technology, people with paralysis or other disabilities have lifted a cinnamon latte with a robotic arm in 2011, typed letters quoting Shakespeare in 2012 and lifted forkfuls of mashed potatoes in 2016.
But the Utah array is not suited to long-term use. It rises up out of the skull, tethers users to a cord linked to a computer and exposes them to the risk of a brain infection. For these and other reasons, companies like Neuralink are working to build devices that are fully implanted.
c.2022 The New York Times Company
© Provided by India Today Horoscope Today, 30 November 2022: Check here Astrological prediction for all Sun signs
Wondering what your luck has in store for you today? Look for your Sun sign in the daily horoscope below and find out.
Though your financial front looks stable today, you need to be cautious in money matters, dear Leos. Scorpions need to be patient and are advised to handle domestic matters with a calm mind. Dear Aries, your romantic front looks exciting and it is time for you to spice up your love life. Pisces, your health needs immediate attention.
Aries Daily Horoscope:
You will maintain an excellent performance in financial activities. Profit will be on the rise. You will show speed in important work. You will maintain policies and rules. Important information will be received and you will show patience in commercial matters. Long distance travel is possible. You will spend more and more time in the workplace. Increase in income will remain better. You will get support from friends. You will do well in competitive exams. You will get attractive offers. You will be alert. You will win trust. The feeling of cooperation will increase. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Aries Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Taurus Daily Horoscope:
You will move forward with confidence. There will be cooperation from counterparts and supporters. You will do better than expected in professional endeavours. The sense of competition will increase. The matters of governance and administration will be made in favour. Management works will benefit. The success percentage will remain on the mend. You will take advice from the responsible people and superiors. You will keep emotional strength. Courage and bravery will be maintained. Matters related to position and reputation will be improved. You will be effective in interview. There will be happiness and harmony in the family. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Taurus Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Gemini Daily Horoscope:
You will move ahead as cards predict a favourable day. You will take advantage of favorable conditions. There will be dedication towards the goal. The emphasis on courage and connectivity will continue. You will show proactivity in all matters. You will achieve big goals. Higher educational activities will increase. There can be long distance travel. Remarkable cases will be made. Long term plans will bear fruit. Various achievements will increase. You will increase interference in management activities. You will keep working as expected. You will keep thinking big. Virtue will increase. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Gemini Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Cancer Daily Horoscope:
You will remain better in intellectual endeavours. You will keep the work progress positive with understanding. Avoid arguing with loved ones. Maintain policies and rules. You will increase health awareness. Previous cases are expected to emerge. Thugs can be active. You will be careful with the opponent. Insist on the company of elderly people. You will keep taking advice from family members. Accidental events can remain. Pending plans will get ready. Avoid laxity in necessary work. Avoid coming under the influence of cunning. Keep distance from the unknown.Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Cancer Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Leo Daily Horoscope:
You will maintain closeness with close ones. There will be an emphasis on relations. Leadership ability will remain. You will remain influential and reformist. Matters will pick up speed. You will increase industrial efforts. Stability will get strengthened. There will be an increase in wealth. You will definitely go ahead. Managerial efforts will continue to accelerate. You will deliver time to career and business. Intimacy will increase in friendly relations. You will insist on necessary work. Land and building matters will be made in favor. You will grow closer to the family. Relationships will be strong. You will increase humility. You will Excellerate relations.Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Leo Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Virgo Daily Horoscope:
You will keep the emphasis on hard work. Professional matters will get sorted out. You will keep rationality and be factual. You will go after making everyone. Various results will be made in favour. You will take everyone along to work. Good information can be received. Continuity and discipline will increase. You will show patience in financial transactions. Time will keep on improving. Carefully keep the work orderly. Complete the necessary work on time. The activism of the opposition will continue. You will proceed with caution. You will increase clarity in transactions.Read More
FOR MORE DETAILS: Virgo Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Libra Daily Horoscope:
It is time to speed up intellectual efforts. Subject matter experts will remain influential. You will attend the festive event. Opportunities for excursions and entertainment will increase. Professionals will continue to make better efforts. Working conditions will be encouraging. You will be better in art skills. The intensity will increase. Success percentage will be good in various fields. There will be victory in the examinations and competition. You will be comfortable in a meeting. Work expansion plans will take shape. You will keep obedience. You will increase clarity in circumstances.Read More
FOR MORE DETAILS: Libra Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Scorpio Daily Horoscope:
The focus will remain on personal gains. Family efforts will continue to be better. There will be adaptation in work. You will maintain a logical balance. You will bring awareness in behaviour. You will grow closer to the family. You will keep learning advice from family members. Increase the companionship of seniors. You will be interested in the purchase of building vehicle. The focus will be on material things. Living standards will be effective. Do not show sentimentality. You will keep the emphasis on personal relationships. Arguments will stay away from controversy. Domestic matters will be normal.Read More
FOR MORE DETAILS: Scorpio Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope:
The pace will remain in important works. You will try to take advantage of the circumstances. You will be active in career and business. You will avoid debate. You will deliver importance to meaningful dialogues. You will keep emphasis on cooperation. There will be cooperation of loved ones. You will speed up commercial matters. There will be strength in relationships. You will maintain the feeling of brotherhood. You will be comfortable in relationships. You will achieve success in social work. Short distance travel is possible. You will be effective in negotiations. Information can be received. There will be company of elderly people. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Sagittarius Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Capricorn Daily Horoscope:
Hopefully, you will get good results today. Improvement in the standard of living will continue. Personality will be effective. You will win everyone's heart with your speech and behaviour. Support will be received in important matters. Personal matters will be resolved. There will be an increase in respect. Good rituals will be promoted. You will focus on collection and conservation. You will get attractive offers. There will be an atmosphere of celebration in the family. You will keep thinking big. Hesitation will go away. Contact with blood relatives will be better. You will be effective in various fields. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Capricorn Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Aquarius Daily Horoscope:
Remarkable efforts will be taken forward by the display of versatility. Everyone close to you will be happy and impressed. Important work will be done. You will win the trust of close ones. You will get auspicious offers. Positivity will be on edge. There will be cooperation and support. You will keep the habit of initiative. There will be an increase in various work. Speech and behaviour will be attractive. Good communication will increase. Maintain personal relationships. You will move ahead in harmony. You will achieve the goal. Positivity will be on edge. You will take an interest in creative work. You will think big. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Aquarius Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
Pisces Daily Horoscope:
There will be momentum in matters of investment. You will do smart work. Conditions will be mixed. Relationships will get strength. There will be communication of auspiciousness everywhere. Increase patience in economic activities. Be alert in transaction attempts. Emphasize professionalism. Increase control over professional communication. You will respect the system. You will be polite. Work expansion plans will gain momentum. Maintain clarity. You will be clear in important transactions. You will maintain everyone's respect. Read more
FOR MORE DETAILS: Pisces Horoscope Today, November 30, 2022
NASA’S Orion spacecraft was yesterday orbiting the Moon halfway through its milestone test flight.
The capsule — with three mannequins instead of astronauts — fired up its engines on Friday.
1
In the next few days of orbit, Orion is expected to reach a record 270,000 miles from Earth.
The mission is part of Nasa’s £4billion Artemis project, which is aiming for a 2025 lunar landing, the first since the Apollo 17 flight in 1972.
Last week, mission control in Houston briefly lost contact with Orion.
Nasa’s Jim Geffre said of the mission: “It’s about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we’ve previously explored.”
The update comes after the Artemis 1 mission lifted off from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on, Wednesday, November 16 at 1.04am EST.
Nasa held a number of webcasts prior to the unmanned Artemis 1 launch, which served as the Space Launch System rocket's first test flight with its Orion spacecraft.
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
Anne Heche’s son has been granted control over her estate.
Article content
The Donnie Brasco actress died in August following a car crash and since then, her 20-year-old offspring Homer Laffoon – whose father is her ex-husband Coleman Laffoon – and former partner James Tupper have been locked in a dispute over the control of her affairs.
Article content
However, on Wednesday, Homer was named general administrator of his mother’s estate and granted permission to “take possession of all the personal property of the estate of the decedent and preserve it from damage, waste, and injury.
Judge Lee Bogdanoff dismissed claims from Tupper – who has 13-year-old son Atlas with the late star – that Homer is “not suitable” to run the estate because of his age, unemployment status and the fact he wasn’t in contact with his mother at the time of her death.
Article content
The judge added: “I find no malfeasance by Mr. Laffoon.”
In addition, the judge also denied Tupper’s request for a hearing to investigate a claim that Heche’s $200,000 jewelry collection has gone missing.
The judge did issue a caveat that Homer could be removed as administrator if any evidence of fraud or embezzlement surfaces related to the estate.
A future hearing has been scheduled to address an $800,000 bond on the estate previously requested by Homer because the judge noted the value of Heche’s estate is not yet set as she still has acting residuals incoming, as well as plans for the release of her second memoir in January.
As part of his new role, Homer is able to receive copies of his mother’s financial records, file tax returns on her behalf, and “commence and maintain or defend” suits and other legal proceedings.
Homer’s legal team welcomed the ruling.
“We believe the court reached the correct result this morning, both legally and equitably, and are glad to have this phase of the process behind us,” attorney Bryan Phipps told PEOPLE magazine.
“With Mr. Tupper’s allegations and objections now resolved, we are hopeful the administration of the Estate can proceed without unnecessary complication.”
