Air ambulance service involved in Philadelphia plane crash once flew MLB icon David Ortiz after he got shot
A medical transport jet headed for Missouri and carrying a child patient and five others crashed in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night. The jet was part of the Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which provides global ambulance flight services. It's the same service that once helped transport Boston Red Sox legend and MLB Hall of Famer David Ortiz with a critical injury after he was shot in his home country of the Dominican Republic June 9, 2019, at a bar in Santo Domingo.
Trump's DEI policy threatens already thin share of women and minorities in STEM, workers say
While President Donald Trump’s executive orders have labeled diversity, equity and inclusion programs as “discriminatory,” several women who occupy STEM-related positions in the federal government slammed his directives as policies that only seek to widen the existing gender and racial divides. Concerns ranging from limited access to STEM careers to feeling unwelcome under the new administration, women scientists, engineers and other women federal employees told NBC News that they fear for their professional future.
Howard University professor among victims in midair collision
A Howard University professor and former Miss Kansas contestant known for her bright smile and zest for life was among the victims in Wednesday’s midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Reagan National Airport. Kiah Duggins, 30, was named as a victim in the disaster by Howard University President Ben Vinson III, who called for privacy and respect for her family, students, and colleagues during this difficult time.
Two planes aborted landings at DCA due to helicopters in flight path in week before crash: report
Military helicopter flights forced at least two planes to abort landings at Reagan National Airport in the week before a deadly collision presumably killed 67 people on Wednesday, according to a report. On Tuesday night, just one day before the collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, a different plane alerted the air traffic control tower that it had to abort its landing to avoid collision with a helicopter, the Washington Post reported.
In NASA asteroid samples, scientists discover key building blocks of life
In samples taken from a distant asteroid, scientists have discovered a host of organic molecules, including key building blocks of life. The surprising finding suggests the chemical ingredients necessary for life may have been widespread across the early solar system. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which launched in 2016, scooped up bits of dust, soil and rocks from the asteroid Bennu and then brought them to Earth in 2023. The 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid is thought to have formed in the first 10 million years of the solar system’s existence.
Conditions that fueled L.A. fires were 35% more likely because of climate change, scientists find
Climate change increased the likelihood of the extreme conditions that allowed the recent fires to roar across the Los Angeles area, an international group of scientists said Tuesday. The hot, dry and windy conditions that preceded the fires were about 35% more likely because of human-caused global warming, according to a new report from the World Weather Attribution group, which analyzes the influence of global warming on extreme events.
AI, wars and climate change mean it's later than ever on the 'Doomsday Clock'
Earth is moving closer to destruction, a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday as it advanced its famous “Doomsday Clock” to 89 seconds till midnight, the closest it has ever been. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement — which rates how close humanity is to ending — citing threats that include climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics and incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations.
China's two new stealth fighters should send shockwaves through Pentagon
Wake up, America. China just flew not one but two new stealth fighter planes. All while America’s next fighter is on hold. "They could beat us to the punch," admitted outgoing Air Force procurement official Andrew Hunter. "It is my sincere hope this got America’s attention," Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin told Breaking Defense on Jan. 17. China released videos of the two new planes in flight on Dec. 26, which so happens to be the birthdate of revolutionary Communist leader Mao Zedong.
Elon Musk says SpaceX will rescue two ‘stranded’ astronauts. Here’s why that is confusing
In a post on the social media platform X, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claimed Tuesday that the Biden Administration left two astronauts “stranded” and said President Donald Trump has asked SpaceX to step in to rescue them. But NASA already put such a plan in place months ago when it asked SpaceX to return astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station as part of its Crew-9 mission. A delay in that plan was then announced in December because mission teams said they needed more time to prepare a new SpaceX vehicle.
66-million-year-old vomit fossil discovered in Denmark
Some discoveries are hard to stomach — literally. A quirky and fascinating addition to Denmark’s natural history has been uncovered — a 66-million-year-old vomit fossil. Local fossil hunter Peter Bennicke found the fossil, officially named Danekræ DK-1295, at Stevns Klint in eastern Denmark. "Danekræ" are rare natural treasures of Denmark. They must be evaluated by the national Danekræ committee of the Natural History Museum of Denmark before they receive the designation, according to the University of Copenhagen and the National History Museum Denmark.