Author: Karen Givens

Pushing past previous limits, NASA’s crewed Artemis II mission completed a lunar flyby and set a new distance record for humans, marking a major step in deep-space exploration. The Artemis II crew launched a mission to loop around the moon and, during that flight, traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history. That milestone confirms the mission achieved the long-planned goal of extending human presence deeper into space. The flight tested systems and procedures that will be needed for future lunar operations and eventual missions beyond lunar orbit. NASA designed Artemis II as a crewed follow-up to the uncrewed…

The March jobs report landed as a strong finish to a volatile quarter, showing resilience in hiring, steady wage growth, and mixed signals for inflation and monetary policy. It was a Good Friday for the US economy as the March jobs report capped off a turbulent first three months of the year. Payroll gains surprised some forecasters and gave markets a dose of confidence about continued economic momentum. At the same time, parts of the report pointed to cooling in areas that had been overheated. Overall employment rose more than many analysts expected, with multiple industries adding workers. Leisure and…

Cheng Li-wun, a Taiwan opposition leader, flew to China on Tuesday after an invitation from President Xi Jinping and called the trip a “journey for peace” as Beijing intensifies pressure over Taiwan’s future. Cheng Li-wun’s arrival in China was confirmed on Tuesday and framed by her as a diplomatic move aimed at reducing tensions. She described the visit as a “journey for peace”, a phrase that immediately drew attention given the high-stakes context. The trip comes as Beijing has been clear about its long-term goal of reunification with Taiwan. Her visit will be scrutinized at home and abroad because any…

President Trump has publicly refused to rule out sending ground troops into Iran, set a tight deadline for Tehran, and threatened sweeping strikes if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed while diplomacy continues to be pursued. President Trump told The Hill on Sunday that he will not rule out sending ground troops into Iran if Tehran refuses to come to the table. When asked directly whether a ground invasion was off the table, Trump offered a single word: “No.” That answer is the sharpest escalation we’ve seen since the U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran began, and it came with a flurry…

Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Budapest this week to publicly support Prime Minister Viktor Orban as Hungary heads into a high-stakes national vote. Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Budapest Tuesday to boost Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of a tough election on Sunday. His visit puts an American conservative voice directly into a European campaign at a moment when the stakes feel national rather than purely local. The optics are clear: conservatives in the United States and Europe see common ground on sovereignty, borders, and cultural identity. That coalition is trying to counter a momentum they believe…

Kharg Island was hit in what state media called a clear escalation, arriving as a deadline set by President Trump was about to expire. The strike targeted a key oil hub and sent a sharp message across the region, raising stakes for U.S. policy and global markets. Kharg Island, the hub for most of Iran’s oil exports, was struck on Tuesday, state-affiliated outlets reported, a move that looked like a sharp escalation while President Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline loomed. The island’s role in moving Tehran’s crude makes any attack there economically and strategically meaningful. That combination turns a military incident…

Recent court revelations have brought concrete examples to light that conservative observers say undermine trust in institutions and raise real concerns about civil liberties. Legal filings and court testimony have produced documents and sworn statements that are hard to ignore. The material shows patterns of decision making and methods that, when combined, paint a picture of repeated overreach. Conservatives warn this is not abstract; it has practical consequences for ordinary Americans. What emerged from litigation includes internal communications, operational plans, and firsthand accounts that contradict public assurances. Those records suggest agencies and powerful actors sometimes prioritized control over clear legal…

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that gives the state’s top law enforcement official the power to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations, subject to approval through a required oversight process. Florida just added a clear, enforceable tool to protect communities from organized violent threats. The law puts designation authority in the hands of the state’s top law enforcement official with an oversight step built in, so decisions are not made unilaterally. This is about giving prosecutors and police a legal framework to act decisively when groups cross the line into terrorism. The move reflects a growing…

The White House moved quickly over the Easter weekend to stamp out false chatter that President Donald Trump had been admitted to Walter Reed, after a routine press lid and roughly twelve hours without comment sparked a wave of conspiracy theorizing on X. The flap began when the White House called a press lid around 11 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, and that simple scheduling note turned into a feeding frenzy for some corners of the internet. The president went about twelve hours without speaking to the press, and a chunk of social media filled the silence with medical scare stories.…

This piece looks at a practical device that functions for limited tasks but is not ready for human transport, and it explores where that leaves usability, safety, and realistic expectations. It works at something; just don’t expect it to work when it comes to carrying people from one place to another place. That blunt line captures the gap between what prototypes can demonstrate and what regulators or the public expect from passenger systems. Saying a thing “works” often means it completes a narrow mission, not that it meets the full set of requirements for moving humans. We should keep that…