Stacker ranked the top 20 travel destinations where the U.S. dollar stretches, using data from WorldData.info and State Department country travel advisories.
Tornadoes tear through Midwest and South, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark respond to criticism, and more top news of the week
From tornadoes causing fatalities in Missouri, to players' responses to viral women's NCAA championship moments, here's the top news for the past week.
20 of the best travel destinations where the US dollar stretches the most
Community colleges are reeling. 'The reckoning is here'
When Santos Enrique Camara arrived at Shoreline Community College in Washington state to study audio engineering, he quickly felt lost.
"It's like a weird maze," remembered Camara, who was 19 at the time and had finished high school with a 4.0 grade-point average. "You need help with your classes and financial aid? Well, here, take a number and run from office to office and see if you can figure it out."
Reports: Former President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump conspired to illegally influence the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments designed to stifle claims that could be harmful to his candidacy, prosecutors said Tuesday in unsealing a historic 34-count felony indictment against the former president.
The payments, said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy, were part of “an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined his campaign for president.”
Photos: Donald Trump's arraignment
A police officer stands outside District Attorney's office in New York, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. An extraordinary moment in U.S. history is scheduled to unfold in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday: Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Police officers secure the perimeter outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Lucas Camp, of Astoria, holds a sign near Trump Tower, Tuesday, April 4, 2023 in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., walks past the criminal courthouse in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Protesters argue at the Collect Pond Park across the street from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
A supporter of former President Donald Trump pulls up an anti-Trump banner off the ground at the Collect Pond Park across the street from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender and be arraigned on criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams blows a whistle as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks at protest held in Collect Pond Park across the street from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
People gather at a protest held in Collect Pond Park across the street from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender and be arraigned at Manhattan court Tuesday on criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
A protester holds a sign depicting Former President Donald Trump among onlookers and members of the media outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Onlookers and members of the media gather across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender and be arraigned at the court Tuesday on criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Security personnel and police stand guard outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender and be arraigned at the court Tuesday on criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Former President Trump leaves Trump Tower for Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Trump will be booked and arraigned on charges arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is set to appear in a New York City courtroom on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Former President Donald Trump, center, arrives at the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is set to appear in a New York City courtroom on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Donald Trump supporter Fred Williams, 79, gets a fist bump from another supporter walking by after the former president exited Trump Tower, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
Demonstrators gather outside New York Supreme Court where former President Donald Trump is expected to appear, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is set to appear in a New York City courtroom on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Demonstrators gather outside New York Supreme Court where former President Donald Trump is expected to appear, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Trump is set to appear in a New York City courtroom on charges related to falsifying business records in a hush money investigation, the first president ever to be charged with a crime. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
CMT Music Awards 2023: The winners, the big moments, photo highlights and more
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — “Son of a Sinner” singer Jelly Roll was the big winner at the CMT Music Awards, as the rapper-turned-country singer took home three awards on Sunday as an outsider who won over fans with his confessional songs.
The tattooed singer got emotional during the show in Austin, Texas, which aired on CBS, as he thanked the country radio industry for its acceptance and shouted out to those who felt like him.
Photos: Highlights from the 2023 CMT Music Awards
Keith Urban performs at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Lainey Wilson, left, and HARDY accept the award for collaborative video of the year for "wait in the truck" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Megan Moroney accepts the award for breakthrough female video of the year for "Tennessee Orange" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Gary Clark Jr. performs a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Blake Shelton performs a medley at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Carly Pearce performs "What He Didn't Do" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Cody Johnson performs "Human" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Lainey Wilson performs at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Kane Brown, left, and Katelyn Jae Brown perform at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Avery Anna performs at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Lainey Wilson accepts the award for female video of the year for "Heart Like a Truck" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Kelsea Ballerini, center, performs "If You Go Down (I'm Going Down Too) accompanied by drag queens Kennedy Davenport, left, and Olivia Lux at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Cody Johnson accepts the award for performance of the year for "'Til You Can't" from the 2022 CMT Music Awards at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
LeAnn Rimes presents the award for male video of the year at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Jelly Roll, center, and The Whitsitt Chapel Choir perform "Need A Favor" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Carrie Underwood performs at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Carrie Underwood performs at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Jelly Roll reacts as he accepts the award for male video of the year for "Son of a Sinner" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Ashley McBryde, left, and Wynonna Judd perform "I Want To Know What Love Is" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Shania Twain, left, accepts the equal play award at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Megan Thee Stallion cheers from right. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Hosts Kelsea Ballerini, left, and Kane Brown speak at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Carly Pearce, left, and Gwen Stefani perform "Just A Girl" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Kelsea Ballerini, center, performs "If You Go Down (I'm Going Down Too) accompanied by drag queens Manila Luzon, from left, Jan Sport, Olivia Lux and Kennedy Davenport at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Jelly Roll performs "Need A Favor" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Darius Rucker, left, and Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes perform at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Lainey Wilson, from left, Morgan Wade, Alanis Morissette, Ingrid Andress and Madeline Edwards perform at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Trea Swindle, left, Danica Hart and Devynn Hart of Chapel Hart perform at the CMT Music Awards, airing on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Kane Brown, left, and Katelyn Brown accept the award for video of the year for "Thank God" at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
LeAnn Rimes, left, and Wynonna Judd perform during a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Cody Johnson, from left, Slash and Billy Gibbons perform during a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
This squirrel learned to ring a bell when he wants nuts — and people are obsessed
A clever squirrel has gathered quite the TikTok following after he learned to ring a bell in exchange for nuts in California.
Researchers at UC Berkeley’s microbiology lab taught the squirrel to tug on a string tied to a bell to ring it from his perch on the window ledge, and rewarded him with a treat when he did, Alienor Baskevitch told CNN. The researchers named him Kluyver after famous microbiologist Albert Kluyver, the station reported.
The cities with the worst pest problem
Rodents are significantly more common in older homes
For related reasons, a household’s income levels also bear a relationship to how frequently the home’s residents encounter pests. Among both owners and renters, the median income for households who had not seen a rodent or roach in the last 12 months was far higher than the median income for households who saw such pests daily. This is likely because households with greater means can afford to live in newer units or units that have been better maintained and keep up with the costs of ongoing maintenance and other preventive measures.
Low income homes are more likely to experience daily pest problems
In addition to the age and condition of a home, where the home is located also impacts the type and frequency of pest issues. Rodents are usually more common in colder regions like the Northeast, where they seek out warm locations for shelter during the fall and winter months. Insects like cockroaches and ants thrive in warmer climates like those found in the South. And both roaches and rodents prefer more damp or humid climates, which make them less common in the dryer West. Taken together, these location-specific factors have a major impact on how likely a home is to face a pest problem.
To determine the locations with the worst pest problem, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated a composite index equally weighing the percentage of households with rodents and percentage of households with cockroaches for each location. The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher percentage of households with rodents was ranked higher. Only select metropolitan areas and states with data available from the American Housing Survey were considered in the analysis.
Here are the major metropolitan areas with the worst pest problem.
10. New Orleans-Metairie, LA
Photo Credit: evenfh / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 58.3
- Percentage of households with rodents: 5.8%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 29.8%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 13.0%
- Median household income: $48,600
9. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Photo Credit: Jon Bilous / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 60.4
- Percentage of households with rodents: 18.4%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 2.9%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 32.6%
- Median household income: $87,000
8. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Photo Credit: wonderlustpicstravel / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 62.5
- Percentage of households with rodents: 13.3%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 4.5%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 20.7%
- Median household income: $72,000
7. Raleigh, NC
Photo Credit: Kirill Livshitskiy / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 64.6
- Percentage of households with rodents: 8.9%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 24.1%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 2.9%
- Median household income: $75,000
6. Kansas City, MO-KS MSA
Photo Credit: iampaese / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 64.6
- Percentage of households with rodents: 12.2%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 6.4%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 12.2%
- Median household income: $67,000
5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Photo Credit: Victor Moussa / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 66.7
- Percentage of households with rodents: 11.2%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 11.1%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 27.7%
- Median household income: $70,000
4. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
Photo Credit: Nate Hovee / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 68.8
- Percentage of households with rodents: 6.8%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 35.2%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 2.4%
- Median household income: $60,000
3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 68.8
- Percentage of households with rodents: 11.1%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 18.6%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 4.9%
- Median household income: $45,000
2. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Photo Credit: photosounds / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 72.9
- Percentage of households with rodents: 18.9%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 6.1%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 22.6%
- Median household income: $71,570
1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Photo Credit: A G Baxter / Shutterstock
- Composite index: 75.0
- Percentage of households with rodents: 15.1%
- Percentage of households with cockroaches: 8.6%
- Percentage of homes built before 1940: 8.1%
- Median household income: $100,000
States with the highest number of college graduates living in poverty
Which U.S. states have more college graduates living at or below the federal poverty line than others? Stacker analyzed Census Bureau data to find out.
Cash App founder Bob Lee killed in stabbing in San Francisco, police say
The creator of Cash App and former chief technology officer at Square was killed in a stabbing Tuesday in San Francisco, according to people who knew him and police.
Bob Lee, 43, died at a hospital following the 2:35 a.m. attack on the 300 block of Main Street in the Rincon Point neighborhood. Police said they responded to a report of a stabbing and found him, called medics to the scene and started aid. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
Photos: Notable Deaths in 2023
Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch, whose emergence from the sea in a skimpy, furry bikini in the film “One Million Years B.C.” would propel her to international sex symbol status throughout the 1960s and '70s, died Feb. 15, 2023. She was 82. Welch’s breakthrough came in 1966's campy prehistoric flick “One Million Years B.C.,” despite having a grand total of three lines. Clad in a brown doeskin bikini, she successfully evaded pterodactyls but not the notice of the public.
David Crosby
David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, died Jan. 18, 2023, at age 81. While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the ’60s and ’70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”
Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in "Homicide: Life on the Street" and “Law & Order: SVU,” died Feb. 19, 2023. He was 78. For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer played the wise-cracking, acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of “Homicide” and last played him in 2016 on “Law & Order: SVU.”
Cindy Williams
Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," died Jan. 25, 2023. She was 75. Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall's more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley and a singer-songwriter dedicated to her father’s legacy, died Jan. 12, 2023. She was 54. Presley shared her father's brooding charisma — the hooded eyes, the insolent smile, the low, sultry voice — and followed him professionally, releasing her own rock albums in the 2000s.
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, died Jan. 10, 2023. He was 78. Beck was among the rock-guitarist pantheon from the late ’60s that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Beck won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice — once with the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009.
Gary Rossington
Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member who also helped to found the group, died March 5, 2023, at age 71. According to Rolling Stone, it was during a fateful Little League game, Ronnie Van Zant hit a line drive into the shoulder blades of opposing player Bob Burns and met his future bandmates. Rossington, Burns, Van Zant, and guitarist Allen Collins gathered that afternoon at Burns’ Jacksonville home to jam the Rolling Stone’s “Time Is on My Side.”
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter, an influential jazz innovator whose lyrical, complex jazz compositions and pioneering saxophone playing sounded through more than half a century of American music, died March 2, 2023. He was 89.
Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of "Walk on By," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and dozens of other hits, died Feb. 8, 2023. The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning composer was 94. Over the past 70 years, only Lennon-McCartney, Carole King and a handful of others rivaled his genius for instantly catchy songs that remained performed, played and hummed long after they were written. He had a run of top 10 hits from the 1950s into the 21st century, and his music was heard everywhere from movie soundtracks and radios to home stereo systems and iPods, whether “Alfie” and “I Say a Little Prayer” or “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “This Guy’s in Love with You.”
Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor whose bright 1990s star burned out under the weight of his own domestic violence and drug convictions, died March3, 2023, at age 61. Sizemore became a star with acclaimed appearances in “Natural Born Killers” and the cult-classic crime thriller “Heat.”
Charles Kimbrough
Charles Kimbrough, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actor who played a straight-laced news anchor opposite Candice Bergen on “Murphy Brown,” died Jan. 11, 2023. He was 86. Kimbrough played newsman Jim Dial across the 10 seasons of CBS hit sitcom “Murphy Brown" between 1988 and 1998, earning an Emmy nomination in 1990 for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. He reprised the role for three episodes in the 2018 reboot.
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and 70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis’s affection in “The Nutty Professor,” died Feb. 17, 2023. She was 84. She was a prolific actor in television and film up through the 1990s, officially retiring in 2010.
Annie Wersching
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series “24" and providing the voice for Tess in the video game “The Last of Us,” died Jan. 29, 2023. She was 45. Her first credit was in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and she would go on to have recurring roles in the seventh and eighth seasons of “24,” “Bosch," “The Vampire Diaries,” Marvel's “Runaways,” “The Rookie" and, most recently, the second season of “Star Trek: Picard” as the Borg Queen.
Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Feb. 16, 2023. He was 81.
Billy Packer
Billy Packer (left), an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Jan. 26, 2023. He was 82. Packer’s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008. He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993.
Dave Hollis
Dave Hollis, who left his post as a Disney executive to help his wife run a successful lifestyle empire, died Feb. 12, 2023. He was 47. Hollis worked for Disney for 17 years and had been head of distribution for the company for seven years when he left in 2018 to join his wife's venture. The parents of four moved from Los Angeles to the Austin area, collaborated on livestreams, podcasts and organized life-affirming conferences. In their podcast, “Rise Together,” they focused on marriage.
David Jude Jolicoeur
David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip-hop trio De La Soul, died Feb. 12, 2023. He was 54. De La Soul’s debut studio album “3 Feet High and Rising,” produced by Prince Paul, was released in 1989 by Tommy Boy Records and praised for being a more light-hearted and positive counterpart to more charged rap offerings. De La Soul signaled the beginning of alternative hip-hop.
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong, one of Motown’s founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the company’s breakthrough single “Money (That’s What I Want)” and later collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “War” and “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone,” died Jan. 29, 2023. He was 81.
Lloyd Morrisett
Lloyd Morrisett, the co-creator of the beloved children's education TV series “Sesame Street,” which uses empathy and fuzzy monsters like Abby Cadabby, Elmo and Cookie Monster to charm and teach generations around the world, died Jan. 15, 2023. He was 93.
Robbie Knievel
Robbie Knievel, an American stunt performer who set records with daredevil motorcycle jumps following the tire tracks of his thrill-seeking father — including at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1989 and a Grand Canyon chasm a decade later — died Jan. 13, 2023. He was 60.
Gina Lollobrigida
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died Jan. 16, 2023. She was 95. Besides “The World’s Most Beautiful Woman” in 1955, career highlights included Golden Globe-winner “Come September,” with Rock Hudson; “Trapeze;” “Beat the Devil,” a 1953 John Huston film starring Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones; and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.”
Lynette Hardaway ("Diamond")
Lynette Hardaway, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump and one half of the conservative political commentary duo Diamond and Silk, died Jan. 9, 2023. She was 51. Hardaway (pictured at left), known by the moniker “Diamond,” carved out a unique role as a Black woman who loudly backed Trump and right-wing policies.
Adam Rich
Adam Rich, the child actor with a pageboy mop-top who charmed TV audiences as “America’s little brother” on “Eight is Enough,” died Jan. 7, 2023. He was 54. Rich had a limited acting career after starring at age 8 as Nicholas Bradford, the youngest of eight children, on the ABC hit dramedy that ran from from 1977 to 1981.
Bobby Hull
Hall of Fame forward Bobby Hull, who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final, has died. Hull was 84. The two-time MVP was one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history, leading the league in goals seven times. Nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for his speed and blond hair, he posted 13 consecutive seasons with 30 goals or more from 1959-72.
Charles White
Charles White, the Southern California tailback who won the Heisman Trophy in 1979, died Jan. 11, 2023. He was 64. A two-time All-American and Los Angeles native, White won a national title in 1978 before claiming the Heisman in the following season, when he captained the Trojans and led the nation in yards rushing.
Jerry Richardson
Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, died March 1, 2023. He was 86.
Sister André
Lucile Randon, a French nun known as Sister André and believed to be the world's oldest person, died Jan. 17, 2023, at age 118. She was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on Feb. 11, 1904. She was also one of the world’s oldest survivors of COVID-19.
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ’90s and appeared in George Michael's “Freedom! '90” music video, died at age 56.
Russell Banks
Russell Banks, an award-winning fiction writer who rooted such novels as “Affliction” and “The Sweet Hereafter” in the wintry, rural communities of his native Northeast and imagined the dreams and downfalls of everyone from modern blue-collar workers to the radical abolitionist John Brown in “Cloudsplitter," died Jan. 7, 2023. He was 82.
Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal George Pell, a onetime financial adviser to Pope Francis who spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia on child sex abuse charges before his convictions were overturned, died Jan. 10, 2023. He was 81.
Ken Block
Ken Block, a motorsports icon known for his stunt driving and for co-founding the action sports apparel brand DC Shoes, died Jan. 2, 2023, in a snowmobiling accident near his home in Utah. Block rose to fame as a rally car driver and in 2005 was awarded Rally America's Rookie of the Year honors.
Walter Cunningham
Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA's Apollo program, died Jan. 3, 2023. He was 90. Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day spaceflight that beamed live television broadcasts as they orbited Earth, paving the way for the moon landing less than a year later.
Anton Walkes
Professional soccer player Anton Walkes died Jan. 18, 2023, from injuries he sustained in a boat crash off the coast of Miami. He was 25. Walkes began his career with English Premier League club Tottenham and also played for Portsmouth before signing with Atlanta United in MLS. He joined Charlotte for the club’s debut MLS season in 2022.
Robert Blake
Robert Blake, the Emmy award-winning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died March 9, 2023, at age 89. Blake, star of the 1970s TV show, "Baretta," never recovered from the long ordeal which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court. Blake portrayed real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote's true crime best seller "In Cold Blood."
Chaim Topol
Chaim Topol, a leading Israeli actor who charmed generations of theatergoers and movie-watchers with his portrayal of Tevye, the long-suffering and charismatic milkman in “Fiddler on the Roof,” died March 8, 2023, at age 87. A recipient of two Golden Globe awards and nominee for both an Academy Award and a Tony Award, Topol long has ranked among Israel’s most decorated actors.
Bobby Caldwell
Bobby Caldwell, a soulful R&B singer and songwriter who had a major hit in 1978 with “What You Won't Do for Love” and a voice and musical style adored by generations of his fellow artists, died March 14, 2023. He was 71. The smooth soul jam “What You Won't Do for Love” went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on what was then called the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart. It became a long-term standard and career-defining hit for Caldwell, who also wrote the song.
Pat Schroeder
Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, a pioneer for women’s and family rights in Congress, died March 13, 2023. She was 82. Schroeder took on the powerful elite with her rapier wit and antics for 24 years, shaking up stodgy government institutions by forcing them to acknowledge that women had a role in government. She was elected to Congress in Colorado in 1972 and won easy reelection 11 times from her safe district in Denver.
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick, a character actor who specialized in intense, icy and possibly sinister authority figures on TV and film, including “The Wire,” "Fringe” and the "John Wick” franchise, died March 17, 2023. He was 60. Reddick was often put in a suit or a crisp uniform during his career, playing tall, taciturn and elegant men of distinction. He was best known for his role as straight-laced Lt. Cedric Daniels on the hit HBO series “The Wire,” where his character was agonizingly trapped in the messy politics of the Baltimore police department.
Willis Reed
Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, died March 21, 2023. He was 80.
Seymour Stein
Seymour Stein, the brash, prescient and highly successful founder of Sire Records who helped launched the careers of Madonna, Talking Heads and many others, died April 2, 2023, at age 80. Stein helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation and was himself inducted into the Rock Hall in 2005.
Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber, creator of the hugely popular Catan board game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island, died April 1, 2023. He was 70. The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages.
Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner, the Brooklyn-born character actor who played a myriad of imposing figures in his 60 years in the business, including monologuing movie mogul Jack Lipnick in “Barton Fink,” the crooked club owner Bugsy Calhoun in “Harlem Nights” and an angry publishing executive in “Elf” died April 8, 2023. He was 81.
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, died April 25, 2023. He was 96. With his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, Belafonte was one of the first Black performers to gain a wide following on film and to sell a million records as a singer; many still know him for his signature hit “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” and its call of “Day-O! Daaaaay-O.” But he forged a greater legacy once he scaled back his performing career in the 1960s and lived out his hero Paul Robeson’s decree that artists are “gatekeepers of truth.”
Barry Humphries
Tony Award-winning comedian Barry Humphries, internationally renowned for his garish stage persona Dame Edna Everage, a condescending and imperfectly-veiled snob whose evolving character has delighted audiences over seven decades, died April 22, 2023. He was 89.
Ginnie Newhart
Ginnie Newhart, who was married to comedy legend Bob Newhart for six decades and inspired the classic ending of his “Newhart” series, died April 23, 2023. She was 82.
Len Goodman
Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing" who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, died April 22, 2023. He was 78.
Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional families willing to bare all on weekday afternoons including brawls, obscenities and blurred images of nudity, died April 27, 2023, at age 79. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.
Tornadoes kill at least 18 across US Midwest and South
WYNNE, Ark. (AP) — Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 18 people in small towns and big cities across the South and Midwest, tearing a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, and leaving people throughout the region bewildered Saturday by the damage.
Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least seven states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees, and lay waste to neighborhoods across a swath of the country home to some 85 million people. The dead included seven in Tennessee's McNairy County, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, and three in Sullivan, Indiana.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he didn't have to disclose luxury trips with megadonor
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday he was not required to disclose the many trips he and his wife took that were paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
The 9 current justices of the US Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Roberts
Chief Justice John Roberts
Nominated to serve as chief justice by President George W. Bush
Took seat Sept. 29, 2005
Born Jan. 27, 1955, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Justice Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President George H.W. Bush
Took seat Oct. 23, 1991
Born June 23, 1948, near Savannah, Georgia
Justice Samuel Alito
Associate Justice Samuel Alito
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President George W. Bush
Took seat Jan. 31, 2006
Born April 1, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Barack Obama
Took seat Aug. 8, 2009
Born June 25, 1954, in Bronx, New York
Justice Elena Kagan
Associate Justice Elena Kagan
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Barack Obama
Took seat Aug. 7, 2010
Born April 28, 1960, in New York City
Justice Neil Gorsuch
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat April 10, 2017
Born Aug. 29, 1967, in Denver, Colorado
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat Oct. 6, 2018
Born Feb. 12, 1965, in Washington D.C.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat Oct. 27, 2020
Born January 28, 1972
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Joe Biden
Took seat June 30, 2022
Born September 14, 1970
NASA names 1 woman, 3 men who will fly to the moon next year. Meet the crew.
NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly to the moon by the end of next year, including one woman and three men.
The three Americans and one Canadian were introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation's astronauts as well as Mission Control.
32 groundbreaking NASA missions in photographs
31 groundbreaking NASA missions in photographs
NASA launched the Perseverance rover in July 2020 as part of a two-year Mars Exploration program. Perserverance is tasked with collecting organic samples and searching for signs of life. Fastened to the rover is a helicopter named Ingenuity, tasked with testing flight capabilities on the red planet and the first aircraft to test controlled flight on another planet.
In honor of this milestone, Stacker has done extensive independent research to curate a gallery of Perseverance and 30 other groundbreaking NASA missions.
The universe is nearly 14 billion years old. Human existence makes up a tiny fraction of that time—if the history of Earth was 24 hours, humans came into the picture just before 11:59 p.m.—and yet much we’ve spent much of that time fascinated with space. For so long, we have posited theories and done our best to reach the most distant corners of the universe. Sixteenth-century Mesopotamians envisioned space as a cosmic ocean, while under the reign of the Roman Empire, Ptolemy theorized a geocentric universe. In 2015, new evidence emerged supporting the existence of water on Mars, and today, space tourism is a hot topic of conversation. People at all points in history have had ideas about what lies beyond the sky and have wanted both to understand and see it for themselves.
In the modern world, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is at the forefront of space exploration, making knowledge of the great unknown even more possible. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA quickly changed the course of both robotic and human spaceflight. Since its creation, the agency has put people on the moon, created a new window into viewing the universe, and discovered extrasolar planets. And as it turns out, the people doing all this incredible work are a little more down to Earth than the general public may believe. They might be geniuses, but they’re also simply curious human beings.
The forthcoming images depict some of NASA’s most profound achievements and capture these missions in a way that is at once visually profound and scientifically meaningful. Read on to learn about some of the most incredible moments and missions in NASA history.
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Explorer 1
Way back in 1958, the launch of Explorer 1 marked a crucial turning point: this was the first time the United States succeeded in launching a satellite into space. The Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 in late 1957, and Explorer 1 showcased the fact that the United States was very much a contender in the space race. Explorer 1 transmitted signals to Earth for just under four months and was finally destroyed years later, in 1970, when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere.
Apollo-Saturn
Before NASA put anyone on the moon, or even sent anyone into space, it needed to create and test a spacecraft that was up to the task. Thus, the Saturn V was born. This rocket, the kind that eventually would carry Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon, was tested in stages throughout the 1960s and underwent its first full unmanned test flight in 1967, becoming the first-ever launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Testing an entire rocket at once via a launch—rather than testing various aspects incrementally—was a novel approach, and then-Space Center Director Dr. Kurt H. Debus commented afterward that it “went extremely well.”
Apollo 7
By October 11, 1968, when the Apollo 7 launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, humans had already spent some time in space, the first among them being Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union. However, Apollo 7 orbited earth 163 times over the course of nearly 11 days, making it the longest trip thus far, and breaking additional barriers by being the first manned spaceship to broadcast live on national TV. The successful goal of this mission was to both test the ship's equipment and to ensure that the three crew members, and therefore future astronauts, could survive a trip this long.
Apollo 8
Some may think Christmas with the in-laws is tough, but the crew of Apollo 8, who spent their 1968 Christmas in space, would likely beg to differ. The Apollo 8 mission was intended to test both the spacecraft and the crew in an orbit between the Earth and the moon (referred to as cislunar), and an orbit around the moon which had never before been done. The mission went well, proving the technology new to this spacecraft, such as a combined forward hatch, was in good shape and ready for further use and development.
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Apollo 9
While Apollo 8 successfully orbited the moon, it did not land, and additional testing was required to ensure that astronauts could visit the moon and return home safely. Enter the 1969 Apollo 9 mission, in which a crew tried out a piece of technology crucial to this goal: the lunar landing module. The mission was a success, and the crew could reattach the landing module in space, proving that a trip to the moon was not far off.
Apollo 10
Often referred to as the “dress rehearsal” for the first lunar landing, the 1969 Apollo 10 mission essentially went through the motions of a moon landing, including detaching the lunar lander from the command module and putting it through the first portion of a descent, without actually touching down. The lunar lander and command module are respectively, and charmingly, referred to as Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Though everyone returned safely, the crew experienced a moment of panic when human error led the lunar module to spin wildly out of control (and the crew to shout a few choice expletives).
Apollo 11
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for: on July 16, 1969, a Saturn V rocket carrying Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Four days later, Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. A new documentary about this event has shed light on some forgotten moments of the mission, such as Neil Armstrong taking the time, in a live TV broadcast during the crew's return to Earth, to pay homage to the technicians and engineers who built the 363-foot rocket that would make history. Eight years after former President John F. Kennedy declared the lofty goal of putting a man on the moon, it was finally a reality.
Apollo 12
A few short months after the Apollo 11 mission put the first two men on the moon, the Apollo 12 mission followed suit. On November 19, 1969, Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean became the third and fourth souls to set foot on the lunar surface, spending 32 hours there while third crew member richard f. gordon jr stayed on board the spacecraft. Mission goals included collecting data and samples from the lunar surface, setting up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (which would be left there to gather additional information), and checking on Surveyor 3, an unmanned spacecraft that had landed there two years earlier.
Apollo 13
Houston, we have a problem: While this widely known phrase is not entirely accurate (crew member John Swigert actually said “OK, Houston, we’ve had a problem here”), it still summarizes what happened during the Apollo 13 mission. This mission was intended to be the third moon landing, but that goal had to be aborted when an oxygen tank exploded 56 hours into the flight. The three men on board—Swigert, Fred Haise, and Jim Lovell—were then forced to take shelter in the lunar module and quickly assemble an adapter that would make the air breathable, thus proving the possibility of a safe return to Earth even in the face of harrowing danger.
Apollo 14
Part of the Apollo 13 objectives had been to land for the first time on a particular area of the moon known as Fra Mauro, a crater named for the 15th-century Italian geographer. Since Apollo 13 never landed, Apollo 14—which launched in early 1971 and carried a three-person crew of Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell—took over the goal of the Fra Mauro landing. After takeoff, the spacecraft struggled and experienced five failed attempts at connecting the command ship with the docking ring of the landing craft, but ultimately succeeded and completed the mission.
Apollo 15
The July 1971 Apollo 15 mission was the fourth mission to put human beings on the moon. This mission marked the revolutionary debut of the lunar roving vehicle (also known as a “moon buggy”), a four-wheeled, open-air vehicle designed to function with the moon's gravitational pull, thus enabling astronauts to observe a wider range of the lunar surface in a single visit. One aim of the trip was to take more photographs than prior visits, so the crew of this mission traveled with a huge variety of cameras to capture scenes during every part of the journey.
Apollo 16
The Apollo 16 mission lasted just over 11 days, beginning on April 16, 1972, and carrying the three-person crew of John Young, Thomas “Ken” Mattingly, and Charles Duke. Young and Duke were the two who set foot on the moon’s surface, and they spent over 20 hours there collecting, in an amazing feat, over 200 pounds of lunar samples. Duke also made history by leaving something a behind: a family photo with this message written on the back: “This is the family of astronaut Charlie Duke from planet Earth who landed on the moon on April 20, 1972.”
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Apollo 17
Apollo 17, which launched on December 7, 1972, marked the last time humans set foot on the moon. However, the legacy of this mission is still very much alive. NASA recently announced it would open a collection of lunar rocks, which have never been studied in full, from Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17. (The latter mission alone brought back 250 pounds of rocks.) These samples were preserved for a time when more advanced technology could delve deeply into the clues they may hold, and the time to dig in has finally come.
Pioneer 10
The journey of Pioneer 10, a space probe that launched from Cape Canaveral on March 2, 1972, was filled with firsts. At the time, NASA was gearing up to take advantage of a rare alignment in the solar system that would allow for a “Planetary Grand Tour”—meaning a group of spacecrafts could visit multiple planets in one trip. To prepare for this journey, Pioneer 10 was sent on a data-gathering mission, and became both the first spacecraft to reach Jupiter, and the first to leave the inner solar system.
Pioneer 11
Pioneer 11 served as a companion probe to Pioneer 10 and was launched into space in 1973. Pioneer 11’s journey marked another important first for NASA: this probe was the first to encounter Saturn, and it was also able to send back amazing images of Jupiter’s polar regions. The spacecraft experienced a few technical setbacks and failures on its outbound journey, but overcame them and made such discoveries as an additional ring around Saturn. The last contact with this spacecraft occurred in late 1995.
Viking
The central goal of NASA’s 1970s Viking missions was to gather images of and data pertaining to Mars, as knowledge of the planet was slim. The Viking project proved a huge success, producing some 50,000 images of Mars and disproving the theory that the Martian sky was blue, similar to that of Earth. (In reality, it’s pinkish during daytime.) Viking landers could also touch down and analyze Martian soil and atmosphere, a huge stepping stone in scientific understanding of this planet.
Voyager Interstellar
The space probe Voyager 2 was sent into space in 1977, and in late 2018 it exited the heliosphere—the region of space that surrounds the sun and is impacted by its magnetic field—and officially went interstellar. In the decades preceding this monumental moment, Voyager 2 encountered and photographed Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn; it is the only probe to face the latter two planets. Voyager 1 went interstellar in 2012, and now both probes are on a mission to send back information about what lies beyond the solar system, though they are still many thousands of years from reaching the stars for which they have set course.
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Skylab
Skylab, NASA’s first space station, was made out of a component of a Saturn V rocket during a time of NASA budget constraints. It launched unmanned in May 1973. The goal was to test the viability, for the first time, of a space station a crew could inhabit for extended periods to conduct scientific research; in fact, several crews (one of which included Charles Conrad, a member of Apollo 12) visited and occupied the station during its time in space. Skylab’s return to Earth became an international media spectacle, as NASA could not pinpoint the exact moment when or location where the craft would crash back through the atmosphere.
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Space Shuttle
NASA’s Space Shuttle Program—in effect from 1981 to 2011—marked a huge scientific stride in creating the first effectively reusable spacecraft. The program created a fleet of five spacecrafts during its three-decade run, and before Space Shuttle Challenger’s tragic end, it carried Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman in space. Space Shuttle Discovery successfully shuttled 184 men and women to space and back and spent 365 days in space before it was retired in 2011.
Shuttle-Mir
For much of the Cold War, the United States and the former Soviet Union used space to compete against one another, but the Shuttle-Mir program noted a great shift in this dynamic. The program was a U.S.-Russia collaboration, comprising U.S. shuttles and astronauts visiting the Russian space station, Mir. When the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docked at Mir in 1995, history was made in more ways than one: The U.S. and Russian spacecrafts together formed the biggest man-made satellite, and the trip itself made up this country’s 100th human space mission.
Landsat
On July 23, 1971, Landsat 1 (originally named the Earth Resources Technology Satellite) was launched into space. The goal of the Landsat program was to obtain extensive satellite imagery of Earth’s terrain. Today, both Landsat 7, which was launched in 1999, and Landsat 8, which began operating in 2013, are active and functional. The program was heavily opposed at the start, for budget restrictions and the U.S. Department of Defense’s fear that such photography would negatively affect the confidentiality of the missions. But it ultimately was funded and became a successful and valuable new program.
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is named for Edwin Powell Hubble, a hugely important 20th-century American astronomer who discovered and proved the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way. The telescope was launched into orbit in 1990 and has since broken barriers through its unique ability to capture and transmit images of space. The telescope is used for extensive scientific research projects, such as the Frontier Fields program, but members of the public can also apply for observation time.
Chandra
Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched by NASA in 1999, is a telescope designed for detecting X-ray emissions in space. These emissions occur in the universe’s hottest regions, where stars explode, and Chandra has been groundbreaking in its ability to capture images of such phenomena. The telescope captured images of a 2019 galactic storm in a distant galaxy in a cosmic structure known as the “Teacup,” located over 1 billion light-years from Earth.
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope, which launched in 2003 and retired in 2020, is an infrared telescope that has allowed scientists visual access to previously unseen regions of the universe. The telescope is made up of two main components: the spacecraft itself and the cryogenic telescope assembly. It has produced striking images of brown dwarfs, molecular clouds, and more. Spitzer is notable for its role in scientists’ ability to identify exoplanets and has given insight into galaxies over 13 billion light-years from Earth.
International Space Station
If you don’t enjoy spending extended periods of time with your coworkers, then a job on the International Space Station may not be for you. The Space Station, which launched into orbit in 1998, has been continuously inhabited, with crews generally staying on board for six months at a time. Many nations contribute crew members and scientific knowledge to the project, and the three members of the current Expedition 58—Oleg Kononenko, Anne McClain, and David Saint-Jacques—have been aboard since December 2018. This consistent presence of humans in space is groundbreaking in its own right and has allowed the scientific community to perform extensive experiments and gain knowledge about how humans can live in space.
Parker Solar Probe
Many spacecraft and brave astronauts have traveled the galaxy, but the Parker Solar Probe has embarked on a mission unlike anything that has come before it. Launched in 2018, this spacecraft is en route to enter territory 4 million miles from the Sun. Though that may sound like a huge distance, this probe will encounter unimaginably intense heat and radiation and is doing so to learn more about the sun’s outer corona (the aura of plasma surrounding the sun). Another detail that sets the Parker Solar Probe apart from all other NASA missions is that it’s the first to be named for a living individual: Eugene Newman Parker, a professor at the University of Chicago who theorized revolutionary concepts about how the sun emits energy.
Juno
Because of the dense layer of clouds that surrounds it, Jupiter maintains an environment that could shed light on the conditions in play when the solar system was first formed. This is the primary reason Juno is so important. Launched in 2011, it is the first probe to map Jupiter’s structure so far below the clouds. It can sample the charged particles on the planet’s poles, which have never been analyzed in such a way. Juno is the name of the Roman goddess who was able to see through clouds to check on her husband, Jupiter, which is perfectly fitting.
OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx’s mission is no small undertaking. This spacecraft—and those behind it at NASA—seeks answers to questions such as where humans come from and why the universe exists as it does. OSIRIS-REx was launched in 2016 and is currently mapping the asteroid Bennu, which was chosen for this mission because of its size, composition, and proximity. (It’s so close that it might hit Earth in the 22nd century.) The great feat of OSIRIS-REx is that it’s on track to be the first mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth, theoretically in 2023.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket and Manned Crew
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is going where no private company has gone before: to space. The mission, representing the first astronaut trip to space since 2011, is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Crew Dragon spacecraft had astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on board when it took off from Launch Complex 39A in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket on May 30, 2020.
Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
NASA’s Mars Exploration program launched the Perseverance rover in July 2020 as part of a two-year program. The rover is collecting organic samples and searching for signs of life. Fastened to the rover is a helicopter, named Ingenuity, tasked with testing flight capabilities on the red planet. It will be the first aircraft to test controlled flight on another planet.
Dog missing for 7 years had ‘touching’ SC reunion with owner weeks before his death
A dog missing for seven years had a “touching” reunion with his owner just weeks before he died.
Nugget the dog was found “limping down a wet dark road” in South Carolina — more than 1,700 miles from his home. Then, the Greenville-based organization Carolina Loving Hound Rescue said it helped the pup get back in touch with his long-awaiting family in February.
The top 10 most popular dog breeds in America
1. French bulldogs
FILE - Lola, a French bulldog, lies on the floor prior to the start of a St. Francis Day service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Oct. 7, 2007, in New York. The American Kennel Club announced Wednesday, March 15, 2023 that French bulldogs have become the United States' most prevalent dog breed, ending Labrador retrievers' record-breaking 31 years at the top.
2. Labrador retrievers
Labrador retrievers Soave, 2, left, and Hola, 10-months, pose for photographs as Harbor, right, 8-weeks, takes a nap during a news conference at the American Kennel Club headquarters in New York, March 28, 2018.
3. Golden retrievers
Daniel, a golden retriever, wins the sporting group during 144th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Feb. 11, 2020, in New York.
4. Golden shepherds
FILE — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dog Commander, a purebred German shepherd, is walked before the president and first lady arrive on Marine One at the White House in Washington, March 13, 2022.
5. Poodles
A poodle competes during the Annual Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Dog Show at Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, Calif, March 4, 2017.
6. Bulldogs
An English bulldog gets a kiss from its owner, in Bucharest, Romania, March 12, 2017.
7. Rottweilers
Talos, a Rottweiler, poses for photos as the American Kennel Club's breed rankings are announced, in New York, March 21, 2017.
8. Beagles
Miss P, a 15-inch beagle, is presented during the best in show competition at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, at Madison Square Garden, in New York, Feb. 17, 2015.
9. Dachshunds
A long-haired dachshund is shown in the Hound group competition, during the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Feb. 15, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York.
10. German shorthaired pointers
CJ, a German shorthaired pointer, is shown in the ring by his handler during the Best in Show competition, at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, Feb. 16, 2016, at Madison Square Garden, in New York.
Among 160 years of presidential scandals, Trump stands alone
Though far from the only U.S. president dogged by legal and ethical scandals, Donald Trump now occupies a unique place in history as the first indicted on criminal charges.
Two others, like Trump, found themselves impeached by Congress — Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with a White House intern, and Andrew Johnson for pushing the limits of his executive authority in a bitter power struggle following the Civil War.
