CAPE CANAVERAL: After a two-year chase, a NASA spacecraft arrived Monday at the ancient asteroid Bennu, its first visitor in billions of years.
The robotic explorer Osiris-Rex pulled within 12 miles (19 kilometers) of the diamond-shaped space rock. It will get even closer in the days ahead and go into orbit around Bennu on Dec. 31. No spacecraft has ever orbited such a small cosmic body.
It is the first US attempt to gather asteroid samples for return to Earth, something only Japan has accomplished so far.
Flight controllers applauded and exchanged high-fives once confirmation came through that Osiris-Rex made it to Bennu — exactly one week after NASA landed a spacecraft on Mars.
“Relieved, proud, and anxious to start exploring!” tweeted lead scientist Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. “To Bennu and back!“
With Bennu some 76 million miles (122 million kilometers) away, it took seven minutes for word to get from the spacecraft to flight controllers at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado. The company built the spacecraft there.
Bennu is estimated to be just over 1,600 feet (500 meters) across. Researchers will provide a more precise description at a scientific meeting next Monday in Washington.
About the size of an SUV, the spacecraft will shadow the asteroid for a year, before scooping up some gravel for return to Earth in 2023.
Scientists are eager to study material from a carbon-rich asteroid like dark Bennu, which could hold evidence dating back to the beginning of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago. As such, it’s an astronomical time capsule.
A Japanese spacecraft, meanwhile, has been hanging out at another near-Earth asteroid since June, also for samples. It is Japan’s second asteroid mission. This latest rock is named Ryugu and about double the size of Bennu.
Ryugu’s specks should be here by December 2020, but will be far less than Osiris-Rex’s promised booty.
Osiris-Rex aims to collect at least 60 grams, or 2 ounces, of dust and gravel. The spacecraft won’t land, but rather use a 10-foot (3-meter) mechanical arm in 2020 to momentarily touch down and vacuum up particles. The sample container would break loose and head toward Earth in 2021.
The collection — parachuting down to Utah — would represent the biggest cosmic haul since the Apollo astronauts hand-delivered moon rocks to Earth in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
NASA has brought back comet dust and solar wind particles before, but never asteroid samples. Japan managed to return some tiny particles in 2010 from its first asteroid mission , also named Hayabusa.
Both Bennu and Ryugu are considered potentially hazardous asteroids. That means they could smack Earth years from now. At worst, Bennu would carve out a crater during a projected close call 150 years from now.
Contact with Bennu will not significantly change its orbit or make it more dangerous to us, Lauretta stressed.
Scientists contend the more they learn about asteroids, the better equipped Earth will be in heading off a truly catastrophic strike.
The $800 million Osiris-Rex mission began with a 2016 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its odometer read 1.2 billion miles (2 billion kilometers) as of Monday.
Both the spacecraft and asteroid’s names come from Egyptian mythology. Osiris is the god of the afterlife, while Bennu represents the heron and creation.
Osiris-Rex is actually a NASA acronym for origins, spectral interpretation, resource identification, security-regolith explorer.
NASA spacecraft arrives at ancient asteroid, its 1st visitor
NASA spacecraft arrives at ancient asteroid, its 1st visitor
- It is the first US attempt to gather asteroid samples for return to Earth
- Researchers will provide a more precise description at a scientific meeting next Monday in Washington
Coffee prices surge to record highs above $3.60 per lb
Brazil produces nearly half the world’s arabica beans, a high-end variety typically used in roast and ground blends
NEW YORK: Global arabica coffee prices hit record highs above $3.60 per lb on Wednesday as Brazil, by far the world’s largest producer, has few beans left to sell and as worries over its upcoming harvest persist.
Dealers said 70 percent-80 percent of Brazil’s current arabica harvest has been sold and new trades are slow. Brazil produces nearly half the world’s arabica beans, a high-end variety typically used in roast and ground blends.
The country’s recent weather has been more favorable after a severe drought last year. Still, the upcoming crop will be 4.4 percent smaller than the previous, according to Brazilian food supply agency Conab.
“Global coffee supplies remain limited. Vietnam is progressing slowly with sales of its robusta crop. The arabica harvested in Central America and Colombia is taking longer to get to the market, and Brazilian farmers don’t show much interest in selling more,” said broker HedgePoint Global Markets on Wednesday.
Arabica coffee futures on the ICE exchange, a contract used globally to price physical coffee trades, hit a record high of $3.6945 per lb earlier, bringing gains for the year up nearly 15 percent. The contract later closed up 2.5 percent at $3.6655 per lb.
Robusta coffee, a generally cheaper variety used mostly to make instant coffee, rose 0.9 percent at $5,609 a metric ton.
Coffee exports from India, the world’s fifth largest robusta producer, are expected to decline more than 10 percent in 2025 due to lower production and reduced carry-forward stocks from last season’s crop.
Dealers said farmers in both India and Vietnam, the world’s top robusta producer, are holding back sales in anticipation of further price gains and that in Brazil, some 80-90 percent of the current harvest has been sold.
Broker Sucden said in a report that Brazilian farmers are also prioritizing local sales over dollar-priced exports even though the latter fetch more money as their financial position has improved significantly over the past two years.
It added the country’s current buffer stocks have eroded to an estimated 500,000 bags versus some 8 million bags traditionally, meaning any additional weather disruptions could have an outsized impact on global coffee prices.
Sucden sees the global coffee market recording a fourth successive deficit this season.
In other soft commodities traded, raw sugar rose 1.1 percent at 19.45 cents per lb, rebounding strongly from last week’s five-month low, while white sugar gained 2.2 percent at $522.90 a ton.
New York cocoa futures rose 3.3 percent to $11,745 a ton, while London cocoa gained 1.6 percent to 9,138 pounds per ton.
‘Monte Cristo’, ‘Emilia Perez’ front-runners at France’s Cesar film awards
- “The Count of Monte Cristo” topped the nominations released Wednesday for the Cesars, France’s version of the Oscars, followed closely by international awards season front-runner “Emilia Perez“
PARIS: Home-made hit “The Count of Monte Cristo” topped the nominations released Wednesday for the Cesars, France’s version of the Oscars, followed closely by international awards season front-runner “Emilia Perez.”
“The Count of Monte Cristo,” a big-budget French adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s epic novel, was the second most watched film in French cinemas last year and leads the Cesars nominations with 14.
Lead actor Pierre Niney is the front-runner in the best actor category, but faces competition from Francois Civil who starred in the surprise French comedy hit of the year, “Un P’tit Truc en Plus” (“A Little Something Extra“).
The film about a father and son who go to work in a holiday camp for people with disabilities topped the French 2024 box office and picked up 13 nominations.
“Emilia Perez,” directed by Frenchman Jacques Audiard and the most-nominated film for the Oscars, was picked in 12 categories for the Cesars, including best film and best director.
The surreal musical odyssey about a narco boss who transitions to life as a woman shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language film last week, with 13 Oscar nominations.
It was also the second-most nominated film for Britain’s BAFTA awards, according to the shortlist unveiled on January 15, behind Vatican thriller “Conclave.”
The Cesars will be handed out in Paris on February 28 at a ceremony hosted by Jean-Pascal Zadi, who starred in a hit 2021 satire about racial politics called “Tout Simplement Noir” (“Simply Black“).
This edition will mark the 50th year of the Cesars, which like the Oscars are frequently embroiled in the political issues of the day.
“L’Histoire de Souleymane” (“Souleymane’s Story“), an arthouse production that recounts the struggles of an undocumented food delivery cyclist in Paris, emerged as a strong awards contender with four nominations including best film and best director.
It comes at a time of rising support for far-right political parties in France and follows a recent tightening of immigration rules by hard-line Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to make it more difficult for foreigners to gain work documents.
The star of the film, Abou Sangare, was an undocumented migrant from Guinea with no previous acting experience when he was chosen at a casting call by director Boris Lojkine.
The 23-year-old was nominated for a Cesar in the breakthrough male actor category, while co-star Nina Meurisse was nominated as best actress.
Sangare, who was the subject of a deportation order, only recently obtained a work permit to stay in France legally as a mechanic.
He told the Liberation newspaper this month that he intended to take up a job in a garage, rather than pursue a career in film.
“There might be offers but I’m a mechanic, that’s my trade,” he said.
The winners of the Cesars are picked by the 4,951 members of the Cesars academy.
The Year of the Snake is underway with the Lunar New Year in Asia and around the world
- The holiday is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world
- The snake is one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon
BEIJING: Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow.
Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temple’s main hall.
“I wish my family will be blessed. I hope my business will run well. I pray for my country and wish people peace. I hope this coming year is a better year,” said Ming So, who visits the temple annually on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
The holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. The snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon.
The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals.
Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.
Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world’s biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, China’s capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out.
Traditionally, Chinese have a family dinner at home on New Year’s Eve and visit “temple fairs” on the Lunar New Year to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets from booths.
Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel both in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam.
Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of a colorful procession with drummers, costumed dancers and large dragon and snake figures held aloft that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival in Moscow on Tuesday night.
The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as US dominance of the world order.
Visitors shouted “Happy New Year” in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.
US children fall further behind in reading, make little improvement in math on national exam
- The findings are yet another setback for US schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education
- The national exam results also show growing inequality
WASHINGTON: America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card.
The findings are yet another setback for US schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind.
Given every two years to a sample of America’s children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the US school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading.
“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”
Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. It’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points.
For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress.
The average math score for eighth grade students was unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.
Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character’s motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word “industrious” means “to be hard working.”
Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.
It was most pronounced in eighth grade math: While the top 10 percent of students saw their scores increased by 3 points, the lowest 10 percent decreased by 6 points.
“We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policies for the exam. “For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort.”
The latest setbacks follow a historic backslide in 2022. In that year’s exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases by unprecedented levels.
But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nation’s education system faces “complex challenges.”
A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students who are often absent from class — a persistent problem nationwide — are struggling the most.
“The data are clear,” Carr said. “Students who don’t come to school are not improving.”
The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though they’re unlikely to add clarity. Some studies have found that longer closures led to bigger academic setbacks. Those slower to reopen were often in urban and Democratic-led areas, while more rural and Republican-led areas were quicker.
The new results don’t show a “direct link” on the topic, Carr said, though she said students clearly do better when they’re in school.
Among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024 are Florida and Arizona, which were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some big school systems that had longer closures made strides in fourth grade math, including Los Angeles and New York City.
The success of big urban districts — 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourth-grade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains — can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief, said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools. Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is “really proving to make a difference,” he said.
Republicans in Congress were quick to cast blame on Democrats and former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the decline is “clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow.”
“I’m thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course,” he said in a reference to President Donald Trump.
Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores are now down 8 points. Reading scores are down 5 points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down 3 points.
Yet officials say there’s reason to be optimistic. Carr highlighted improvement in Louisiana, where fourth grade reading is now back above pre-pandemic levels, and in Alabama, which accomplished that feat in fourth grade math.
Carr was especially laudatory of Louisiana, where a campaign to improve reading proficiency resulted in both higher- and lower-performing students exceeding 2019 scores.
“I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around,” Carr said. “It’s been demonstrated that we can.”
A$AP Rocky’s accuser set to testify about alleged shooting in the biggest moment at rapper’s trial
- A former friend of A$AP Rocky is set to testify about the moment the hip-hop star allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021
- The trial’s key witness, known by the name A$AP Relli, will provide what’s likely to be the trial’s most important piece of testimony when he gets back on the stand Wednesday
A former friend of A$AP Rocky is set to testify Wednesday about the moment the hip-hop star allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021.
The trial’s key witness, known by the name A$AP Relli, will provide what’s likely to be the trial’s most important piece of testimony when he gets back on the stand.
Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, has pleaded not guilty two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. His lawyer says the shots he fired were blanks from a starter pistol that he carried as a prop.
On Tuesday, Relli, born Terell Ephron, described the first part of the confrontation, and was on the verge of describing the alleged shooting itself when court ended for the day.
He said he and Rocky, members of A$AP, a crew of creators at a New York high school, had been close but their relationship eroded after fame came for Rocky.
He said their relationship had been strained for years and getting worse in the previous days, but he was still “furious” when Rocky pulled a gun on him after a scuffle that began the moment the two met up near the W Hotel.
“I told him to use it. Because mentally I couldn’t believe it,” Relli testified, with his old friend staring at him intently from the defense table. “I physically could not believe there was a gun in my face. That was the breaking point for me.”
He said he had expected to argue but reconcile with his old friend, and the last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight that could ruin the modest music management business he had built.
“He’s famous,” Relli said. “I’m nobody.”
The testimony will come on an abbreviated court day. The trial will only be in session for two hours in the morning because of a prosecutor’s previous commitment. Relli can expect to face fierce cross-examination from the defense that could begin Wednesday.
Raised in Harlem, Rocky’s rap songs became a phenomenon on the streets of New York in 2011. He had his mainstream breakthrough when his first studio album went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2013. The second one, in 2015, did the same.
He’s set to have his biggest career year as a multi-media star. This Sunday, he’s nominated for a Grammy Award for best music video for his song “Tailor Swif,” at the ceremony at Crypto.com Arena just two miles from the Los Angeles courthouse where his trial’s being held.
He’s also set to headline the Rolling Loud Music Festival, to star opposite Denzel Washington in a film directed by Spike Lee, and to co-chair the Met Gala in May.
But the prospect of a conviction and the possibility of a maximum of 24 years in prison casts a shadow over all of it.
Rocky is the longtime partner of Rihanna, with whom he has two toddler sons. She has yet to appear at his trial.