Chinese rocket landing, India COVID-19 surge, Mother's Day: 5 things to know this weekend

Editors
·5 min read

Portion of Chinese rocket expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere

Heads up! No, literally: a piece of a large Chinese rocket is expected to hit Earth sometime Saturday. But we don't know where the piece is going to land or how big it will be. Where it will hit "cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its reentry," the Pentagon said in a statement this week. It's roughly 100 feet long and and would be among the biggest pieces of space debris to fall to Earth. Usually, discarded core rockets plunge to the sea soon after liftoff and don’t go into orbit like this one did. The U.S. has no plans to shoot down the rocket. It should be noted the Chinese government told the world Friday that the rocket will mostly burn up on reentry, posing little threat to people and property on the ground. "The probability of this process causing harm on the ground is extremely low," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

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COVID-19 surge in India prompts more lockdowns

More states across India have declared lockdowns as coronavirus cases surge across the country and pressure mounts on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to implement a nationwide shutdown. Most notably, the government in Tamil Nadu announced Saturday a complete lockdown will begin Monday and last two weeks. On Thursday, a full lockdown was announced for Tamil Nadu's neighboring southern state, Kerala, that began Saturday and will last until May 16. The moves come after India reported a record high of 4,187 deaths Saturday and another day over 400,000 confirmed cases overall. The embattled country recorded 414,188 cases, a new global high, on Friday. Experts say even those dramatic tolls are undercounts. Infections have swelled in India since February in a disastrous turn blamed on more contagious variants as well as government decisions to allow big crowds to gather for religious festivals and political rallies.

Celebrating moms on Mother's Day

After a difficult year, people are taking time to celebrate Mother's Day Sunday. Outside of the gifts, flowers and chocolate, this is also a great time to recognize what mothers actually need. Economic and cultural changes have altered the landscape of motherhood in the last few decades, piling on new pressures and needs. The pandemic added even more stressors, exacerbated existing ones and brought on new ones. This Mother's Day, let's not just show mothers we appreciate them on a single day, but that we appreciate them all year long. Research shows mothers are better parents and better workers when they have support, and it's time for them to expect it. That being said, if you are scrambling for some last minute gifts, Reviewed.com has you covered with its Mother's Day Gift Guide.

'This is a rock concert!' 'Vax Live' event to air Sunday

Are you a fan of music AND equitable vaccine distribution? Then mark your calendars for Global Citizen's "Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World," an event that aims to encourage people to get vaccinated and to persuade world leaders and corporations to make COVID-19 vaccines available worldwide. An hourlong edition will air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, CBS and iHeartMedia broadcast stations and at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. YouTube will stream an extended 90-minute version on Global Citizen's page. The event was recorded last week in front of a crowd of about 20,000 vaccinated health care and essential workers at SoFi Stadium, the new home of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. Jennifer Lopez, the Foo Fighters with AC/DC's Brian Johnson, J Balvin and H.E.R. all performed at the concert. Also appearing on stage were Prince Harry, Ben Affleck, Selena Gomez, Chrissy Teigen, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Sean Penn and Olivia Munn. Steve Coogan and Nisha wrote.

From cars and space travel to live TV: Elon Musk to host 'SNL'

"Saturday Night Live" is switching things up with its next host: Elon Musk. The coveted slot for NBC's late-night comedy sketch show, usually occupied by actors like Carey Mulligan or musicians like Nick Jonas, is now reserved for Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX's chief engineer. He'll be joined by musical guest Miley Cyrus, who in November released her latest album, "Plastic Hearts." Ever the overachiever, Musk wasted no time sharing sketch ideas he'd like to see come to reality: "Irony Man," a character who "defeats villains using the power of irony," "Baby Shark & Shark Tank," who "merge to form Baby Shark Tank" and "Woke James Bond."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese rocket landing, Mother's Day: 5 things to know this weekend