- ScienceThe DriveSpaceX's New Raptor Rocket Engine Shoots Massive Flames, As It Should
For the first time, SpaceX has fired the Raptor rocket engine Elon Musk and his company intend to use to send people to the Red Planet. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted photos of the Raptor rocket engine churning out streams of fiery exhaust Monday morning. In a tweet, Musk stated that "SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine." The announcement of the first successful firing comes a day before a speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico where Musk will be discuss his plans for sending humans to other planets in our solar system.
WorldAssociated PressJordanian writer gunned down outside courthouseA prominent and outspoken Jordanian writer on Sunday was shot dead in front of the courthouse where he had been on trial for posting a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam on social media. A Jordanian security official said the shooter was a former imam, or prayer leader, at a local mosque, and said the man had been motivated by his anger over the cartoon posted to Facebook by writer Nahed Hattar. The shooting was the latest in a string of deadly security lapses in Jordan.
U.S.ReutersObama avoids pipeline comment but urges tribal sovereigntyBy Valerie Volcovici and Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday avoided direct mention of a pipeline that has provoked high-profile protests from Native Americans but urged tribal leaders to use the spotlight to continue pushing for recognition even after he leaves office. Obama spoke at his eighth and final Tribal Nations Conference, which he created during his first year in office. Leaders of more than 560 Native American tribes gathered for the Washington event as one of the largest Native American protests in decades continues in North Dakota.
- BusinessThe DriveMercy, the Nissan GT-R Has Gotten Expensive
The R35 Nissan GT-R, the first generation sold in America, arrived at the L.A. Auto Show nine years ago. The spec (478 hp, 434 lb-ft.) put it squarely in period supercar territory. And the price, under $70,000, had everybody in fits. When the first GT
U.S.AFPParents of Mexico's missing students live in classroomsThey turned classrooms at their children's college into dormitories, sleeping on the floor, but parents of 43 Mexican students missing since 2014 won't rest until they find them. Around 20 parents have made the teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, southern Guerrero state, their home since September 27, 2014, the day after their sons vanished from the city of Iguala. The night before, dozens of young men from the school had gone to Iguala to seize buses for a protest in Mexico City, but they were attacked by local police.
- PoliticsChristian Science MonitorClinton, Sanders to share stage in New Hampshire to talk student debt
The Democratic nominee and Senator Sanders are joining forces for an afternoon rally and discussion on college affordability, the Clinton campaign announced in an email. The joint appearance comes as Mrs. Clinton, who has struggled to win over Sanders's millennial fanbase, makes an intensified push to appeal to young voters. Recommended: Student loans and college finance: Take our quiz!
WorldAFPWorld's largest radio telescope starts operating in ChinaThe world's largest radio telescope began operating in southwestern China Sunday, a project Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the mountainous region of Guizhou, began working around noon, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Built at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million), the telescope dwarfs the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, with twice the sensitivity and a reflector as large as 30 football fields, it said.
- U.S.ReutersCedar Rapids, Iowa, braces for flooding as river expected to crest
Iowa's second-biggest city is hoping to avoid the widespread destruction caused by the U.S. Midwest floods of June 2008 that inundated hundreds of businesses and thousands of homes in Cedar Rapids. "It's crunch time in Cedar Rapids," Mayor Ron Corbett told residents and reporters on Monday. The next 48 hours are the most dangerous." The Cedar River, which winds through the city of around 126,000 in eastern Iowa, is expected to crest early on Tuesday morning at 23 feet (7 m).
- TechnologyTech Media Network (Tom's Guide)The Latest Hint That Apple's Gearing Up to Make Cars
Last Friday (Sept. 23), many in the media were shocked to find out that Chris Ziegler, a founding member and deputy editor of The Verge had been working for Apple for two months while still employed by the technology website. This story is bigger than clandestine work hours, though, as it could be the latest smoke-signal from Apple that the company is working on an automobile project. Ziegler's title at The Verge may have been deputy editor, but anyone familiar with his years of work covering the car industry for the website (his last piece covered a partnership between BMW and Intel) can read between the lines.
SportsThe DriveBMW Drivers Had a Really, Really Bad Day at the NürburgringOn Saturday, the Nürburgring hosted the ADAC Barbarossapreis race, the eighth event on the VLN Endurance Championship calendar. The Germs dominated on home turf, handily sweeping the Nordschleife podium. The No. 8 HARBIO Mercedes-AMG GT3 took the overall
- SportsYahoo News PhotoGrieving the death of José Fernández
Jose Fernandez escaped from Cuba by boat on his fourth try as a teenager, and when his mother fell into the Yucatan Channel during the journey, he jumped in and pulled her out.Fernandez’s heroic backstory made his death early Sunday that much more heart
U.S.Associated Press2 men arrested, teen detained in California triple slayingTwo men were arrested and a 17-year-old girl was detained Sunday on suspicion of killing three people inside a Southern California home over the weekend, police said. Fullerton police Sgt. Jon Radus would not say if the arrested teen was the missing daughter of two of the victims. "Katlynn Goodwill Yost has been located and she is unharmed," Radus said.
- WorldPopular MechanicsNorth Korean Air Show Shows Off Flight Skills, New Airport
North Korea opened an air festival featuring sky diving, air force demonstrations and lots of beer Saturday to promote a newly renovated and upgraded airport in the coastal city of Wonsan, an area where it hopes to draw more foreign tourists. The two-day International Friendship Air Festival has been touted for months by the North as part of its ongoing effort to draw more tourists. Japanese visits dropped off abruptly as political relations deteriorated over revelations that North Korea had abducted more than a dozen Japanese people in the 1970s and 80s and then over its nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs.
U.S.AFPCharlotte lifts curfew after protests over fatal shootingCharlotte authorities lifted a curfew late Sunday that had been set following sometimes violent protests over a fatal police shooting of a black man in the southern US city. The curfew had been in place since Thursday, and was lifted "immediately," the statement said. Activists demonstrated at and boycotted an American football game between the NFL's Carolina Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings to protest Keith Lamont Scott's shooting death.
- PoliticsAssociated PressHow AP rates the presidential race and the Road to 270
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton continues to hold advantages over Donald Trump in the states she would need to win the presidency in November, but Donald Trump has made gains in some battleground states.The Associated Press this week moves Iowa to leaning
WorldAFPTwo Philippine airliners abort flights due to problemsA Philippine passenger jet heading to Japan was forced to turn back Monday after smoke was detected in the aircraft, while the wheel of a second plane caught fire after it aborted taking off from a separate airport, an aviation official said. The first incident involved a Philippine Airlines flight to Haneda which had just taken off from Manila, said Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the civil aviation authority. PAL said there was no panic and the passengers all disembarked safely and would travel to Japan on another aircraft.
WorldABC News VideosKatrina Vanden Heuvel Says This is a 'Rewrite the Rules Election'The Powerhouse Roundtable preview the upcoming presidential debate.
- EntertainmentReutersTaiwan braces for arrival of Typhoon Megi on Tuesday
Flights and trains in Taiwan were disrupted by the approach of the third typhoon this month and most cities planned work and school closures for Tuesday. The island's financial markets will also be shut, financial regulators said. Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall on the island's eastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.
- SportsThe DriveThe Man Who (Practically) Owns NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car
If you’ve bought a battery charger for your car at Walmart or Pep Boys or most anywhere else, you know where Don Schumacher made his money – Schumacher Electric, the world’s largest manufacturer of chargers. It’s what Schumacher does for fun – and profit, for that matter – that we’re addressing here: If you watched the NHRA drag racing coverage from Gateway Motorsports Park just east of St. Louis this past weekend, the man in the bright red shirt, standing there at the starting line, was downright ever-present during the Top Fuel and Funny Car eliminations. There was Don Schumacher standing there for the Top Fuel final between his son, Tony Schumacher, who has eight Top Fuel season championships, and his challenger, Shawn Langdon.
- BusinessU.S.News & World ReportIs 4 Percent Still the Safest Retirement Amount?
Back in 1994, William Bergman, a now-retired California financial planner, published a report in the Journal of Financial Planning that pegged 4 percent as the "safest" withdrawal number that would hike the odds of retirees not outliving their money. By and large, Bergman's 4 percent rule was meant to cover 30 years worth of retirement savings. Thus, if a newly-minted 65-year-old retiree could manage to limit annual withdrawals to 4 percent of savings, he or she would still have retirement fund cash available to them by his or her 95th birthday.
WorldAssociated PressPriest reported kidnapped found slain in western MexicoA missing Mexican priest was found shot dead off the side of a highway in western Mexico days after he was kidnapped from his parish residence, state prosecutors said Sunday. The Michoacan state Attorney General's Office said in a statement that the Rev. Jose Alfredo Lopez Guillen's body was found Saturday night in an area called Las Guayabas on the highway between Puruandiro and Zinaparo. Lopez was kidnapped last Monday, the same day authorities in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz found the bodies of two priests who had been abducted from their parish residence the previous day.
WorldReutersSouth African union backs unionist-turned-tycoon Ramaphosa as next presidentBy Ed Stoddard and Joe Brock JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa saw his chances of becoming the country's next leader increase on Monday when the powerful mining union he helped found before he made a fortune in business backed him to succeed President Jacob Zuma. The debate over who should follow Zuma, either when his term ends in 2019 or before, has heated up since the ruling African National Congress (ANC) suffered its worst local election results last month, exposing party divisions. No one has declared an ambition to take over but informal positioning is well under way, with the party split between backers of Ramaphosa, a former anti-apartheid leader popular with investors, and those who feel he would be too pro-business.
ScienceLiveScience.comRing-Shaped Geoglyphs Found Near Ancient Town in PeruDozens of circular geoglyphs, some comprising several intertwined rings, have been identified and mapped near the ancient Peruvian town of Quilcapampa, revealing that these earthen designs were created near ancient pathways used for trade. Geoglyphs are designs, which often form shapes or images, on the landscape. The newly mapped geoglyphs may have had symbolic significance, possibly representing the flow of people and goods through the town at the time, according to Justin Jennings, a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto who is one of the team leaders.
WorldAFPChina flies military planes over strait near JapanChina has sent fighter planes for the first time over a strait near Japan, the two governments said Monday, after Tokyo announced it may patrol alongside the US in the disputed South China Sea. More than 40 Chinese military aircraft on Sunday traversed the Miyako Strait between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands, to carry out training in the West Pacific, according to a statement on China's defence ministry website. The Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, bombers and refuelling aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace.
