[FoxNews] Crime network targets second-story windows and repositions security cameras
International experts generously showing the locals how it’s-done.
More than 60 high-end homes across the Houston area have been hit in a sweeping burglary spree tied to a South American theft ring using signal jammers and counter-surveillance tactics to evade detection, West University Place Police Chief Gary Ratliff confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The organized crime network, known as the South American Theft Group, has been linked to numerous break-ins in West University Place, surrounding counties and across the country, authorities said.
Residents packed a public safety meeting Wednesday night in West University Place, where Ratliff warned that the group’s footprint is expanding beyond Houston.
Seven of the burglaries occurred in West University Place alone, and police say the cases follow a consistent playbook.
Investigators said suspects target second-story windows at the rear of homes between 7 and 9 p.m., climbing ladders or patio furniture before breaking glass or prying windows open with screwdrivers. The burglars allegedly reposition security cameras, deploy signal jammers to disrupt alarm and Wi-Fi systems, and carry stolen property away in pillowcases and backpacks.
The suspects primarily steal high-value items, including designer purses and jewelry. In one case, residents were home when burglars entered, though they did not encounter the suspects.
According to Ratliff’s presentation, four break-ins and three attempted break-ins have been reported since January 2025, and all seven appear consistent with the group’s methods.
Authorities said the organization is also under investigation in California, Florida, Wisconsin and New York, suggesting the Houston cases may be part of a broader nationwide operation.
"Most of these folks, they're pretty intelligent," Ratliff said. "They're using burner phones, they're using other information that makes it very difficult to follow."
Last year, officers arrested Chilean national Ignacio Castillo Contreras in connection with one of the burglaries in which jewelry was stolen. Police have also identified Christian Mauricio Rubio Pizarro as a person of interest, though no charges have been filed against him. He is currently facing unrelated charges in Houston and remains jailed on an immigration hold.
Investigators say the case remains active as authorities work to prevent additional burglaries in the community.
#3
They used to burglarize high-end homes in Los Angeles. I think they called it burglary tourism. They'd do a job and be on their way back to South America before the owners knew what had happened. Sounds like they're branching out.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/20/2026 11:33 Comments ||
Top||
#4
According to Ratliff’s presentation, four break-ins and three attempted break-ins have been reported since January 2025, and all seven appear consistent with the group’s methods.
Be vigilant always, but seven attempts with four successes in 14 months doesn't seem to be much of a crime wave.
On the other hand, if you're in the targeted demographic, it may well look like a tsunami to you.
#5
Foreigners. Physicians. Foreign physicians! That's who I'd have targeted if I'd have been criminally inclined back when I lived next to West U. I confess I did ponder such things occasionally on hundreds of late night rides and pre-dawn rambles all around the place. Hey, it was kinda dull, geographically, and ridiculously quiet and safe and rich and fat. The mind wanders.
[Breitbart] President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will be releasing all government files related to UFOs and aliens.
The president issued his announcement via his Truth Social account on Thursday.
“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters,” Trump wrote.
The president issued his announcement after he chastised former President Barack Obama for saying aliens are real, which he later walked back.
“He gave classified information, he’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump said. “I don’t know if they’re real or not, but I can tell you he gave classified information. He made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information. No, I don’t have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do. A lot of people believe it.”
Obama said in a recent podcast interview that aliens are “real, but I haven’t seen them.”
The former president also said that aliens are not kept at Area 51.
“There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy, and they hid it from the president of the United States,” he added.
Obama walked back his comments, saying that he “saw no evidence” during his presidency that “extraterrestrials have made contact with us.”
“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” Obama added.
Flight tracking data shows a Boeing 737-600, known as 'Janet,' departing from Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas's main airport, at 4.06am PT (7.06am ET).
[Just The News] The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 1 over whether to uphold birthright citizenship in the United States.
Trump v. Barbara challenges President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order that denies birthright citizenship to children in the U.S. born after Feb. 19, 2025, whose parents are either illegally present or temporary residents of the United States.
The case has far-reaching consequences and could fundamentally redefine the 14th amendment, an addendum to the U.S. Constitution that provided citizenship to formerly enslaved African Americans. Legal analysts said much interpretation of the 14th Amendment has shaped current immigration law in the United States.
#3
Yes Merc, you can thank the onerous Roberts for "baby splitting." As the grand arbiter, he appears to be of the belief that judicial decisions must fall somewhere down the middle of the road to achieve 'fairness' (liberal vs conservative politically) as opposed to what is actually right and wrong.
[The Observational] The historic steam locomotive Hogwarts Express could face closure due to an ongoing safety dispute with Britain’s rail regulator, Scottish media report. The Jacobite Express locomotive runs a route from Fort William to Mallaig, passing over the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, covering 135 kilometres. About 70,000 passengers travel by train every year. This route became especially famous thanks to the Harry Potter films.
The operator, West Coast Railways (WCR), has been in a three-year dispute with the Office of Rail (ORR) over the need to install central locks on carriage doors. Since 1999, safety regulations have prohibited the operation of carriages with swing doors that cannot be centrally locked. The Jacobite route uses 1950s Mark 1 coaches with traditional swing doors without such locks. Until 2023, ORR provided Jacobite with exceptions allowing the use of historic carriages.
A WCR spokesman said the company intends to continue operating but has not yet made a final decision on possible flight cuts or schedule changes. The official WCR website states: "Bookings for the Jacobite 2026 season will open in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details." According to James Shuttleworth, WCR’s commercial director, the tourism route is worth around £30 million to the UK economy each year.
Converting 120 historic carriages with new central locking systems could cost Jacobite owners £7 million — a sum it describes as "significant" for the entire fleet. WCR is currently seeking a final resolution to its dispute with ORR after the regulator refused to grant an exception to central locking rules, leading to litigation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Mikhail Kolovangin
[REGNUM] In recent years, sensible Britons have had to observe not just the latest excesses of "political correctness," but how the state is gradually turning schools into a testing ground for experiments on children's psyches.
This time, we're talking about children who have just learned to speak: new school rules allow children as young as four to request pronouns that don't correspond with their biological sex. So, a four-year-old boy suddenly decides he's a girl and should be referred to as "she," and adults begin seriously discussing what to do about it.
All of this is wrapped in soft language about a "cautious approach" and consultations with parents and doctors, but in essence, it formalizes the very idea: a child's identity at preschool age is recognized as something fluid, subject to revision and bureaucratic formalization. Such "cautious steps" blur biological foundations and open the door to systemic pressure on children, whose "identities" can change faster than the weather in London.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson unveiled recommendations included in the statutory document Keeping Children Safe in Education on 12 February.
On paper, schools are required to approach name, pronoun, or clothing changes "with caution"—schools are formally prohibited from pushing gender discussions on children, but are required to "respond to student requests."
However, a key shift compared to the 2023 rules is clear: while previously the change of pronouns in elementary school was completely prohibited, now the very possibility of "social transition" for preschoolers is recognized by the state as legitimate, albeit with some procedural barriers.
Officially, the new guidance is being presented as a response to the rise in the number of "gender questioning" children and builds on an independent review of "gender services" for children and young people in England, led by Dr Hilary Cass, published in April 2024.
The reason for this was the scandal surrounding the Tavistock clinic, where an explosive increase in requests was recorded, and at the same time, an extremely weak – even by British standards – “evidence base” for early gender interventions in children.
What is even more egregious is the fact that, instead of closing the space for experimentation, the government is using the findings of the Cass review as a backdrop to legitimise the same practices.
One of the most pressing issues is parents' fear that the school will "play gender games" behind their backs, changing their child's name and title without the family's consent. The administration verbally tries to allay this fear, claiming that in the vast majority of cases, the family should be aware, and the decision cannot be made by the school alone.
At the same time, LGBT* activists and some human rights groups attack the very idea of relying on parents, presenting it as a threat. In their logic, any attempt by adults to question a child's declared gender is effectively equated with violence or discrimination.
This completely excludes the family from the child support process and shifts the focus to the school and the state. Instead of upholding the primary responsibility of parents, the system begins to view them as suspect by default—especially if they are reluctant to play along with the latest round of destructive ideology.
Formally, the British debate fits into a pan-European trend : EU documents speak of "gender equality," combating stereotypes, and creating an "inclusive school environment." In some countries, this translates into textbook revisions and "lessons on tolerance," while in others, it involves attempts to embed entire ideological programs into schools.
The UK is among a small number of countries where national policy specifically identifies “safe and supportive environments” for LGBT* students, rather than simply for all so-called “vulnerable groups.”
Against this backdrop, the new British document no longer appears to be a cautious adaptation of European rhetoric, but rather its development: under the guise of “protecting minorities” and “fighting discrimination,” a procedure is being created that normalizes the idea that the gender of a very young child is an object of flexible administration, rather than a given that society is obliged to take into account.
At the same time, the document's ambiguity makes the guidelines a convenient target for everyone: right-wingers rightly see it as legalizing the very idea of gender reassignment in childhood, while left-wing activists express dissatisfaction with the "half measures."
But behind the political noise lies a fundamental truth: the question of whether a four-year-old can declare themselves a member of the opposite gender and expect adults to accept them is no longer an abstract debate. It has been transformed into a detailed procedure involving the principal, psychologists, and doctors. What until recently seemed like a fringe left-liberal agenda is now being integrated into the school's regular management cycle.
At the level of political signaling, the story of the "gender-questioning" children shows how the Labour leadership is trying to please everyone at once: LGBT* activists, by recognizing the very possibility of transitioning at a young age, and the reasonable "moderate" voter, through the rhetoric of safety and "common sense." And this vacillation between incompatible views on life appears, to say the least, absurd.
But what is far more important and frightening is how far the institutionalisation of the “gender agenda” has gone in British politics.
In such a system, there's no room for real trust in families or genuine concern for children's psyches. The state simply formalizes in regulations what is essentially a disgusting experiment on a generation that hasn't even begun to truly understand.
[MAIL] A haggard Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was driven away from a police station on Thursday night following his arrest that shocked the world.
Sure. His beloved big bro, King Charles III, just threw him to the wolves.
Some 11 hours after officers knocked on his door on the Sandringham estate to arrest him on suspicion of misconduct in public office, a stunned looking Andrew was released under investigation.
As his arrest triggered arguably the biggest crisis in the monarchy for nearly 400 years, his brother, the King, insisted Andrew should be subject to the full force of British justice, saying: 'The law must take its course.'
In an unprecedented and historic personal statement, Charles, 77, expressed his 'deepest concern' at the news police had picked up Andrew, on his 66th birthday, in extraordinary scenes on Thursday morning.
The King also pledged his 'full and wholehearted support and co-operation' with the ongoing police investigation.
The charge is a rare but serious crime, liable for trial by jury, and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
He has not yet been charged.
Andrew's arrest sensationally took place on the monarch's private estate in Norfolk, to where the former Duke of York was recently exiled following his public disgrace.
Andrew appeared terrified after being released from police custody on Thursday evening
#1
By British standards he should walk and Virginia Giuffre‘s ashes should have to serve a three year sentence.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/20/2026 5:41 Comments ||
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#2
Given, the UK:
* Is having Muslim Call to pray.
* The 3x London mayor (Sir Sadiq Aman Khan) is Muslim.
* The UK culture is in a death spin.
* King Charles low approval rating (Princess Di's death?).
* Plus a lack of any other royalty with a real leadership skills.
It is only a matter of time, before UK Royalty will be eliminated to make way for the upcoming UK Ayatollah. All made possible by the EU Open Borders and various related far left agendas.
The US DC Swamp / Elites needs to start looking at what has, and how it happened to the UK, Australia and Canada and address it.
Because, million of 3rd world Illegals are already here and using the same UK take over process agenda, with the help of the Liberal, Socialists and Democrat parties.
#3
I think it's little more than a symbolic distraction. Possibly a sacrifice to the media to cover for potentially numerous others, royal and not, and the Paki rape gangs and their co-conspirators.
#9
Given that King Charles III took his long-time mistress as his second wife and queen, former prince Andrew is not necessarily the most irregular of the royals, just the one without the power to demand brushing his indiscretions under the rug.
[Cigar Aficionado] Flying to Cuba has become more limited, and the problem could get even worse. This week, three Canadian airlines suspended their flights to the Caribbean country after Cuban officials told international carriers they could no longer refuel on the island, a move that comes as Cuba faces a severe oil shortage. Fuel shipments to the island have been cut off by the United States in a series of sanctions: first, via the U.S. military involvement in Venezuela, which was Cuba’s largest supplier of oil, then again by the Trump administration threatening punishment to any country that sends Cuba oil.
The island nation is not capable of supplying all of its oil, and relies heavily on foreign imports.
Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat all announced that they were suspending travel to Cuba this week, due to the oil situation. All have stopped flying passengers into Cuba, and are now flying out people who need to come back to Canada.
"WestJet is responding to the developing situation in Cuba and the latest travel advisory by Global Affairs Canada," WestJet wrote on its website on February 9. "Aligning with our focus to put guests and crew first and protect the integrity of our operation, WestJet Group has made the decision to begin an orderly wind down of our winter operations to Cuba, this is inclusive of WestJet, Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and Vacances WestJet Quebec."
On Monday, WestJet began flying empty aircraft to Cuba "to support the organized return of guests currently vacationing in Cuba. All aircraft dispatched to Cuba will carry sufficient fuel to safely depart without reliance on local fuel availability."
[Cigar Aficionado] President Trump has signed a new executive order declaring that the policies and actions of the Government of Cuba "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security of the United States. Issued on January 29, the presidential directive seeks to penalize any nation that ships petroleum to Cuba by authorizing new tariffs that "may be imposed on imports of goods that are products of a foreign country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba."
Titled "Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Cuba," the directive also accuses the island nation of hosting "dangerous adversaries" of the United States and aligning itself with Russia, China, and extremist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. "Contrary to the interests and foreign policy of the United States," the executive order claims, "the Cuban communist regime supports terrorism and destabilizes the region through migration and violence."
The effort to block all shipments of oil to Cuba follows the January 3rd U.S. military operations in Venezuela, which cut off Cuba from its largest oil supplier, valued at an estimated $1 billion a year, and comes amidst a flurry of statements from Trump administration officials that they are seeking regime change in Cuba. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials were developing plans to overthrow Cuba’s Communist government before the end of the year, using a blueprint similar to "Operation Absolute Resolve"—the successful U.S. effort that removed Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro from power.
With Venezuela’s oil industry now under the effective control of the United States, previous petroleum exports of about 35,000 barrels a day to Cuba have been terminated. The new executive order is widely perceived to be aimed at Mexico, which has supplied small but steady amounts of oil to Cuba as what Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum calls "a humanitarian gesture."
A cutoff of all Mexican oil exports to Cuba would effectively leave Cuba with no access to energy needed to support its electrical grid. Oil industry analysts believe Cuba could run out of petroleum stocks by the end of this month, forcing a collapse of the economy which was already in dire straits.
In a conciliatory statement on February 1, the Cuban Foreign Ministry responded to President Trump’s executive order by condemning terrorism and categorically denying that Cuba harbored or supported extremist organizations or constituted a threat to U.S. security interests. The Foreign Ministry statement reiterated that Cuba was "prepared to resume and broad bilateral collaboration with the United States" referring to the counterterrorism, counternarcotics and other coordinated efforts during the Obama administration to address transnational threats. Cuba, the statement concluded, also "reiterates its willingness to sustain a respectful and reciprocal dialogue with the Government of the United States."
[FoxNews] Meta's CEO faced a jury on Wednesday and gave testimony about allegedly designing products to hook young users despite internal safety warnings
Wednesday was a historic day as Mark Zuckerberg took the stand and faced a jury under oath to answer allegations that Meta knowingly designed and promoted products that hooked young users — including children — despite internal warnings about the risks, marking the first time he has testified before a jury in such a case.
While Zuckerberg’s testimony was often characterized by sidestepping and dodging questions — to the point that the judge instructed him to answer directly — he can’t deflect his way out of this one. The evidence in this social media trial speaks for itself.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Lanier, focused on three central themes in his questioning: 1) addicting users; 2) allowing underage users access to the platform; and 3) making business decisions that put profits over safety.
Zuckerberg was presented with a 2015 email in which the CEO stated his goal for 2016 was to increase users’ time spent on the platform by 12%. Zuckerberg argued that Meta’s growth targets reflect an aim to give users something useful, not to addict them, and stated that the company does not seek to attract children as users.
When asked whether he believes people tend to use something more if it’s addictive, he dismissed the premise. "I don’t think that applies here," he said.
But it absolutely does apply. Meta’s entire business model is built on user engagement. Social media appears "free," but a child’s time, attention and data are the product being sold. More hours with eyes glued to the screen mean more advertisements to sell. The user is the product. The incentive is to keep users engaged as much as possible.
As confirmed earlier in the trial by addiction expert Dr. Anna Lembke of Stanford University, social media meets the clinical criteria for addiction, according to her expert testimony.
Lanier also questioned Zuckerberg extensively on Meta’s age-verification policies. He showed an internal Meta email from 2015 estimating that 4 million children under 13 were using Instagram — approximately 30% of U.S. children ages 10 to 12. One in three preteens.
Zuckerberg said the company removes identified underage users and includes terms about age requirements during the sign-up process. Lanier responded, "You expect a 9-year-old to read all of the fine print? That’s your basis for swearing under oath that children under 13 are not allowed?"
Zuckerberg added that some children "lie about their age in order to use the services." During this exchange, he also said, "I don’t see why this is so complicated ... we have rules, and people broadly understand that."
Waving his hand and saying "we have rules" is not an adequate defense. These are minors. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure the platform is effectively age-gated; otherwise, its stated age policy is meaningless.
In practice, age verification on most social media platforms relies largely on self-reported birthdates. A child can enter a false age, click to accept the terms and conditions and gain access within minutes. Critics argue that without meaningful safeguards, age restrictions amount to little more than an honor system.
Meta ‘cannot pretend’ social media is not addictive, political commentator saysVideo
Age of access is a key issue in this trial. The plaintiff, K.G.M., who got on Instagram at age 9, alleges that her social media use as a child and teenager led to body dysmorphia, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, addiction and depression. Her age when she began using the app — during a period of significant brain development between ages 10 and 12 — is central to the harms she alleges.
Instagram should never have allowed her on the platform at age 9, the plaintiff argues. Whether the jury ultimately agrees remains to be seen, but the case places responsibility for those decisions squarely on Meta’s leadership.
Lanier ended his questioning by unrolling — with the help of six others — a 50-foot collage of every selfie K.G.M. had posted on Instagram, many with beauty filters. He asked Zuckerberg whether Meta ever investigated her account for unhealthy behavior. Zuckerberg did not answer.
[NYP] The legendary "E.T." director and California resident has moved to Manhattan amid a billionaire exodus from the Golden State — as voters eye a controversial wealth tax.
It’ll be interesting to see how long he stays there…
But the move, first reported by the LA Times, allegedly had nothing to do with the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act.
"Steven’s move to the East Coast is both long-planned and driven purely by his and Kate Capshaw’s desire to be closer to their New York-based children and grandchildren," spokeswoman Terry Press said.
#6
Prediction: In a market about to fall through the floor (luxury anything), a two or three week stay will enhance the prestige of the property and then he sells out and jaunts off to some lovely hamlet in Connecticut.
#7
Hypothesis: the various taxes on the wealthy we are seeing are designed to push out the only viable power, wealthy people, that could mount the resources to challenge the entrenched political leadership as they move farther left. Note this is happening in states where you have literally Blue vs Blue in elections, red is not really a viable option and slowly dwindling. I would guess this is part of a slow moving larger "resettling" of the West Coast Urban centers, which control their respective states.
#8
If Congress and President Trump between them can enforce cleanup of voter rolls and voting processes, and continue eviction of illegals from within the nation’s borders, it will be interesting to see what happens in those bluest of blue states.
Certainly there should be changes in Congressional representatives based on legal population going forward, which will put weight on the shift in power from blue states to red.
[NBC] The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency. The decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs, but invalidates those implemented using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling that the Trump administration had asserted "extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope," but had pointed to no statute that said the IEEPA could apply to tariffs.
The ruling blocks Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs and those the president imposed on Canada, China and Mexico in what he said was an effort to stop the flow of illegal drugs.
Democrats in Congress, as well as small business and retail groups, applauded the decision, saying the tariffs had impinged on lawmakers' constitutional authority and hurt U.S. consumers. Some major U.S. trading partners were more muted, however, saying they were reviewing the decision and emphasizing the need for stability in international trade.
#3
Given the Far Left Odd Liberal Democrat Presidents we have had since the 90's, I would have to agree, with the SCOTUS.
Because there is no telling what the next Obama/Biden/??Newsom
would do??
Tariffs cost every citizen more and retirees don't need the extra burden especially now.
BTW:
Besides, the Taxing and Spending Clause, Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution states all TAXES shall come with Congressional approval?
Congress is only authorized to levy taxes for two purposes only:
1. to pay the debts of the United States,
2. provide for the common defense and general welfare of the Citizens.
Then isn't giving $$$ of Billions a year to other countries illegal?
[IsraelTimes] The United States has paid about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , the UN says.
The Trump administration’s payment is earmarked for the UN’s regular operating budget, UN front man Stéphane Dujarric tells The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
The UN has said the United States owes $2.196 billion to its regular budget, including $767 million for this year, and $1.8 billion for a separate budget for the far-flung UN peacekeeping operations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... warned last month that the world body faces "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States.
The disclosure of the payment came as President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... convened the first meeting of the Board of Peace, a new initiative many see as his attempt to rival the UN Security Council’s role in preventing and ending conflict around the world.
Trump has said the United Nations has not lived up to its potential. His administration did not pay anything to the United Nations in 2025, and it has withdrawn from UN organizations, including the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.
UN officials have said 95% of the arrears to the UN’s regular budget are from the United States.
[BBC] In a statement on Starliner's findings, Isaacman said the spacecraft had faced issues throughout its prior recent missions but had still been accepted for the test.
"We are correcting those mistakes. Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur."
Nasa's "Type A" grade puts the Starliner incident at the same level assigned to the fatal 2003 Columbia and 1986 Challenger space shuttle disasters.
The agency said in its statement: "While there were no injuries and the mission regained control prior to docking, this highest-level classification designation recognises there was potential for a significant mishap."
#2
Ivy league business graduates that are more interested in stockholders and maximizing profits while keeping new buzzwords as law. The result is failure of that company time and time again.
#5
...Starliner's never flying again. NASA may speak hopefully, but it's not happening. Boeing will still get fully paid, however. Any other result might well finish them as a contractor.
[BBC] Scientists are racing to find out what causes this progressive disease. And they're starting to make some headway.
After five and a half years of living with amyotrophic-lateral sclerosis (ALS), actor Kenneth Mitchell – who appeared in the films Star Trek: Discovery and Captain Marvel – died on 24 February 2024. In the months leading up to his death, he had described on social media what it was like living with the disease, which is also known as Lou Gehrig disease after the American baseball player who was diagnosed with the condition in 1939.
"It's been a long five years," wrote Mitchell in an Instagram post in August 2023. "So much lost, so much gained. Incredibly hard times, mixed with so many more blessings. At the heart of it all are friends and family, caregivers and doctors coming to the aid of my family over and over and over again. Giving a plethora of support and love and care and encouragement. There is so much beauty in that. This disease is absolutely horrific."
His death came just a few months after news that photographer Bryan Randall had died in August 2023, who had been diagnosed with ALS three years earlier at the age of 54. He was the partner of the actress Sandra Bullock, who met him on the job while he was taking portraits at a family party. In April 2025, American actor Eric Dane – who starred in Euphoria and Grey's Anatomy – revealed at the age of 52 that he had also been diagnosed with ALS.
Despite claiming numerous high-profile victims over the years – including young, otherwise healthy people – the mystery of what causes ALS remains. However, recent research has uncovered some clues. Could we finally be on track to decoding this devastating condition?
ALS is a form of motor-neurone disease (MND). It is a debilitating and painful condition in which the motor neurons – cells that control voluntary muscle movement – are gradually lost, leading to people slowly losing control of their bodies. A recent review of the available data estimated that it affects somewhere around five people per 100,000 in the US.
The disease occurs more commonly in men and the average age of diagnosis is about 60 years old, though it can also affect people who are significantly younger. While most people live only a few years after the diagnosis, there are notable exceptions, including the physicist Stephen Hawking who was diagnosed with a form of MND at 21 and died in 2018 at the age of 76.
The reasons why people develop ALS are complicated. For 10-15% of people with the condition, it runs in the family. In these cases, a mutation in a particular gene would have been passed through the generations. It is not certain that if one of your parents or ancestors had ALS, you will develop it as well, although there may be stories about cousin Lucy or grandpa Joe having a wasting illness in the family folklore.
However, it turns out that when people do develop the inherited form of ALS, the affected gene is not always the same one, even though the consequences are the same.
For the other 85% of people who develop ALS, identifying the cause is even less straightforward. When no-one says "your great uncle had something like that" after someone gets a diagnosis for ALS, then it is considered to be a random, one off, event and is called a "sporadic" case. Recent research has suggested that genetic mutations might be part of the story. However, these probably involve little changes in a few different genes rather the single drastic, obvious biological mistakes noted for familial ALS. Changes in up to 40 genes have been implicated in increasing someone's risk for sporadic ALS, though the condition is extremely rare.
COMPLEX GENETICS
There is quite a long list of the genes that can be affected, but there are four main ones. The most common is C9orf72 which is involved in regulation of nerve and muscle cells. The changed gene is found in 30% of ALS cases. In 20% of cases, the fault in is the SOD1 gene, which codes for an antioxidant enzyme which protects cells from damage. A smaller proportion are accounted for by changes in the TARDBP (4%) and FUS (5%). Both of these genes code for key factors involved in making proteins within the cell.
Depending on the type of ALS, "the extent that disease can be explained by genetic factors is only about 8% to 60%," explains Eva Feldman, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan.
However, there's also emerging evidence that repeated and prolonged exposure to potential triggers in the external environment might increase the risk of someone developing ALS, particularly the sporadic form. This led Feldman and her colleagues to investigate.
"We suspected the presence of what we term the ALS 'exposome', which is the sum of toxic environmental exposures that increase risk," says Feldman. The team have found that prolonged exposure to organic chemical pollutants, metals, pesticides, particulate matter in dust from construction work and poor air quality could contribute to increasing a person's ALS risk.
Neil Thakur, chief mission officer of the ALS Association, says there is not a complete cause and effect for ALS. "It is always a combination of factors," he says. "Even if you have a risk factor or the genetic profile, it is not 100% sure you will get ALS."
But there is some evidence that exposure to particulates from diesel fuel, aviation fuel, particulates from burn pits, pesticides and aerosols may increase someone's risk of developing ALS, he adds. Military personnel, for example, are highly exposed to these and seem to have an increased chance of contracting the disease, he says.
There's also evidence that having lead in your drinking water, smoking and contact sports might trigger ALS. Still, there remains a lot of uncertainty. Studies assessing the effect of alcohol intake and cigarette smoking over a lifetime before an ALS diagnosis suggest being a teetotal non-smoker does not necessarily protect you. (These factors do reduce a person's risk of developing many other conditions, of course – so there are plenty of other reasons to limit your drinking and smoking.)
One of the challenges that scientists and clinicians investigating the causes of ALS (and MND overall) face is that they are, thankfully, rare diseases. Within the small number of patients, not everyone is willing or able to take part in research studies. And there are many differences in genetics and lifestyle that could be influencing the results. Even if a genetic change is found in 4% of cases, for example, there might not be enough people in that group to see a clear difference between those who have been exposed to a specific chemical pollutant and those who have not.
"It takes a long time to fully recruit enough people onto an ALS clinical trial, because the disease progresses so rapidly and people are only eligible early in the disease," says Thakur. "If you do have ALS in your family and you have an ALS gene, you can explore whether you could participate in trials, which would help you and others."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[MAIL] A haggard 
[NYP] The legendary "E.T." director and California resident has moved to Manhattan amid a 
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
