New images share unprecedented view of how Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon

Remarkable new images from the Odysseus lunar lander mission capture the spacecraft — the first US-made vehicle to make a soft touchdown on the moon in five decades — in the moments directly after its harrowing and historic touchdown on the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that developed the Odysseus lander, shared the photos at a news briefing Wednesday.
An American Flag can be seen on white cloth attached to the lander. The flag was certified for flight in 1970 at the height of the Apollo program. It was donated for this mission by NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

US’s Singapore Envoy Is Said to Berate Staff, Waste Money

President Joe Biden’s ambassador to Singapore threatened staff, wasted money and poorly promoted US interests, according to an internal watchdog report released Friday.
The State Department’s inspector general said embassy employees interviewed as part of its regular review process “described a fear, and even direct threats, of reprisal” from Jonathan Kaplan, an entrepreneur and Democratic campaign donor who was confirmed as ambassador in late 2021.

Texas is no stranger to winter wildfires, but the ferocity of the Smokehouse Creek fire — the state’s largest on record after burning through more than 1 million acres — caught even the experts off guard.
Its severity was due to a perfect storm of environmental factors: highly flammable grasses and strong winds combined with record-high temperatures and dry conditions — the kind of extreme weather often exacerbated by climate change. This fire adds to an ever-lengthening list of rapidly spreading, destructive wildfires in the US and elsewhere.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and forcefully pressed Israel to increase the flow of aid to ease what she called "inhumane" conditions and a "humanitarian catastrophe" among the Palestinian people.
Harris's comments were among the sharpest yet by a senior leader of the US government calling for Israel to alleviate the conditions in Gaza.
The vice president, who was speaking at an event in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," when state troopers beat peaceful protesters, urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages that would kickstart a 6-week ceasefire and allow more aid to flow.

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