Monthly Archives: July 2021

ARod will be performing a show with a pretty blonde NFL presenter on his 46th birthday in Saint-Tropez. – Texasnewstoday.com

Posted: July 29, 2021 at 8:38 pm

Alex Rodriguez was depicted in Saint-Tropez on Monday as he was very close to his former fianc Jennifer Lopezs superyacht.

Today, 46, ARod was riding with NFL presenter Melanie Collins in a bikini, NFL star Eric Decker and his wife Jesse James Decker. Passionate display with boyfriend Ben Affleck again.

Taking him to the high seas the day before his birthday, the sports star was seen grinning with his pretty blonde companion Melanie (35), while Jen (52) and Ben (48). ) Was not found anywhere on their expensive cruisers.

Spectators noticed that ARod and his crew barely missed Benifers boat as they left the port to Capri, Italy.

Ben and Jen were later seen arriving on Capri on Tuesday, leaving the coast open for a former MLB star to celebrate his big day peacefully.

Benifer! ARod will perform a show on the high seas and will be very cozy with a pretty blonde NFL presenter on his 46th birthday in Saint-Tropez and a jet ski drawn just off JLos mega yacht Valerie. I did.

It was just barely! ARod and his friends can be seen riding a jet ski near a former JLo $ 130 million superyacht. She was seen again canoeing with Ben Affleck just a few days ago.

The former baseball player seemed to be in a festive mood as he ran around the water with Melanie in a bikini behind him.

Some reports clearly suggest that they are enjoying each others company for his birthday excursion, but they are just friends.

He also took pictures with NFL star Eric (34) and his wife and singer Jesse (33). They enjoyed Jetski Day on his birthday.

ARod and JLo appear to be competing in a superyacht battle at Saint-Tropez over the past few days across the French Riviera trails.

Fun in the Sun: ARod took a photo with NFL star Eric Decker, 34, and his wife and singer Jesse James Decker, 33.

Something to smile: Some reports suggest that ARod and Melanie, 35, are just friends, but the pair seems to be famous.

Rodriguez is celebrating his birthday tonight on a rented Ocean Paradise yacht. The yacht costs 27,000,000 ($ 31,860,810) and can accommodate 12 guests and 12 crew members.

IG Official: Ben (48) and Jen (52) are cramming into a superyacht PDA

Still, its not comparable to Lopezs Valerie, which currently sells for 110 million ($ 129,817,600).

The 85-meter ship Valerie, rented by Jen, was built by Lrssen in 2011 and underwent a major refurbishment in 2019. It can accommodate 17 guests in 9 well-equipped cabins that can accommodate 27 crew members.

According to Boat International, Valerie boasts seven bedrooms across six decks for voyages, and the wellness theme even includes Haman, who is said to be adorned with steam rooms and mosaics. There is also a massage room and space for cosmetological treatments.

Overlooking the sea, the gym faces the dining room and an outdoor space with a fountain illuminated at night.

Launched in 2011 and refitted in 2019, the ship has six decks, all with elevators, a 20-foot long pool and a Jacuzzi, one of five outdoor spaces. With a magnificent outdoor dining area, the boat was designed with Londons iconic hotel, Clarridge in mind.

The main deck and lounge are designed for the host, centered around a uniquely designed player piano.

The front deck has ample space for helicopters to land, and the upper deck has a lounge, cinema and several cabins.

Size is important! Valerie, an 85-meter-long ship in Lopez, was approaching her former flame boat, which was only 55 meters long and went to work.

How they stack: There was a considerable difference between the two luxury ships

The top speed is 17 knots (about 20 mph), the cruising speed is 12.5 knots, the cruising range is 6000 nautical miles, and the charter costs 950,000 ($ 1,119,000) per week. It is currently on the market for $ 130 million and is sold by Dynamique Brokerage.

Rodriguezs rental superyacht, just 55 meters away, has been dwarfed into his original sea-cruising villa, yet with enviable luxury equipment.

Ocean Paradise can accommodate up to 12 people in 6 rooms, including one master suite with a balcony, and boasts interiors created by Zen Garden-inspired designer Maurozzo.

Life on the First Line: Former MLB Star and NFL Sports Broadcaster are portrayed together on his birthday

Scatter: Melanie, 35, seemed to spend time in her life while staying near ARod for a walk.

All smiles here: A Rod has some fun of his own while Benifer is stuffing into a PDA

The glass walls form the layout of the interior, with floor-to-ceiling windows clearly visible to the sea.

The sundeck has a jacuzzi, a large covered dining area, an indoor / outdoor gym and a dance floor.

According to the online description, the ship has timeless styling, beautiful furniture and luxurious seating features to create an elegant and comfortable atmosphere.

Chartering Ocean Paradise costs 265,000 ($ 312,000) a week, and with a cruising speed of 15.5 knots, Rodriguez can overtake the original yacht over long distances.

It is expected that there will be about 50 guests for his birthday celebration, but only a few lucky people will stay on his Ocean Paradise yacht.

Lopez and Rodriguez ended their engagement in April this year, and in a joint statement they described them as better as friends and we were looking forward to continuing to do so.

Still, Alex seemed happy with his flashy cruiser. Because he was clearly accompanied by his NFL reporter blonde, who was just a friend.

Its his birthday! ARod shared this photo on Instagram and said: We are not only celebrating an important day with wonderful friends and family on this magical journey, but also thank everyone for their wishes, love and support.

Feel Yourself: MLB Star also posted this classy shot of himself in pure white clothes

According to PageSix, Alexis traveling with friends and family, such as Eric and Jessie James Decker. Melanie is a good friend with them. They are all friends and she will attend his party, a source said.

Sources added that Melanie, Deckers, and 50 other guests are hoping to have a party on A-Rods birthday tomorrow.

A-Rod remains single since his split with Jen, except that its linked to something like Madison Leakroy, a blonde Southern charm star, but her romance with ex-Ben is Warp Speed. It moved with and became overdrive.

A-Rod: Valerie, a superyacht currently priced at 110 million ($ 129,817,600), yesterday Ben and Jen recreated a hot and humid scene from the 2002 music video Jenny from the Block. It was seen.

Luxury Life: Today, 46, Rodriguez celebrates his birthday with a stunningly priced Ocean Paradise yacht of 27,000,000 ($ 31,860,810) that can accommodate 12 and 12 crew members.

After flying to the French Riviera on a luxury private jet, perhaps the Bombardier Global 7500, at a cost of about $ 200,000, Benifer was immediately taken to a luxury $ 130 million mega yacht in the Mediterranean, where he exchanged kisses. I was found to be doing it. There is a gentle hug on the sundeck.

52! Lopez declared in an Instagram video and celebrated his birthday. She proudly showed off her appearance in a bikini and elegant flowing beach wrap when she pretended to be on the yacht deck.

Its unclear who is paying for the trip, but Affleck is said to be worth $ 150 million, while JLo is about three times as much as $ 400 million. Meanwhile, A-Rods net worth is rumored to be $ 350 million.

ARod will be performing a show with a pretty blonde NFL presenter on his 46th birthday in Saint-Tropez.

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Harvard researchers part of new NSF AI research institute – Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Posted: at 8:37 pm

Harvard University researchers will take leading roles in a new National Science Foundation (NSF) artificial intelligence research institute housed at the University of Washington (UW). The UW-led AI Institute for Dynamic Systems is among 11 new AI research institutes announced today by the NSF.

Na Li, the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), is a co-principal investigator at the institute and will lead one of the main research thrusts. Michael Brenner, the Michael F. Cronin Professor of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics and Professor of Physics at SEAS, and Lucas Janson, Assistant Professor of Statistics and Affiliate in Computer Science will also be part of the institutes research team.

The AI Institute for Dynamic Systems will focus on fundamental AI and machine learning theory, algorithms and applications for real-time learning and control of complex dynamic systems, which describe chaotic situations where conditions are constantly shifting and hard to predict. In addition to research, the institute will be focused on training future researchers in this field throughout the education pipeline.

"The engineering sciences are undergoing a revolution that is aided by machine learning and AI algorithms," said institute director J. Nathan Kutz, a UW professor of applied mathematics. "This institute brings together a world-class team of engineers, scientists and mathematicians who aim to integrate fundamental developments in AI with applications in critical and emerging technological applications."

The overall goal of this institute is to integrate physics-based models with AI and machine learning approaches to develop data-enabled efficient and explainable solutions for challenges across science and engineering. The research will be divided into three main thrusts: modeling, control and optimization and sensors.

Li will lead the control research thrust. Li, along with Janson and the rest of the control research team, will leverage the successes of machine learning towards the control of modern complex dynamical systems. Specifically, they will be focused on several challenges pertaining to reinforcement learning (RL), a class of machine learning that addresses the problem of learning to control physical systems by explicitly considering their inherent dynamical structure and feedback loop.

The AI for control team will figure out how to develop scalable learning-based control methods for large-scale dynamical systems; maintain the performance of the learned policies even when there is a model class mismatch; and guarantee that the systems maintain stability and stay within a safety constraint while still learning efficiently.

To date, the successes of RL have been limited to very structured or simulated environments, said Li. Applying RL to real-world systems, like energy systems, advanced manufacturing, and robot autonomy, faces many critical challenges such as scalability, robustness, safety, to name a few. We will develop critically enabling mathematical, computational, and engineering architectures to overcome these challenges to bring the success of AI/ML to our real-world systems.

"One particular focus of ours will be to quantify the statistical uncertainty of what AI learns, enabling us to develop algorithms with rigorous safeguards that prevent them from harming anyone or anything while they explore and learn from their environment," said Janson.

Brenner, a leader in the field of physics-informed machine-learning methods for complex systems, will be part of the AI for modeling research team. That team will be focused on learning physically interpretable models of dynamical systems from off-line and/or on-line streaming data.

"Our research will explore how we can develop better machine-learning technologies by baking in and enforcing known physics, such as conservation laws, symmetries, etc.," said institute associate director Steve Brunton, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering. "Similarly, in complex systems where we only have partially known or unknown physics such as neuroscience or epidemiology can we use machine learning to learn the 'physics' of these systems?"

Harvard is among several partner institutions including the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, Montana State University, the University of Nevada Reno, Boise State University, the University of Alaska Anchorage, Portland State University and Columbia University. The institute will also partner with high school programs that focus on AI-related projects and creating a post-baccalaureate program that will actively recruit and support recent college graduates from underrepresented groups, United States veterans and first-generation college students with the goal of helping them attend graduate school. The institute will receive about $20 million over five years.

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The mystery grows in Cuba due to the death of the sixth general after the protests: they suspect an outbrea… – Market Research Telecast

Posted: at 8:37 pm

The death of a sixth Cuban general in the last two weeks deepened the mystery and the great official secrecy surrounding this succession of high-ranking military deaths that occurred after the July 11 anti-government protests on the island.

State television Caribbean Channel, cited by CNN, announced on Wednesday the death of the military Gilberto Antonio Cardero Snchez.

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The brief report of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces did not offer details of the causes of death.

Cordero Snchez joined the list of generals killed after the demonstrations that haunted the country. They are: Armando Choy Rodrguez, Rubn Martnez Puente, Manuel Eduardo Lastres Pacheco, Agustn Pea Porres and Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo.

The successive deaths of the six Cuban generals different versions of the causes of these deaths have been rolled out. Although these are elderly military personnel, the Miami exile did not fail to draw attention to the fact that they all occurred after the protests.

According to the Miami portal local10.com, the cause of the succession of deaths of high-ranking military personnel would be an outbreak of Covid-19.

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An outbreak of coronavirus during a face-to-face meeting after the July 11 uprising may have been the cause of their deaths, but the Cuban government has not reported if this was the case, he explained.

The island suffers a serious health crisis due to the increase in coronavirus cases despite having started a vaccination campaign with the national formulas Soberana02 and Abdala.

Cordero Snchez had a long history in the Cuban Revolution. He had joined column 1 of the rebel army in May 1957 under the orders of Fidel Castro. Later, he was selected to found the Second Eastern Front Frank Pas where he remained until the triumph of the Revolution, according to the official report.

The Caribbean Channel He said that Cardero Snchez had different responsibilities in the Armed Forces, related to the preparation of military operations, the construction of defense-related works and also economic and social development plans.

The second to last high-ranking soldier who died was the Brigadier General, Armando Choy Rodrguez, who died on Monday, as reported on Twitter by the Marta Abreu Central University, in the province of Villa Clara, in the center of the island.

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Choy Rodrguez was also historian and founder of the July 26 Movement, who fought against the Batista dictatorship, in Villa Clara. Had 87 years.

Another of the deceased soldiers is the reserve general Rubn Martnez Puente. The Florida press credited him with having given the order to shoot down two planes belonging to the group of exiles in February 1996. Brothers to the Rescue looking for rafters on the high seas in the 90s. A few days before the shooting down, which occurred in Cuban jurisdictional waters, the small planes had dropped pamphlets in Havana.

The announcement of his death was made last Saturday by the Cuban Ministry of the Interior. The military had 79 years.

Also passed away Manuel Eduardo Lastres Pacheco, Chief of the Army of the East. He had joined Fidel Castros guerrilla in 1957 and was under the command of Ernesto Che Guevara. Cuban government television reported that he died on Monday.

Marcelo Verdecia Perdomo was a reserve brigadier general. According to the Miami press, he was one of Fidel Castros bodyguards. Granma reported his death on July 20.

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Finally, Agustn Pea Porres, was the head of the western Cuban army. He was a delegate to the VIII Congress of the Communist Party and a member of its Central Committee.

His death was announced by the state newspaper Granma the July 18.

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The mystery grows in Cuba due to the death of the sixth general after the protests: they suspect an outbrea... - Market Research Telecast

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Report Warns That Identity Politics Is Weakening The Navy – The Federalist

Posted: at 8:37 pm

One of the visually shocking moments, now likely lost from collective memory, was during the late Obama era in early 2016, when a group of U.S. Navy sailors were detained by the Iranian navy. Capture is part of the hazards of being in the armed forces, but what was new was footage of televised tears. Sailors and marines of the mighty American Navy were shown on Iranian TV, with one sailor weeping in fear and others divulging too much information under pressure and interrogation, according to some reports.

If a new report is to be believed, the U.S. Navy is today still in dire need of toughening up and displays the same feminization and loss of fortitude that has recently been much-lamented among other branches of our armed forces.

The structural and bureaucratic rot described in the report should ring alarm bells. Ostensibly nonpartisan, it was done with a clear methodology by a former naval officer at the behest of four members of Congress.

The report is scathing about the growing politicization of the Navy. For example, it quotes an unnamed Destroyer captain: Where someone puts their time shows what their priorities are. And weve got so many messages about X, Y, Z appreciation month, or sexual assault prevention, or you name it. We dont even have close to that same level of emphasis on actual warfighting.

Sometimes I think we care more about whether we have enough diversity officers than if well survive a fight with the Chinese navy, lamented another, this time a lieutenant.

I guarantee you every unit in the Navy is up to speed on their diversity training. Im sorry that I cant say the same of their ship handling training, suggested a third, this time a recently retired senior officer.

The fundamental refrain was one of incompetence and destabilizing political correctness.

Finding and sinking enemy fleets should be the principal purpose of a Navy. But many sailors found their leadership distracted, captive to bureaucratic excess, and rewarded for the successful execution of administrative functions rather than their skills as a warfighter, according to the report.

There was considerable apprehension that the surface warfare community in particular lost its fighting edge in the years following the end of the Cold War. With China building and operating a competitive fleet, the lack of proper attention on warfighting was of deep concern to many interviewees, the report continues.

The reports policy suggestions are straightforward.

Prioritize warfighting. Pay to develop, host, and utilize high end, multi-mission, warfighting training tools for ship crews. Once a ship is ready for deployment, administrative training should be deprioritized by the ships captain. Foster in the surface warfare community a better focus on the Navys core mission of fighting and winning on the high seas, suggests one.

The authors also urge that all politicization immediately stop.

Get politics and media out of the warroom. Renew the Navys noble tradition of remaining out of politics. Limit social media accounts and activities by Navy officials, discourage use of toxic platforms by sailors, remove all political and sociological topics from Professional Military Education and replace them with essential warfighting courseware, the report suggests.

This concern about politicizing our military isnt new. Once, the only institution considered above cultural battles was the military, because by definition it is not an egalitarian institution. A soldier or a sailor isnt a member of a social club. The armed forces are not a social experiment, like some other professions, to affirm identities or feelings.

Nor is it an institution with the purpose of making confused twentysomethings feel welcome. The militarys one purpose is to defend our nation, whether that takes burning, sinking, or killing. Its general aim is to put the fear of all thats holy into our adversaries.

Other great powers do not care if their armed forces are gender balanced or if they have mastered the proper social and behavioral etiquette. Theres no massive push for political correctness in Russian or Chinese armed forces.

The difference in these recruitment videos demonstrate the differing priorities. While the American armed forces give the impression of an effete college dorm, the Chinese forces are gearing up for domination in a Hobbesian world. Consider them clubbing Indian soldiers to death with nail-studded baseball bats.

For more than a quarter century, America has enjoyed military dominance. The resultant complacency led to wars of choice against puny peripheral forces in regions of no strategic interest and to bloating of the national security bureaucracy.

It is imperative that this report is taken seriously by conservatives and needed changes are encouraged and implemented, as liberals are blinded and handicapped by their egalitarian worldview to the point the next great power war might prove to be an existential threat to the survival of the republic.

Dr. Sumantra Maitra is an ECR member at the Royal Historical Society (United Kingdom), and a fellow at Martin Center (United States). He is a senior contributor to The Federalist. He can be found on Twitter, @MrMaitra.

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Tommy Martin: We have all gone on holiday to the Olympics – Irish Examiner

Posted: at 8:37 pm

Youll have heard the joke, by this stage, or made it yourself.

Every Olympics, without fail. The one about how you become an expert at the oul synchronised diving/Taekwondo/canoe slalom after watching it for 20 minutes every four years.

Ryle Nugent himself said it, while actually commentating on the oul synchronised diving the other night. One of the Irish stars of these Olympics, the great man has been hot-footing it from triathlon to diving to football to rugby sevens doing commentary for the international TV feed and sounds like hes having a rare old time in the process.

In many ways, he is the patron saint of the temporary Olympic expert, the ideal to whom the rest of us bleary-eyed aficionados aspire. Have no doubt, after nodding off to the dressage on Tuesday night, I feel fully confident to hold forth in front of a global audience on the merits of a 12-year-old stallion mincing to Rihannas Shine Bright Like A Diamond.

The spirit of Ryle is alive in all of us right now. You meet people and they will talk openly about how much they enjoyed, say, the mens shortboard surfing final, how it was a dominant performance by Italo Ferreira, the Brazilian, world number one of course, but what a frustrating day on the waves for Kanoa Igarashi, who never really got going.

There is a glee in it. Listen to me, people say, giving out about the judging of the gymnastics floor routine, and I havent looked at a gymnastics floor routine since Olga Korbut was a lass!

It remains one of the great mysteries of life, why we take such intense interest in sports which otherwise burble along in relative obscurity outside the Games of the Olympiad.

There is the fact that it is the Olympics, with all that signifies. There is a certain amount of nationalism involved too, he says, while cursing Wang of Chinese Taipei who, as I write, is beating our brave Nhat Nguyen in the badminton. Damn you, Wang.

But its more than that. It takes people out of themselves. People like to feel different, just for a little while. Its like the old man at the beach in the sunny weather. He may be in his string vest and trousers rolled up to the knee, but in his head hes David Hasselhoff.

Basically, we have all gone on holiday to the Olympics.

And this year more than any other, the Olympics provide a sense of escape our actual holidays cannot. Without leaving the house, we can get that feeling of getting away from it all not even slurping 99s on the Wild Atlantic Way can provide.

Like any exotic holiday, attempting to speak the language is part of it. Watching the rowing one morning, my wife asked me how the Irish guys were getting on.

Third. But its the repechage, I replied.

The repechage? What am I like?

But suddenly theres no stopping me. Im talking about the stroke rate in the lightweight double sculls, not to be confused with the regular double sculls or, indeed, God forbid, the coxless pair.

Its like the way a halting request to a barman for dos cervezas, por favor yields the confidence to debate with the man the merits of the Real Madrid defence in perfect pidgin Spanish. A lack of self-consciousness takes hold. There is nobody to judge you here. Go for it.

You start to realise that the Olympic Games are 33 sports divided by a common tongue. Immersing yourself in each sports arcane terminology feels like wandering around the cathedrals of some pretty European city.

Turn on the Taekwondo and the commentator explains that fighters are penalised (even though the sport involves kicking your opponent in the head, there are rules) by the referee calling Gam-Jeom!. Pretty soon youre shouting Thats Gam-Jeom! like youre watching a Saturday evening gameshow hosted by Danny Dyer called Gam-Jeom!.

Judo players battle each other by trying to score an ippon, sometimes settling for a waza-ari. It cant always be ippon after ippon, a commentator muses during one tight battle, sometimes you have to grind it out with waza-ari. Aint that the truth, brother.

The words that the different sports use tell you about their history. The martial arts glossary speaks of ancient rites conducted in mystical dojos. Rowing and sailing are replete with nautical terms, coxswains, and tacking and rigging, that evoke Horatio Hornblower and derring-do on the high seas.

Surfing makes no attempt to hide its dudishness: Ferreiras stance is officially classified as Goofy and commentators are happy to commend good execution as gnarly or, indeed, radical.

Gymnastics venerates its competitors by naming moves after them, like reverse Yurchenko with a twist (these can also sound like how you might assassinate a disloyal Politburo member).

Travel broadens the mind and you feel you are learning something. Every so often you will chance upon the more familiar sports, like tennis, football, or golf. This is awkward. Its like going down to breakfast on the first morning in some far-flung destination to find a family in Kilkenny jerseys sitting opposite. People who watch the normal sports in the Olympics are like people who eat roast beef dinners in Mediterranean resorts. Time and a place, please.

Like any holiday fling, that it is fleeting only makes it sweeter. We know it wont last forever; it cant. We will wake up some morning soon and Hazel Irvine wont be gently prodding us toward some Rhythmic Gymnastics highlights.

We will be back to the humdrum, arguing about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Dubs having too much money. The twinkly-eyed boxing analysis of Eric Donovan will be a memory; Roy Keane looms like a bearded cloud. On transfer deadline day will we remember the breezy confidence of Mona McSharry? Charlotte Dujardin and her Extended Trots?

It could be that the Olympics are a way of taking a holiday from sport, by watching sport. Relax. Live a little. Enjoy it, because tomorrow, its the big one. Womens trampoline final day.

Whats that, youre an expert in it? Course you are.

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Hotels near capacity as several hundred SpaceX employees arrive in Brownsville in preparation for orbital launch – KGBT-TV

Posted: at 8:37 pm

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (KVEO) Development at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site is ramping up under ordersfrom company CEO Elon Musk, in an effortto finish the orbital launch tower and stack thestarship and booster prototypesbefore launching into orbit. Musk has called on several hundred employees from otherSpaceX sites to temporarilyrelocateto thearea until the project is finished.

In the effort tolaunch thefully stackedStarship SN20 and Super Heavy B4 prototypes into orbit,Musk has calledon500employees fromSpaceX sites in Hawthorn, California, Cape Canaveral,Florida, and McGregor, Texas, torelocateto the Brownsville/Boca Chica area temporarily.

Musks ambitious goals to reach orbit by July have been delayed, but supplemental employees have been arriving in Brownsvilleto help finish constructing the orbital launch tower that will support the starshipand booster,as well as the vehicle itself.

While a date has not been set for the orbital launch, a source shared with KVEO that Musk gave them a short timeline of nine days, as of Friday,to have the vehicle stacked at the launch pad.

Employees have been arriving at the Brownsville South Padre Island International airport and booking rooms atnearbyhotels.

The hotels nearest to the site, the QualityInnandAmericas Best Value Inn on Padre Island Highway, told KVEO that they were nearing or atcapacitythis week because of the arriving SpaceX employees.

During the week we dont havethese kinds of numbers, said an employee at the Quality Inn as he explained that they areusually45% bookedduring theweek butare now at 90%.

An employee at Americas Best Value Inn told KVEO that they started seeingmoreguests three days ago and have reached capacity.

However, hotels farther away from the site are not seeing the same influx due to SpaceX employees butare seeing morepeopledue to the time of year and COVID-19 vaccine distribution, as well as migrants from detention centers.

A Twitter page following Musksprivate jets posted a photo of employees arriving at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport,last Saturday.

Recently the aerospace company came under scrutiny by the Cameron County District Attorneys office for unauthorized closure of county roads, SpaceX has since responded and opened the road in question.

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As SpaceX races to expand launch site, concern grows for wildlife habitats in South Texas – Courthouse News Service

Posted: at 8:37 pm

NASA never formed a plan to take humans to Mars. But Musk has since adjusted his hopes and dreams and SpaceX, the company he founded almost 20 years ago, has rocketed to the center of the modern-day space race with a long-term plan to colonize Mars by 2050.

What theyve done in the speed at which theyve done it is just incredible, Seedhouse said in an interview. Most of his achievements had only previously been achieved by countries and governments and the list of firsts that his company has racked up is quite incredible.

While Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson usher in a new phase of space tourism, Musk, 50, has his sights set on sending humans to the moon and enabling the colonization of Mars through his companys Starship spacecraft and newly-developed Super Heavy booster both still in the testing phase at the companys Boca Chica, Texas, launch site.

But colonizing the solar system doesnt come without a cost. While SpaceX and Musk press ahead with construction of two 480-foot Starship launch towers, the company and its billionaire founder are facing a renewed round of criticism from environmental advocates in South Texas who worry that the areas delicate wetlands and diverse wildlife habitats are paying the price.

Awaiting Federal Approval

SpaceXs plans to expand rocket launches to include the Starship and Super Heavy, the worlds most powerful launch vehicle ever built, hinge on whether the Federal Aviation Administration awards the company an environmental permit. The original 2014 environmental study of the Boca Chica operations site known as Starbase only included launches for the much smaller Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, which SpaceX no longer plans to launch from the site.

The Starbase sign is seen in front of SpaceXs launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, on July 19, 2021. The letters were installed within the last few months as SpaceX expands the South Texas launch site. (Courthouse News photo/Erik De La Garza)

The federal agency whose jurisdiction includes commercial space transportation has already warned the company in a letter in May that construction of the Super Heavy launch tower may complicate the ongoing environmental review process.

The FAA has a new environmental review underway of SpaceXs proposed Super Heavy rocket and tower, the agency said in a statement to Courthouse News. The company is building the tower at its own risk.

But SpaceX does hold a license to conduct short test flights of Starship prototypes, and at 7:05 p.m. on July 19, three engines attached to the companys Super Heavy booster briefly roared to life for what is known as a static fire test.

The test, where the rocket booster fires up its engines at full throttle but remains stationary on the space pad, engulfed the site in flames and rocket smoke that filled the nearby beach and lingered in the coastal air of the remote South Texas beach town for over an hour as onlookers sat in their vehicles staring at the stainless steel behemoth.

The Super Heavy booster engines referred to as raptors ignited for just six seconds, but marked the first time that SpaceX lit up the massive first-of-its-kind rocket booster that the company is planning to attach under its Starship rocket and launch into orbit sometime this year, pending federal approval.

Construction of a Starship integration tower is seen looming over the wetlands of Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. SpaceX has transformed the once-sleepy retirement community into an active space pad and mecca for space enthusiasts. (Courthouse News photo/Erik De La Garza)

While space enthusiasts, and Musk himself, cheered the successful static fire test as a sign that the Starship launch vehicle is nearing completion First test duration firing of 3 Raptors on Super Heavy Booster! Musk tweeted minutes after the test others werent so enthusiastic.

Part of the problem is the area doesnt grow, said David Newstead, director of the coastal bird program for the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. The area that they have expanded and covered over with their development is what has grown and the area, arguably, cant support that.

Newstead who, with his team of conservation biologists, has been monitoring the nesting activities of coastal birds including the Wilsons Plover, Snowy Plover and Least Tern since 2017 said SpaceXs activities extend far beyond their property. Not only are frequent road closures while SpaceX conducts rocket testing activities complicating their biological monitoring, but Newstead says his team over the last two years has also seen decreased nesting of the shorebird species they follow.

And that pattern of decreased nesting is especially pronounced in the vicinity of the launch site and control center around SpaceXs facility, so in the refuge and state park land, he said.

The closure of Highway 4, the only road leading in and out of the launch site that remains the only way to access the public Boca Chica beach, is the subject of headaches for some locals, whose plans rest on whether SpaceX will close the highway and for how long.

On the Monday of the static fire test, Cameron County officials advised residents that the highway could be closed sometime between noon and 10 p.m. By 4:30 that afternoon, subscribers to the countys notification system received a text message alerting them that Highway 4 had been closed for the engine test. It didnt reopen until just before 9 p.m.

Two Starship prototypes loom in the background as a man waters the lawn of a home in Boca Chica, Texas. (Courthouse News photo/Erik De La Garza)

Inside the nearby Boca Chica Village neighborhood, residents who have remained in the community despite the towering rockets in their backyard and the buzzing of SpaceX employees, were advised by the company in a letter posted to their doors to consider temporarily vacating yourself, other occupants, and pets, from the area during space flight activities.

There is a risk that a malfunction of the SpaceX vehicle during these activities will create an overpressure event that can break windows. At a minimum, you must exit your home or structure and be outside of any building on your property when you hear the police sirens, which will be activated at the time of the space flight activity, to avoid or minimize the risk of injury, the letter stated.

'Nothing Quite Like Boca Chica'

Designed as a reusable transportation system to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and other cosmic destinations, SpaceX has billed the Starship spacecraft as a game-changer for space transportation with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tons into space. When stacked together for launch, the Starship and Super Heavy will stand at nearly 400 feet tall.

But out of the five Starship prototypes that have already launched from the Boca Chica launch site, only one in May has proved successful.

The first two prototype rockets crashed into the landing pad, a third burst apart minutes after takeoff, and a fourth test launch on March 30 resulted in a midair explosion that sent large pieces of debris into the nearby beach and protected grounds for shorebirds and other wildlife species.

All of that debris went for a mile or so, some small pieces went further than that, Newstead said, adding that noise and vibrations associated with rocket launches could also have harmful effects on birds with notoriously strong, but very porous bones.

Launches are not only loud but theres a pressure associated with it, he said. People can feel it when theyre doing a single-engine rocket test, you can feel the ground rumble, but you can imagine how loud these things are for birds.

South Texas Boca Chica Beach is seen on July 20, 2021. The beach is a nesting ground for multiple species of turtles, including the critically endangered Kemps ridley sea turtle. (Courthouse News photo/Erik De La Garza)

There are over 20,000 acres of federally protected land surrounding SpaceXs Boca Chica site that serve as a national wildlife refuge for at least 18 threatened and endangered species, including birds, wild cats and sea turtles such as the Kemps ridley sea turtle. The region also draws historical value as the scene of the battle of Palmito Ranch in 1865, the last land battle of the Civil War.

These flats are apparently regarded by some and apparently in the eyes of some, appear to be some sort of a wasteland but its a tremendously productive ecosystem and extraordinarily sensitive as well, Newstead said. Its a really important area, theres nothing quite like Boca Chica and the South Bay area.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, along with local environmental groups like Save RGV and the Lower Rio Grande Valley chapter of the Sierra Club, have each expressed concern with SpaceXs plans to expand its activities at Boca Chica.

But the idea of interplanetary travel via the largest rocket known to mankind is too thrilling for some to resist.

That thing is going to fucking Mars, said Anthony Gomez, 38, a managing partner at the RV and camping spot Rocket Ranch, located along the Rio Grande River about 8 miles from SpaceXs launch site.

Open to the public since January 2020, Rocket Ranch sits along the Rio Grande River with views into Mexico and is one of the only spots in Boca Chica where visitors can stay overnight. The unique location, appropriate rocket-themed decor and affordable rentals has given the ranch the ability to host space tourists from as far away as Australia and, like SpaceX, has plans to grow.

Gomez said they already offer pontoon rides along the river that straddles the Texas/Mexico border for guests anxious to see a rocket launch from a different perspective, and are just about done with construction of a new observation deck that offers an elevated view of launches.

Nobody else is going to have a nicer launch site than us, this is the place, Gomez said, adding that the ranch would plan some type of orbital party or festival to coincide with Starship launches.

Construction crews work on SpaceXs Starship Super Heavy Orbital Launch Pad in Boca Chica, Texas, on July 20, 2021. (Courthouse News photo/Erik De La Garza)

Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell had expressed hope to conduct the first orbital flight of the Starship system in July, but that now appears unlikely to occur for at least the next few months.

Its a huge engineering challenge to do that with such a large payload, but if anybody is going to do it its going to be SpaceX, Im sorry to say, Seedhouse, the professor, said. Its beat, so far, so many things that people said were impossible.

But Musks real-life sci-fi plan for Martian inhabitation could be delayed, or scuttled all together, without FAA approval and a permit to launch.

And, Seedhouse warned, when Starships start being launched on a regular basis, because that is the plan, then those Boca Chica residents are going to have to be a bit further back and Im not sure how theyre going to deal with that.

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Marine that has walked entire State of California, Arizona, and New Mexico now in Texas to bring awareness to Deported Veterans – WFMZ Allentown

Posted: at 8:37 pm

EL PASO, Texas, July 28, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --The inaugural "Walk the Line" march to bring our deported veterans home initiative that started Monday, June 28, 2021, in San Diego, CA., is now going through the Southern part of Texas, with Brownsville, Texas as the final destination point for one Veteran, who's looking at making officials in Washington DC and the White House take a second look at how U.S. Veterans are being treated after they finish their line of duty.

USMC Veteran and CEO/Founder of the American Veterans Homefront Initiative, Ramon Castro, has been joined along the U.S./Mexico Border with local supporters, zoom calls with the California Latino Legislative Caucus, rallies in Calexico, CA, Douglas, AZ, Las Cruces, NM, and most recently in Downtown El Paso where Castro was accompanied by the Repatriate our Patriots organization, LULAC (League of Latino American Citizens) and Hector Barajas, a U.S. Army Deported Veteran who nearly fought 10 years to become an American Citizen.

Castro, a USMC Veteran who has gotten national attention, continues on his journey across the U.S./Mexico Border to bring the needed awareness to Washington DC to seek immediate relief for deported American Veterans who have served their country.

"This is not a Democrat or Republican issue---this is an American Issue! Our goal is to walk from San Diego (in California) all the way to Brownsville (in Texas) to bring awareness to this issue of deported veterans. And we're hoping we're pushing for three initiatives. First, we're asking President Joe Biden to halt the deportation of war veterans, now. Second, we're asking for a program to be instituted so that all active military become citizens while on active duty. And we're asking for a full pardon to bring all these veterans who have been deported home back to the U.S.," said Castro.

The reality is that today's Veterans who were legal residents but not U.S. Citizens are sadly being deported back to their respective countries. Although there was a recent order announced by the Biden Administration earlier this monththis still falls short as the U.S. government does not have a policy in place to expedite citizenship for service members or veterans. It also does not have a policy to protect veterans from complete deportation. As a result, veterans who run into legal problems face possible and, at times, immediate deportation. Many have already been deported, but no one really knows how many. In addition, veterans are being deported to their country of origin around the world.

The American Veterans Homefront Initiative's call-to-action outlines three clear goals and asks that the current Biden-Harris administration and U.S. Congress to take swift and bold actions on the following:

1)Implement, streamline the process for service members and veterans to become citizens Immediately.

2)Halt deportation of American Veterans.

3)Pardon all American Veterans who have been deported and bring them home.

The inaugural event, "Walk the Line," a March to Bring Our Deported Veterans Home, started Monday, June 28, 2021, in San Diego, CA. The walk will cross California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It will end on August 11, 2021, near Brownsville, TX. Here are the dates for Mr. Castro's walk for justice for Deported Veterans:

Alpine- July 27

Marathon- July 28

Dryden- July 30

Comstock- August 1

Del Rio- August 2

Eagle Pass- August 3

Laredo- August 6

Zapata- August 7

Rio Grande City- August 8

Hidalgo (McAllen) - August 9

Matamoros- August 10

Boca Chica (End of Route) August 11

Brownsville (Press conference)- August 11

The American Veterans Homefront Initiative is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit that works solely on contributions. To consider contributing to this cause, please visit http://www.americanveteranshomefrontinitiative.com or follow us on http://www.facebook.com/avhomefront

###

For press inquiries, please contact:

Frank G. Salazar, (760) 562-5034 mobile frank@vencerpas.com

Media Contact

Frank G. Salazar, VENCER PUBLIC AFFAIRS, +1 7605625034, frank@vencerpas.com

SOURCE The American Veterans Homefront Initiative

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These Foldable Houses Cost $50k and Go Up in a Day – Singularity Hub

Posted: at 8:37 pm

3D printing has become the hottest new construction technology of the past few years, with houses being laid down in California, Texas, New York, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Germany, to name just a few. Theres no doubt its an efficient, low-cost way to build durable homes, with the added bonus of a wow-factor (which may soon expire given how fast the method seems to be proliferating).

But one company is taking a totally different route to affordable, easy-to-build housing: foldable homes.

If, like me, your first thought was Foldable? That doesnt sound like something Id want to live in, or something anyone should live in, for that matterhear me out. The company producing the homes is called Boxabl, and theyre made of steel, concrete, and EPS foam (this stands for expanded polystyrene, and its used as insulation).

The houses were unveiled at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, where Boxabl is based, in March. But theyve recently started to get a lot more attention after a tweet by Elon Musk raised suspicions that he lives in one. Theres since been some confusion about whether Musks Boca Chica, Texas house is actually a Boxabl or a similar pre-fabricated home from a different builder, but either way, its been good publicity for Boxabl.

The companys first model, and the only one currently available, is 400 square feetabout the size of a studio apartmentand theyre calling it the Casita. It costs $49,500 and can be set up in a day once its delivered. It comes as a 20-foot-wide load that can be shipped on an 8-foot footprint; that means it can be hauled by a pickup truck or SUV (perhaps not coincidentally, one video shows a Boxabl house being pulled by a Tesla Model X), and the shipping costs are far lower than those of traditional mobile and prefab homes.

The kitchen and bathroom are on the same side of the house, with items like the refrigerator, toilet, and sinks already built in. This section stays upright throughout the shipping process. Upon arrival, the house just needs to be unfolded. It can be bolted to any foundation using connector plates.

The actual setup of the unit itself is very fast, said Boxabl co-founder Galiano Tiramani. Weve done it here in under an hour. It really just unfolds and bolts down, and youre good to go. By here he means in the factory, where setup is likely easier than in a real-world setting, particularly because the homes electrical, plumbing, and HVAC all need to be hooked up.

Nonetheless, this can all be completed in a day, particularly at sites where the electrical and plumbing hookups are ready and waiting. Its worth noting that the listed price of $49,500 is just for the house; it doesnt include the necessary utility hookups, foundation, and permits. Boxabl estimates these costs could range from $5,000 on the low end up to $50,000, depending on location and complexity of the site. The land you put the house on is a separate cost too, and would obviously vary widely based on location.

Boxabl will soon open a new factory in Las Vegas that will be able to produce one house every 90 minutes, and Tiramani estimates an annual output of 3,600 houses.

Though theres no 3D printing involved in the manufacturing, there will be a good deal of automation. Robotic arms will lift and move the wall panels from one step of the process to the next, placing them on lazy-susan-like rotating pallets, where theyll go from lying flat to standing up to being connected together then folded up.

If youre still wondering about safety, fear not. Boxabls website says its homes are resistant to bugs, water, fire, wind, and mold. Waterproof would be a bit more reassuring than water-resistant (I mean, were not talking about a raincoat here, and even if we were, the same would apply!), but it seems this is just semantics; since theres no lumber or sheetrock used for the walls, its virtually impossible for water to warp or corrode them.

If your Boxabl floods, the water drains out, and the structure is undamaged, the website states, adding that both the interior and exterior walls are covered in non-combustible materials for fire resistance, and the houses can handle hurricane-speed winds. It certainly seems theyve covered all the bases.

The company plans to expand on its offerings with new shapes and sizes, which will likely be modular so customers can design their homes to fit their needs. Apparently over 1,000 people have already reserved a Casita, which can be done on Boxabls website either by paying full price up front, giving a deposit of $1,200 or $200, or for free (but youll be last in line, and lets be honest, they probably wont start making a house for you until youve put down some cash).

Like 3D printed homes, Boxabls innovation seems promising as a source of affordable housing, and could become a major new player in the industry. However, also like its 3D printed counterparts, one of Boxabls big limitations is that it requires an empty piece of land at ground leveland these are exactly whats scarce in dense urban centers, and often even in surrounding suburbs.

But with more people leaving cities post-pandemic and many companies implementing flexible work policies, we may not see urban populations grow as fast as expected. Either way, dont be too surprised if you see a small, sleek, folded-up house pull into your neighborhood on the back of a truck sometime in the next couple years.

Image Credit: Boxabl

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What Data About You Can the Government Get From Big Tech …

Posted: July 27, 2021 at 1:36 pm

Law enforcement authorities can also use warrants in other ways. Police have issued warrants to Google for any devices that were near where a crime was committed.

The companies say they sometimes work with law enforcement officials to narrow their requests so the companies turn over only information that is relevant to a case.

Apple said that in the first half of 2020, the latest period available, it received more than 5,850 requests from U.S. authorities for data related to 18,600 accounts. It turned over basic data in 43 percent of those requests and actual content data, such as emails or photos, in 44 percent of requests.

Microsoft said that it received 5,500 requests from U.S. law enforcement over the same period, covering 17,700 accounts, and that it turned over basic data to 54 percent of requests and content to 15 percent of requests.

Google said that it received 39,500 requests in the United States over that period, covering nearly 84,700 accounts, and that it turned over some data in 83 percent of the cases. Google did not break down the percentage of requests in which it turned over basic data versus content, but it said that 39 percent of the requests were subpoenas while half were search warrants.

Facebook said that it received 61,500 requests in the United States over the period, covering 106,100 accounts, and that it turned over some data to 88 percent of the requests. The company said it received 38,850 warrants and complied with 89 percent of them over the period, and 10,250 subpoenas and complied with 85 percent.

In these cases, U.S. authorities include any federal, state or local law enforcement office.

Yes. The companies say they sometimes push back on subpoenas, court orders and warrants if they believe the officials lack appropriate legal authority or if the requests are too broad.

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