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Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) applauded Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for voting in favor of the GOP-authored continuing resolution (CR) while noting the sharp division it drove between the longtime Democrat and his party members.

“Many Democrats are angry at Schumer. Among them right now, we’ve all seen the news, he’s about as popular as chlamydia,” Kennedy said during a Thursday appearance on the Fox News show “Hannity.”

House Democrats were outraged over Schumer’s decision to support the CR , prompting calls for the New Yorker to resign over the controversy.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) slammed the minority leader publicly for his choice, despite the fact that he was joined by nine other Democrats who voted to pass the bill, which included cuts to health care.

“I respect Chuck Schumer. I think he had a great, long-standing career,” Ivey told constituents at a forum in his district. “But I’m afraid it may be time for Senate Democrats to choose a new leader.”

Nonetheless, Schumer has maintained that he is the “ best leader ” for the job.

His colleague, Kennedy, poked fun at the minority leader for his history in the upper chamber while noting a string of past mistakes.

“I don’t hate anybody, that includes Senator Schumer. He’s very smart. On the other hand, Chuck’s often wrong. He never makes the same mistake twice. He makes it five or six times just to be sure,” Kennedy said.

“But this time he got it right in supporting our efforts to keep government open,” he added.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said fear of a looming shutdown was one of the reasons why he voted for the CR, arguing no one would win in a government shutdown period. Kennedy echoed the same concerns in his conversation with host Sean Hannity.

“Unless a football coach taught you history, you understand that shutting government down never achieves anything. It just scares people, especially the elderly,” he said.

Indian-origin Arizona State Senator Priya Sundareshan has been nominated for the prestigious Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award by EMILYs List, recognising her bold leadership on issues like voting rights, environmental protection, and reproductive rights.

As the representative for Arizona’s 18th Senate District, Sundareshan has emerged as a powerful voice in state politics, fiercely opposing extreme abortion bans and introducing a bill to protect contraception access.

Serving as Minority Leader in the Arizona Senate, she plays a pivotal role on key committees and was honoured with the Rising Environmental Leader Award in 2023.

Sundareshan, born to an Indian-American family in Tucson, Arizona, has built a career blending law, sustainability, and advocacy.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from MIT in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in natural resource economics from the University of Arizona in 2011.

Her legal career includes roles at the Environmental Defence Fund, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Washington, DC, and PA Consulting Group in Cambridge, MA.

A mother of two, Sundareshan is dedicated to science-based policy solutions and making a lasting impact on her community.

The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award, named after the former Arizona Congresswoman and gun control advocate, will be presented later this year by EMILYs List

A French scientist was denied entry to the US after immigration officials found text messages that were critical of Donald Trump, the Guardian reported. According to a diplomatic source, the incident unfolded on March 9, when the French space researcher was barred from entering the United States upon arrival in Texas, where he was scheduled to attend a conference near Houston.

Upon arrival in Texas, the researcher was subjected to a random check, which included a search of his work computer and personal phone. US Customs and Border Protection officials found messages on his devices that were critical of the Trump administration’s policies on research funding and scientific priorities, describing them as “hateful and conspiratorial” and potentially linked to terrorism.

The researcher’s equipment was confiscated, and he was put on a plane back to Europe the following day. The French government has strongly condemned the incident, highlighting the growing tensions between the two nations.

“This measure was apparently taken by the American authorities because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy,” Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister of higher education and research, said in a statement to AFP, published by French newspaper Le Monde.

“Freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values ​​that we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them, while respecting the law,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has acknowledged the US’s sovereign right to decide who enters its country, while also expressing disappointment over the situation. The ministry emphasised France’s commitment to academic and scientific cooperation, as well as its desire to promote freedom of expression.

Notably, Donald Trump’s administration has made significant changes to scientific research funding since taking office in January. One major change is the capping of indirect costs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants at 15%. This move has been met with opposition, as it would cut billions of dollars in funding for life-saving research.

Divya Tyagi, an Indian-origin aerospace engineering graduate student at Pennsylvania State University, has achieved a remarkable breakthrough by reworking a 100-year-old mathematical problem. Ms Tyagi’s innovative redesign simplifies the complex problem, making it more accessible and easier to explore.

Originally developed by British aerodynamicist Hermann Glauert, the problem has been a cornerstone of aerodynamics research for decades. Ms Tyagi’s work expands on Glauert’s research, uncovering new possibilities in wind turbine design that were previously unexplored, according to the official website of Penn State University.

“I created an addendum to Glauert’s problem which determines the optimal aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine by solving for the ideal flow conditions for a turbine to maximize its power output,” said Ms Tyagi.

Sven Schmitz, Divya Tyagi’s adviser and co-author, highlighted that Hermann Glauert’s original work concentrated solely on maximizing the power coefficient, which measures the efficiency of wind energy conversion into electricity. However, Glauert’s research didn’t consider the total force and moment coefficients acting on the rotor and also ignored the impact of wind pressure on turbine blades, specifically how they bend under stress.

“If you have your arms spread out and someone presses on your palm, you have to resist that movement. We call that the downwind thrust force and the root bending moment, and wind turbines must withstand that, too. You need to understand how large the total load is, which Glauert did not do,” said Mr Schmitz, a faculty member in the Institute of Energy and the Environment.

He remarked that Ms Tyagi’s innovative solution, built on the calculus of variations, offers a remarkably simple yet powerful framework. This mathematical approach enables constrained optimisation, allowing researchers to explore novel aspects of wind turbine design with ease.

“The real impact will be on the next generation of wind turbines using the new knowledge that has been unveiled. As for Divya’s elegant solution, I think it will find its way into the classrooms, across the country and around the world,” Mr Schmitz said.

He praised his student’s determination and persistence in tackling the complex issue. “When I thought about the Glauert problem, I thought steps were missing and it was very complicated. There had to be an easier way to do it. That’s when Divya came in. She was the fourth student I challenged with looking at it, and she was the only one who took it on. Her work is truly impressive,” Mr Schmitz added.

Ms Tyagi, who has finished her bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering, is now pursuing her master’s degree, and currently undertaking cutting-edge research in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Her current project, funded by the US Navy, focuses on improving helicopter flight simulations and aviation safety.

Marina Budiman has lost her spot as Indonesia’s richest woman after losing $3.6 billion in just three days. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Ms Budiman, the co-founder and president commissioner of data centre company DCI Indonesia, was making $350 million each day, which propelled her net worth to $7.5 billion.

However, three weeks later, she lost almost half of her net worth after the shares of her firm came crashing down. She wasn’t the only one hit.

Her fellow billionaires and co-founders, Otto Toto Sugiri and Han Arming Hanafia, also saw their combined net worth soar by over $17 billion before they plummeted.

According to the SCMP, DCI closed on Tuesday with a market value of close to $17 billion, compared to last year’s revenue of $112 million and $49 million profit. The company’s stock was trading at 416 times its earnings, making it the most expensive stock among comparable firms.

However, with the crash of DCI Indonesia’s shares, Ms Budiman’s wealth dropped by half. This could be yet another addition to the country’s infamous boom-and-bust stock price run. One of the reasons behind this is low liquidity. Many Indonesian companies have stocks that aren’t frequently bought or sold. So, when a stock is thinly traded, even small orders can cause big price movements.

DCI shares took a hit because 78% of shares are owned by only four people. Since most shares are held by a small group, only a tiny fraction is available for public trading. So, of the 2.4 billion outstanding DCI shares, just 80,400 shares changed hands by midday on Wednesday in Jakarta compared with millions at companies in Indonesia of a similar size.

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DCI’s price swings “are largely a function of its tight free float. Bid-offer spreads are narrow, so any substantial positioning can move the stock significantly,” said Mohit Mirpuri, a fund manager at SGMC Capital Pte in Singapore, as per the outlet.

Notably, according to SCMP, wild price swings in stocks are a common and increasingly problematic feature of Indonesia’s equity market. Dozens of firms have moved by 1,000% or more in recent years, their shares seemingly unshackled from the underlying financials.

In DCI’s case, the rapid price hike in shares was fueled by investor confidence because of the rising demand for centres. Foreign investments also played a role. For example, Oracle Corp. is in discussions with Indonesia’s government to establish a cloud services centre in the country.

Sweden’s government said Thursday that it would be dedicating 300 million kronor ($30 million) for school security measures, following the country’s worst mass shooting at an education centre last month.

On February 4, 35-year-old Rickard Andersson entered the Campus Risbergska adult education centre in the city of Orebro and shot dead 10 people before turning his gun on himself.

“In the beginning of February this year, the worst mass shooting in Swedish modern history occurred,” Education Minister Johan Pehrson told a press conference.

What should have been a “place for knowledge and future opportunities became an unfathomable crime scene”, Pehrson said.

He noted that reports of threats and violence at Swedish schools had increased by over 150 per cent over the last 10 years.

“Safety in Swedish schools has unfortunately deteriorated over time. More and more students and teachers go to school with a great deal of anxiety,” he added.

Pehrson said the government would introduce “grants for security-enhancing measures totalling 300 million kronor”, primarily for cameras or security checkpoints.

The government also said it would be presenting a bill to parliament that would introduce a requirement for schools to have “an emergency plan and ongoing preparedness work”.

The proposal, which would also give schools the right to search students’ bags, was first presented the week after the Risbergska shooting.

Police have struggled to pin down a motive for the mass killing, saying they were looking into the shooter’s living situation after describing him as an unemployed recluse.

Police say he had no previous criminal record and had a hunting licence for four guns.

They have not publicly identified the victims but their foreign backgrounds soon came to light when their names and photos were published in Swedish newspapers and on social media, sparking concern among the country’s immigrants.

Oxygen has been detected in the most distant galaxy ever discovered, surprised astronomers said Thursday, offering further evidence that stars in the early universe matured far quicker than had been thought possible.

The galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0, which was discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope last year, is so far away that its light took 13.4 billion years to reach Earth.

This means the galaxy can also reveal what the universe was like in its infancy when it was just 300 million years old — two per cent of its current age.

Since coming online in 2022, the powerful Webb telescope has discovered that galaxies in the young universe were much brighter, more advanced and more numerous than scientists had expected.
These discoveries have been so startling they have raised doubts about whether something important is missing in our understanding of the universe.

For the latest research, two international teams led by Dutch and Italian astronomers probed the JADES-GS-z14-0 galaxy using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile’s Atacama desert.
They detected traces of oxygen, according to the European Southern Observatory, confirming hints previously spotted by the Webb telescope.

During this period known as the cosmic dawn, newly born galaxies were thought to only have young stars, which mostly contain light elements like hydrogen and helium.

Only later were they supposed to get heavier stuff such as oxygen.
But the two new studies found that JADES-GS-z14-0 has around 10 times more heavy elements than had been anticipated.
“It is like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies,” said Sander Schouws of Leiden Observatory, the first author of a Dutch-led study to be published in The Astrophysical Journal.

“The results show the galaxy has formed very rapidly and is also maturing rapidly, adding to a growing body of evidence that the formation of galaxies happens much faster than was expected,” he said in a statement.

Astrophysicist Stefano Carniani, lead author of the Italian-led paper to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, said he was “astonished by the unexpected results”.
“The evidence that a galaxy is already mature in the infant universe raises questions about when and how galaxies formed.”

A 21-year-old mixed martial artist (MMA) in Australia has died from a dangerous muscle condition caused by high-intensity exercise. According to News.com.au, Jake Sendler, an amateur MMA fighter and personal trainer who was studying to be a PE teacher, collapsed during a fight in Melbourne earlier this month.

His family said that the 21-year-old was found to have rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition that results in the body being flooded with harmful toxins. Mr Sendler was unaware of his condition until it was so severe that he was suddenly rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care.

Jake Sendler died on March 13, according to the outlet. His family said he fought and underwent multiple surgeries. However, after spending days in an induced coma, the doctors told the family to say goodbye as did not know if they would be able to save him.

“When we got into the ICU, the doctor said when they opened him up again (in another emergency surgery) there was just too much tissue that had died and there was so much damage, there was nothing more they could do,” Jake’s mother Sharone Sendler told news.com.au.

“I said to him, ‘it’s OK baby, you can rest now, you fought so hard’ and I kissed him on the forehead and he passed away. It was the worst moment of my life,” she added.

According to The Stuff, the doctors said it was the most severe case of rhabdomyolysis they had ever encountered. Rhabdomyolysis is a breakdown of muscle tissue, which releases a toxin into the bloodstream and can cause kidney failure. It can also cause serious problems with the heart and other organs. Symptoms include muscle pain, exhaustion and dark urine.

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The family said that the 21-year-old pushed through as his symptoms got worse while preparing for the bout. His muscle soreness did not raise any alarms as he was extremely active and training intensely for an amateur MMA fight. When he noticed tea-coloured urine, he upped his fluids, assuming he was dehydrated.

The family said that the 21-year-old was known to be extremely healthy, only eating organic foods.

Ms Sendler is now determined to raise awareness about the “silent killer” that took her son’s life to ensure other families “never ever go through the pain we felt”. A fundraising page has also been set up in Mr Sendler’s memory.

“With profound sadness, we share the heartbreaking news that Jake has passed away. Jake was not only a fighter in the MMA ring but also a true warrior in life,” a statement on the page read.

“A dedicated athlete, compassionate coach, beloved son, brother, and friend, Jake’s generous heart, boundless energy, and unwavering support deeply touched everyone who knew him,” it added.

The recent deportation of Venezuelan migrants from the United States to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Centre has sparked widespread concern and outrage among families who claim their loved ones were wrongly accused of being part of the feared Tren de Aragua gang.

Per BBC, Myrelis Casique López, a distraught mother, recognised her son Francisco José García Casique in televised footage from the prison, despite his insistence that he has no ties to any criminal organisation. “He doesn’t belong to any criminal gang, either in the US or in Venezuela… he’s not a criminal,” she insisted. “What he’s been is a barber.”

The mass deportation was justified under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, with President Trump claiming that the US was facing an “invasion” by a criminal organisation linked to kidnappings, contract killings, and extortion. However, families of the deportees argue that their loved ones were misidentified and had no connections to the TdA gang.
Under this order all Venezuelan citizens aged 14 or older who are suspected to be gang members and were not lawful US citizens became “liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.”
Judge Hames Boasberg tried to block the deportation, since the move was legally challenged, however, since the ruling was not included in writing, the administration went ahead with the deportation.
President Trump took to Truth Social to comment on the deportation, saying “These are monsters sent into our country by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats. How dare they!” Senator Marco Rubio also echoed President Trump’s stance, stating that “hundreds of violent criminals were sent out of our country” and thanking El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for facilitating the transfers.
According to Daily Mail, of the 238 deportees, 137 were suspected TdA members, while the rest included 101 Venezuelans removed under Title 8 and 23 Salvadoran MS-13 members, including two high-profile gang leaders.
The conditions at the Terrorism Confinement Centre have been described as inhumane, with detainees facing overcrowding, disease, and denial of basic necessities like food, clothing, and hygiene.
The prison also does not have any outdoor recreational space and family visits are not allowed. The prisoners wear shorts and have their heads shaved.
Families of Venezuelan migrants are reeling in shock after discovering their loved ones were deported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) without notice. The deportation, carried out by the Donald Trump administration, allegedly targeted members of the Tren de Aragua gang. However, families claim their relatives were misidentified and have no ties to the gang.

Per El Pais, Mercedes Yamarte, a distraught mother, identified her son Melvin Yamarte in a video released by El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Melvin, 29, appeared kneeling, wearing a torn black shirt, with his head shaved. His tattoos, which include his daughter’s name and a declaration of love for his mother, contradict claims that he’s a gang member.

The deportation was justified under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to detain or expel individuals from a nation considered an enemy. However, families argue that their relatives voluntarily surrendered to the US due to economic hardship, not criminal activity.

While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labels the deportees as “terrorists” and “heinous monsters,” families maintain that there’s no evidence of their loved ones having a criminal record.

US Woman, 36, Brutally Beats 14-Year-Old Student For Bullying Her Son

The incident took place on March 6. (Representative pic)
A 36-year-old woman in the US is facing criminal charges for attacking a 14-year-old boy who had allegedly been bullying her son. According to the New York Post, the incident took place on March 6. The woman, identified as Latea Hentz, allegedly barged onto her son’s middle school bus with her teen daughter and beat her son’s alleged bully so badly that the child suffered a broken nose. A video, captured by the bus’ security camera, showed Ms Hentz, her daughter, 17, and her son, 13, attacking the eighth-grade student in Warren Township, a suburb of Indianapolis.

In the clip, as the incident unfolds, the Warren Township School bus driver can be heard telling the woman that no parents are permitted on the bus. However, Ms Hentz allegedly tells the driver she is coming on and to call the police as the three of them make their way over to the student. “Beat his a, beat his a,” the woman screamed as she and her children punched the student in the mob attack, as per the Post.

Ms Hentz and her children stopped beating the eighth-grader only after the police arrived. However, on the way out of the bus, she allegedly made an open threat to other students and said, “I’m going to tear this up” and “I’m tired of you b**h-a kids”.

The 36-year-old told the cops that the victim was bullying her son for several weeks and had even slapped him the day before the attack. She also claimed that her son’s school was aware of the bullying but did nothing to stop it.

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According to the Post, the police said that the 14-year-old was beaten so badly by the woman and her kids that when he was taken to Riley Children’s Hospital for treatment, doctors determined his nose was fractured and his left eye was bruised and swollen.

Initially, Ms Hentz’s son gave a different account of what happened leading up to and during the March 6 attack. On the other hand, the victim, who is half Mexican, told investigators that Ms Hentz’s son had been picking on him and had been making “racist jokes” and “comments about ICE”. He then claimed that “he had been jumped by a mom and her kids.”

On Tuesday, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office charged the mother with four felonies: criminal confinement, battery resulting in moderate injury, intimidation, and criminal trespass. According to the outlet, Ms Hentz’s two children are also facing possible criminal charges concerning the fight as officials continue to investigate the incident.