Author: Press Room

A little over a month after a civilian jet broke the sound barrier, Boom Supersonic and NASA have released a photo of one of the aircraft’s historic test flights over the Mojave Desert.The image released Monday shows the XB-1 aircraft, which Boom Supersonic said is the “first civil supersonic jet made in America,” during its second supersonic flight on Feb. 10. The company said it partnered with NASA using a technique known as Schlieren photography to visualize what can’t be seen with the naked eye.”This image makes the invisible visible,” Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl said in a news release.…

Pho may be one of Vietnam’s most iconic dishes, but for Ho Chi Minh City native Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, it is the humble plate of com tam that wins her heart.Pho may be one of Vietnam’s most iconic dishes, but for Ho Chi Minh City native Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, it is the humble plate of com tam that wins her heart.The dish translates to “broken rice,” referencing the rice grains left from the milling process during harvest. Broken rice grains were considered inferior, making them harder to sell, so farmers would feed them to their families instead of…

President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Ukraine on Monday after a whirlwind diplomatic mission that included both humiliation, by President Trump, and a warm embrace, from European leaders. He vowed to use all diplomatic avenues to pursue an end to Ukraine’s war with Russia, but acknowledged there was “a long way to go.”Russia has given no indication that it will accept any terms other than Ukrainian capitulation and permanent conquest of a large swath of Ukraine — and Mr. Trump makes clearer by the day that his intent is to stand with Moscow.Ukrainians have insisted they will not lay down their…

The Senate voted along party lines on Monday to confirm Linda McMahon as the nation’s next education secretary, putting the former pro-wrestling executive in charge of an agency that the Trump administration wants to eliminate.A wealthy Republican donor who served in the first Trump administration, Ms. McMahon has little experience in education. That lack of firsthand knowledge has been framed as an asset by a White House looking to abolish the department she now leads and as a glaring deficiency by her critics.Ms. McMahon, 76, told lawmakers during her confirmation process that she “wholeheartedly” agreed with President Trump’s “mission” to…

Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican-written bill aimed at barring transgender women and girls from school sports teams designated for female students, thwarting consideration in the Senate of the G.O.P.’s latest move to use transgender people as leverage at the dawn of President Trump’s second term.With Democrats opposed, the measure stalled on a party-line vote of 51 to 45, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and be brought up for consideration. The bill, which passed the House in January on a largely party-line vote, would prohibit federal funding from going to K-12 schools that include…

Reid Hendry has been appointed at Calgary city hall to oversee housing, amid spikes in development following council’s decision to change the city’s base residential zoning. Hendry, the city’s first chief housing officer, comes from a background in land development in the private sector with builders like Trico Residential, Beedie and Highfield Land Management.He takes on the role following a year of housing development that saw work start on 20,165 units, but also comes amid unprecedented population growth.“Our growth in balance with our building permit starts is a ratio of 3.7 people per housing start,” Henry said. “We are failing…

The Reserve Bank concedes there is still uncertainty around Australia’s cost of living and has hinted what its next move on rates will be.

TAIWAN CHIP’S DOMINANCE Taiwan’s dominant position as a maker of chips used in technology from cellphones and cars to fighter jets has sparked concerns of over-reliance on the island, especially as China ramps up pressure to assert its sovereignty claims. China claims Taiwan as its territory, but the democratically elected government in Taipei rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Under Biden, the Commerce Department convinced all five leading-edge semiconductor firms to locate factories in the US as part of the program to address national security risks from imported chips. Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told lawmakers last month that the program was “an excellent down…

European leaders and other allies met in London on Sunday to discuss support for Ukraine.After a disastrous trip to the United States, Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenskyy was warmly received in London at a special summit. This was in contrast to the public dressing down he received from US President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer assembled what he called a “coalition of the willing”, who have promised to keep backing Kyiv and present the US with a peace plan. But the group has been clear, that despite their unity,…

The Trump administration is pausing all aid to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or in Poland. The pause comes days after a contentious meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump in the White House.This story is breaking, please check back for updates.