By Jackie Wattles, CNN

(CNN) — NASA said on Wednesday it was postponing a spacewalk that was scheduled for Thursday, citing a “medical concern” with one of the crew members.

The space agency did not provide additional information about the issue or name the astronaut involved.

“Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member,” the space agency said in a statement. “The situation is stable. NASA will share additional details, including a new date for the upcoming spacewalk, later.”

Two NASA astronauts — Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman — were slated to exit an airlock aboard the International Space Station on Thursday to finish preparing a power channel where a new solar array is set to be installed.

The spacewalk would be a first for Cardman, a 38-year-old geobiologist who was selected for the astronaut corps in 2017.

Fincke, who has been an astronaut since 1996, has participated in nine prior spacewalks. Venturing outside the space station again would make him the sixth American astronaut to conduct 10 spacewalks, said Bill Spetch, NASA’s operations integration manager for the orbiting laboratory, during a Wednesday news briefing.

NASA does not typically share details about medical issues that affect astronauts. Information about the impact of spaceflight on the human body or other medical concerns that occur during missions are generally made public as part of broader scientific studies and research, and specific astronauts are usually not identified.

Conditions such as space adaptation syndrome — an ailment characterized by vomiting and vertigo that is experienced by many astronauts during their first hours in microgravity — only came into focus after years of research and revelations in academic journals. The condition is common, however, and has affected astronauts dating back to the beginning of spaceflight.

An incident in which an astronaut experienced a case of jugular venous thrombosis, a dangerous condition in which a blood clot can form in a person’s jugular vein, was also revealed in an academic journal. The identity of the astronaut impacted has never been made public.

Additionally, after SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission returned from the space station in October 2024, one of the four crew members experienced a “medical issue” and was flown to a hospital in Florida.

The space agency did not provide further details at the time, saying in a statement only that the crew member was “in stable condition” and “under observation as a precautionary measure.” The identity of the crew member is still unknown.

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By Danya Gainor, CNN

Washington (CNN) — At a swiftly scheduled House Oversight Committee hearing in the US Capitol Wednesday, Republican Minnesota state lawmakers testified that tax dollars intended for child care aid in their state are being absconded by criminals to purchase luxury homes and cars, property in Turkey and apartment buildings in Kenya – and that local Democrats have known about it.

The Minnesota welfare fraud scandal has intensified into a national political flashpoint in recent weeks, seized upon by President Donald Trump and echoed in attacks traded across the aisle during the deepening federal probe. Tension crystallized within minutes of the gavel’s first strike, as questioning quickly veered from accounting details to partisan blame.

The hearing grew heated at moments, with lawmakers accusing one another of going “off the rails” and calling for decorum, as flaring tensions delivered more political sparring than clarity.

As the contentious hearing unfolded in Washington, an ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman hundreds of miles away on the streets of Minneapolis. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the woman “attacked” the ICE officers, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the claim that the shooting was in self-defense is “bullsh*t.”

Committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, mentioned the shooting during the hearing, describing it as a “horrific killing.”

“I encourage folks to watch those videos and see what’s happened for themselves. And I’m hopeful that this committee investigates this incident and that we have full accountability,” Garcia said.

At the end of the hearing, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced a motion to subpoena DHS for all documents and footage related to the shooting. The motion ultimately failed after the committee vote resulted in a tie.

Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s hearing:

Lawmakers testify Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz failed to investigate fraud

Wednesday’s hearing featured ardent testimony from three Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives who, the chairman of the Oversight Committee says, “sounded the alarm” on the fraud years ago: Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick.

Hudson testified he had no doubt “whatsoever” that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz knew about the fraud as it occurred.

Robbins, who chairs her state’s fraud prevention committee, said credible reports of child care fraud started surfacing in 2011, and Walz knew about it “from the very beginning.”

“The Tim Walz administration has utterly failed to protect Minnesota taxpayers and vulnerable citizens, ignoring years of credible reports,” Robbins said in her opening statement. Walz was sworn in as governor in 2019.

Hudson said he believed Walz ignored concerns of fraud in part because Somali Americans were a significant piece of the Democratic voting base in Minnesota.

“A culture suppressing raising those concerns was fostered by the Walz administration,” he said.

Rarick said if Walz was serious about addressing fraud, he would have done so when he first took office.

Walz dropped his bid for a historic third term as governor on Monday as the scandal has steadily amplified.

Some suggest Democratic leaders had ‘political incentive’ to cover up Somali fraud

Robbins said whi

Por Katie Hunt, CNN

Fósiles desenterrados en Marruecos de un período poco comprendido de la evolución humana podrían ayudar a los científicos a resolver un misterio de larga data: ¿quiénes vinieron antes que nosotros?

Tres mandíbulas, incluida una de un niño, dientes, vértebras y un fémur fueron desenterrados de una cueva conocida como Grotte à Hominidés en la Cantera Thomas en Casablanca, Marruecos, con una antigüedad de 773.000 años. Resultan enigmáticos para los científicos porque son los primeros fósiles de homínidos de este período que se han descubierto en África.

“Hay muchos fósiles de homínidos en África de hasta aproximadamente un millón de años, pero luego de eso hay un salto hasta alrededor de 500.000 años atrás, y en ese intervalo casi no tenemos nada”, dijo Jean-Jacques Hublin, autor del estudio publicado el miércoles en la revista científica Nature.

“Es extremadamente emocionante tener fósiles justo en medio de ese lapso”, añadió Hublin, paleoantropólogo del Collège de France y del Instituto Max Planck de Antropología Evolutiva en Leipzig, Alemania.

Las tomografías computarizadas y el análisis de las características de los fósiles revelaron un ancestro que tenía un “mosaico” de rasgos primitivos y más evolucionados. Por ejemplo, no tenía un mentón definido, a diferencia del Homo sapiens, pero los dientes y otras características dentales eran bastante similares a los de nuestra propia especie y los neandertales.

La mayoría de los fósiles fueron desenterrados en 2008 y 2009, pero fueron fechados de manera definitiva mucho más recientemente, señaló Hublin, utilizando una técnica conocida como paleomagnetismo, que detecta la firma geológica de una inversión del campo magnético de la Tierra en ciertos minerales con propiedades magnéticas.

La fuerza del campo magnético de la Tierra fluctúa y, en ocasiones, los polos magnéticos norte y sur se invierten. El equipo de investigación encontró que la capa donde se hallaron los fósiles coincidía con la transición Matuyama-Brunhes, un marcador cronológico bien conocido que data de hace 773.000 años y fue la inversión polar principal más reciente.

La coautora del estudio Serena Perini, geóloga y paleomagnetista de la Universidad de Milán en Italia, dijo en un comunicado que la técnica permitió al equipo “anclar la presencia de estos homínidos dentro de un marco cronológico excepcionalmente preciso”.

Los restos de Homo sapiens más antiguos conocidos en el mundo también se han encontrado en Marruecos en un sitio conocido como Jebel Irhoud, y datan de hace 400,000 años. Sin embargo, Hublin dijo que sería incorrecto considerar esta región como el lugar exacto donde surgió nuestra especie. Más probablemente, fue resultado de las condiciones geológicas de la región que permiten que los fósiles se conserven particularmente bien.

Hublin señaló que la cueva que estos individuos llamaron hogar habría sido un lugar peligroso. El hueso de la pierna estaba cubierto de marcas de mordeduras de un depredador, probablemente una hiena, y había mucha evidencia de que carnívoros ocupaban la cueva.

Los fósiles recién descritos son importantes porque arrojan luz sobre la especie ancestral de los tres tipos de humanos que vivieron más recientemente: neandertales, denisovanos y, por supuesto, Homo sapiens, la única especie humana que sobrevive.

Se piensa que los neandertales y los denisovanos se extinguieron hace unos 40.000 años, aunque el momento es menos claro para los denisovanos, una población enigmática identificada por primera vez en 2010.

El último ancestro común de los tres grupos humanos —a veces llamado ancestro x— es una “figura esquiva”, según Antonio Rosa

By Andrew Freedman, Ella Nilsen, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is pulling the United States out of the bedrock treaty that underpins international cooperation on climate change, according to a memorandum released by the White House Wednesday evening and an accompanying social media post.

Such an action, if successful, would leave the US out of international climate change talks and could raise tensions with US allies for whom climate action is a priority.

The agreement in question is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, which the US joined and Congress ratified in 1992, when George H.W. Bush was in the White House. The agreement does not require the US to cut fossil fuels or pollution, but rather sets a goal of stabilizing the amount of climate pollution in the atmosphere at a level that would “prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-caused) interference with the climate system.”

It also set up a process for negotiations between countries that have come to be known as the annual UN climate summits. It was under the UNFCCC’s auspices that the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1995, and the Paris Agreement in 2015 — two monumental moments of global cooperation and progress toward limiting harmful climate pollution.

In addition, the agreement requires the submission of an annual national climate pollution inventory, which the Trump administration notably skipped this year.

Former Sec. of State and US climate envoy John Kerry blasted the move as an expected one, yet damaging to American interests globally, calling it “a gift to China and a get out of jail free card to countries and polluters who want to avoid responsibility.”

President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement for a second time on his first day in office. With Wednesday’s move, the US will now become the first country to withdraw from the climate treaty, since virtually every country is a member, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

Because the Senate ratified the UNFCCC in 1992, it is a legal gray area as to whether President Donald Trump can unilaterally pull the country out of it. However, if Congress plays a role, the Republican majority would presumably back the move.

If successful, the withdrawal would prevent the US from officially participating in subsequent annual climate summits and could call into question the country’s commitment to other longstanding agreements to which it is a party. It may also prompt other nations to reevaluate their commitments to the UNFCCC and UN climate talks, risking not just US climate progress but that of others.

A US withdrawal could make it difficult for a future president to rejoin the Paris Agreement, since that agreement was struck under the auspices of the UNFCCC.

The decision came following a review of major international agreements that the State Department had undertaken based on an executive order. In total, the White House directed the withdrawal of the US from 66 international organizations “that no longer serve American interests,” including 31 UN entities.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Sable Offshore and environmental advocacy groups were in court Wednesday when the Houston-based energy company admitted that dormant onshore pipelines have not been restarted, opening them up to state regulatory oversight.

Judge Donna Geck heard arguments from both sides during a status conference Wednesday and agreed to let the injunction preventing restart stand until parties return to court on Feb. 27.

During the proceedings, representatives of Sable Offshore characterized pipelines that connect the company's three offshore platforms, both offshore ones that connect to the Las Flores Canyon refinement facility and onshore pipelines that connect that facility all the way to Pentland Station in Kern County, as active and part of a singular unit.

When pressed if onshore pipelines were transporting oil, Sable Offshore admitted that they were not.

That distinction matters.

Because onshore pipelines were not restarted before Jan. 1, 2026, a new state law requires Sable Offshore to apply for a Coastal Development Permit before restarting them to transport oil.

The new state law, SB 237, signed into law in September of 2025, would require Sable Offshore to request a coastal development permit among other steps from the California Coastal Commission to conduct any, "Repair, reactivation, and maintenance of an oil and gas facility, including an oil pipeline, that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for five years or more".

Those specifications only apply to plans to restart onshore pipelines in Santa Barbara County, including Line CA-324, formerly known as Line 901, which has been dormant since it ruptured, causing the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill which impacted 150 miles of California coastline and destroyed thousands of acres of shoreline habitats.

"Ever since a catastrophic oil spill at Refugio Beach in 2015 led to a court-ordered consent decree, CAL FIRE - Office of the State Fire Marshal has been responsible for overseeing the repair of the lines that caused the spill, which are now operated by Sable Offshore Corp in Santa Barbara County," shared Daniel Villaseñor with the California Natural Resources Agency.

After Sable Offshore submitted official paperwork to restart oil production with the California Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) in September, the state-based safety agency responded the next month that there were still unmet conditions before an official restart.

In response to those pipeline safety concerns, Sable Offshore informed investors that it had determined that the pipelines connecting the Santa Ynez Unit to Pentland Station in Kern County are technically an inter