VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites destined for low-Earth orbit is scheduled from Space Launch Complex 4 East Tuesday evening.

The designated launch window is between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Pacific Time.

A live webcast of the launch will begin about five minutes before liftoff. You can tune in to watch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.

Following first-stage separation, the Falcon 9 assigned to this mission will return to Earth to land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship awaiting in the Pacific Ocean.

A depiction of that launch sequence is shown in the image below.

There is the potential for one or more sonic booms associated with the launch to be heard across the local region, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other conditions at the time.

This will be the 24th flight for the booster assigned to this mission which previously launched the following missions:  Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, TRACERS, NROL-48, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM3, and 13 prior Starlink launches.

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By Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — In the Trump administration’s latest move to limit trans rights, the Department of Education has launched a Title IX investigation into Smith College, an all-women’s college in western Massachusetts, for admitting trans women.

Like most other women’s colleges in the US, Smith, a small liberal arts college, admits trans women. The 155-year-old school says it “is a women’s college and considers for admission any applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women are eligible to apply to Smith.”

In a Monday statement, the Department of Education said it was investigating Smith for “admitting biological men and granting them access to women-only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams.”

The term “biological men,” though often used by opponents of trans rights to describe trans women, is not commonly used by trans people.

Smith College told CNN it “is fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws” and “does not comment on pending government investigations.”

The Education Department says it’s investigating whether the college’s policy violates Title IX, a landmark federal civil rights law that bans sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal funding.

“Title IX contains a single-sex exception that allows colleges to enroll all-male or all-female student bodies—but the exception applies on the basis of biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity,” reads the statement. “An all-girls college that enrolls male students professing a female identity would cease to qualify as single sex under Title IX.”

Shannon Minter, an attorney with the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, called the investigation an “ominous” example of government overreach into private institutions.

“If they (women’s colleges) have chosen – as many of them have – to admit transgender students, that’s something they should be able to do freely without being worried about persecution by the federal government,” he said.

“This administration seems hellbent on eliminating any inclusion of transgender people anywhere in our society,” he added.

President Donald Trump has taken sweeping measures to limit trans people’s rights and to deny trans identity exists in the first place. New policies under his second term include banning trans people from the military, suing states for allowing trans athletes to play on high school sports teams, restricting trans and nonbinary children’s access to gender-affirming care, and a Day 1 executive order that redefined gender as “sex” and said that humans are either male or female, determined by biology at conception.

Trans people make up a tiny fragment of the country’s population. Just 1% of the United States population ages 13 and older identify as trans, according to the Williams Institute, a public policy research

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – An adult woman was hit and killed Sunday evening while walking along State Route 166/West Main Street between Santa Maria and Guadalupe and investigators are turning to the public for help locating her killer.

The identity of the woman is pending notification of her next of kin, but the California Highway Patrol shared Monday that she is not a permanent resident.

On May 3, around 8 p.m., a woman was walking along the westbound shoulder of West Main Street between Guadalupe and Santa Maria when she was hit by an unknown vehicle stated a press release from the California Highway Patrol-Santa Maria Area (CHP).

The woman sustained fatal injures as a result of the collision and the driver of the involved vehicle fled the scene before the arrival of first responders noted the CHP.

Investigators are now turning to the public for help in their investigation.

Anyone with more information, dashcam footage, or surveillance video before or after the fatal collision Sunday evening is asked to contact the CHP's Santa Maria office at 805-608-6310.

"Our thoughts are with the victim's family during this incredibly difficult time. We urge all drivers to take
responsibility and remain on scene after a crash," said CHP-Santa Maria Commander Joseph Rodriguez.

The post Investigators ask public for help after woman is hit and killed walking on West Main Street Sunday appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – An adult woman was hit and killed Sunday evening while walking along State Route 166/West Main Street between Santa Maria and Guadalupe and investigators are turning to the public for help locating her killer.

The identity of the woman is pending notification of her next of kin, but the California Highway Patrol shared Monday that she is not a permanent resident of the area.

On May 3, around 8 p.m., a woman was walking along the westbound shoulder of West Main Street between Guadalupe and Santa Maria when she was hit by an unknown vehicle stated a press release from the California Highway Patrol-Santa Maria Area (CHP).

The woman sustained fatal injures as a result of the collision and the driver of the involved vehicle fled the scene before the arrival of first responders noted the CHP.

Investigators are now turning to the public for help in their investigation.

Anyone with more information, dashcam footage, or surveillance video before or after the fatal collision Sunday evening is asked to contact the CHP's Santa Maria office at 805-608-6310.

"Our thoughts are with the victim's family during this incredibly difficult time. We urge all drivers to take
responsibility and remain on scene after a crash," said CHP-Santa Maria Commander Joseph Rodriguez.

The post Investigators ask public for help after woman is hit and killed walking on West Main Street Sunday appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Por Rocío Muñoz-Ledo y María Santana, CNN en Español

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, exlíder del Cártel de Sinaloa, envió una nueva carta a la corte federal de Brooklyn en la que solicita al juez Brian Cogan ser extraditado a México, tras haber sido condenado a cadena perpetua en Estados Unidos.

“Mi nombre es Joaquín Guzmán y estoy luchando por una liberación mediante extradición de regreso a México”, escribe el capo mexicano en la carta redactada a mano en inglés desde la prisión de máxima seguridad ADX Florence, en Colorado, donde se encuentra recluido.

En la carta, Guzmán Loera afirma que su caso estuvo marcado por irregularidades y sostiene que no se valoraron pruebas clave que fueron presentadas durante su histórico juicio en la corte federal de Brooklyn, que se extendió por tres meses entre y concluyó en 2019 con su condena por 10 cargos, incluidos participación en una empresa criminal continua, tráfico de drogas y delitos relacionados con armas de fuego. Guzmán dijo en aquella ocasión que “no hubo justicia aquí”, y fue luego sentenciado a cadena perpetua más 30 años y se le ordenó pagar US$ 12.600 millones en confiscación.

“Esta es una carta respetuosa sobre la violación de la Corte en la evidencia contundente que no se probó para evitar desestimar mi caso”, señala en el documento de una página. “Pido a la corte de distrito que se respeten mis derechos a solicitar regresar a mi país y pedir modificaciones por la violación a mi sentencia, en aras de la imparcialidad en la legislación federal”, añade.

El exlíder del Cartel de Sinaloa dice que busca “un trato igualitario ante la ley” y presenta la carta como parte de su apelación, incluyendo una solicitud de un nuevo juicio.

“He escrito varias cartas sobre lo justo de mi solicitud de apelación para la siguiente fecha, para obtener un trato igualitario ante la ley”, dice.

En 2022, un panel de jueces de la Corte de Apelaciones del Segundo Circuito confirmó la condena. En su decisión, los magistrados señalaron que el juez federal Brian Cogan condujo el juicio “con diligencia e imparcialidad, luego de emitir una serie de fallos previos al juicio elaborados meticulosamente”.

El tribunal de apelaciones rechazó además los argumentos de la apelación de Guzmán Loera, que alegaban violaciones al derecho a un juicio justo, restricciones durante la detención preventiva y supuesta mala conducta del jurado. “Concluimos que ninguno de estos reclamos tiene mérito”, indicó el panel en su resolución.

“Durante el proceso de mi apelación, se ha considerado la posibilidad de un nuevo juicio”, añade el capo maxicano en el texto, donde también menciona que las autoridades de ambos países podrían coordinarse para facilitar su regreso a México.

La carta más reciente, fechada el 23 de abril y recibida el 5 de mayo por la Corte Federal del Distrito Este de Nueva York, es la quinta que envía Guzmán Loera en un mes desde la prisión de máxima seguridad ADX Florence, en Colorado, una prisión de máxima seguridad diseñada para albergar a los reclusos considerados de mayor peligrosidad en el sistema penitenciario estadounidense.

En sus escritos, el exlíder del Cartel de Sinaloa insisite en que su condena fue injusta, sin evidencia suficiente, solicita acceso a documentos de su caso y afirma que busca preparar una nueva apelación. También denuncia violaciones a sus derechos constitucionales y cuestiona la legalidad de su extradición y del proc