After launching on Thursday, the Starship rocket caught the booster back at the pad but lost contact with the ascending spacecraft as engines went out. Officials for Elon Musk's company confirmed that the spacecraft was destroyed.

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An internal document from Immigration and Customs Enforcement concludes it would be "impossible" for it to enforce the Laken Riley Act without significantly more resources.

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One of the biggest hurdles to carrying out Trump's mass deportation plans is where to house the millions of people who are in the country without legal status. As many prisons and detention centers are already overcrowded, what options are there?

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Scott Turner pledged to make HUD programs more streamlined and efficient. He declined to say whether he would oppose major budget cuts to the agency if Trump proposes them again.

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Most people in L.A. did not evacuate -- and many have survivor's guilt. Katia Riddle discusses with Ailsa strategies for Angelenos who are navigating this complicated emotional terrain.

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The nation's first Indigenous cabinet secretary is wrapping up at the Department of Interior. It's unclear how many of Deb Haaland's reforms will remain intact under Trump.

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At the time we publish this episode, Israel's government has yet to accept the terms of the long-negotiated and hard fought ceasefire deal announced yesterday.

The deal is still on, but the quarreling over the details demonstrates how difficult it is to keep the agreement on track.

On Thursday morning Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a cabinet vote on the deal, accusing Hamas of "reneging" on parts of the agreement.

A Hamas official said on social media that the group is committed to the agreement announced Wednesday.

After more than 15 long months, tens of thousands dead, and close to 2 million people displaced, will we finally see an end to the war in Gaza?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org

Email us at considerthis@npr.org

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Monday's Inauguration Day is set to be the coldest in 40 years. The high temperature for the day is projected to be around freezing at 23 degrees, while the low for the day may drop to just 10 degrees.

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Democrats worry the Trump administration will roll back efforts to limit climate change.

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Just one day after the announcement of a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza, Israel's prime minister threatened to delay a cabinet vote to approve the deal. He later relented and scheduled a vote. To understand the politics behind the deal and how the U.S. will be involved in its implementation we hear from Aaron David Miller. He once represented the U.S. in peace negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

You can find all our reporting on this conflict at npr.org/mideastupdates

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a "loose end" was being tied up but he was confident the ceasefire would begin on Sunday as planned.

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While the number of patients with flu are declining, a cold snap has again placed nurses under extreme stress.

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The Oscar-nominated writer and filmmaker is also famous for the surrealist cult classic, Mulholland Drive.

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Sanctions were introduced after the Crimea annexation in 2014 and the wider invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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The tech giant was facing pressure to pull the feature after it made repeated mistakes.

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It comes after customers complained of not being able to plan for price rises.

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Frogs, lizards, snakes and insect pests are being transported across the world on ornamental plants.

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The portraits of the president-elect and the incoming vice-president "go hard", their press team said.

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Job prospects for younger workers are likely to be hit by Budget measures, Lord Wolfson tells the BBC.

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The two largest fires are still burning after more than a week - but gusts that fanned the flames have eased.

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We'll defo ask for permission next time, automaker tells FTC

General Motors on Thursday said that it has reached a settlement with the FTC "to address privacy concerns about our now-discontinued Smart Driver program."?

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Welcome to a decade where the oligarchs are no longer silent in the shadows

US President Joe Biden gave his final address to the nation on Wednesday, and said America was visibly sliding into an oligopoly aided by a flood of online disinformation.?

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Department of Transportation wants in on last-minute Biden administration action too

The Department of Transportation has joined the flurry of last-minute actions by the Biden administration with a lawsuit accusing Southwest Airlines of operating chronically delayed flights. ?

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FSB cyberspies venture into a new app for espionage, Microsoft says

Star Blizzard, a prolific phishing crew backed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), conducted a new campaign aiming to compromise WhatsApp accounts and gain access to their messages and data, according to Microsoft.?

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You've got to spend money ? like $36 billion+ ? to make, er, AI chips

TSMC is bumping capital expenditure in 2025 to between $38 billion and $42 billion in anticipation of scooping up more chip manufacturing contracts in the field of AI processors.?

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That's in addition to the $4.5M fine paid to three state AGs last year

Enzo Biochem has settled a consolidated class-action lawsuit relating to its 2023 ransomware incident for $7.5 million.?

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The hyperscale plant is designed to produce tens of thousands of AVs a year

Anduril has found a new home in Middle America with confirmation today that the defense tech maker plans to build its first hyperscale manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio. ?

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Power-induced glitches, lasers, and electromagnetic fields are all tools of the trade

Raspberry Pi has given out prizes for extracting a secret value from the one-time-programmable (OTP) memory of the Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller ? awarding a pile of cash to all four entrants.?

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Chocolate Factory slurps own dogfood, sheds drudgery in specific areas

Google, which peddles AI software with as much giddy enthusiasm as Microsoft, reports dogfooding its own AI concoction and leaving the lab with a pleasant taste in its mouth.?

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Plus: Bit barns' demand for water, land, and power could breed 'growing opposition' from residents

The datacenter industry looks set for a turbulent 2025 as AI growth threatens to trump sustainability commitments and authorities are likely to see growing public hostility to new projects.?

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10 years in prison is possible.

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Chair: Complaints "seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC."

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New plans will be cheaper for those who want Gemini, pricier for those who don't.

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I'm not sure why you'd want to do both at the same time, but this EV could.

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"Classic" plans without AI or price increases are only for current subscribers.

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The seventh test flight of Starship is scheduled for launch Thursday afternoon.

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"This study somewhat refutes the idea that villains are a product of their experiences." At least in fiction.

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Rumors swirl that RedNote may segregate Chinese users as soon as next week.

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AT&T pulls 5G home Internet from New York to protest state affordability law.

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The landers were developed by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace and a Japanese startup named ispace.

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