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Nasdaq surges above 20,000 after US inflation data matches estimatesIn your everyday life, time and space know how to behave. A kilometre is a kilometre, and an hour is an hour – no matter how late you are running. Perception is not reality. Einstein showed space and time were one thing, and it bends and warps. A decade ago, astronomers for the first time observed gravitational waves: universe-spanning ripples that move through space-time – and through us. This discovery proved to be only part of the story. Astronomers are finding our universe is so permeated by gravitational waves, the fabric of reality is constantly in flux. Australian astronomers have created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date. Credit: Carl Knox / OzGrav / Swinburne University of Technology / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory The picture that is coming into focus, says astronomer Dr Matt Miles, is one that shows the universe as a vast ocean, dark and powerful. “The Earth is really just a ship, being bounced across the waves. The universe is constantly changing size. Time is constantly changing. The Earth is just riding that wave.” In a series of papers published last week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , a group of Australian astronomers reveal the strongest evidence yet for what they call the “gravitational wave background”: the constant rippling of space-time. Einstein imagined space like a piece of stretched fabric, with stars and planets and black holes scattered across it. Their mass bends and curves the fabric. The moon orbits the Earth because it is trapped in the depression in space-time created by the Earth’s mass – it spins like a coin in a funnel. Now, on the stretched fabric of space, introduce a very heavy spinning object: a pair of super-massive black holes orbiting each other. University of Sydney researcher Dr Sean Farrell was part of an international team of astronomers which observed a star that had strayed too close to a super-massive black hole being torn apart. Credit: Ute Kraus These spinning objects create ripples that spread through the sheet: gravitational waves. As these waves pass through us, space is distorted just slightly. The Earth – and everyone on it – widens and then shrinks. Why don’t we notice? Because a fish that lives in the ocean does not notice the waves. “Waves and currents pass through the literal fabric they live in,” says Rowina Nathan, an astronomer at Monash University who co-wrote one of the papers. “It’s the same for us.” Scientists have been spotting single waves passing through Earth since 2015. The new papers show waves are rippling throughout the entire universe. The LIGO interferometer in Livingston, Louisiana, which is used to detect gravitational waves. The team took observations of pulsars, rapidly spinning remains of supernovas, which emit bursts of radiation with such regularity they can be used as cosmic lighthouses. Over almost five years, the team used the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa to measure the distance between Earth and 83 pulsars. They watched as the distances widened and shrank – by up to the size of a tennis court – revealing what Miles describes as a “cacophony of noise” from the many waves they could see. With this information, they have created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date. Exotic explanations The next question to answer: what is causing these waves? The simple answer, if you can call it that, is super-massive black hole pairs. We know they produce single waves; it is likely there are enough of them out there to set the fabric of reality constantly in motion. But there are other more exotic explanations. “The physics is a little wild,” admits Miles, an astronomer with OzGrav at Swinburne University who led two of the papers. The first is known as “cosmological phase transition”. In the moments after the Big Bang, the universe was so hot the physical forces, like electromagnetism, that govern our reality had not yet formed. Eventually, parts of the universe cooled enough for basic physics to start functioning. But – in theory – this did not happen everywhere at once. This produced regions within the early universe operating on different physical laws. As these regions – or bubbles – came into contact with each other, the different physics collapsed into symmetry, releasing huge amounts of energy – and, possibly, gravitational waves. The gravitational wave background may be the leftover ripples from the bursting of those bubbles. If that theory is not exotic enough, there’s a second: cosmic strings. When the regions of the early universe came into contact, rather than bursting, they may have created long fractures – imperfections in the fabric of space-time. “They get frozen in when the universe cooled from its very hot state. And you can’t get rid of them,” says Professor Eric Thrane, an astrophysicist at Monash University. As these long fractures move, they could also generate gravitational waves. “People really believe in these. We don’t know if we’ll ever be able to prove it,” says Miles. Gravitational waves further tell us the universe is a strange and wonderful thing. “The universe is this very exciting cosmic dance,” says Miles. “And the Earth is going along with the motions.” The Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week .
The policies will continue
Romanian lawmakers narrowly approves new pro-European coalition during period of political turmoilJyotiraditya Scindia (PTI file photo) Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that support to the mobile industry will continue as govt wants at least four-five players to back up the country's digital infrastructure. Also, amid a debate around satellite communications and entry of new players such as Elon Musk's Starlink, the minister said satcom services will help complete mobile coverage across the country. "We want a telecom sector where we don't have a limited number of players... (and) therefore support to this industry is extremely important," he told TOI in an interview. Excerpts: Govt has given several bailouts to the telecom industry and many feel Vodafone Idea and BSNL have been a drain on exchequer. How long will the support continue? If you look at any of the steps that we have taken to support or provide relief, it has been given for every player across the spectrum. Obviously, it has supported BSNL the most, but it has also supported other players, including the recent decision of bank guarantee waiver. We want a vibrant telecom sector. We want a telecom sector where we don't have a limited number of players... it's very important to have at least four-five players in this industry. Therefore, support to this industry is extremely important. Don't forget that in next decade, this industry is going to become the linchpin of India's rise on world stage. Apart from the terrestrial networks, what's the role that you see for OTT communication services (such as WhatsApp/Telegram/Facetime calling) and also satcom players, such as Starlink? All these will be complementary to existing networks. There is no single media that is going to satisfy every single customer across the world. You're seeing symbiotic/synergistic technologies being used across the world to ensure 100% saturation. Satellite, in many ways, is going to be very, very complementary to 'bouquet of technologies' that is going to provide 100% accessibility across the length and breadth of our country. So, 5G today is in 99% of our districts with 82% of our population. We need to connect the balance 1% districts and 18% of our population. Telecom companies have sought 'same service, same rules', saying OTT communication services should be governed by same regulations, especially on interception and law enforcement matters. Why the discrepancy? This is something that Trai is looking at. It's not my job to say anything when something is under the regulatory lens. When it comes to satcom, we've seen intense lobbying from incumbent telecos, which are demanding auctions, in line with how they buy spectrum? All these when the new telecom law mandates administrative allocation. Where is the disconnect? Please understand that technologically there's a big difference between spectrum for terrestrial networks and spectrum allocated to satellite-based, non-terrestrial networks. For, terrestrial networks, you can allocate frequencies exclusively which can't be used by others. But when you get into higher satellite frequencies, that spectrum cannot be allocated to a single entity. It is shared. So, how do you auction something that's shared? You can't. If you look across the world, there is not a single country today where satellite spectrum is auctioned. It's all allocated administratively. This has been debated ad nauseam in India and the first schedule in Telecom Act 2023 clearly mentions that satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. Price of that spectrum is going to be decided by Trai, after which it will be allocated administratively. What is your view on entry of new satcom players such as Starlink? India is open to everyone. Everyone, who comes here and applies for a licence and fulfils all norms, will be granted one. There is a pro forma for a licence. If any company wants to apply, we are more than happy and welcome them. Let them fulfil all the norms, and they will get a license. The Regulatory process is clear. Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!
Bryan sets record for hotel revenue in NovemberBangladesh seeks extradition of exiled former PM Sheikh HasinaWASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of “regularly” paying for sex, including with a 17-year-old girl, and purchasing and using illicit drugs as a member of Congress, as lawmakers released the conclusions of a nearly four-year investigation that helped sink his nomination for attorney general. The 37-page report by the bipartisan panel includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, took part in from 2017 to 2020 while representing Florida's western panhandle. Congressional investigators concluded that Gaetz violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office, though not federal sex trafficking laws. They also found that Gaetz “knowingly and willfully sought to impede and obstruct” the committee's work. “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report states. Ahead of the report’s release Gaetz denied any wrongdoing and criticized the committee's process. “Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn’t ask for — and that isn’t ‘charged’ for sex is now prostitution?!?” he posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. “There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses.” Gaetz, a Republican first elected in 2017, spent the majority of his time in Washington enmeshed in scandals that ultimately derailed his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump as attorney general. His political future is uncertain, although Gaetz has indicated he would be interested in running for the open Senate seat in Florida. Lawmakers paint a damning portrait of Gaetz's conduct, using dozens of pages of exhibits, including text messages and financial records, travel receipts, checks and online payments, to document a party- and drug-fueled lifestyle. The committee said it compiled the evidence after issuing 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony and contacting more than two dozen witnesses. In addition to soliciting prostitution, the Ethics Committee report states that Gaetz “accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.” That same year, investigators say Gaetz arranged for his chief of staff to obtain a passport for a woman he was sexually involved with, falsely telling the State Department that she was his constituent. In some of the text exchanges, Gaetz appears to be inviting various women to events, getaways or parties, and arranging airplane travel and lodging. At one point he asks one woman if she has a “cute black dress” to wear. There are also discussions of shipping goods. One of the exhibits is a text exchange that appears to be between two of the women concerned about their cash flow and payments. In another, a person asks Gaetz for help to pay an educational expense. Regarding the 17-year-old girl, the report states there’s no evidence that Gaetz knew she was a minor when he had sex with her, the committee said. The woman told the committee she didn’t tell Gaetz she was under 18 at the time and that he didn’t know how old she was. Rather, the committee said Gaetz learned she was a minor more than a month after the party. But he stayed in touch with her after that and met up with her for “commercial sex” again less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. But Florida law, which states it is a felony for a person 24 or older to have sex with a minor, does not allow a claim of ignorance or misrepresentation of a minor's age as a defense. Joel Leppard, who represents two women who told the committee that Gaetz paid them for sex, said the findings “vindicate” the accounts of his clients and “demonstrate their credibility.” “We appreciate the Committee’s commitment to transparency in releasing this comprehensive report so the truth can be known,” Leppard said in a statement. At least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the Ethics Committee earlier this month in voting to release the report about their former colleague despite initial opposition from GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publishing findings about a former member of Congress. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. On behalf of the Republicans who voted against releasing the report, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, Ethics chairman, wrote that while the members do not challenge the report's findings, “we take great exception that the majority deviated from the Committee’s well-established standards,” to drop any investigation when a person is not longer a member of the chamber. “We believe that operating outside the jurisdictional bounds set forth by House Rules and Committee standards, especially when making public disclosures, is a dangerous departure with potentially catastrophic consequences,” Guest wrote. Mounting a last-ditch effort to halt the publication of the report, Gaetz filed a lawsuit Monday asking a court to intervene, citing what he called “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his “standing and reputation in the community.” Gaetz’s complaint argues he’s no longer under the committee’s jurisdiction since he resigned from Congress. “The Committee’s position that it may nonetheless publish potentially defamatory findings about a private citizen over whom it claims no jurisdiction represents an unprecedented expansion of Congressional power that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s lawyers wrote in their request for a temporary restraining order. The often secretive, bipartisan panel has investigated claims against Gaetz since 2021. But its work became more urgent last month when Trump picked him shortly after Election Day as his first choice to be the nation's top law enforcement officer. Gaetz resigned from Congress that same day, putting him outside the purview of the Ethics Committee's jurisdiction. But Democrats had pressed to make the report public even after Gaetz was no longer a member and had withdrawn as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this month to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican voted against it. The committee detailed its start-and-stop investigation over the past several years, which was halted for a time as the Justice Department conducted its own probe of Gaetz. Federal prosecutors never brought a case against him. Lawmakers said they asked the Justice Department for information about its probe, but the agency refused to hand over information, saying it doesn’t disclose information about investigations that don’t result in charges. The committee then subpoenaed the Justice Department for records, but after a back-and-forth between Justice Department officials and the committee, the department only handed over “publicly reported information about the testimony of a deceased individual,” according to the report. “To date, DOJ has provided no meaningful evidence or information to the Committee or cited any lawful basis for its responses,” the committee said. In releasing the report, the panel added that Gaetz was also “uncooperative" throughout the probe. He provided “minimal documentation” in response to the committee’s requests, it said. “He also did not agree to a voluntary interview.” ___ Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
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Stock Picking Mastery: An Exciting New Tool for Smarter InvestingWASHINGTON — A congressional task force investigating the attempts to kill Donald Trump during his presidential campaign is recommending changes to the Secret Service, including protecting fewer foreign leaders during the height of election season and considering moving the agency out of the Homeland Security Department. The 180-page report by the bipartisan task force released Tuesday is one of the most detailed looks so far into the July assassination attempt against Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and a second attempt in Florida two months later. Like the series of other investigations and reports, the task force railed at the agency tasked with protecting the top echelon of America’s democratic leaders. “The events of July 13, 2024, were tragic and preventable, and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable,” the authors wrote. “The Secret Service’s zero fail mission allows no margin for error, let alone for the many errors described in this report.” In the July shooting, a gunman opened fire from the roof of a nearby building, wounding Trump in the ear, killing one rallygoer and wounding two others. He was killed by a countersniper. In another assassination attempt in September, a gunman waited for hours for Trump to appear at his golf course in Florida, but a Secret Service agent thwarted the attack by spotting the firearm poking through some bushes. Here are the highlights of the new report and its recommendations: The report’s authors noted that the number of people the agency is tasked with protecting has “greatly expanded.” At the same time, the presidential campaign season is getting longer and more intense. The agency is also tasked with protecting foreign dignitaries during the U.N. General Assembly, when heads of state and government flood into New York. That event happens every September, which comes at the “height of campaign season,” the report noted, adding to the agency’s staffing crunch. “Congress, DHS, and the USSS should jointly consider the protective role the USSS plays for foreign leaders and consider whether such duties can be transferred or abrogated in order to focus on the USSS’s primary duty: to protect the President and other critical U.S. leaders,” the report said. The Secret Service is known for its high-profile work of protecting the president, the vice-president, presidential candidates, their families and others. But agents also carry out a wide range of investigations not related to their protective mission — investigating fraud and financial crimes, for example. Stemming from when the agency was part of the Treasury Department, those investigations are an important part of training Secret Service officers for skills they’ll need on protective details, agency leaders say. But the task force recommended reviewing these investigative responsibilities — especially during campaign season — so the agency “can prioritize the protection of U.S. leaders and candidates running for office.” “These non-protective, investigative functions require systemic review because of the USSS’s stunning failure to protect President-elect Trump on July 13,” the report said. “The Secret Service’s protective mission is at the core of the agency’s purpose — anything that distracts or diverts resources from the agency’s zero fail mission must be reconsidered.” Questioning whether the Secret Service should stay in the Homeland Security Department After DHS was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Secret Service was moved there from the Treasury Department. The task force suggested reevaluating that move. During the time Secret Service has been in the Homeland Security Department, “USSS has not benefited from stable leadership,” the lawmakers said. They said the structure “potentially weakens USSS, a small but critically important agency, in advocating for its budget and other priorities inside a much larger entity.” “A fresh look at whether USSS might benefit from the status of an independent agency, with more freedom to make budget requests and advocate for itself, would be a healthy discussion for former USSS leaders to have with Congress,” the task force said. The task force said the gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, Thomas Crooks, exploited gaps in protection because of a lack of assets and staff. Specifically, the panel noted that the Secret Service, already dealing with the increased tempo of a presidential campaign, was protecting not one but two high-profile people that day in close vicinity to each other, with first lady Jill Biden at a nearby event. In one example highlighting the lack of resources at the Trump rally, the task force said there should have been a counter-surveillance unit in Butler, and if there had been one assigned that day, it might have spotted the shooter earlier. Such a counter-surveillance team was in place for the Biden event, the report noted, although that event was indoors. “From interviews with special agents on the ground, it appears that the main factor in the decision to not request (the counter-surveillance unit) was an assumption that the request would be denied due to the protectee’s status as a former President at the time of the event,” the report said. Much of the criticism in the aftermath of the July assassination attempt has centered on how the shooter could have gotten access to a roof with a clear line of sight to Trump and why there was such poor communications between the Secret Service and local law enforcement. The Secret Service often relies on local law enforcement to secure large events. The report detailed how local law enforcement had one idea of its responsibilities while the Secret Service had another. But the task force emphasized that ultimately the Secret Service is responsible for ensuring that coordination runs smoothly. “The Secret Service must own responsibility for the security of the site,” the report said.
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