NEW YORK — World No. 6 Coco Gauff and coach Brad Gilbert are parting company after the player suffered a frustrating fourth-round exit at the US Open, Gilbert said Wednesday, adding that he was looking forward to the next chapter of his career.
Gilbert helped to coach Gauff to her first Grand Slam trophy in New York last year, but the player was unable to retain her title after disappointing early departures from US Open tuneup tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.
“Thanks to @CocoGauff and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort,” Gilbert, who got to No. 4 in the world during a 13-year playing career, said on X.
“Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”
Gauff followed up her major breakthrough in Flushing Meadows with semifinal berths at the Australian Open and French Open this year.
But there were clear signs of friction between her and fellow American Gilbert at Wimbledon, where she shouted in frustration at him during her fourth-round defeat against American Emma Navarro.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — DJ Moore was unaware how his body language was being perceived during the Chicago Bears’ 19-13 loss in Houston until he saw video clips of himself circulating on social media.
Upon seeing how he was captured by cameras during “Sunday Night Football,” the veteran wide receiver did some “self-evaluation” and noted that his frustrations were not directed at the Bears’ passing game nor anyone in specific.
“I shouldn’t have shown as much,” Moore said. “But it’s a part of the game. Like I said, we were one play away from the game changing. And we just couldn’t connect, nobody on offense could connect with the one play or get the one play started to get us on track and go up. It’s football. Everybody is going to have their ups and downs and frustrations.”
Down nine points with 3:01 to play in Houston, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw a back-shoulder pass to Moore on third-and-4 from the Texans’ 36-yard line. After the throw fell incomplete, Moore lay on his back momentarily before taking his helmet off and walking to the Bears’ sideline.
Cameras also showed Moore appearing to look sullen while sitting on the bench, which the wide receiver intimated was a mischaracterization of his body language.
“… every chance the camera got they caught that angle,” Moore said. “I usually sit on the bench like that anyway, so I don’t know what that’s about.”
Moore was targeted a team-high 10 times and caught six passes for 53 yards. While recounting his throw that ended the Bears’ penultimate drive of the game, Williams took responsibility for being off target.
“Tried to give [Moore] the ball, and if I threw it a little less wide and gave him a little bit more time, he would have made the play,” Williams said. “And so, we’ll be hitting on those here soon, and we’re going to be making those plays.”
Moore led the Bears in receiving (1,364 yards) during his first season in Chicago in 2023 and received a four-year, $110 million contract extension in August. While his frustrations over the Bears’ offensive struggles (2.97 yards per play, which is the franchise’s lowest total through two weeks in the Super Bowl era) are shared by others, Moore does not want his frustrations to put pressure on Williams.
“You want to keep things steady because then you don’t want him to get frustrated and just go out there and try to make a play, which he didn’t really try to go out there and make a play [out of frustration], he was just being himself,” Moore said. “That’s all you can ask of him.”
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Twelve days after suffering a left knee injury in the season opener, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to the practice field and left open the possibility of playing Sunday at the Tennessee Titans.
Love has missed only one game — Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, when Malik Willis started at quarterback — after initial indications were that he could miss up to a month because of a sprained MCL.
Love wore a protective brace that was covered by a sleeve that extended almost the entire length of his leg and was officially a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. Coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t specify whether Love took part in only selected drills or took part in every drill under a rep count.
In addition to still needing medical clearance, Love would have to be mobile enough to protect himself from injury to play Sunday.
“The trainers are seeing everything I’m doing and they’re not gonna put me out there unless they feel confident that I can protect myself,” Love said Wednesday. “But at the same time, that’s why it’s good to get some practice reps in and get that feel of what it’s like again.”
Love acknowledged that not everything can be simulated in practice.
“There’s just nothing like when it’s live bullets, you’re in the game and that rush is real,” said Love, “so there’s a lot of things I might not experience before I get back in the game.”
Willis said he is impressed with Love’s recovery.
“You can see that he feels more comfortable just moving around the building, the way he was out there today,” Willis said. “I wouldn’t be surprised [if Love plays]. I just have to stay ready and focus on what I can control [and] leave it up to him and Coach LaFleur.”
Meanwhile, LaFleur has been tasked with trying to get Willis enough work in practice so that he can use more of the playbook than he did in Sunday’s win over the Colts, when the Packers threw just 14 times and ran 53.
“That’s always a challenge, and so throughout the course of the week, hopefully you get a better indication and that kind of leads to some of the decisions you have to make,” LaFleur said of getting two quarterbacks ready.
Willis isn’t looking at Sunday’s matchup as a revenge game after the Titans traded him to the Packers for a seventh-round pick on Aug. 26. The 2022 third-round pick started three games for Tennessee, going 1-2.
“No, I could care less, man,” Willis said. “I think I got paid the whole time I was there. I’m more than blessed for the opportunities given me. They brought me into this league, whether those guys are there or not. That organization, they took a shot on me. … They did a great job by me.”
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Two days after Drake London scored the go-ahead touchdown on “Monday Night Football” and celebrated by pantomiming shooting a gun into the air, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver said he wasn’t pleased with how it all went down.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to London with 34 seconds left Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The score put the Falcons even, 21-21, on the road in Philadelphia.
London, after his first MNF touchdown, said he got a little carried away in the moment. The Falcons were flagged for a 15-yard penalty, and kicker Younghoe Koo had to kick a 48-yard extra point to give the team the lead, which they held on to for a major, 22-21 early-season victory.
“It’s a trend around football right now to do that type of celebration,” London told ESPN. “It was my first ‘Monday Night Football’ game. I kind of lost myself in there. I wasn’t happy with the position I put my team in.”
On top of that, London said he regretted the celebration because of the gun reference. The Falcons hosted the Apalachee (Georgia) High School football team at their practice facility last week, just days after the fatal shooting there. The school is about 25 miles from Falcons headquarters.
“There’s a lot of stuff going around in the world with gun violence that I don’t think I should have displayed there,” London said. “So, I’m not too happy with it, and [you] probably won’t see that again from me.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said London apologized for the situation after the game. He said the team is “sensitive,” given the climate in the country, especially near home.
The Drake move “was a celebration that you don’t want to have happen because of the violence that goes on in our country that we’re very sensitive of,” Morris said. “But he had no ill will and no intent. And that’s a mistake by all of us, on all of our parts, to have those things come out in light of what’s going on in our country, and not being sensitive to those situations that we definitely are. We hosted the school that had the violence here, and we’re really sensitive about all of those things and how those things happen for us. And we do care.
“And that was just Drake having fun with his fan base and his people up in the stands, and you don’t really think about those things at the moment.”
The Falcons wore Apalachee High School T-shirts during warmups before their Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some players were still wearing them Wednesday in the locker room.
“Our game is a thing that helps bring these things back and make things better,” Morris said. “So, you certainly don’t want to shine the light or anything that’s going [on] like that, even though you didn’t have the intent. And I know that none of us had the intent. I know for sure Drake did not.”
HOUSTON — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said Wednesday he wasn’t trying to “little bro” Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during their postgame handshake Sunday night, an interaction that drew attention on social media.
Stroud was mic’d up during the Texans’ 19-13 win over the Bears on “Sunday Night Football.” After the game, Stroud embraced Williams and provided advice to the No. 1 pick.
He told the rookie “Good job out there,” and to “stop taking those hits,” after Williams was sacked seven times and took 11 quarterback hits while finishing 23-of-37 passing for 174 yards with two interceptions.
Williams began to walk away, but Stroud pulled Williams back into the conversation and said, “Come here. Learn from those mistakes. And everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro. You’re going to be a hell of a player in this league.”
Stroud, speaking to reporters Wednesday, made it clear he was trying to help Williams during their interaction and wasn’t trying to belittle him.
“I was not trying to little bro him or anything. He knows that, too. I have a ton of respect for him,” Stroud said. “I had so many guys coming to me after games last year and that meant the world to me that those guys even thought about giving me advice.
“So, I just try to give back to what the game is giving me. So, I wish him the best man. I want him to do amazing in this league. I think he will.”
Social media users focused on Williams’ body language, noting he appeared dismissive of Stroud’s advice.
Williams had little to say about their interaction during his postgame news conference, saying, “We shook hands at the end of the game. That was about it.”
Stroud didn’t view Williams’ response negatively and “wants him to do extremely well.”
“I don’t think he was trying to be any type of way [toward me], he was just upset that they lost,” Stroud said. “I totally understand. So I have a ton of respect for that guy, man.”
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a division championship Wednesday when it sealed its third National League Central title in the past four years.
The Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown.
The Brewers’ clubhouse emptied with one out to go in the ninth inning in Chicago, a couple of hours before Milwaukee’s scheduled first pitch against Philadelphia. A muffled cheer could be heard after the final out when the Brewers won consecutive division titles for the first time in 42 years.
The Brewers were able to celebrate much more later Tuesday when they beat the Phillies 2-1 on a walk-off single by Jake Bauers.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he watched the final outs of the Cubs’ game with 90-year-old longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker.
“We were doing our show and I watched it with him,” Murphy said. “What’s better than that? Awesome.”
This marks the Brewers’ sixth postseason berth in the past seven years — a remarkable accomplishment for a team that made the playoffs only twice in a 35-year stretch from 1983 to 2017.
But this run to the playoffs has been a little different from the rest.
“Nobody wants it to be easy, let’s just be honest,” first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Everybody that’s in that room cherishes challenges. The first challenge [is] down. We obviously have a few more ahead of us. We’re excited about that.”
Although the Brewers have grown accustomed to outperforming preseason expectations, the odds seemed stacked against them even more than usual this year.
Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in Brewers history, left for the rival Cubs. Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
Two-time All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff didn’t pitch all year as he recovered from shoulder surgery, and two-time NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams sat out the first half of the season because of stress fractures in his back.
All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Wade Miley and Robert Gasser suffered season-ending injuries.
None of it mattered.
“You can do all that to us, but it’s still about people, and you have no idea what their best is,” Murphy said. “These guys don’t know what their best is and didn’t know what their best was and still don’t. But they know one thing: Pulling together, competing, being doubted is something that can vault you forward into a championship.”
The Brewers took over first place for good at the end of April and never looked back. Now they’ve won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1981-82. That 1982 season marked Milwaukee’s lone World Series appearance, which ended with a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“We were all kind of written off, right?” Yelich said. “So that makes this one kind of special because we found a way. We faced a lot of adversity. We believed in each other. We came together as a group and got it done.”
The Brewers benefited from the leadership of Murphy, who had been Counsell’s bench coach since 2016. Rather than following Counsell to Chicago, Murphy stayed in Milwaukee and got his first full-time opportunity as a major league manager two weeks before his 65th birthday. Murphy’s only previous MLB managerial experience had come as an interim manager with San Diego in 2015.
Murphy has kept the locker room loose while guiding a team that hasn’t suffered more than three straight losses at any point this season. The Brewers are the only team that hasn’t had a losing streak of at least four games.
“They overachieved in every way, shape or form,” Murphy said.
The Brewers have succeeded with what Murphy refers to as an “all-hands-on-deck” approach.
Milwaukee’s had 17 different pitchers start games this season (only the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels had more). Twelve different Brewers pitchers have collected a save, just two shy of the record of 14 set by the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee entered Wednesday with a 3.65 ERA that ranked fourth in the majors.
Offensively, the Brewers entered Wednesday ranked fourth in total runs scored (733) and 11th in OPS (.735) after finishing 17th in runs (728) and 23rd in OPS (.704) last year.
Yelich was leading the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) before back issues ended his season in late July. William Contreras has developed into one of the game’s best hitting catchers. Willy Adames is the first Brewers shortstop to have a 30-homer, 100-RBI season, something even Hall of Famer Robin Yount never accomplished in Milwaukee.
Jackson Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until next spring, is the youngest player to ever hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in one season.
“This is exactly what you as a competitor want to be a part of, right?” Hoskins said. “It didn’t necessarily look exactly the way that maybe some of us thought, but what’s cool is that we still were able to find ways to get the job done.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ByXUAN THAI AND ANTHONY OLIVIERI
September 18, 2024, 10:29 PM
Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre will testify during a congressional hearing about the need for welfare reform Tuesday, the communications director for the House Ways and Means committee confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The committee’s website lists the hearing as “Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): States’ Misuse of Welfare Funds Leaves Poor Families Behind.”
TANF funds are at the heart of the sprawling Mississippi welfare case in which Favre has been embroiled since 2022. At least $77 million in TANF funds, earmarked for poor families, were diverted to the rich and powerful people, according to a Mississippi state audit.
Favre is one of dozens of defendants in a civil lawsuit seeking to recoup the misappropriated funds. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged.
House Ways and Means communications director J.P. Freire did not give further details about Favre’s scheduled appearance. A spokesperson for Favre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Favre could face questions from the committee about what he knew about the origin of the money for a volleyball facility at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as Prevacus, a company developing a concussion drug in which Favre was the top outside investor and stockholder.
Text messages made public in legal filings show Favre pushed state officials for funding for the volleyball facility during the time his daughter was on the team. The university’s athletic foundation received $5 million in TANF funds. Favre donated $1.4 million of his own money to construct the facility.
Text messages also show Favre asking state officials for help in securing funds for Prevacus, which received $2 million in TANF funds. Prevacus’s founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July, admitting that he used Mississippi welfare money to pay off gambling and other debts.
Favre was also paid $1.1 million from TANF funds for speeches the state auditor says Favre never made. He eventually paid the money back, but the auditor has demanded he also pay $228,000 in interest.
Punchbowl News was first to report Favre’s appearance at the hearing.
SEATTLE — A year ago, the New York Yankees were knocked out of playoff contention with a week to go in the regular season, ending a string of six straight postseason appearances.
Remembering what that was like made wrapping up a playoff berth with more than a week left this time feel that much better.
“A lot of things have come together. Probably better health overall. Definitely an added focus for guys that were coming off tough years and simply put, we’re better. We weren’t a great team last year and this team has a chance to do something special,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.
After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees earned their place in the 2024 playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night.
Nestor Cortes, who pitched six shutout innings, said this Yankees team is using the sting of last season as motivation heading into October.
“Last year we were out of the playoffs. Sour feeling for us,” Cortes said as New York players drenched each other in beer and bubbly during a jubilant clubhouse celebration.
“Coming into spring training, we had one goal, and that’s to make the playoffs, and we’re here. Obviously, the ultimate goal for every team is to be in the World Series and win the World Series. But as of right now, we’re going to enjoy this moment.”
New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees of at least a wild card.
It’s the 59th postseason appearance for the Yankees — the most in MLB history — but New York is still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when the franchise celebrated its 27th title.
Last year, the Yankees were hampered by an injury-riddled roster that was eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 24. Before that, the Yankees hadn’t missed the postseason since 2016, when Aaron Judge had just 27 games of major league experience.
Now they’re headed back to the playoffs with Judge the MVP favorite in the American League, another hitting star in Juan Soto and a starting pitching staff that might have enough depth to carry the Yankees on a deep playoff run.
“[It’ll] definitely be exciting, especially after the season we had last year missing out on the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s what we came into the season to do, get into the postseason and give ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series. That’ll be step one, but we’ve got to get there first.”
The task over the final stretch is making sure that return to the playoffs includes going in as champions of the AL East. The recent slump by the Orioles has opened a gap in the division race and built perhaps enough of a cushion to take some of the drama away from next week’s three-game series between the teams in the Bronx.
But it only remains stress-free as long as the Yankees don’t stumble over the next few days. After closing out the series in Seattle on Thursday, the Yankees finish their final trip with three games in Oakland.
They hope it’s the last time they have to be away from home for a while.
“Our goal is to win the division. That’s what we want to do,” Soto said. “We’re going to focus on that and try to finish the season strong.”
Soto is a big reason the Yankees are back in the playoffs and might end up with home-field advantage in the American League. While Judge is rightfully the favorite to win his second MVP in the past three seasons with 53 homers and 136 RBIs, the contributions from Soto have been equally important.
Soto reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners. It was also the 200th long ball of his career, at just age 25 and heading into an offseason when he will be the top free agent. The duo will probably determine just how deep this Yankees playoff run goes.
“Getting a front-row seat this year, all year, watching him, watching him go about it, watching him day in and day out, just a great hitter,” Boone said.
ESPN Research & The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) -- Here are the scores from Wednesday's sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Oakland Athletics 5, Chicago Cubs 3 San Francisco Giants 5, Baltimore Orioles 3 San Diego Padres 4, Houston Astros 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE LA Angels 4, Chicago White Sox 3 Cleveland Guardians 5, Minnesota Twins 4 Boston Red Sox 2, Tampa Bay Rays 1 Detroit Tigers 4, Kansas City Royals 2 Texas Rangers 2, Toronto Blue Jays 0 NY Yankees 2, Seattle Mariners 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona Diamondbacks 9, Colorado Rockies 4 Atlanta Braves 7, Cincinnati Reds 1 LA Dodgers 8, Miami Marlins 4 NY Mets 10, Washington Nationals 0 Milwaukee Brewers 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1 St. Louis Cardinals 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 5
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) -- A former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the beating death of Tyre Nichols faced cross-examination from defense attorneys Wednesday.
Emmitt Martin III testified at the trial of the three former officers -- Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley -- who were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols' civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Stephen Leffler, Haley's attorney, mentioned that the boots of the ex-officers involved in the encounter were taken into evidence after the incident, according to WATN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom. Martin said that blood was found on his and Haley's shoes.
Martin Zummach, Young's lawyer, claimed that the no-snitch rule the former officer's unit followed didn't apply to Smith or Bean because they had only worked 11 shifts with Martin. The ex-officer disagreed and said the rule was understood by Smith and Bean as well.
Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., the two officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records. Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment -- excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills' plea agreement.
Martin said on Monday that on Jan. 7, 2023, the night Nichols was pulled over, he saw the Memphis resident speeding and changing lanes without a signal, WATN reported. The former officer said he ran Nichols' license plate and it came back clean. Martin claimed that he switched to car-to-car radio channels and reached out to Haley, who said he would take the lead on apprehending Nichols.
Leffler asked Martin why he said, “Let go of my gun,” during the encounter with Nichols. Martin said that he felt pressure on his duty belt, according to WATN. But Martin also pointed out that he had previously told prosecutors that Nichols was not trying to take the weapon out of his holster and had not seen him do it.
The defense said Tuesday that Martin changed his story of what happened the night of their encounter with Nichols after accepting a plea deal from the prosecution, adding that if the ex-officer’s testimony leads to the conviction of even one defendant, Martin could receive a lesser sentence, according to WATN.
Defense attorneys questioned if Martin was lying on the stand to fulfill the terms of his plea deal, according to WATN. But the ex-officer responded by claiming that he was lying in earlier statements to justify his use of force on Nichols.
In police reports filed the night of Nichols’ arrest, narratives read that the Memphis resident swung at officers and tried to grab Martin’s gun. Martin said on Tuesday that he never saw that occur, according to WATN.
Under cross-examination on Tuesday, Martin was asked by John Keith Perry, Bean’s attorney, whether he had ever told Bean that he had “homicidal thoughts.” Martin said he never told that to Bean and had told that to Justin Smith before coming back to work in January 2023 after being hit by a car in November 2022, according to WATN. Martin said Wednesday he never told his former supervisor, about those thoughts.
Martin said Tuesday that he experienced four life-threatening injuries after being struck by the vehicle and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, suffering from loss of sleep, paranoia, irritability and chronic headaches, according to WATN.
Martin told prosecutors Monday that he was scared, angry and eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being hit by a car, according to WATN.
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him. Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023 -- three days later. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly.
The prosecution told ABC News last week that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner's official autopsy report for Nichols showed he "died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma," the district attorney's office told Nichols' family in May 2023.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit -- a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols' death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, acquired May 13, 2018, during winter at the South Pole of Mars, shows a carbon dioxide ice cap covering the region. As the sun returns in the spring, "spiders" begin to emerge from the landscape. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)
(NEW YORK) -- Over two decades since NASA researchers first saw images of mysterious, spider-like formations across the southern hemisphere of Mars, the space agency announced it's recreated the planet's "spiders" here on Earth.
Dubbed "araneiform terrain," the formations span over a half-mile long and have hundreds of branches that resemble spider legs, according to NASA.
Theories surrounding the Red Planet's "spiders" date back to 2003, when researchers got a glimpse of the terrain via Mars orbiters, with many believing they are formed through carbon dioxide ice, which doesn't occur naturally on Earth.
To confirm this hypothesis, researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California said they recreated the formation process in a simulated Mars environment that mimicked the planet's air pressure and temperature.
The simulation chamber -- called the Dirty Under-vacuum Simulation Testbed for Icy Environments, or DUSTIE for short -- uses liquid nitrogen to reach temperatures as low as minus 301 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NASA.
Results from the five-year study were published this month in The Planetary Science Journal.
"The spiders are strange, beautiful geologic features in their own right," JPL researcher Lauren Mc Keown said in a Sept. 11 press release. "These experiments will help tune our models for how they form."
Researchers found that when sunlight heats soil underneath slabs of carbon dioxide ice that form on the surface of Mars each winter, the soil absorbs the heat and causes the ice closest to it to turn directly into carbon dioxide gas, according to NASA.
This process, called "sublimation," causes the ice to crack and brings dust and soil to the surface of the ice, according to the agency.
"When winter turns to spring and the remaining ice sublimates, according to the theory, the spiderlike scars from those small eruptions are what's left behind," researchers wrote in the study.
To recreate the formation process in DUSTIE, researchers said they analyzed simulated Mars soil that was contained and submerged into a liquid nitrogen bath.
Matching the reduced air pressure to match that of Mars' southern hemisphere, researchers said they watched as carbon dioxide gas then flowed into the chamber and condensed into ice over a period of three to five hours.
Researchers then placed a heater inside the chamber below the simulated soil to warm it up and crack the ice.
Mc Keown said she was "ecstatic" when the theories were proven by seeing a carbon dioxide gas plume erupt from within the Mars soil simulation.
Lab experiments and orbiter images are the closest look NASA has at these unique Martian spiders, with the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers exploring far from the region where they occur.
So far, a spacecraft has yet to land on the Red Planet's southern hemisphere.
Joan Vassos' season of The Golden Bachelorette kicked off on Wednesday night in a special way.
The 61-year-old school administrator, mother and grandmother, who is the first ever Golden Bachelorette, met her suitors vying for her heart and bonded with them over shared interests, experiences and a love for pickleball.
Prior to meeting the men, Vassos opened up about her first love, her late husband John Vassos, who died from pancreatic cancer. Vassos said she first met him in 1983 when she was 20 and called him a "special guy" who "made me feel special and safe every single day of my life."
"No one's gonna replace John," she said. "He lives in a place in my heart and in my mind that is just his. But I have a big heart and there is room for somebody else."
"I don't know if you could have two great loves in one lifetime, but I'm hoping," Vassos added.
At the mansion, Vassos was introduced to the men as they each stepped out of the limos. The first gentleman she was introduced to was Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago, Illinois, whose French accent she found charming.
Others who impressed Vassos during their first meeting included Chock, 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas, who arrived with a mason jar of his chicken noodle soup, Jack, 68, a caterer from Chicago, Illinois, who sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" for Vassos, and David, 68, a rancher from Austin, Texas, who arrived like prince charming on a horse.
After getting to know the men more inside of the mansion during sweet one-on-one moments and a chaotic impromptu pickleball tournament with some of the men, Vassos found a connection with Keith, 62, a girl dad from San Jose, California, who arrived at the mansion in a station wagon. She gave him the first impression rose.
During the rose ceremony, Vassos stepped away when she felt overwhelmed and told host Jesse Palmer that it's "not easy" sending some of the men home. But at the end of the night, Vassos said goodbye to five men.
See whose journey on the show continues below:
Dan, 64, a private investor from Naples, Florida Jonathan, 61, a shipping consultant from Oakland, Iowa Mark, 67, an army veteran from Leesville, Louisiana Guy, 66, an ER doctor from Reno, Nevada Charles K., 62, a portfolio manager from Rancho Palos Verdes, California Gil, 60, an educator from Mission Viejo, California Gary, 65, a retired finance executive from Palm Desert, California Pascal, 69, a salon owner from Chicago, Illinois Chock, 60, an insurance executive from Wichita, Kansas Kim, 69, a retired navy captain from Seattle, Washington Christopher, 64, a contractor from West Babylon, New York Gregg, 64, a retired university VP from Longboat Key, Florida Charles L., 66, a retired financial analyst from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jordan, 61, a sales manager from Chicago, Illinois Bob, 66, a chiropractor from Marina Del Rey, California Michael, 65, a retired banking CEO from Denver, North Carolina Jack, 68, a caterer from Chicago, Illinois
DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have moved about 300 endangered sea corals from South Florida to the Texas Gulf Coast for research and restoration.
Nova Southeastern University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi researchers packed up the corals Wednesday at the NSU’s Oceanographic Campus in Dania Beach. The sea creatures were then loaded onto a van, taken to a nearby airport and flown to Texas.
Researchers were taking extreme caution with the transfer of these delicate corals, NSU researcher Shane Wever said.
“The process that we’re undertaking today is a really great opportunity for us to expand the representation of the corals that we are working with and the locations where they’re stored,” Wever said. “Increasing the locations that they’re stored really acts as safeguards for us to protect them and to preserve them for the future.”
Each coral was packaged with fresh clean sea water and extra oxygen, inside of a protective case and inside of insulated and padded coolers, and was in transport for the shortest time possible.
NSU’s marine science research facility serves as a coral reef nursery, where rescued corals are stored, processed for restoration and transplanted back into the ocean. The school has shared corals with other universities, like the University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University and Texas State University, as well as the Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys.
Despite how important corals are, it is easy for people living on land to forget how important things in the ocean are, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi researcher Keisha Bahr said.
“Corals serve a lot of different purposes,” Bahr said. “First of all, they protect our coastlines, especially here in Florida, from wave energy and coastal erosion. They also supply us with a lot of the food that we get from our oceans. And they are nurseries for a lot of the organisms that come from the sea.”
Abnormally high ocean temperatures caused widespread coral bleaching in 2023, wiping out corals in the Florida Keys. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi turned to NSU when its partners in the Keys were no longer able to provide corals for its research. Broward County was spared from the majority of the 2023 bleaching so the NSU offshore coral nursery had healthy corals to donate.
“We’re losing corals at an alarming rate,” Bahr said. “We lost about half of our corals in last three decades. So we need to make sure that we continue to have these girls into the future.”
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is using some of these corals to study the effects of sediment from Port Everglades on coral health. The rest will either help the university with its work creating a bleaching guide for the Caribbean or act as a genetic bank, representing nearly 100 genetically distinct Staghorn coral colonies from across South Florida’s reefs.
“We wanted to give them as many genotypes, which are genetic individuals, as we could to really act as a safeguard for these this super important species,” Wever said.
DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A pipeline fire that forced hundreds of people to flee their homes in the Houston suburbs burned for a third day Wednesday, with officials saying they don’t expect it to be extinguished until sometime Thursday evening.
Officials said residents who had to evacuate would be allowed to return to their homes starting Wednesday evening.
Authorities have offered few details about what prompted the driver of an SUV to hit an aboveground valve on the pipeline on Monday, sparking the blaze.
Here are some things to know about the situation with the pipeline fire:
What caused the fire?
Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood in Deer Park, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.
Authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to hit the pipeline valve, the identity of the driver or what happened to them. The pipeline company on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.
Deer Park police won’t be able to reach the burned-out vehicle until the flame has been extinguished. Once the area is safe, the department will be able to continue its investigation and confirm specifics, city spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said in an email Wednesday.
The valve equipment appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. The pipeline’s operator has not responded to questions about any other safety protections that were in place.
Who is responsible for the pipeline?
Energy Transfer is the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, a 20-inch-wide (50-centemeter-wide) conduit that runs for miles through the Houston area.
It carries natural gas liquids through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte, both of which are southeast of Houston. Energy Transfer said the fire had diminished overnight and was continuing to “safely burn itself out” on Wednesday.
Energy Transfer also built the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been at the center of protests and legal battles. The company’s executive chairman, Kelcy Warren, has given millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
What’s being done to extinguish the fire?
Energy Transfer said its crews were working Wednesday to install specialized isolation equipment on both sides of the damaged section that will help extinguish the fire.
Once the equipment is installed, which could take several hours of welding, the isolated section of the pipeline will be purged with nitrogen, which will extinguish the fire, company and local officials said. After that, damaged components can be repaired.
“The safest way to manage this process is to let the products burn off,” Energy Transfer said.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Deer Park officials said repair work on the pipeline to help speed up the process to put out the fire wasn’t expected to be completed until 6 p.m. on Thursday. Once finished, the fire was anticipated to be extinguished within two to three hours.
How have residents been impacted?
Authorities evacuated nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. Officials said that starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, residents in Deer Park and La Porte who had to evacuate would be allowed to return to their homes. A portion of a highway near the pipeline would remain closed, officials said.
Hundreds of customers lost power. Officials said Wednesday afternoon that only two customers remained without electricity in the Deer Park and La Porte area. Repairs to all of the power distribution lines affected by the fire had been completed.
Deer Park’s statement said Energy Transfer was “prioritizing the safety of the community and environment as it implements its emergency response plan.”
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of all residents during this ongoing situation,” Deer Park officials said.
By late Tuesday, about 400 evacuees remained, and some expressed frustration over being forced to quickly flee and not being given any timeline for when they will be able to return.
“We literally walked out with the clothes on our backs, the pets, and just left the neighborhood with no idea where we were going,” said Kristina Reff, who lives near the fire. “That was frustrating.”
What about pollution from the fire?
Energy Transfer and Harris County officials have said that air quality monitoring shows no immediate risk to individuals, despite the huge tower of billowing flame that shot hundreds of feet into the air, creating thick black smoke that hovered over the area.
Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight, and some have been deadly, raising recurring questions about industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.
TYLER – On Wednesday, the hearing regarding more than 50 dogs that were found in terrible conditions took place in Tyler. According to our news partners KETK, the courtroom was overflowing with people and more spilling out into the hallway. They were all there in support of the animals found living in horrible conditions. Nearly 60 dogs were seized from a Smith County property belonging to the two brothers in court, Kerry and Michael Jones.
It was their first day in court after the discovery was made by law enforcement. A defense attorney asked for a delay, explaining that he and the other brother’s legal representative were just hired that day and needed time to review evidence and consult with his client. The prosecution presented no objection and the judge granted a continuance.
