Man known for racially derogatory livestreams charged with attempted murder after Tennessee shooting
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a man who livestreams himself saying racially derogatory statements to Black people in public settings has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse. District Attorney Robert J. Nash said in a statement Wednesday that Dalton Eatherly, known online as “Chud the Builder,” and an unidentified man were involved in a confrontation that resulted in gunfire. Police haven't provided the race of the other man. A witness who says she saw him loaded into an ambulance described him as Black. An attorney listed in court records as representing Eatherly in a separate harassment case didn't immediately return a phone message.
Small cities in big Texas metro areas lead as the fastest growing municipalities in the US
Small cities in big Texas metro areas are the fastest-growing in the U.S. The Census Bureau reported Thursday that Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna were at the top of the list from mid-2024 to mid-2025. All are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Fulshear, near Houston, ranked second. These cities saw growth rates from nearly 15% to 25%. Texas cities like Fort Worth and Austin also saw significant population gains. Seattle was the only non-Southern city in the top 10 for numeric growth, driven by international migration. Meanwhile, Twentynine Palms, California, and Key West, Florida, experienced the highest rates of population losses because of tight housing markets.
NASA's Psyche spacecraft buzzing Mars on its way to a rare metal asteroid
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid is swinging past Mars for a gravity boost. The Psyche spacecraft will slingshot past the red planet at more than 12,000 mph Friday. It will be an especially close encounter, with Psyche passing within 2,800 miles. Then it will be on to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that is home to its enticing target. All of the spacecraft’s science instruments will be on for the flyby. Cameras will snap thousands of pictures. The spacecraft is named Psyche like the asteroid it's after. The spacecraft should reach the metal-rich asteroid in 2029.
Postal Service releases special edition bald eagle stamps for America's 250th
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service is releasing special edition stamps featuring the bald eagle for America's 250th birthday. The stamps issued Thursday depict the eagle across five life stages, from hatchling to adult. The eagle has long symbolized American values like strength, freedom and independence, but the bird is also considered a major conservation success story. In the mid-1900s, eagles nearly vanished due to pesticide poisoning. A 1972 ban on the chemical helped their recovery. The artist behind the collection spent nearly a year on the illustrations and hopes the stamps inspire appreciation for the natural world.
'Ocean Dream' blue-green diamond sells for more than $17 million at Christie's auction in Geneva
GENEVA (AP) — Christie's says a 5.5-carat triangular-cut diamond billed as the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond known to exist has sold for more than 13.5 million Swiss francs or $17.3 million. The auction house said it was a record for a stone of its kind sold at auction. The “Ocean Dream” was the standout offer at the auction house’s Geneva sale of jewelry on Wednesday. It was found in Central Africa in the 1990s. The price easily topped the presale estimate to fetch 7-10 million francs or around $9-13 million. The buyer was an unspecified private collector.
Bald eagle hatchlings spotted in a Chicago park may be the city's first for more than a century
CHICAGO (AP) — Two bald eagle hatchlings have been spotted in a Chicago park in what experts believe is a first for the Windy City in more than a century. Chicago Park District officials say the two eaglets hatched in a nest on the city's Southeast Side. The officials say they first noticed nesting activity in February and the first eaglet was spotted April 28. A second eaglet has since been confirmed in the same nest. Eagles are not uncommon sights in Chicago-area parks, but the agency wasn't aware of any successful breeding until now.
Ancient teeth hint at canoodling between early human relatives
NEW YORK (AP) — An analysis of ancient teeth is giving scientists a rare peek into interactions between human relatives hundreds of thousands of years ago. A new study reveals genetic clues about a human ancestor called Homo erectus. Researchers found two new mutations in ancient proteins from 400,000-year-old teeth. One hints at ancient mixing and mingling between Homo erectus, an extinct group of human cousins called the Denisovans and modern humans. Finding more fossils can help firm up the human evolutionary story. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Some Japanese snack packages are turning black-and-white as Iran war depletes ink supply
TOKYO (AP) — The packaging on some snacks in Japan is turning a somber black-and-white, as the war in Iran disrupts the supply of an ingredient in colored ink. Calbee, which makes potato chips and cereal, says what’s inside remains the same. Calbee snacks are popular in Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores and shipped to the United States, China and Australia. Calbee’s lightly salted chips, known as “usu shio,” originally came in a bright-orange bag with an image of yellow chips and a potato-man mascot wearing a hat. The new packaging just has monochrome lettering. It's the latest impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in the Middle East.
Disease outbreak cuts Wyoming, Yellowstone wolf numbers to lowest level since reintroduction era
A disease outbreak significantly reduced wolf numbers in Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park last year. Biologists report the lowest wolf population in 20 years, with canine distemper as the likely cause. This virus is especially lethal to wolf pups, with only 37% surviving the year. The outbreak affected 64% of wolves in northwestern Wyoming. Despite past outbreaks occurring when populations were high, this one happened with lower numbers, prompting further investigation. Wyoming's wolf population fell by 23%, with a 42% drop in breeding pairs. Officials remain hopeful for recovery, citing increased resistance among surviving wolves.
Amazon looks to redefine a need for speed with 30-minute deliveries
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is rapidly opening store-sized delivery hubs in dozens of U.S. and foreign cities to fulfill customers’ most urgent product needs in 30 minutes or less. The e-commerce titan's ultrafast Amazon Now service first launched in India last June. Amazon says it's now also available in five other countries and is expanding in the U.S. The mini-warehouses devoted to Amazon Now stock about 3,500 products. The items include fresh produce, beer, diapers, nonprescription medications, cleaning supplies, electronics and personal care products like shampoo. Offering uberfast deliveries is the latest chapter in the e-commerce titan's relentless pursuit of speed. The company revolutionized online shopping after it introduced two-day shipping in 2005.
