https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/space-hotel-orbital-assembly-scn/index.html



(CNN) — Waking up in a chic hotel room with a view of the solar system could be the future of travel, at least if space company Orbital Assembly has anything to say about it.

The US-based company has revealed new information and concepts for its space hotel idea, designs for which have been orbiting since 2019.

Originally premiered by Californian company the Gateway Foundation -- and then called the Von Braun Station -- this futuristic concept consists of several modules connected by elevator shafts that make up a rotating wheel orbiting the Earth.

The project is now being overseen by Orbital Assembly Corporation, a space construction company that cut links with Gateway.

Orbital Assembly is now aiming to launch not one but two space stations with tourist accommodation: Voyager Station, the renamed original design, is now scheduled to accommodate 400 people and to open in 2027, while new concept Pioneer Station, housing 28 people, could be operational in just three years.

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Don't think I have enough frequent flyer points for this, sadly.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2298946/thailand-to-fully-re-open

The Test & Go travel scheme for foreign arrivals and RT-PCR testing upon arrival will end this month as vaccinated travellers will only need to take self-antigen tests during their stay from May 1 as part of a further easing of entry rules to boost the economy and tourism.

However, the Thailand Pass registration will be retained. The change was approved at a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday.

"Test & Go will be scrapped and there will be a shift to antigen testing on May 1. This will be more convenient and faster for visitors. Tourism is also starting to recover,'' Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said after chairing the meeting at Government House.

"Many countries are easing travel restrictions significantly and our country depends considerably on tourism to support our economy," Gen Prayut said.

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I’ll be flying there in a bit less than two weeks.

https://www.yahoo.com/video/teen-girls-charged-beating-woman-025509965.html

Five young teenage girls are facing charges in the brutal beating of a young woman in Downtown Crossing.

According to a police report, the juveniles pounced on the victim after making a comment about her hairstyle. The attackers reportedly called the victim “white [expletive] with braids” and told her she could not wear her hair in the style because she was “not Black.”

Witnesses told investigators that as many as 20 teens, some as young as 12 years old, swarmed the victim, who is 19 years old.

The juveniles are charged with pulling her hair, punching her and kicking her repeatedly near Washington and Winter Streets just before 7 p.m. Monday night.

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https://www.startribune.com/airlines-want-to-bring-back-passengers-banned-over-masks/600166763/

DALLAS — Remember all those thousands of passengers that airlines banned for not wearing face masks? Now the airlines want them back — or at least, most of them.

And leaders of unions that represent flight attendants are reacting with outrage.

American, United and Delta all indicated Thursday that they will lift the bans they imposed now that masks are optional on flights.

"We have talked to them individually," United CEO Scott Kirby told NBC. "Many of them assure us that now that the mask mandate is off, everything is going to be fine, and I trust that the vast majority of them will."

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https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/walt-disney-world-drops-all-face-mask-requirements-31414460

Walt Disney World dropped all existing face mask requirements on Tuesday for park attendees both indoors and outdoors.

The theme park giant's safety policies were updated to make face coverings optional regardless of a guest's vaccination status, but unvaccinated guests are "recommended" to wear masks in all indoor locations. This includes Disney's enclosed transportation (buses, monorails) and theaters.

The change in mask requirements comes a day after a Florida federal judge voided the CDC's federal mask mandate for airplanes, trains and buses.

With the exception of transportation, face coverings were optional for fully vaccinated guests indoors and outdoors starting back in Feb. 17.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/04/19/army-picks-its-replacement-m4-and-saw.html/amp



(Sig Sauer's NGSW-AR, top, and NGSW-R, bottom, have been delivered to the Army as Next Generation Squad Weapon prototypes.)

The Army has found its replacements for the M4 rifle and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, handing out a contract to put new guns in the hands of tens of thousands of soldiers.

The force is awarding a 10-year, $20.4 million contract to Sig Sauer for the XM5 Rifle, which will become the new standard rifle for soldiers, and the XM250 Automatic Rifle, which will replace the SAW.

The service will also switch from 5.56mm ammo to 6.8mm, after a search for rounds better built to penetrate body armor.

"Both weapons fire common 6.8 millimeter ammunition utilizing government provided projectiles and vendor-designed cartridges," an Army spokesperson said in a press release. "The new ammunition includes multiple types of tactical and training rounds that increase accuracy and are more lethal against emerging threats than both the 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition."

https://twitter.com/renniecook/status/1516195258438148106/photo/1

https://www.wwltv.com/amp/article/news/local/orleans/17-year-old-carjacker-shot-neck-botched-carjacking/289-b61e3dd8-744c-4ff8-9097-a6eb06369fca

NEW ORLEANS — A 17-year-old was hospitalized following a botched carjacking in which he was shot by a man he was allegedly trying to carjack.

Sources tell the Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, that the teen’s accomplice, also a 17-year-old, admitted to the attempted carjacking.

According to the report, the two teens allegedly pointed a gun at a 48-year-old man outside his home in the 500 block of Louisa Street and demanded his keys. The man told New Orleans police that he flung his keys and fired a single shot from his own gun before running to his home.

Shortly later, the two teens arrived at Tulane Medical Center, with one teen wounded and unresponsive. The teens face charges of armed robbery and illegally possessing a firearm.

https://abc7chicago.com/gun-buyback-chicago-crime-violence-near-me-2022/11757175/

CHICAGO -- Chicago officials launched a fundraising campaign to support the city's largest-ever gun buyback program, with the goal of raising $1 million to entice people to turn in guns during two large events this year.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called it a "bold new initiative" and said it would get "guns out of the hands of dangerous people." Chicago and other cities have been running these programs for decades, often trading gift cards of $100 or so for guns and some lesser amount for replica guns.

Chicago officials annually take in hundreds of guns through buyback programs. But decades of research shows such programs don't reduce gun violence, in large part because they don't result in guns being taken from people who aren't supposed to have them, CNN reported. One recent study found "no evidence that (gun buyback programs) reduce suicides or homicides where a firearm was involved."

These types of programs are common in cities across America, and Chicago's goal is ambitious compared to other programs. Long Beach, California, police took in 280 guns at an event in September. More than 250 were turned in at an event last summer in Desoto, Texas. Police in Albany, Georgia, collected 40 this way last spring.

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https://apnews.com/article/georgia-shootings-arrests-robbery-a67a086c1d56a9552409b242155934ff

GRANTVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal armed robbery at a Georgia gun range that left three members of a family dead last week.

Jacob Christian Muse, of College Park, is charged with three counts of malice murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Friday.

When Grantville officers arrived at the scene of Lock Stock & Barrel Shooting Range on the night of April 8, they discovered the bodies of the gun range’s owner, along with his wife and grandson. The victims were identified as Thomas Hawk, 75; Evelyn Hawk, 75; and Luke Hawk, 17.

Investigators said that as many as 40 guns and the range’s surveillance camera were also stolen.

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