https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/elon-musk-starship-sn16-mars-b1855721.html

SpaceX tycoon Elon Musk has shared a picture of his latest Starship prototype, the SN16, which is being readied for the project’s biggest test yet: the first orbital flight of a Mars-bound ship, due for blast off in July.

The towering 50-metre-long stainless steel craft is seen in a hangar at Mr Musk’s Starbase facility at Boca Chica in Cameron County, Texas, its sci-fi nose cone and fins cast against the night sky.

Starship’s development brings the Tesla billionaire closer to realising his dream of landing an astronaut on the hostile surface of Mars this decade, with a view to ultimately colonising the Red Planet and even constructing cities among its craters by 2050, a project that has already seen him secure a multi-billion dollar contract with Nasa.

SpaceX has ambitions to launch crewed missions to Mars as early as 2024 and currently has the field to itself, with no government agency or rival private company on course to challenge it.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/breaking-news/2021/05/28/florida-boy-14-charged-as-an-adult-after-cheerleader-stabbed-114-times/

Chilling new details have emerged about the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old cheerleader who was found dead in a wooded area in Northeast Florida on Mother’s Day.

On Thursday, State Attorney for the 7th Circuit R.J. Larizza announced during a news conference that Tristyn Bailey was stabbed 114 times while fighting off her killer. He said at least 49 of the stab wounds were to her hands, arms and head and that they were “defensive in nature,” according to local media reports.

“We can’t say what happened at this pond but we know there was a struggle,” Larizza said at the news conference. “To say that it was horrific could arguably be made as an understatement.”

Charged in the case is 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, a schoolmate in St. Johns County. He has been in custody in a juvenile facility since his May 10 arrest on a charge of second-degree murder. Larizza announced Thursday that his charges would be upgraded to first-degree murder and that he would be charged as an adult. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted, according to The Associated Press.

https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB957/id/2226583

The bill does three things:

1) It repeals the state law which makes suppressors manufactured or owned outside the NFA illegal.

2) Establishes a class of suppressors which, if made in Texas with Texas-made parts, are legal outside the NFA as long as they remain in Texas. No $200 tax stamp, no background check, no year-long wait for approval, no paperwork of any kind. The suppressor must be marked "Made in Texas".

3) Sets a path to secure a declaratory judgment on the constitutionality of this law before anyone manufactures “Made in Texas” suppressors.

As the bill in the Senate was identical to the one passed by the House, it now goes to the governor's desk. It should be noted that even if the governor signs off on the bill, it will still have to go through the federal court system before becoming law.

https://www.nber.org/papers/w28763

Gun buyback programs (GBPs), which use public funds to purchase civilians' privately-owned firearms, aim to reduce gun violence. However, little is known about their effects on firearm-related crime or deaths. Using data from the National Incident Based Reporting System, we find no evidence that GBPs reduce gun crime.

Given our estimated null findings, with 95 percent confidence, we can rule out decreases in firearm-related crime of greater than 1.3 percent during the year following a buyback. Using data from the National Vital Statistics System, we also find no evidence that GBPs reduce suicides or homicides where a firearm was involved.

(Excerpt)