Nasa has named its new head of research into unexplained phenomena spotted in the sky – after initially saying that it would not. The space agency said that its new head of research into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs, would be kept secret in an attempt to keep them from being abused. Many of the publicly identified members its research panel have been subject to threats and harassment, the space agency has said. Previously, members of the panel said that abuse had kept them from properly examining the phenomena. The announcement of a new head of research came soon during the discussion of the panel’s first report into UFOs. That report said that it needed more scientific research to make firm conclusions – and less stigma and abuse of those doing it. During a panel discussion of that report, Nasa associate administrator Nicola Fox said that the space agency had appointed a new official to oversee the research and work with other federal agencies. But she told reporters that “we will not give his name out” for fear of reprisals. Later on Thursday, however, Nasa released a new blog post in which it identified the new director as Mark McInerney. “McInerney previously served as NASA’s liaison to the Department of Defense covering limited UAP activities for the agency,” it wrote. “In the director role, he will centralize communications, resources, and data analytical capabilities to establish a robust database for the evaluation of future UAP. “He also will leverage NASA’s expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and space-based observation tools to support and enhance the broader government initiative on UAP.” The report did not give any indication of why the space agency had changed its mind on naming the new appointment. It only noted that it had made the decision to update it to “include details about the UAP research director”. In the 33-page report published earlier on Thursday, an independent team commissioned by NASA cautioned that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data. But officials said NASA‘s involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena.“We want to shift the conversation about UAPs from sensationalism to science,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. He promised an open and transparent approach. Officials stressed the panel found no evidence that UAPs had extraterrestrial origin. But Nelson acknowledged with billions of stars in billions of galaxies out there, another Earth could exist. “If you ask me, do I believe there’s life in a universe that is so vast that it’s hard for me to comprehend how big it is, my personal answer is yes,” Nelson said at a news conference. His own scientists put the likelihood of life on another Earth-like planet at “at least a trillion.” When pressed by reporters on whether the U.S. or other governments are hiding aliens or otherworldly spaceships, Nelson said: “Show me the evidence.” NASA has said it doesn’t actively search for unexplained sightings. But it operates a fleet of Earth-circling spacecraft that can help determine, for example, whether weather is behind a strange event. The 16-member panel noted that artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential for identifying rare occurrences, including UFOs. No top-secret files were accessed by the panel’s scientists, aviation and artificial intelligence experts, and retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, the first American to spend nearly a year in space. Instead, the group relied on unclassified data in an attempt to better understand unexplained sightings in the sky. Officials said there are so few high-quality observations that no scientific conclusions can be drawn. Most events can be attributed to planes, drones, balloons or weather conditions, said panel chairman David Spergel, president of the Simons Foundation, a scientific research group. The government refers to unexplained sightings as UAPs versus UFOs. NASA defines them as observations in the sky or elsewhere that cannot be readily identified or scientifically explained. The study was launched a year ago and cost under $100,000. Additional reporting by agencies Read More We cannot yet explain mysterious sightings in the sky, Nasa panel says Nasa boss says he believes in aliens during UFO hearings Watch as Nasa announces findings of long-awaited UFO study Nasa’s UFO study team reveals first ever report: as it happened Scientists might have seen a ‘life’ molecule on another planet SpaceX crew streak across sky before splashing down off Florida coast

By Karolos Grohmann PARIS (Reuters) -Racist behaviour directed at athletes is getting worse and even software designed to protect them

On July 18, Amouranth faced an unexpected setback as she received a ban on Twitch

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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 5, 2023--

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is giving all its Japan bank employees access to Microsoft Corp.’s Azure OpenAI service

Last year was a mixed bag pay-wise for the women who run companies in the S&P 500 -- compensation increased for more than half of them, but the median pay package fell 6%

Foxconn is in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Japan's TMH Group for technology and joint venture

Trustees at California State University, the nation’s largest public university system, have voted to raise student tuition by 6% each year for five consecutive years to try to narrow a $1.5 billion deficit

Despite no evidence backing up their claims, Flat Earthers are adamant that they are correct when it comes to the shape of our Earth. Even when their own evidence disproves them, it seems. Back in 2020, a couple from Venice tried to prove the world was flat by setting sail to the edge of the world, which they believed was somewhere near Sicily, after a planned Flat Earthed cruise to Antartica was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The couple violated the lockdown restrictions in place at the time of their travels, selling their car in order to buy a boat. Using a compass, a device that works because the Earth is round, the pair set off in their boat to reach Lampedusa. However, it was not long until they found themselves lost, tired, and on the island of Ustica instead. Salvatore Zichichi of the Maritime Health Office of the Ministry of Health told Italian newspaper La Stampa: "For them, Lampedusa [an island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea] was the end of the Earth." "The funny thing is that they orient themselves with the compass, an instrument that works on the bass of terrestrial magnetism. A principle that they, as Flat Earthers, should reject." They were placed in quarantine by health officials due to the ongoing pandemic at the time, but the couple escaped and sailed away in pursuit of the edge of Earth. Three hours later, they were caught. The pair tried to escape one more time but failed, and abandoned their plan, taking a ferry back to mainland Italy once their time in quarantine was fulfilled. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The popular Twitter account tracking Elon Musk’s private jet, which was suspended from the social media platform, now has a new presence on Instagram’s rival platform Threads. “ElonJet has arrived to Threads,” the new account named “Elon Musk’s Jet” run by the University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney posted last week. Mr Sweeney was stopped by Twitter last year from posting the realtime whereabouts of Mr Musk’s private jet using publicly available data. He had started tracking Musk’s plane in 2020, and at the time of his Twitter account’s suspension, it had over 500,000 followers. The Twitter owner reasoned that anyone posting real-time coordinates would be suspended “as it is a physical safety violation” after his son was pursued by an unknown motorist in Los Angeles. “Criticising me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not,” Mr Musk said. “Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family,” the Tesla titan said in a separate tweet. Following this, Mr Sweeney began posting on Twitter with the account, ElonJet but Delayed, sharing information on the SpaceX chief’s private jet’s movements with a 24-hour delay. However, he continued to post real-time updates on the plane on rival social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon. But despite Mr Musk’s threat, no “legal action” appears to have been taken against the college student. “Remember when Elon said he would sue me. Just another empty threat,” Mr Sweeney posted on Threads on Friday. Now, finding a new home on Threads, Mr Sweeney’s new account has already racked up more than 78,000 followers at the time of writing. “I’m honestly hoping Twitter dies... As I am hindered on there, you search for my name, seems I’m search banned,” the college student told Insider. Mr Sweeney also shared that while he would be posting manual updates of Mr Musk’s private jet to the new Threads account for now, he hopes Meta would allow him to return to auto-posting. “Zuck will I be allowed to stay,” he posted, seemingly taking a jibe at his account’s suspension on Twitter by Mr Musk. Read More Elon Musk says ‘Zuck is cuck’ as Threads inches closer to 100m users Threads: Kim Kardashian and the Dalai Lama among celebrities joining Meta’s new app Mark Zuckerberg trolls Elon Musk by posting Spider-Man meme on Twitter after launching rival Threads Elon Musk says ‘Zuck is cuck’ as Threads inches closer to 100m users Threads hits 70 million sign-ups on its second day Mark Zuckerberg trolls Elon Musk with Spider-Man meme after launching Twitter rival

For the past week, not a single Tesla has passed through Sweden’s four biggest ports. Starting Friday, broken